- Grammy-winning Cissy Houston, mother of Whitney, dies at 91
- UN biodiversity summit in Colombia aims to turn words into action
- Georgia Supreme Court reinstates six-week abortion ban
- 'Dark day': Victims mourned around the globe on Oct. 7 anniversary
- On attacks anniversary, Israel fights multi-front war
- Mexican mayor murdered days after taking office
- Intensifying to Category 5, Hurricane Milton targets Florida
- Mission to probe smashed asteroid launches despite hurricane
- Biden, Harris mark Oct. 7 with call for Mideast peace
- Dupont set for Toulouse return after post-Olympic holiday
- French rugby bosses tighten discipline after nightmare Argentina tour
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street slips
- Visitors to get rare view of Rome's Trevi Fountain
- Europe's asteroid mission Hera launches despite hurricane
- Man City and Premier League both claim victory in legal case
- Deschamps delight as 'light back on' for Pogba after doping ban
- Biden, Harris urge Mideast peace on Oct. 7 anniversary
- Neeskens, tough midfielder in Cruyff's Ajax and Dutch teams
- UN warns world's water cycle becoming ever more erratic
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street retreats
- Ex-Dutch football star Johan Neeskens dies
- Man Utd battling to improve fortunes, says Evans
- What is microRNA? Nobel-winning discovery explained
- Masood, Abdullah centuries lift Pakistan to 328-4 in first England Test
- Hurricane Milton strengthens fast, threatens Mexico, Florida
- Tunisia's President Saied set for landslide election win
- Barca hoping to return to Camp Nou 'by end of year'
- Trump to open second golf course at Scotland resort in summer 2025
- Super-sub Jhon Duran rewarded with new Aston Villa deal
- US duo win Nobel for gene regulation breakthrough
- Masood hits first ton for four years to power Pakistan to 233-1
- Fritz wins delayed match to reach Shanghai Masters third round
- Naomi Osaka pulls out of Japan Open with back injury
- Weather may delay launch of mission to study deflected asteroid
- China to flesh out economic stimulus plans after bumper rally
- Artist Marina Abramovic hopes first China show offers tech respite
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on US jobs data
- Pakistan 122-1 at lunch in first England Test
- Kazakhs approve plan for first nuclear power plant
- World marks anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- 'Second family': tennis stars hunt winning formula with new coaches
- Philippines, South Korea agree to deepen maritime cooperation
- Mexico mayor murdered days after taking office
- Sardinia's sheep farmers battle bluetongue as climate warms
- Japan govt admits doctoring 'untidy' cabinet photo
- Israel marks first anniversary of Hamas's October 7 attack
- Darvish tames Ohtani as Padres thrash Dodgers
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
- Family affair as LeBron, Bronny James make Lakers bow
- Cancer, cardiovascular drugs tipped for Nobel as prize week opens
RBGPF | -1.97% | 58.94 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.53% | 24.57 | $ | |
SCS | -0.15% | 12.95 | $ | |
GSK | -0.49% | 38.63 | $ | |
NGG | -1.56% | 65.48 | $ | |
RELX | -0.54% | 46.04 | $ | |
RYCEF | -1.45% | 6.88 | $ | |
VOD | 0.31% | 9.69 | $ | |
RIO | -0.11% | 69.62 | $ | |
BTI | -0.26% | 35.2 | $ | |
AZN | -0.78% | 76.87 | $ | |
BCC | 1.68% | 141.27 | $ | |
JRI | -0.76% | 13.18 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.09% | 24.79 | $ | |
BCE | -0.54% | 33.53 | $ | |
BP | 0.78% | 33.14 | $ |
King Charles's France trip closing with climate focus
King Charles III on Friday puts the environment at the heart of the final day of his state visit to France, learning about climate-induced wildfires and visiting a sustainable vineyard in the heart of wine country.
The 74-year-old British head of state -- a lifelong environmentalist -- wraps up three days of diplomacy aimed at forging closer cross-Channel links after Brexit with a trip to the southwestern city of Bordeaux.
Charles, accompanied by his wife Queen Camilla, 76, had been due to visit in March but civil unrest over unpopular pension reforms forced the trip to be postponed at the last minute.
His rescheduled tour, including a ceremonial welcome at the Arc de Triomphe, a glittering state dinner at the Palace of Versailles, and a landmark address at the Senate, has been largely well-received.
Even in staunchly republican France, there have been cries of "vive le roi!" (long live the king!) and his speech to the Senate that mixed English and French was given a standing ovation by lawmakers.
The warmth of his relationship with President Emmanuel Macron has been clear, with Charles setting a slightly more informal atmosphere than would have been the case under his late mother Queen Elizabeth II.
Bordeaux is well-placed to illustrate the point hammered home throughout the visit about Britain and France's shared personal, political and cultural history.
It became a British possession in 1152, when the future English king Henry II married Eleanor of Aquitaine, effectively beginning three decades of English dominance in the region, until the end of the Hundred Years' War in 1453.
The British influence remains: some 39,000 British expats live in Bordeaux -- the highest number in France.
- Kindred spirit -
On Thursday, Charles called for a new Franco-British partnership for the environment -- an alliance for sustainability -- as part of a wider effort to repair frayed political ties caused by Brexit.
Speaking to lawmakers in the upper chamber of parliament -- a first for a British monarch -- he notably called climate change "our most existential challenge of all".
Some commentators in the UK interpreted that as coded criticism of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who this week rowed back on the government's net zero commitments.
But Charles has for a long time warned about the need to protect the environment for future generations, and he praised efforts by governments in both London and Paris for making moves to address the issue.
Before it was fashionable, he created an organic garden at his Highgrove estate in western England and has long published his household's carbon footprint.
The Aston Martin DB6 he has owned since 1970 has been converted to run on bioethanol from surplus English white wine and whey from cheese-making.
In Bordeaux, he will find a kindred spirit, Pierre Hurmic, the Green Party mayor who declared a climate emergency after his surprise 2020 election victory.
After engagements in the city, including a celebration of defence ties between the two NATO allies on a British frigate, Charles visits a research centre looking at how forests are adapting to climate change.
Huge fires, fuelled by drought and high temperatures, ripped through the Gironde region near Bordeaux last year.
His last stop before heading home is a visit to Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte vineyard, which has become a model of sustainable practice.
The vineyard, founded in the 14th century and named after Scottish former owner George Smith, uses organic compost and carbon dioxide recycling technology, shunning pesticides and herbicides.
C.Garcia--AMWN