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Suryavanshi, 14, dubbed 'next superstar' after batting records tumble
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Australian doubles player Purcell accepts 18-month doping ban
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Kashmir attack unites political foes in India, Pakistan
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Croatia hotel toasts dizzying century of stars, sovereigns and champagne
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Kenya's desperate need for more snake antivenom
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Les Kiss in frame with Wallabies set to name new coach
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Cavaliers scorch Heat, Warriors down Rockets in thriller
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Opposition wins Trinidad and Tobago election, returning Persad-Bissessar as PM
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Study sheds light on origin of Australia's odd echidna
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France tries Syrian Islamist rebel ex-spokesman on war crime charges
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Trump boasts of 'fun' 100 days, but Americans disenchanted
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Elitist no more, caviar is turning casual
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Amnesty accuses Israel of 'live-streamed genocide' against Gaza Palestinians
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Inter slump puts season at risk ahead of daunting Barca trip
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Power returns to most of Spain, Portugal after massive blackout
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'I have hope': Vietnam Babylift survivor's search for birth mother
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US climate assessment thrown into doubt as Trump dismisses authors
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Venezuelan president slams US over little girl's 'abduction'
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Hard-right upstarts eye big gains in local UK polls
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Skulls, smoke and spirits: Thai ceremony for the unclaimed dead
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Canada's Carney: political newcomer who says he's best in a crisis
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Cavaliers scorch Heat to seal series sweep
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Dead salmon create election stink on Australian island
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Mic check: Singapore's podcast boom amplifies opposition voices
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Markets rise as traders gear up for earnings, key jobs data
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Congress passes 'revenge porn' ban, sending it to Trump
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Spain and Portugal work to restore power after massive blackout
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Less-thirsty rice offers hope in drought-stricken Chile
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Yamal stardust could give Barca edge on Inter Milan
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Coca-Cola Europacific Partners plc Announces Q1 Trading Update & Interim Dividend Declaration
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Trump targets US 'sanctuary cities' in migrant crackdown
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Mexico agrees to send water to US after Trump threatens tariffs
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Amazon launches first Starlink-rival internet satellites
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US lost seven multi-million-dollar drones in Yemen area since March
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Bucks blow as Lillard suffers torn Achilles: team
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Putin orders three-day truce amid new US warnings
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Real Madrid's Ancelotti agrees Brazil deal - reports
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ChatGPT adds shopping help, intensifying Google rivalry
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Global stocks mixed amid trade hopes as markets await tech earnings
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Commanders heading back to D.C. after inking $3.7 bln stadium deal
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US warplane falls off aircraft carrier into Red Sea
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Feisty Arteta urges Arsenal fans to 'bring boots' to PSG Champions League clash
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Bucks blow as Lillard suffers ruptured Achilles: reports
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No power, no phone, no transport -- Spain in a panic
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US warplane went overboard into Red Sea: Navy
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'Like a dream' as IPL's 14-year-old Suryavanshi becomes youngest to hit T20 ton
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Luis Enrique says PSG have improved since October Arsenal loss
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UN food, refugee agencies warn of huge cuts after funding losses
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Trump trade war dominates BRICS meeting in Brazil

Brazil's Lula, man on a mission at COP28: take rich world to task
A year ago, then president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva got a hero's welcome at the UN climate talks, telling the world "Brazil is back" in the fight against global warming.
Having largely delivered on his promise to curb the destruction of the crucial Amazon rainforest, now-President Lula heads to this year's edition of the talks on a mission: sell ambitious new plans to protect the world's forests, and get rich countries to do more in the climate fight.
Since Lula, 78, took office for a third time in January, Brazil has halved deforestation in its giant share of the Amazon versus last year -- a sea change from the surge in clear-cutting that happened under Lula's far-right predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022).
Brazil believes that progress, plus its use of 89-percent clean electricity, gives it leverage heading into the COP28 talks in Dubai, which open Thursday.
The Latin American giant is going to the talks "with our heads held high," planning to "make more demands than we face," said respected Environment Minister Marina Silva.
She said Brazil would push for rich nations to finally make good on their unfulfilled promises to provide climate funding for the most vulnerable countries, and to "take the foot off the accelerator of fossil fuels."
Silva said Lula, who has vowed to eliminate illegal deforestation by 2030, would also propose the creation of a fund where wealthy nations pay tropical forest countries for every hectare of preserved forest land, whose carbon-absorbing capacity is a key resource against global warming.
- Not without concerns -
But there are also blemishes on Brazil's recent environmental record.
In the Cerrado, a key tropical savanna below the Amazon, deforestation under Lula has leapt by 34 percent from the same period last year, according to satellite monitoring.
Meanwhile, the Talanoa Institute, a climate policy group, said in a recent report that Brazil is unlikely to achieve its target under the Paris climate accord to cut its CO2 emissions by 480 million tonnes by 2025.
Incidentally, that is the same year Brazil is due to host the UN climate talks.
Lula has also faced criticism over plans by state-run oil company Petrobras to drill for oil at the mouth of the Amazon river.
Still, the veteran leftist heads to Dubai with a slate of climate initiatives.
In addition to the 80-country tropical forest plan, he is set to announce a massive program to recover degraded farmland in Brazil, enabling the agricultural powerhouse to expand its total farmland from 65 million to 105 million hectares without razing any more forest.
The government plans to invest around $120 billion over a decade in the plan.
- G20 presidency -
Lula's arrival at COP28 Friday will coincide with Brazil taking over the rotating presidency of the G20 -- where his government said it also planned to make climate change a central issue.
Global warming is driving "severe economic and social problems," said Mauricio Lyrio, Brazil's chief negotiator at the club of the world's 20 biggest economies.
Brazil, which has been hit by extreme weather ranging from torrential rains to drought this year, plans to pressure wealthy nations to invest more in combating climate change and reducing emissions, said Lyrio.
"Financing is fundamental. Countries need to be spending more," he said.
Brazil also plans to use its year-long G20 presidency to focus on fighting poverty and launch a "global alliance against hunger."
It would be modeled on a Lula trademark -- the ambitious programs that helped lift 30 million Brazilians from poverty during his first two presidential terms (2003-2010).
P.Mathewson--AMWN