
-
Search for long-missing flight MH370 suspended: Malaysia minister
-
Europe hits out at Trump tariffs, keeps door open for talks
-
Myanmar's junta chief to head to Bangkok summit as quake toll surpasses 3,000
-
Lawson vows to prove he belongs in F1 after shock of Red Bull axing
-
Australia sweats through hottest 12 months on record: official data
-
Livestock theft is central to jihadist economy in west Africa
-
South African artist champions hyenas in 'eco-queer' quest
-
Danish PM in 'unity' Greenland visit amid US takeover threats
-
Taiwan says US tariffs 'highly unreasonable'
-
Lawson says ruthless Red Bull axing was 'tough to hear'
-
Heat humble Celtics for sixth straight win, Thunder roll on
-
Trump escalates trade war with sweeping global tariffs
-
Japan says US tariffs 'extremely regrettable', may break WTO rules
-
South Koreans anxious, angry as court to rule on impeached president
-
Juve at in-form Roma with Champions League in the balance
-
Injuries put undermanned Bayern's title bid to the test
-
Ovechkin scores 892nd goal -- three away from Gretzky's NHL record
-
Australian former rugby star Petaia signs for NFL's Chargers
-
China says opposes new US tariffs, vows 'countermeasures'
-
Athletics world watching as 'Grand Slam Track' prepares for launch
-
Heat humble Celtics for sixth straight win, Cavs top Knicks
-
Quake-hit Myanmar's junta chief to head to Bangkok summit
-
New Spielberg, Nolan films teased at CinemaCon
-
Shaken NATO allies to meet Trump's top diplomat
-
Israel's Netanyahu arrives in Hungary, defying ICC warrant
-
Shiny and deadly, unexploded munitions a threat to Gaza children
-
Stocks tank, havens rally as Trump tariffs fan trade war
-
Altomare hangs on to tie defending champ Korda at LPGA Match Play
-
Paraguay gold rush leaves tea producers bitter
-
Health concerns swirl as Bolivian city drowns in rubbish
-
Syria says deadly Israeli strikes a 'blatant violation'
-
Financial markets tumble after Trump tariff announcement
-
Starbucks faces new hot spill lawsuits weeks after $50mn ruling
-
Europe riled, but plans cool-headed response to Trump's tariffs
-
'Shenmue' voted most influential video game ever in UK poll
-
New coal capacity hit 20-year low in 2024: report
-
Revealed: Why monkeys are better at yodelling than humans
-
Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals PLC Announces FDA Annual Report
-
Pantheon Resources PLC Announces Participation in Upcoming Investor Conferences
-
Key details on Trump's market-shaking tariffs
-
'A little tough love': Top quotes from Trump tariff talk
-
US business groups voice dismay at Trump's new tariffs
-
Grealish dedicates Man City goal to late brother
-
US tariffs take aim everywhere, including uninhabited islands
-
Trump sparks trade war with sweeping global tariffs
-
Israeli strikes hit Damascus, central Syria; monitor says 4 dead
-
Slot 'hates' offside rule that gave Liverpool win over Everton
-
US stocks end up, but volatility ahead after latest Trump tariffs
-
Barca oust Atletico to set up Clasico Copa del Rey final
-
Mourinho grabs Galatasaray coach's face after losing Istanbul derby

Talks on global plastic treaty begin in Canada
Negotiators from 175 nations began talks Tuesday to agree a global treaty to reduce plastic pollution, which is found everywhere from mountain tops to ocean depths, and within human blood and breast milk.
"The world is counting on us to deliver a new treaty that will catalyze and guide the actions and international cooperation needed to deliver a future free of plastic pollution," said Luis Valdivieso, chair of the negotiations at the UN-led talks in Ottawa, Canada.
"Let's not fail," Valdivieso added as he opened the session that will run to April 29.
Nations agreed in 2022 to finalize a world-first treaty by the end of 2024, with concrete measures to battle plastic pollution around the world.
The meeting in Ottawa is considered crucial as it is the penultimate session before a final round of negotiations in South Korea later this year.
Plastics have created a reliance on "disposable consumer culture," Canadian environment minister Steven Guilbeault said, adding: "We're here today because we recognize that we must throw away this throwaway generation."
In an interview with AFP ahead of the talks, Guilbeault said the goal was to achieve "60 to 70 percent of the elements endorsed" by delegates.
- 'Time is against us' -
Although there is a broad consensus on the need for a treaty, environmental activists pleading for a 75 percent cut in plastic production by 2040 are at odds with oil-producing nations and the plastics industry.
The stakes are high, with widespread plastic pollution having potentially grave impacts on oceans and climate.
Annual plastics production has more than doubled in 20 years to 460 million tonnes, and is on track to triple within four decades.
Only nine percent is recycled, and according to the OECD, its contribution to global warming could more than double by 2060 -- having accounted for 3.4 percent of global emissions in 2019.
"Time is against us both in terms of finalizing the instrument, but also how much more the planet can take as we deliberate," said Inger Andersen, executive director of the UN Environment Program.
During talks in Kenya in November, a draft agreement leapt from 30 to 70 pages, with oil-producing nations such as Saudi Arabia recording their objections to limiting plastic production, instead emphasizing recycling.
For the plastic and chemical industries, recycling is the "most effective way" to end plastic pollution with the "least environmental and economic costs," said Chris Jahn, of the International Council of Chemical Associations, a global trade association.
Meanwhile, 65 members of the so-called "high ambition" coalition, chaired by Rwanda and Norway and including the majority of European Union countries, are calling for more ambitious measures.
"We are at a crossroads," Eirik Lindebjerg, of World Wildlife Fund International, said ahead of the negotiations starting.
He noted that "an overwhelming majority of countries have already called for the adoption of the necessary binding global rules -- our leaders must now transform these calls into action."
A.Malone--AMWN