- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says 'very violent' Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Guardians maul Tigers, miracle Mets rally in MLB series openers
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Madrid beat Villarreal but Carvajal suffers knee injury
- Madrid beat Villarreal to move level with Liga leaders Barcelona
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- French rugby player on rape charge whistled but 'serene' on return
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Toddler among 3 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Kovacic stars as Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Thousands march for Palestinians ahead of Oct 7 anniversary
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Toddler crushed to death in migrant Channel crossing
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
- Habosi helps Racing beat Vannes before Auradou's playing return
- Thousands march in London in support of Palestinians, 1 year after Oct 7
- Israel readying response to Iran missile attack
- Schutt, Mooney help Australia beat Sri Lanka in Women's T20 World Cup
- Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace
- Djokovic 'shakes rust off' to make third round of Shanghai Masters
- 'Imperfect' PSG fighting on all fronts - Luis Enrique
- Struggling Pakistan look to thwart adaptable England
- Child 'trampled to death' in asylum seekers' Channel crossing: minister
Climate talks host urges rich nations to break stalemate
The host of this year's UN climate summit on Wednesday urged governments to start compromising to break a deadlock over how to help poorer countries tackle global warming.
This November's COP29 summit in gas-rich Azerbaijan is meant to produce a global agreement on how much rich nations should pay developing countries for climate assistance, but talks have stalled.
While poorer nations are the least responsible for carbon emissions, they suffer the most from a warming planet.
Developing countries need massive investments in energy systems to cut their own carbon footprints and money to strengthen defences against the effects of global warming.
But a diplomatic meeting in Bonn last month ended in stalemate. Countries were unable to advance on an issue that has eroded trust at climate talks for years.
In a letter to the roughly 200 nations that have signed up to UN climate accords, COP29 president Mukhtar Babayev lamented the absence of "necessary progress".
Time was running out, he warned.
"We clearly need a rapid increase in the pace of our work," wrote Babayev, a government minister and former executive at Azerbaijan's national oil company.
"Time lost is lives, livelihoods and the planet lost," he added.
"We call on all parties to increase the pace of their work and move on from their early negotiating positions."
- 'Supercharge' efforts -
Babayev's appeal comes in the hottest year on record and as extreme heatwaves, floods and wildfires batter communities around the globe.
UN climate chief Simon Stiell, whose own homeland of Grenada was devastated by hurricane Beryl earlier this month, urged countries to put the fight against global warming back on the political agenda.
"Rather than just counting the costs of climate carnage, all governments must supercharge efforts to prevent them," said Stiell.
He was speaking during a visit to the island of Carriacou, where his grandmother's house was among many destroyed.
"Standing here, it's impossible not to recognise the vital importance of delivering climate finance," he added.
Wealthy nations have been under pressure to commit to new financing targets that go well beyond the $100 billion a year they promised in 2009.
Developing nations excluding China will need about $2.4 trillion a year in climate investment by 2030, according to an expert assessment commissioned by the UN.
That is nearly 25 times more than the present levels.
But nations are nowhere near agreeing on a dollar aid figure, with talks bogged down over who should pay, what form the money should take, and who should receive it.
- Informal talks -
Under a 1992 climate accord, only a small handful of the wealthiest industrialised nations at the time were obligated to pay climate finance.
Some want the pool of contributors widened, most notably to include China, which is today vastly wealthier than 30 years ago, and the largest emitter of greenhouse gases.
But this has been a non-starter for developing nations, who have accused wealthy countries of trying to shirk their responsibility.
To break the ice, Azerbaijan will host the negotiating teams for an informal two-day retreat starting July 26.
They have named two experienced diplomats -- Dan Jorgensen of Denmark and Yasmine Fouad of Egypt -- to help the parties make headway.
Babayev said the impasse would "not be solved by negotiators alone", calling for political leadership on the sidelines to help move discussions toward consensus.
J.Williams--AMWN