- Sweeping Vietnam internet law comes into force
- Pope kicks off Christmas under shadow of war
- Catholics hold muted Christmas mass in Indonesia's Sharia stronghold
- Japan's top diplomat in China to address 'challenges'
- Thousands attend Christmas charity dinner in Buenos Aires
- Demand for Japanese content booms post 'Shogun'
- As India's Bollywood shifts, stars and snappers click
- Mystery drones won't interfere with Santa's work: US tracker
- Djokovic eyes more Slam glory as Swiatek returns under doping cloud
- Australia's in-form Head confirmed fit for Boxing Day Test
- Brazilian midfielder Oscar returns to Sao Paulo
- 'Wemby' and 'Ant-Man' to make NBA Christmas debuts
- US agency focused on foreign disinformation shuts down
- On Christmas Eve, Pope Francis launches holy Jubilee year
- 'Like a dream': AFP photographer's return to Syria
- Chiefs seek top seed in holiday test for playoff-bound NFL teams
- Panamanians protest 'public enemy' Trump's canal threat
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- Syria authorities say armed groups have agreed to disband
- Maresca expects Man City to be in title hunt as he downplays Chelsea's chancs
- Man Utd boss Amorim vows to stay on course despite Rashford row
- South Africa opt for all-pace attack against Pakistan
- Guardiola adamant Man City slump not all about Haaland
- Global stocks mostly higher in thin pre-Christmas trade
- Bethlehem marks sombre Christmas under shadow of war
- NASA probe makes closest ever pass by the Sun
- 11 killed in blast at Turkey explosives plant
- Indonesia considers parole for ex-terror chiefs: official
- Global stocks mostly rise in thin pre-Christmas trade
- Postecoglou says Spurs 'need to reinforce' in transfer window
- Le Pen says days of new French govt numbered
- Global stocks mostly rise after US tech rally
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- How Finnish youth learn to spot disinformation
- South Korean opposition postpones decision to impeach acting president
- 12 killed in blast at Turkey explosives plant
- Panama leaders past and present reject Trump's threat of Canal takeover
- Hong Kong police issue fresh bounties for activists overseas
- Saving the mysterious African manatee at Cameroon hotspot
- India consider second spinner for Boxing Day Test
- London wall illuminates Covid's enduring pain at Christmas
- Poyet appointed manager at South Korea's Jeonbuk
- South Korea's opposition vows to impeach acting president
- The tsunami detection buoys safeguarding lives in Thailand
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Kerry urges rich-poor unity on climate effort ahead of UN talks
US climate envoy John Kerry on Thursday urged African countries to help overcome divisions between rich and poor nations at the upcoming UN COP27 talks.
Meeting African environment ministers, Kerry acknowledged the historic role of wealthy countries in stoking climate change but said tackling today's emissions was a global problem.
"There are some folks unfortunately who are willing to sort of allocate responsibility in a sort of historical... way," he said at talks in the Senegalese capital Dakar.
"(They are) pointing a finger at us -- 'what you guys created, you guys need to clear'," Kerry said.
"Well, guess what: Mother Nature does not measure where the emissions come from -- they don't have a label of one country or another."
The United States is the world's richest country and its second biggest emitter of heat-trapping carbon dioxide.
But the first place goes to China, which joins developing economies in a negotiating bloc at the UN climate talks.
Kerry pointed to the worsening impact from climate change on Africa.
"(The) climate crisis here in Africa is more acute than it is in some other parts of the world," Kerry said.
"This year has seen devastating floods in South Africa, Mozambique and Uganda that just killed hundreds and displaced tens of thousands.
"Meanwhile, the Horn of Africa is in its fourth year of drought, with more than 18 million suffering from food insecurity as a consequence."
- Money and emissions -
COP27 -- the 27th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) -- will take place at the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh from November 6-18.
The annual climate parlays are dominated by often fierce debate on national pledges on emissions curbs and on funding.
Wealthy countries have previously promised billions of dollars to help poorer nations avert carbon emissions and build resilience against climate change.
On Wednesday, a bloc of the world's poorest countries said they would urge COP27 to push ahead with another envisioned area of climate finance -- a fund to compensate vulnerable nations for damage such as floods and rising seas.
Ministers and experts from the 46-nation Least Developed Countries (LDC) bloc, also meeting in Dakar, said setting up a funding mechanism for the proposed fund was of "crucial importance."
Kerry took a swing at former president Donald Trump, who ditched the UN's landmark 2015 agreement on climate change.
"President (Joe) Biden has brought unprecedented resources to the table, joining the Paris Agreement again on Day One after the miserable decision of a president who didn't know the science," he said.
Kerry, a former secretary of state, also pointed to the United States' help for Africa, which last year amounted to $8.2 billion in humanitarian and climate adaptation aid.
"I will say to you bluntly: the developed world needs to do more... but we need you to also be at the table to do the things that make the difference to be able to deploy the funding and make it work," he said.
P.Mathewson--AMWN