30 November 2015

Timeline of key events in UN effort against climate change

The flags of the U.N. and France fly as world leaders arrive for the COP21, United Nations Climate Change Conference, in Le Bourget, outside Paris, Monday, Nov. 30, 2015.
After decades of warnings from scientists that greenhouse gas emissions were warming the planet, governments started coming together in the 1980s to combat the problem. Here's a timeline of key moments in the diplomatic effort to stop global warming, leading up to the U.N. climate conference in Paris:
1987: MONTREAL — Governments adopt a treaty pledging to restrict emissions of chemicals damaging the ozone layer. While it doesn't deal with climate change specifically, the Montreal Protocol becomes a model for how to rein in man-made emissions through international agreements.

29 November 2015

Commonwealth seeks legally binding climate deal in Paris

From left, Prime Minister of Barbados Freundel Stuart, President of Ghana John Dramani Mahama, Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma, Malta's Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, President of Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta and President of Nauru Baron Divavesi Waqa attend a press conference at conclusion of the Commonwealth Heads of Governments meeting in Ghajn Tuffieha, Malta, Saturday, 29 Nov. 2015.
The 53-nation Commonwealth has said climate change poses an "existential threat" to some of its member states, and urged participants at the Paris climate talks to produce a legally binding agreement on cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
The Commonwealth — a grouping of Britain and many of its former colonies that is home to more than 2 billion people — includes industrialized economies such as Canada and Australia, resource-hungry India and small island states vulnerable to rising sea levels.

Energy-rich Russia pays little attention to climate change

Trees are cut along a construction site of a new highway in Moscow region in this Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2015 photo. As the climate warms, moisture levels are changing with wet areas becoming wetter and dry areas drier. Russia is the fastest warming part of the world, according to a report from the country’s weather monitoring agency. The steady rise in temperatures puts Siberia- known for its long winters and lush forests- at risk to natural disasters, such forest fires.
When forest fires roared through Siberia this summer, so vast that the smoke blocked vast Lake Baikal from satellite view, Russian officials blamed the blazes on arsonists and disorganized fire crews. Environmentalists say there was another culprit: global warming.
As temperatures rise worldwide, areas such as Siberia are suffering increasingly long dry spells. Russia's national weather agency says the country is the fastest-warming part of the world.

28 November 2015

Burkina Faso to hold elections to replace transitional gov't

Burkina Faso presidential candidate Roch Marc Christian Kabore from the MPP party waves during a rally in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, Friday, Nov. 27, 2015. Last year, longtime strongman Blaise Compaore resigned amid protests that brought hundreds of thousands of Burkinabe into the streets, furious over the president’s attempt to circumvent constitutional term limits and stay in office. The October 2014 uprising ushered in a transition that ends with presidential and legislative elections on Sunday, Nov. 29, 2015, the most hotly contested in the history of this West African nation.
Burkina Faso is holding presidential and legislative elections on Sunday, the first since a popular uprising last year toppled the West African nation's longtime leader and started a turbulent transition.
With no incumbent on the ballot and the presidential guard now dissolved, candidates and analysts say the vote will be the most open and democratic in Burkina Faso's history.

26 November 2015

Ashwin, Jadeja among wickets as India pushes for victory

Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin, center, celebrates with teammates after the fall of a South African wicket, on the second day of the third cricket test match between the two countries in Nagpur, India, Thursday, Nov. 26, 2015.
Spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were among the wickets on Thursday as India pressed for victory in the third test after dismissing South Africa for a meagre 79.
South Africa was 32-2 in its second innings chasing 310 for victory after India's second innings folded in the interim for 173 in under two sessions.

25 November 2015

UN weather agency: It's record hot out there this year

In this May 31, 2015 file photo, an Indian man rests in front of an air cooler to cool himself on a hot summer day in Hyderabad, in the southern Indian state of Telangana. Because of man-made global warming and a strong El Nino, Earth’s wild weather this year is bursting the annual heat record, the World Meteorological Organization announced Wednesday.
Because of man-made global warming and a strong El Nino, Earth's wild weather this year is bursting the annual heat record, the World Meteorological Organization announced on Wednesday.
The United Nations weather agency's early bird report on 2015 says it is the hottest year on record, surpassing last year's record heat. It made the proclamation without waiting for the end of the year because it has been so extraordinarily hot, forecast to stay that way and unlikely to cool down enough to not set a record.

AP PHOTOS: Ancient Jewish community endures on Tunisian isle

In this Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2015 photo, a Jewish man rests in La Ghriba, the oldest synagogue in Africa, on the Island of Djerba, southern Tunisia. The Jewish community in the resort island of Djerba traces its roots all the way back to Babylonian exile of 586 B.C., and is one of the few communities of its kind to have survived the turmoil around the creation of Israel, when more than 800,000 Jews across the Arab world either emigrated or were driven from their homes.
When school lets out, the streets around the ancient synagogue on this Tunisian island fill with rambunctious boys wearing Jewish kippahs and girls in long skirts, shouting to each other in Hebrew, Arabic and French.
The Jewish community in the resort island of Djerba traces its roots all the way back to Babylonian exile of 586 B.C., and is one of the few communities of its kind to have survived the turmoil around the creation of Israel, when more than 800,000 Jews across the Arab world either emigrated or were driven from their homes.

Turkey shoots down Russian jet it says violated its airspace

In this Oct. 22, 2015 file photo, a Russian Su-24 takes off on a combat mission at Hemeimeem airbase in Syria. Turkey shot down a Russian warplane Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2015, claiming it had violated Turkish airspace and ignored repeated warnings. Russia denied that the plane crossed the Syrian border into Turkish skies.
Turkey shot down a Russian warplane on Tuesday that it said ignored repeated warnings and crossed into its airspace from Syria, killing at least one of the two pilots in a long-feared escalation in tensions between Russia and NATO. Russian President Vladimir Putin denounced what he called a "stab in the back" and warned of "significant consequences."

Oxford Dictionaries 2015 Word of the Year is not even a word

Oxford Dictionaries announced its 2015 Word of the Year this week, and the choice is a reflection of computer-aided communication.  

It’s actually not even a word; it’s a pictograph — the “face with tears of joy” emoji.  

22 November 2015

The Latest: Malaysian leader hosts East Asia Summit

President Barack Obama speaks at a Civil Society roundtable discussion in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Saturday, Nov. 21, 2015. Obama is in Malaysia where he joins leaders from Southeast Asia to discuss trade and economic issues, and terrorism and disputes over the South China Sea.
Ten Southeast Asian heads of state and nine world leaders, including President Barack Obama, are meeting in Malaysia to discuss trade and economic issues. Terrorism and disputes over the South China Sea are also on the agenda. (All times local.)

21 November 2015

Gunmen attack hotel in Mali's capital, killing at least 20

Map locates Bamako, Mali
Heavily armed Islamic extremists seized dozens of hostages Friday at a Radisson hotel, but Malian troops, backed by U.S. and French special forces, swarmed in to retake the building and free many of the terrified captives. At least 20 people, including one American, were killed along with two gunmen during the more than seven-hour siege, a Malian military commander said.
An extremist group led by former al-Qaida commander Moktar Belmoktar claimed responsibility for the attack in the former French colony, and many in France saw it as a new assault on their country's interests a week after the Paris attacks.

19 November 2015

Film censors to Mr. Bond: No kissing please. We're Indian

A woman buys tickets as security guards stand at the entrance to a movie hall displaying a poster of the latest James Bond movie "Spectre," in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015. India's film censor authorities have ordered that kissing scenes in the film be shortened before it is released in the country.
India's film censor authorities have ordered that kissing scenes in the latest James Bond movie, "Spectre," be shortened before it is released in the country.
The Central Board of Film Certification has ordered that four scenes in the new James Bond film be trimmed, including at least two kisses between the lead actors, Daniel Craig and Monica Belluci.

16 November 2015

Belgian jihadi ID'd as mastermind of Paris attacks

This undated image taken from a Militant Website on Monday Nov. 16, 2015 showing Belgian Abdelhamid Abaaoud. A French official says Abdelhamid Abaaoud is the suspected mastermind of the Paris attacks was also linked to thwarted train and church attacks.
Once a happy-go-lucky student at one of Brussels' most prestigious high schools, Saint-Pierre d'Uccle, Abdelhamid Abaaoud morphed into Belgium's most notorious jihadi, a zealot so devoted to the cause of holy war that he recruited his 13-year-old brother to join him in Syria.
The child of Moroccan immigrants who grew up in the Belgian capital's scruffy and multiethnic Molenbeek-Saint-Jean neighborhood, the fugitive, in his late 20s, was identified by French authorities on Monday as the presumed mastermind of the attacks last Friday in Paris that killed 129 people and injured hundreds.

Real challenge for Myanmar opposition head comes after polls

In this Sunday, Nov. 8, 2015, file photo, leader of Myanmar's National League for Democracy party, Aung San Suu Kyi visits a polling station on the outskirts Yangon, Myanmar. Winning Myanmar's election turned out to be easier than expected for Aung San Suu Kyi and her opposition party, but steering the country will be a test of how the Nobel Peace laureate balances her moral vision with political realities.
Winning Myanmar's election turned out to be easier than expected for Aung San Suu Kyi and her opposition party, but steering the country will be a test of how the Nobel Peace laureate balances her moral vision with political realities.
Almost complete returns released by the Election Commission by Sunday showed Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy with a whopping majority that gives it control of the lower and upper houses of Parliament, along with enough votes to dictate who will be president when the new lawmakers convene their first session next year.

14 November 2015

120 dead in Paris attacks, worst since WWII

Medical staff stand by victims in a Paris restaurant, Friday, Nov. 13, 2015. Two police officials say at least 11 people have been killed in shootouts and other violence around Paris. Police have reported shootouts in at least two restaurants in Paris. At least two explosions have been heard near the Stade de France stadium, and French media is reporting of a hostage-taking in the capital.
A series of attacks targeting young concert-goers, soccer fans and Parisians enjoying a Friday night out at popular nightspots killed at least 120 people in the deadliest violence to strike France since World War II. President Francois Hollande condemned it as terrorism and pledged that France would stand firm against its foes.

13 November 2015

India's Modi meets queen, rallies fans on 2nd day of UK trip

British Prime Minister David Cameron, right, walks in the garden at his official country residence Chequers in Wendover, England, with his Indian counter-part Narendra Modi on the second day of his official visit to the UK, Friday Nov. 13, 2015. Modi and Cameron both vowed Thursday to use U.K. knowhow and investment to help modernize the world's largest democracy, India.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi lunched with Queen Elizabeth II and rallied thousands of cheering supporters on the second day of his high-profile official visit to Britain, as royal officials announced Prince William and his wife Kate will visit India next year.
Modi arrived at Buckingham Palace for lunch Friday in a Jaguar, the iconic British car brand owned by India's Tata Motors — a symbol of the close relationship between India and its former colonial ruler.

12 November 2015

Pomp, protests greet India's premier Modi on lavish UK visit

In this April 6, 2015 file photo, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi rubs his eye as he attends a conference by the environment ministry in New Delhi, India. Modi is facing a revolt within his Hindu nationalist party by senior leaders questioning his leadership style after the recent debacle in state elections.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and British counterpart David Cameron vowed Thursday to use U.K. knowhow and investment to help modernize the world's largest democracy, as Modi was greeted with official honors and noisy protests in London.
Hailing billions in new business deals between the two countries, Cameron promised to "set this relationship free" from its colonial past. Modi said the visit marked "a huge moment for our two great nations."

Alarm over Delhi pollution doesn't stop Diwali fireworks

Indians release a lantern to celebrate Diwali in Mumbai, India, Wednesday , Nov. 11, 2015. Diwali, the festival of lights, is one of Hinduism's most important festivals dedicated to the worship of Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth.
The fireworks have fizzled. The festival lights are coming down. What's left of the Hindu holiday of Diwali in the Indian capital — already considered the world's most polluted — is a toxic haze that has residents gagging for oxygen and hiding indoors.
Air pollution levels across New Delhi on Thursday, a day after the ancient festival of lights, were described as severe-to-critical, up to eight times higher than what India deems acceptable and 20 times what's recommended by the World Health Organization.

9 November 2015

World Bank: Climate change could result in 100 million poor

In this file photo dated Thursday, April 23, 2015, an Indian worker dismantles an old car amid heaps of scrap in Bangalore, India. Climate change could push more than 100 million people into extreme poverty by 2030 by disrupting agriculture and fueling the spread of malaria and other diseases, the World Bank said in a report Sunday Nov. 8, 2015. Carbon emissions are expected to rise for many years as China, India and other developing countries expand the use of fossil fuels to power their economies.
Climate change could push more than 100 million people into extreme poverty by 2030 by disrupting agriculture and fueling the spread of malaria and other diseases, the World Bank said in a report Sunday.
Released just weeks ahead of a U.N. climate summit in Paris, the report highlighted how the impact of global warming is borne unevenly, with the world's poor woefully unprepared to deal with climate shocks such as rising seas or severe droughts.

8 November 2015

5 things to know about Myanmar

A man carries a child as a flower vendor watches in Yangon, Myanmar, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2015. On Sunday Myanmar will hold what is being viewed as the country's best chance for a free and credible election in a quarter of a century.
Myanmar is holding a general election on Sunday, its second since polls in 2010 ended almost a half-century of military rule. Five things to know about the Southeast Asian country:
REFORMS
President Thein Sein's government makes the case that it is prudently managing a successful transition to democracy. Shortly after coming to power in 2011, Thein Sein — a former general and prime minister in the previous military government — instituted economic and political reforms that resulted in Western nations largely lifting trade and investment embargoes they had maintained against the previous military government. This spurred foreign investment and much-needed economic growth.

5 November 2015

Bollywood figures, writer Roy join protest over intolerance

In this July 7, 2010 file photo, Booker Prize-winning novelist Arundhati Roy speaks during a meeting protesting the killing of freelance journalist Hem Chand Pandey in a police encounter, in New Delhi, India. Roy has joined the growing number of writers, filmmakers, scientists and historians voicing alarm over what they describe as a climate of religious intolerance and violence in India. Roy, most famous for her 1997 novel "The God of Small Things," said in a sharply worded editorial Thursday, Nov. 5, 2015, in The Indian Express that millions of minorities "are being forced to live in terror, unsure of when and from where the assault will come."
Booker Prize-winning novelist Arundhati Roy and two dozen Bollywood award winners added their voices to the artists, scientists and historians who say they are alarmed by a climate of religious intolerance and violence in India.

Filmmaker Sanjay Kak, who was among Indian film industry figures returning National Film Awards in Mumbai on Thursday, said that those protesting "have deployed their visibility - and credibility - to articulate the growing anxiety of a vast number of Indians, those who may remain less visible but are no less perturbed at what is going on around them."

3 November 2015

Rights group: Release Indian folk singer accused of sedition

Members of Communist Party of India and Liberation Panthers participate in a protest in Chennai, India, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015. An international rights group on Tuesday demanded the release of an Indian folk singer arrested S. Kovan on charges including sedition for writing songs criticizing a state official for not banning liquor sales.
An international rights group on Tuesday demanded the release of an Indian folk singer arrested on charges including sedition for writing songs criticizing a state official for not banning liquor sales.
Police arrested S. Kovan on Friday for accusing J. Jayalalitha, the chief minister of southern Tamil Nadu state, and her government of profiting from state-run liquor shops at the expense of the poor. A large number of poor people die in India every year from drinking cheap tainted liquor.