live U.S. confirms troop deaths: All the latest news on Middle East conflict
The widening war between Iran, U.S. and Israel is leaving civilians and soldiers caught in its wake. Thousands are stranded across the Gulf, flight...
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on world leaders to urgently step up climate efforts ahead of COP30, stressing that the planet faces deepening threats from worsening environmental disasters.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres demanded accelerated global climate action Wednesday and urged world leaders to deliver ambitious commitments ahead of the COP30 climate summit in Brazil later this year.
"We don’t have a moment to lose," Guterres said at a news conference at UN headquarters in New York after a high-level climate meeting, adding the world must act swiftly to avert climate disaster.
Guterres and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva convened 17 heads of state, including leaders from China, the European Union and climate-vulnerable nations.
The meeting included representatives from key regional blocs such as the African Union, ASEAN and the Alliance of Small Island States.
"It was among the most diverse meetings of heads of state focused exclusively on climate in some time," said Guterres. Despite the crises, he noted a shared commitment by leaders to accelerate climate action.
"No region is being spared from the ravages of accelerating climate catastrophes," he said. "The crisis is deepening poverty, displacing communities, and fueling conflict and instability."
Guterres emphasized that renewable energy is "the pathway out of climate hell."
He urged countries to enhance their national climate plans before COP30 in November and called for increased support for developing nations.
"At COP30, leaders must deliver a credible roadmap to mobilize $1.3 trillion a year for developing countries by 2035," he said.
"We cannot, must not, and will not let up on climate action," Guterres added.
The Kremlin is utilising the recent United States and Israeli military strikes on Iran to validate its ongoing war in Ukraine. Russian officials are pointing to the escalation in the Middle East as evidence that Western nations do not adhere to international rules.
Saudi Arabia’s state oil giant Saudi Aramco closed its Ras Tanura refinery on Monday following an Iranian drone strike, an industry source told Reuters as Tehran retaliated across the Gulf after a U.S.-Israeli attack on Iranian targets over the weekend.
U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. military has enough stockpiled weapons to fight wars "forever"; in a social media post late on Monday. The remarks came hours before conflict in Iran and the Middle East entered its fourth day.
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has held talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov following recent military strikes carried out by the United States and Israel on targets in Iran, as tensions in the Middle East continue to rise.
China expressed serious concern over the escalating conflict in Iran, confirming that one Chinese national was killed in Tehran. Beijing called for an immediate halt to military operations and a return to diplomatic talks, while other Asian countries have also voiced their positions on the crisis.
The death toll from heavy rains and flooding in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state has risen to 46, authorities said, with 21 people still reported missing. The storms triggered landslides and widespread flooding, displacing thousands across Juiz de Fora and Uba.
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday (12 February) announced the repeal of a scientific finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger human health, and eliminated federal tailpipe emissions standards for cars and trucks.
Tropical Cyclone Gezani has killed at least 31 people and left four others missing after tearing through eastern Madagascar, the government said on Wednesday, with the island nation’s second-largest city bearing the brunt of the destruction.
Rivers and reservoirs across Spain and Portugal were on the verge of overflowing on Wednesday as a new weather front pounded the Iberian peninsula, compounding damage from last week's Storm Kristin.
Morocco has evacuated more than 100,000 people from four provinces after heavy rainfall triggered flash floods across several northern regions, the Interior Ministry said on Wednesday.
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