live UN General Assembly enters day 3 of high-level debate in New York
The 81st UN General Assembly returns for its third day in New York on Thursday, with world leaders delivering high-level speeches and holding diplo...
China has pledged stronger support to Pacific Island nations in combating climate change, offering new investments and infrastructure projects, as it looks to expand its regional influence while U.S. aid remains stalled.
China will step up its support to Pacific Island nations in addressing climate change, Foreign Minister Wang Yi announced during a summit held in Xiamen on Wednesday, according to a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Wang pledged that China—the world’s second-largest economy and largest bilateral lender—will launch 100 "small but beautiful" projects in countries with diplomatic ties to Beijing over the next three years. The projects are part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a global infrastructure strategy championed by President Xi Jinping.
In addition, China will invest $2 million in Pacific nations to develop clean energy, enhance fisheries and ocean sustainability, build low-carbon infrastructure, and promote eco-friendly tourism. While the amount is modest, it reflects a broader reduction in Chinese overseas lending amid the country’s slowing $19 trillion economy.
"China fully recognises the vulnerability of the economic and social development of the Pacific Island countries in the face of the climate change crisis," the foreign ministry’s statement said.
The announcement comes as U.S. aid programs in the region remain frozen and several Pacific nations contend with steep U.S. tariffs. China’s move is seen as part of a renewed effort to bolster its strategic and diplomatic presence in the Pacific, a region increasingly caught in the geopolitical rivalry between Beijing and Washington.
Beijing’s latest commitments aim to strengthen cooperation in climate adaptation and sustainable development—key concerns for low-lying Pacific Island states that face existential threats from rising sea levels and extreme weather.
As the Ukraine war is highlighted by some leaders during the United Nations' 81st General Assembly meeting in New York, Russian forces attacked the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early on Thursday with ballistic missiles, killing two people and injuring six, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in New York on Wednesday, as Washington pushes for an end to the war in Ukraine and Kyiv and Moscow continue to strike energy infrastructure.
U.S. President Donald Trump is addressing the UN General Assembly as world leaders gather in New York for the 81st session. Conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, global security and diplomacy set to dominate the event.
U.S. President Donald Trump said his team held a three-hour meeting with an Iranian delegation in New York that he described as “very good” and “productive”, with another round of talks scheduled soon.
The 81st UN General Assembly continues in New York on Wednesday, with another day of high-level speeches and diplomatic meetings. The wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, global security and international cooperation remain at the centre of discussions.
Türkiye’s COP31 presidency has unveiled an action agenda designed to turn climate commitments into concrete projects and measurable results, focusing on clean energy, waste reduction, resilient cities and industrial decarbonisation.
Greenland and Antarctica have shed a combined 11.3 trillion tonnes of ice since 1979, according to the most comprehensive satellite study of the planet's ice sheets to date, with researchers warning the pace of loss has accelerated sharply in recent decades.
The European Union will continue allowing large-scale plastic waste exports to Türkiye despite concerns over recycling rates, environmental damage and the risk of illegal waste trafficking.
Hundreds of thousands of deep-diving turtles, known as olive ridley sea turtles, have arrived on Mexico’s southern coast for one of nature’s most striking nesting events. But conservation officials warn that climate change is making it increasingly difficult for their eggs to hatch.
August 2026 tied as the hottest month ever recorded globally, pushing average temperatures above the critical 1.5°C threshold as extreme weather swept across several regions, the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service said.
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