Israelis hold memorial ceremony marking 7 October anniversary
Israelis held a memorial ceremony in Kfar Aza near the Gaza Strip on Tuesday to commemorate those killed and taken hostages by Hamas on 7 October, 202...
As U.N. delegates gather in Busan, South Korea, for the fifth round of talks on a global plastics treaty, deep divisions persist, raising doubts about reaching a final agreement on curbing plastic pollution.
As delegates from 175 nations convene in Busan, South Korea, for the fifth round of U.N. talks aimed at securing a global treaty to tackle plastic pollution, unresolved divisions raise concerns over whether a final agreement will be reached. The meeting, which began on Monday, is expected to be the concluding session of the U.N. Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5). However, the previous round of discussions in Ottawa, held in April, ended without a clear resolution on capping plastic production.
The focus of this week's talks will shift towards addressing chemicals of concern and other measures, following strong opposition from petrochemical-heavy nations such as Saudi Arabia and China, who resisted proposals to target plastic production. Their objections stand in stark contrast to the positions of countries that face the harsh consequences of plastic pollution.
These ongoing disagreements mirror the tensions that have long impeded U.N. efforts to combat global warming. The most recent climate summit, COP29, ended with an agreement that many developing nations criticised as insufficient.
At the opening session in Busan, INC Chair Luis Vayas Valdivieso warned that without decisive action, the amount of plastic entering the environment annually by 2040 could nearly double compared to levels in 2022. He emphasised the urgency of addressing this "existential challenge," noting that microplastics have been detected in human organs.
In a surprising development in August, the United States expressed its support for a cap on plastic production in the treaty, aligning itself with the European Union, Kenya, Peru, and other members of the High Ambition Coalition. This move has raised expectations for progress in the negotiations.
Despite the hurdles, Inger Andersen, executive director of the U.N. Environment Programme, remains optimistic that an agreement will emerge from the talks. She highlighted the communique from the recent Group of 20 summit, where leaders called for a legally binding treaty by the end of this year.
Video from the USGS (United States Geological Survey) showed on Friday (19 September) the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii erupting and spewing lava.
At least eight people have died and more than 90 others were injured following a catastrophic gas tanker explosion on a major highway in Mexico City’s Iztapalapa district on Wednesday, authorities confirmed.
At least 69 people have died and almost 150 injured following a powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Cebu City in the central Visayas region of the Philippines, officials said, making it one of the country’s deadliest disasters this year.
A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on 13 September with no tsunami threat, coming just weeks after the region endured a devastating 8.8-magnitude quake — the strongest since 1952.
Authorities in California have identified the dismembered body discovered in a Tesla registered to singer D4vd as 15-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who had been missing from Lake Elsinore since April 2024.
Azerbaijan is stepping up its renewable energy ambitions with plans to develop eight new solar and wind plants by 2027, backed by $2.8 billion in investment and aimed at exceeding its 2030 climate targets ahead of schedule.
On the second day of Baku Climate Action Week (BCAW), attention centred on strengthening international cooperation, accelerating the transition to clean energy, and ensuring a fair and inclusive approach.
Super Typhoon Ragasa lashed Hong Kong with hurricane-force winds and torrential rain on Wednesday.
When Climate Week kicks off in New York City on Sunday (21 September), it will mark the largest event of its kind yet, with organisers reporting a record number of companies participating and more events than ever before.
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