| With landmark climate accord, world marks turn from fossil fuels Posted: 12 Dec 2015 03:50 PM PST  By Alister Doyle and Barbara Lewis PARIS (Reuters) - The global climate summit in Paris forged a landmark agreement on Saturday, setting the course for a historic transformation of the world's fossil fuel-driven economy within decades in a bid to arrest global warming. After four years of fraught U.N. talks often pitting the interests of rich nations against poor, imperiled island states against rising economic powerhouses, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius declared the pact adopted, to the standing applause and whistles of delegates from almost 200 nations. "With a small hammer you can achieve great things," Fabius said as he gaveled the agreement, capping two weeks of tense negotiations at the summit on the outskirts of the French capital.
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| U.S. asks Germany for more military help in fight against IS Posted: 12 Dec 2015 06:40 AM PST  The United States has asked Germany for more military help in the fight against Islamic State, a German magazine reported on Saturday, a week after parliament approved a plan to join the campaign in Syria. Der Spiegel said U.S. Defence Secretary Ashton Carter had sent a letter asking for a bigger military contribution from Berlin. Germany does not plan to carry out air strikes in Syria.
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| Death toll from day of clashes in Burundi capital rises to nearly 90 Posted: 12 Dec 2015 02:43 PM PST  Nearly 90 people were killed during Friday's clashes in the Burundian capital, the army said on Saturday, the worst outbreak of violence in Burundi since a failed coup in May. Blasts and gunfire echoed around Bujumbura for most of Friday and residents said officials spent the day collecting bullet-riddled bodies from city streets. Army spokesman Gaspard Baratuza said gunmen had attacked three military sites in Bujumbura, kindling a day of clashes across the city. Unrest in Burundi, which started in April when President Pierre Nkurunziza announced plans for a third term in office, has unnerved a region still volatile two decades after the genocide in neighboring Rwanda.
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| A la carte action on climate change Posted: 12 Dec 2015 03:59 PM PST  By Bruce Wallace PARIS (Reuters) - At the end of bargaining, when the last bracketed differences in diplomatic language were [resolved] [dropped] [glossed over], the global climate accord that emerged from two weeks of talks in Paris proved to be a very a la carte deal. The intentional flexibility of the Paris agreement was constructed not only to accommodate the diversity of 195 national interests. It had to compensate for its limited legal authority with enough aspirational language to send governments away confident that a global turn from fossil fuels to cleaner energy sources was inevitable.
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| Eye on Islamic State, Western powers coax Libyans to accord Posted: 12 Dec 2015 02:05 PM PST  By Patrick Markey ALGIERS (Reuters) - After a year of U.N. talks to end Libya's conflict, Western powers are coaxing the warring factions closer to a deal they hope can help stop the spread of Islamic State militancy in the North African country. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will co-chair a meeting of European, Middle Eastern and North African powers in Rome on Sunday to push the two camps to sign the U.N. proposal. Delegations from Libya's two rival governments have agreed to Dec. 16 as a date to sign, but opponents are resisting.
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| Blasts near hospital in Syria's Homs city kill 16 Posted: 12 Dec 2015 10:17 AM PST Twin explosions in a government-controlled neighborhood of Syria's Homs city killed at least 16 people and wounded scores more on Saturday, a group monitoring the war and state media said, in an attack claimed by the hardline Islamic State group. The blasts come days after the government extended its control of the western city with the implementation of a truce deal in Waer, the last insurgent-held area of Homs. A vehicle bomb detonated close to a hospital in the mainly Alawite neighborhood of al-Zahra in the east of Homs city, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said. |
| Venezuelan president addresses military after election loss Posted: 12 Dec 2015 04:47 PM PST  CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday told Venezuela's military to be prepared for a fight as the country remains tense after a landslide defeat for his socialist party in congressional elections.
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| Top Asian News 12:46 a.m. GMT Posted: 12 Dec 2015 04:47 PM PST BEIJING (AP) — An all-female band formed by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un canceled its concerts in Beijing and abruptly left the Chinese capital for unknown reasons, possibly further cooling relations between the traditional allies. The Moranbong Band had been scheduled to hold three concerts in Beijing beginning Saturday night in what was viewed as a visit to cultivate ties between the countries. However, band members arrived at Beijing's airport in North Korean Embassy vehicles on Saturday afternoon, and departed aboard a North Korean Air Koryo jet shortly after 4 p.m. following a lengthy delay, Chinese news website sina.com reported. |
| Band favored by North Korean leader cancels Beijing concerts Posted: 12 Dec 2015 04:45 PM PST  BEIJING (AP) — An all-female band formed by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un canceled its concerts in Beijing and abruptly left the Chinese capital for unknown reasons, possibly further cooling relations between the traditional allies.
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| Britain's Cameron to drop demand in EU vote talks: reports Posted: 12 Dec 2015 04:44 PM PST  British Prime Minister David Cameron is prepared to drop a key demand in order to strike a deal on renegotiating Britain's membership of the European Union, several newspapers reported Sunday. London had sought to limit access to state benefits for migrants from within the EU, but that demand could be set aside if other ways of limiting migration were agreed instead, the Telegraph, Times and Independent reported, citing government sources. The idea, which would have forced EU migrants to wait four years before accessing state benefits in Britain, had been a key point in Cameron's renegotiation of Britain's membership of the 28-member bloc, ahead of a referendum on whether the country should remain in the EU due by the end of 2017.
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| Dozens injured in German protest clashes Posted: 12 Dec 2015 04:41 PM PST  More than 50 police officers and several demonstrators were injured in clashes in the eastern German city of Leipzig on Saturday as far-left protesters rallied against a neo-Nazi rally, police said. In all, 56 police and several demonstrators were hurt, a police spokeswoman said, without giving details of the injuries. About 30 police vehicles were also damaged, she added.
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| Macri meets governors amid change of tone for Argentina Posted: 12 Dec 2015 04:36 PM PST  Argentina's new President Mauricio Macri met with governors on Saturday in another major change of tone from his predecessor Cristina Kirchner's confrontational style. Macri was sworn in as Argentina's new president Thursday, turning the page on 12 years under left-wing power couple Nestor and Cristina Kirchner. Macri, 56, a conservative businessman, marks the start of a new era for Argentina.
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| Climate deal a diplomatic coup for France Posted: 12 Dec 2015 04:31 PM PST  A 195-nation wrangle that ended Saturday with a historic Paris pact to curb global warming had to be the anti-Copenhagen: as flawlessly organised as the 2009 summit was chaotic, as much a success as the other was a traumatising blow for climate diplomacy. By nearly any measure and all accounts, France pulled it off. From the gourmet tofu sandwiches to the subtle handling of negotiations compared by one analyst to a 12-dimensional Rubik's Cube, the French hosts of the UN climate conference have been showered with praise.
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| Tears, cheers and selfies as climate pact sealed in Paris Posted: 12 Dec 2015 04:25 PM PST  They erupted into cheers, broke into tears, took selfies and quoted great figures of history after the gavel came down in Paris on Saturday, launching the quest to save mankind from global warming. After almost three minutes of cheering died down French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, who presided over 13 days of gruelling talks, picked up the green leaf-shaped gavel and brought it down again. In bringing down the tiny hammer, Fabius sealed an agreement that French diplomats spent more than a year criss-crossing the globe and preparing with meticulous detail.
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| Venezuelan negotiator thanks Hugo Chavez for Paris climate deal Posted: 12 Dec 2015 04:23 PM PST  By Alister Doyle and Valerie Volcovici PARIS (Reuters) - Venezuela's chief climate negotiator aims to visit the tomb of late socialist President Hugo Chavez to honor him as the unacknowledged architect of the Paris agreement on Saturday to slow global warming. Chavez, who died of cancer in 2013, was among a handful of leaders, mostly left-wingers from Latin America, who said the climate deal in Copenhagen did not demand enough greenhouse gas cuts by rich nations. "I will most likely visit his tomb," she said, and take along the text of the Paris accord, which obliges developed nations to do more to help poorer nations adapt to more heatwaves, droughts, floods and rising seas.
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| Factbox: World reacts to new climate accord Posted: 12 Dec 2015 04:10 PM PST (Reuters) - From business leaders to politicians, world figures reacted on Saturday to news that climate negotiators in Paris had approved a breakthrough accord that will for the first time unite rich and poor nations in combating climate change. Below are select comments and quotes: U.S. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA Today the American people can be proud because this historic agreement is a tribute to American leadership. Over the past seven years, we've transformed the United States into the global leader in fighting climate change. |
| Irish PM's party strengthens poll lead as elections near Posted: 12 Dec 2015 04:07 PM PST  Support for Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny's Fine Gael rose sharply in an opinion poll on Saturday to comfortably put the center-right party in front of its rivals across all major polls ahead of upcoming elections. With voters likely to go to the polls in February or March, backing for Fine Gael rose five percentage points to 31 percent in the Sunday Times/Behaviour & Attitudes poll, the closest it has come in three years to its 2011 election mark of 36 percent. It also meant it is now polling at between 28 and 31 percent according to each of Ireland's four main pollsters.
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| Joyful ministers seal landmark Paris Agreement to stop global warming Posted: 12 Dec 2015 04:01 PM PST  Cheering envoys from 195 nations approved Saturday a historic accord in Paris to stop global warming, offering hope that humanity can avert catastrophic climate change and usher in an energy revolution. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius ended nearly a fortnight of gruelling UN negotiations with the bang of a gavel, marking consensus among the ministers, who stood for several minutes to clap and shout their joy, with some shedding tears of relief. The Paris climate accord is adopted," declared Fabius, the president of the talks.
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| Obama calls Paris climate pact 'best chance' to save the planet Posted: 12 Dec 2015 03:50 PM PST  U.S. President Barack Obama on Saturday hailed the landmark climate accord reached in Paris as strong and historic, calling it the best chance to save the planet from the effects of global climate change. "Today the American people can be proud because this historic agreement is a tribute to American leadership. Over the past seven years, we've transformed the United States into the global leader in fighting climate change," Obama said.
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| Sri Lanka, 4-0, chases 405 to beat New Zealand in Posted: 12 Dec 2015 03:42 PM PST DUNEDIN, New Zealand (AP) — Opener Tom Latham scored his third test century and his first on home soil as New Zealand declared at 267-3 against Sri Lanka before lunch on the fourth day of the first cricket test with an overall lead of 404 on Sunday. |
| 'Cooking up history': Best quotes from Paris climate talks Posted: 12 Dec 2015 03:37 PM PST  Tuvalu Prime Minister Enele Sosene Sopoaga makes a successful appeal for the Paris accord to aim to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit), rather than 2C preferred by big polluters.
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| UN documents human rights situation in Kunduz province Posted: 12 Dec 2015 03:34 PM PST KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan released a report documenting human rights abuses in the northern city of Kunduz during the three days when it was overrun by the Taliban and the subsequent two-week government counter-offensive to completely retake the city. |
| The Latest: Palestinians to join climate change convention Posted: 12 Dec 2015 03:28 PM PST  LE BOURGET, France (AP) — The latest on the U.N. climate conference outside Paris (all times local):
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| Americans use record-breaking day to rout Europe Posted: 12 Dec 2015 03:27 PM PST  INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Matt Grevers finally broke the world record he so desperately wanted — the 100-meter backstroke. Missy Franklin set an American record in the 200 freestyle.
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| UK's Cameron prepared to drop key EU welfare demand: reports Posted: 12 Dec 2015 03:26 PM PST  British Prime Minister David Cameron is prepared to drop a demand to curb welfare benefits for migrant workers as he attempts to renegotiate the terms of Britain's membership of the European Union, two British newspapers reported on Saturday. The demand that European migrant workers wait four years before claiming state benefits has so far been presented as a central plank of the new deal Cameron is seeking to clinch ahead of a referendum on whether to stay in the bloc or leave. Seen as a way to reduce Britain's attractiveness to migrants from poorer EU members in eastern Europe, a major domestic political issue in Britain, the welfare demand has been one of the biggest stumbling blocks in the renegotiation process.
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| Mexico's annual Virgin pilgrimage draws huge crowds Posted: 12 Dec 2015 03:25 PM PST MEXICO CITY (AP) — Men, women and children are flooding into the area around Mexico City's basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe, the country's patron saint. |
| Leader Inter moves 4 points clear with 4-0 win at Udinese Posted: 12 Dec 2015 03:14 PM PST  MILAN (AP) — Mauro Icardi hit back at his critics with two goals as Inter Milan moved provisionally four points clear in the Serie A by comfortably beating Udinese 4-0 on Saturday.
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| Barcelona relinquishes late lead, draws 2-2 with D Posted: 12 Dec 2015 03:11 PM PST  BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona missed a chance to temporarily increase its Spanish league lead when it conceded two late goals and drew with Deportivo La Coruna 2-2 at home on Saturday.
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| Hanyu breaks more records with men's GP Final gold Posted: 12 Dec 2015 02:38 PM PST  Japan's Yuzuru Hanyu broke more world records on his way to a sensational third straight consecutive men's title at the ISU Grand Prix Final of figure skating on Saturday. The Olympic champion followed on from his record 110.95 mark in the men's short programme on Thursday by obliterating his own world marks in both the free skate 219.48 and overall total 330.43. Hanyu, 21, had achieved world bests in all three just over two weeks ago in the NHK Trophy in Nagano, becoming the first skater to break the mythical 300-point mark.
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| Thousands rally against Montenegro's NATO membership Posted: 12 Dec 2015 02:32 PM PST  Several thousand supporters of pro-Russian opposition parties protested Saturday against Montenegro's NATO membership, demanding a referendum over the issue. "If the referendum is avoided and there is a bid to fraudulently pass the decision (on NATO membership) in parliament, Montenegro will be brought to the verge of a (civic) conflict," Andrija Madic, the leader of pro-Russian opposition New Serb Democratic Party, told the crowd. On December 2 NATO invited Montenegro to become its 29th member, defying Russia's opposition to what Moscow branded a threat to its security.
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| Olympic ski champion Shiffrin heading home for knee injury Posted: 12 Dec 2015 02:29 PM PST  Olympic slalom champion Mikaela Shiffrin is going home to the United States for medical care after injuring her right knee while warming up for a World Cup giant slalom in Are, Sweden.
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| Hanyu breaks 2 more of his records to keep GP Final title Posted: 12 Dec 2015 02:26 PM PST  BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Olympic figure skating champion Yuzuru Hanyu just keeps breaking records and adding titles.
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| Vijay and Qass Singh shoot 59 to lead Father/Son Challenge Posted: 12 Dec 2015 02:23 PM PST  ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Vijay and Qass Singh eagled the par-5 18th hole for a 13-under 59 and a two-stroke lead Saturday in the PNC Father/Son Challenge scramble event.
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| Gambia now an 'Islamic state', says president Posted: 12 Dec 2015 02:18 PM PST  President Yahya Jammeh has declared the Gambia "an Islamic state", but stressed that the rights of the Christian minority in the small west African country would be respected and that women would not be held to a dress code. The announcement came as the president addressed supporters in the coastal town of Brufut on Thursday, and the comments were later broadcast on state television and repeated on his website. "Gambia's destiny is in the hands of the Almighty Allah.
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| Two Syrians arrested in Geneva after 'traces of explosives' found in car Posted: 12 Dec 2015 02:11 PM PST  Swiss authorities on Saturday said two Syrians had been arrested in Geneva after traces of explosives were found in their car, as police continued to hunt for several suspected jihadists with links to the Islamic State group. Geneva prosecutor Olivier Jornot told a news conference that the two men had Syrian passports and only "recently arrived" in Switzerland. Jornot said the two arrested men said they had recently bought the car they were travelling in and clarified that it only bore traces of explosives and not toxic gases.
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| Carter enjoys dream debut as Racing crush Saints Posted: 12 Dec 2015 02:00 PM PST  All Black great Dan Carter made a dream start to his Racing 92 career, thriving off a dominant pack to help the Parisian club to a bonus-point 33-3 victory over Northampton on Saturday to go top of European Cup Pool 3. Carter kicked three conversions and was happy to sit deep in the pocket and allow half-back partner Mike Phillips dictate the pace of the game through the strong home backrow of Wenceslas Lauret, Yannick Nyanga and Chris Masoe, and an ever-present front five. "We're really happy with that performance," said Phillips of the 33-year-old world record Test points scorer who was not made available to the media after the match.
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