Ukraine: Fighting escalates despite ceasefire talks
Fighting continued on Monday, the fifth day of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, despite talks aimed at securing a ceasefire.Missile strikes killed dozens of civilians in the country's second city, Kharkiv, while air raid sirens sounded again in the capital, Kyiv. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky called the Russian bombardment of Kharkiv a "war crime". There were reports of fierce shelling in the northern city of Chernihiv. Russia is attacking Ukraine on several fronts, but its advance has been slowed by Ukrainian resistance. All three cities remain under Ukrainian control. Away from the battlefields, economic and diplomatic moves have continued. President Vladimir Putin has banned Russians from moving money abroad as he tries to halt a plunge in the value of the rouble following the imposition of sanctions. And a rare emergency session of the United Nations General Assembly has heard a demand from the secretary general for an immediate halt to hostilities. On the northern border with Belarus, Ukrainian and Russian officials ended their first round of talks. There was little expectation the session would bring a breakthrough, but a Ukrainian official said both sides would now return to their respective capitals for further consultations before a second round of negotiations. Russia said both sides had agreed to continue talking and would meet again "in the next few days". In a late-night address, Mr Zelensky said there were eyewitness accounts of civilians being deliberately targeted during a sustained attack on Kharkiv. He called for the West to consider a no-fly zone over Ukraine - something the US so far ruled out over fears it could draw it into a direct conflict with Russia. Videos shared on social media showed rockets landing in Kharkiv, in what some defence analysts described as typical of a cluster munition strike on a dense urban area.
India targets net-zero carbon emissions by 2070, says Modi
India’s economy will become carbon neutral by the year 2070, the country’s prime minster has announced at the COP26 climate crisis summit in Glasgow. The target date is two decades beyond what scientists say is needed to avert catastrophic climate impacts. India is the last of the world’s major carbon polluters to announce a net-zero target, with China saying it would reach that goal in 2060, and the United States and the European Union aiming for 2050.
COP26: What climate summit means for one woman in Bangladesh
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
Why China's climate policy matters to us all
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
Deliver on promises, developing world tells rich at climate talks
A crucial U.N. conference heard calls on its first day for the world's major economies to keep their promises of financial help to address the climate crisis, while big polluters India and Brazil made new commitments to cut emissions. World leaders, environmental experts and activists all pleaded for decisive action to halt the global warming which threatens the future of the planet at the start of the two-week COP26 summit in the Scottish city of Glasgow on Monday. The task facing negotiators was made even more daunting by the failure of the Group of 20 major industrial nations to agree ambitious new commitments at the weekend.