 |
|
|
Climate talks begin amid calls for action
|
|
|
32 Indians held for working illegally in UK Blasts rock Lahore, Peshawar; 44 dead Russia backs India’s claim for permanent UNSC seat
|
|
Climate talks begin amid calls for action
“This is our chance. If we miss it, it could take years before we got a new and better one. If we ever do,” conference president Connie Hedegaard said adding, key to an agreement is finding a way to channel public and private funds to poor countries to help them fight the effects of climate change. At the beginning of the meet, a short film was screened showing children of the future facing an apocalypse if world leaders failed to act today. “There will be hundreds of millions of refugees,” RK Pachauri, the head of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, said in the clip. Addressing the delegates from 192 countries, Pachauri stressed that years of dedicated work by the scientific community showed that “the evidence is now overwhelming that the world would benefit greatly from early action and that delay would only lead to costs in economic and human terms that would become progressively high.” Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen told the opening ceremony that the world is looking to the conference to safeguard the future of the mankind. “For the next two weeks, Copenhagen will be Hopenhagen. By the end, we must be able to deliver back to the world what was granted us here today: hope for a better future.” Along with 15,000 delegates, more than 100 world leaders including US President Barack Obama, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chinese premier Wen Jiabao will attend the 12-day summit for which security has been beefed up. Yvo de Boer, UNFCCC executive secretary, said there was unprecedented political momentum to clinch an ambitious deal but countries needed to negotiate harder. “Time is up,” de Boer said. “Over the next two weeks nations have to deliver”. The first week of the conference will focus on the text of a draft treaty. Major decisions may await arrival of the environment ministers next week and the heads of state in the final days of the meet, which ends on December 18. As the first commitment period for greenhouse gas emissions reductions, regulated by the Kyoto Protocol, would expire in 2012, the international community would endeavour to map out a plan for binding emissions cuts for the second commitment period from 2012 to 2020 at Copenhagen. Delegates must craft a blueprint for tackling manmade “greenhouse” gases and put together a funding mechanism for helping poor nations fight climate change. Several draft treaties, including one submitted by Brazil, South Africa, India and China (BASIC) group, are being circulated among delegates here. The BASIC draft proposes 40 to 45 per cent carbon emission cuts by developed nations while a controversial Danish proposal wants developing nations to commit a date by which their emissions will peak. The “peaking year” concept has been rejected by India which puts it in the bracket of non-negotiables along with not accepting any legally binding emission cuts. US boosts talks with move towards CO2 curbs
WASHINGTON/COPENHAGEN: The United States took a step on Monday towards curbing its greenhouse gas emissions, boosting the start of negotiations between 190 countries in Copenhagen on a deal to combat global warming. The US Environmental Protection Agency ruled that greenhouse gases endanger human health, allowing it to regulate them without legislation from the Senate, where a bill to cut US emissions by 2020 is stalled. The ruling was welcomed at the opening day of December7-18 talks in Copenhagen, where a record 15,000 participants are trying to work out the first new UN pact in 12 years to combat rising seas, desertification, floods and cyclones. —
Agencies
|
|
32 Indians held for working illegally in UK London, December 7 In all, nearly 100 people who did not have the right to work in the UK were arrested, the UK Border Agency (UKBA) said. Of those arrested on suspicion of immigration offences, 32 were from India, 12 from Nigeria and seven from the Ukraine, the agency said.The officers made 93 arrests between April and late November. A total of 41 people were arrested after using fake passports or other false documents. The arrests come amidst reports that organisers of the 2012 games were employing cheap agency workers mostly from overseas, in breach of labour agreements. Tony Smith, senior director for the UKBA’s Olympic 2012 programme, said, “The UK Border Agency has officers based permanently at the Olympic site to check the identity of people seeking work and help ensure the Games are delivered on time, with a workforce legally entitled to be there”. He added, “We're working closely with employers and contractors, giving presentations and advising them what checks they need to make to prevent illegal working. My officers offer forgery awareness training and conduct visits to businesses to ensure that their policies and procedures are up-to-date. — PTI
|
||
|
Blasts rock Lahore, Peshawar; 44 dead Lahore, December 7 The blasts rocked Moon Market in Allama Iqbal Town area shortly after 8.45 pm. One explosion occurred within the market while the other occurred on its outer perimeter. The blasts went off within a minute of each other near a bank and a police station. “As many as 34 persons were killed and 109 injured by the blasts and the death toll could rise,” said Lahore Commissioner Khusro Pervaiz. Rescue workers were sifting through the rubble of burnt shops to ascertain if more people were buried under the rubble. A two-year-old boy and at least three women were among the dead. The injured were taken to five hospitals, where doctors performed emergency surgeries to save their lives. At least 18 of the wounded had severe burn injuries, doctors said. IG Tariq Saleem Dogar told reporters the blasts were “remote controlled explosions and not suicide attacks”. There were reports that one of the blasts was caused by a suicide bomber though this could not be verified. No one claimed responsibility for the attack. The explosions sparked a massive fire that engulfed several shops and a bank. Pakistani rescue workers rushed to the area but their efforts were hampered by a power outage caused by the blasts. The fire was exacerbated as several motorcycles and goods stored in shops went up in flames.An emergency was declared at hospitals, which were thronged by people looking for their loved ones. Earlier today, 10 people were killed and nearly 50 injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a court complex in Peshawar. The bomber, who came to the court complex in a rickshaw, tried to flee when the police challenged him, said NWFP Senior Minister Bashir Bilour. He blew himself up when the police opened fire, the minister told reporters at the site of the explosion. Nearly 50 injured people were brought to Lady Reading Hospital and four of them were in a serious condition. Several policemen, lawyers and passers-by were among the injured. Bilour said there could have been more casualties if the bomber had managed to enter the sessions court complex on Jail Road, a high-security area. — PTI
|
||
|
Russia backs India’s claim for permanent UNSC seat
Moscow, December 7 “Russia views India as one of the deserving candidates for the seat of permanent member in the expanded UNSC,” says a joint declaration signed here after summit talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. The two sides also reiterated their intention to strengthen their cooperation on the issues concerning the reforms of UN and its Security Council. “The UNSC reform should be carried out in a way to reflect the modern-day realities and make this organisation more representative and effective in resolving the existing and emerging tasks,” the Indo-Russian declaration said. — PTI
|
||
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Copenhagen, December 7