Latest News
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Financial Times - Nov 20
The following are the leading stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. Headings - UK cut to sustain payments will rise to 100,000 pensioners into poverty - Observer personnel set to strike over scheduled Tortoise sale - UK must use Farage as 'bridgehead' to Trump and Musk, states Mandelson - Countless farmers protest in London versus tax modifications Introduction - The UK federal government's decision to cut winter season fuel payments will push up to 100,000 additional pensioners into poverty a. year, a government impact assessment has revealed. - Journalists at the Guardian and Observer have actually voted. overwhelmingly to strike over the proposed sale of the Sunday. paper to digital media start-up Tortoise. - Peter Mandelson, a previous Labour Party federal government. minister, has stated the UK needs to use Reform party leader Nigel. Farage and tech billionaire Elon Musk's British pals as a. bridgehead to construct relations with Donald Trump's inbound. U.S. administration. - Countless farmers have taken to the streets of London. in an attempt to overturn the UK federal government's changes to. inheritance tax guidelines that they warn will exterminate household farms. and threaten food security.
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Japanese manicurist takes on plastic contamination, one nail at a time
Before international leaders take the issue of plastic contamination into their hands this month, Japanese manicurist Naomi Arimoto is putting it into her fingernails. At the beach near her home south of Tokyo, Arimoto carefully sifts sand for little bits of plastic that she can mould into decorative tips to put on the incorrect nails at her salon. She came up with the idea after participating in neighborhood cleanups along the coast. I ended up being conscious of environmental issues the moment I saw with my own eyes simply just how much plastic waste was in the ocean, 42-year-old Arimoto stated. I thought it was terrible. An approximated 20 million tonnes of plastic waste is discarded into the environment each year, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A United Nations summit in Busan, South Korea, starting on Nov. 25 goals to craft a landmark treaty that would set global caps on plastic production. The United States, one of the world's most significant plastic makers, signified in August it would support a worldwide treaty, a. shift that environmental watchdog Greenpeace called a watershed. minute in the battle against plastic pollution. Arimoto opened a nail beauty parlor in her home in 2018 after a. spinal condition forced her to quit her profession as a social. worker, and she's been utilizing Umigomi, or sea garbage, to make. nail art considering that 2021. To collect the raw materials, she uses a. custom-made wheelchair to search the close-by beach each month to. gather microplastics that other cleaners might miss out on. To turn sea trash into treasure, Arimoto starts by washing. the plastic in fresh water and then arranging it by colour. She. cuts the plastic into smaller sized pieces and positions them into a. metal ring before melting the plastic to form a vibrant disc. that can be attached to the artificial nails. Rates for a set. start at 12,760 yen ($ 82.52). I understand there are other things made of recycled materials,. like bathroom tissue and other daily necessities, but I had no concept. you might have nails too, that was a surprise, stated hair salon. client Kyoko Kurokawa, 57. Arimoto acknowledges that her nail art is a drop in an ocean. of plastic contamination, but says raising awareness of the. problem is an action to towards working together for a solution. I hope that by putting these in front of individuals's eyes, on. their fingertips, they'll take pleasure in fashion while likewise becoming more. familiar with environmental issues, she stated.
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Brazil's Congress approves rules for local carbon credits market
Brazil's lower house of Congress approved a costs on Tuesday that sets guidelines for a carbon market in the nation, with the text now pending only approval from President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to end up being a. law. The bill, which had actually already gotten the thumbs-up from. the Senate, proposes two kinds of carbon credits markets: a. managed one, with a cap of emissions for particular sectors of. the economy, and a so-called volunteer market. WHY IT is necessary Companies typically purchase such credits to balance out a portion of. their greenhouse gas emissions, basically spending for jobs. that cut climate pollution. Brazil hosts part of the Amazon rainforest, whose defense. researchers state is essential to curbing climate change due to the fact that of the. vast amount of co2 its trees absorb. EXTRA CONTEXT Brazil's approval comes a week after nations at the United. Nations COP29 environment talks in Azerbaijan agreed to guidelines that. might enable a U.N.-backed international carbon market to be. introduced as quickly as next year.
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Rio Tinto probe discovers rape, pressure for sex continues at miner
Mining major Rio Tinto said cases of rape and sexual assault at the business persist, a report into the business's culture showed on Wednesday, 2 years after the industry dealt with an Australian state inquiry for its bad treatment of females. A Western Australian state federal government report in 2022 recommended sweeping changes after discovering unwanted sexual advances and assault were swarming in the sector, detailing what it stated was horrifying behaviour against females in the mining industry. Australian miners including iron ore giants BHP and Fortescue have considering that taken steps to address sexual harassment, which has prevailed at remote fly-in fly-out ( FIFO) mining operations like Pilbara iron ore. As part of those steps, Rio Tinto carried out a cultural assessment in early 2022 that outlined a culture of bullying, harassment and bigotry at the worldwide mining giant, and suggested 26 actions the company ought to take to improve. 2 years on, an external development report found Rio had executed the majority of those changes although there was more work to do at the worldwide miner, which uses some 57,000 people throughout 35 nations. The report found 8 individuals reported experiencing real or tried sexual assault or rape, compared to 5 individuals in 2021. Thirty-two people reported experiencing pressure or requests for sex or sexual acts, compared to 37 people in 2021. Most of people in both cases were women, the report discovered. I read the report with blended emotions for the continued hurt that individuals feel and the hazardous behaviours that people are experiencing, Rio's Australia chief, Kellie Parker, informed Reuters. But I'm also encouraged by just how much more individuals are empowered to speak out. The miner has fired a substantial. variety of people for those behaviours, Parker said, decreasing to. intricate. It's a multi-year journey ... We are remaining the. course. The report discovered half or almost half of respondents. viewed enhancements in relation to bullying, sexual. harassment and bigotry. Nevertheless the portion of individuals experiencing bullying. increased to 39% from 31%, and 7% of study participants experienced. sexual harassment in the previous year, constant from 2021. That was partly due to increasing retaliation in the form of. gendered bullying as a response to Rio Tinto's efforts to. promote gender diversity and addition, it said.
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China has essential function to play in avoiding nuclear escalation, France's Macron says
French President Emmanuel Macron stated on Tuesday that China has a crucial role to play in avoiding nuclear escalation, after Russian President Vladimir Putin reduced the threshold for a nuclear strike. Macron consulted with China's President Xi Jinping on Tuesday in Rio de Janeiro as part of the G20 top, and said he asked him to put pressure on Putin to end the war with Ukraine. He likewise required Putin to show reason. Macron said North Korea's decision to send out soldiers to fight in Ukraine had actually raised the stakes for China, which it must push for a de-escalation after Putin's choice to change Russia's nuclear doctrine. Putin approved the change as Ukraine utilized U.S. ATACMS missiles to strike much deeper into Russian territory, taking benefit of newly given consent from the outgoing administration of President Joe Biden on the war's 1,000 th day. Macron, consulting with press reporters on the sidelines of the top, said he would invite U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and U.S. billionaire ally Elon Musk to France in February for an expert system top. He likewise said he was confident a trade dispute with China that is impacting France's cognac producers can be dealt with favorably, adding that Prime Minister Michel Barnier would travel to China next year.
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Turkey's Erdogan states Israel's Herzog was denied airspace en route to Azerbaijan
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that Turkey refused to permit Israeli President Isaac Herzog to utilize its airspace to participate in the COP environment top in Azerbaijan, highlighting Ankara's position in the middle of stress with Israel. We did not allow the Israeli president to use our airspace to attend the police officer summit. We recommended alternative routes and other alternatives, Erdogan informed press reporters at the G20 Summit in Brazil. Herzog wound up cancelling the go to. Because of the scenario evaluation and for security factors, the President of the State has actually decided to cancel his trip to the Environment Conference in Azerbaijan, the Israeli presidency said. Israel released a disastrous war versus Hamas in Gaza a. year ago after the Palestinian Islamist group's deadly. cross-border attack. Turkey withdrew its ambassador in Israel for assessments. after the Gaza war broke out, however has not officially severed its. ties with Israel and its embassy stays open and functional. But whether he had the ability to go or not, I truthfully do not. know, Erdogan stated on Herzog's see to Baku. On certain matters, as Turkey, we are obliged to take a. stand, and we will continue to do so, he said.
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Trump administration prepares to roll back Biden's more stringent fuel-efficiency standards
Presidentelect Donald Trump's incoming administration plans to target federal guidelines promoted by President Joe Biden that aim to make autos more fuelefficient and incentivize a shift towards electrical vehicles, according to 2 sources in contact with Trump's transition team. The relocation appears aimed at satisfying a Trump project pledge to end the EV required, and would mirror a similar relocation during the first Trump administration to take apart Obama-era vehicle-efficiency guidelines. Although no such EV mandate exists, the Biden administration policies would successfully require car manufacturers to move at least 35% of production to EVs in order to meet 2032 requirements, and encourage a gradual phaseout of the production of vehicles that operate on nonrenewable fuel sources. The inbound administration strategies to compromise standards on fuel-efficiency requirements and tailpipe emissions finalized earlier this year by the U.S. National Highway Traffic and Security Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency, according to the sources. Among the sources said Trump is anticipated to officially direct those companies to reassess the Biden guidelines. The Trump transition group did not immediately respond to a. request for remark. The move to reverse Biden's vehicle-efficiency rules was first. reported by Bloomberg. Last week, Reuters specifically reported that Trump's. shift group is planning to eliminate the $7,500 consumer tax. credit for electric-vehicle purchases - another move that would. likely slow a currently stalling U.S. EV transition. During the first Trump administration, it took almost 3. years to overturn similar Obama-era guidelines. After Trump. called for an evaluation of the rules in early 2017, NHTSA and the. EPA started the official procedure of rewriting the rules in 2018. It. took till March 2020 for both agencies to complete. less-stringent guidelines. One of the sources said the move is developed to appease. car manufacturers who have actually grumbled the Biden guidelines are too. onerous. General Motors, Ford, Stellantis,. Tesla and the Alliance for Automotive Development, a. trade group representing most major car manufacturers except Tesla,. didn't react to ask for remark. The move to target vehicle-efficiency standards could be a. blow to Tesla, which has actually made billions of dollars in recent. years by selling credits to other car manufacturers who can't comply. with federal automobile requirements and other emissions guidelines. in U.S. states and other markets around the globe. Due to the fact that Tesla sells only electrical lorries, it overcomplies. with the guidelines and creates credits it can sell to. others. By loosening the standards, those credits become less. important. Tesla CEO Elon Musk was one of Trump's biggest backers and. has become a prominent advisor given that the election. Throughout the Biden administration, Tesla promoted far. stricter car emissions policies than what the EPA. eventually passed.
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Argentina's Milei plays Trump stand-in at G20 top in Rio
As world leaders at the G20 top in Brazil are bracing for the return of U.S. President Donald Trump to the center of worldwide affairs, one head of state in the space has actually provided an early taste of a. familiar, iconoclastic rightwing design. Rejecting environment science, dissenting on gender equality and. blasting greater taxes on billionaires, Argentine President. Javier Milei, fresh off meeting Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort,. is ruining for a battle with the global consensus. While Milei celebrated with the president-elect in Florida,. his nation's top diplomats invested recently in Rio hashing out a. fragile consensus with G20 peers around a 9,000-word joint. declaration for final approval by presidents this week. Fellow diplomats were stymied when the Argentine mediators. said they received a call from their president so they would be. hardening their resistance to formerly agreed language on tax. cooperation, according to individuals involved in the talks. It seems like the position of Argentina is now to develop. issues, complained one European diplomat. Argentine diplomats relented after days of marathon talks. But heads of state got to hear straight from Milei at the top. about his objections to their shared communique's require. progressive taxation, gender equality and embrace of the United. Countries' sustainable development goals, according to individuals in. the plenary debate. A spokesperson for Milei did not respond to an ask for. comment. He struck a defiant tone on social media as well, repeating. an earlier message on the X platform on Monday: I'm not a. politician, nor do I desire be one. Just like President Trump. I had to enter this rank overload as an act of self-defense. Soon he may be echoing not just political rhetoric, however. significant policy choices. After a lengthy private argument with Milei ahead of the. top, French President Emmanuel Macron came away expecting. Milei to abandon the Paris environment contract if Trump follows. through on his hazard to do the exact same, a French official stated. At U.N. environment talks recently, the Argentine delegation. left the negotiations on orders from Milei, a worldwide warming. denier. He avoided a working session on sustainable. advancement during the G20 top on Tuesday, said an individual in. the room. From the start of the summit, Milei made clear he was not. there to make buddies. Showing up early Monday at Rio's Modern Art Museum, he greeted. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is hosting the conference,. with a cold handshake. He clutched a folder to his chest, judgment. out the traditional hug among friendly Latin American leaders. Milei, a conservative libertarian, has actually cast himself as a. leader of the Latin American right, in the very same mold as previous. reactionary Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who has long. blasted Lula as a corrupt communist. In contrast to his welcoming with Lula, Milei reposted a. video on social networks showing the warm welcome he gave Bolsonaro. and his children at his governmental inauguration in Buenos Aires. He also replicated a message by an advocate who applauded his. foreign policy: From Mar-a-Lago to the G20 in Rio, his. management is strengthening ties with the main international. stars..
Brazil prompts G20 leaders to move much faster on net zero climate targets
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Tuesday advised leaders of the Group of 20 major economies to accelerate their national environment targets, calling on them to reach net no climate emissions 5 to ten years ahead of schedule.
Opening the last session of the G20 top in Rio de Janeiro, Lula recommended countries bring forward their targets to reach climate neutrality by 2040 or 2045, rather of 2050 as Brazil and lots of others have pledged.
We need to do more and much better, Lula stated, keeping in mind that this is most likely the world's hottest year on record as environment catastrophes such as flooding and droughts end up being more frequent and intense. There is no time at all to lose, he included.
World leaders are trying to fortify an international reaction to environment change before Donald Trump retakes the U.S. presidency in January, when he plans to roll back U.S. policy on international warming and apparently leave the landmark Paris Contract.
Argentine President Javier Milei functioned as a tip in Rio of those changing winds, fresh off of going to Trump at his Florida resort. Milei told G20 leaders he challenged a joint communique promoting gender equality, tax of billionaires and sustainable development, according to individuals in the conference.
Lula rushed through approval of the G20 leaders' joint statement on Monday, protecting a consensus on climate modification however bugging some European nations that desired stronger language on the escalating war between Ukraine and Russia.
The joint statement called for rapidly and significantly increasing environment finance from billions to trillions from all sources to challenge global warming.
G20 countries are seen as crucial to shaping the reaction to global warming, as they represent 85% of the world economy and more than three-quarters of climate-warming emissions.
The joint declaration also prompted arbitrators at the U.N. environment top COP29 underway in Azerbaijan to reach an offer on a. new monetary goal for how much cash abundant countries should offer. to poorer establishing countries in climate finance, the primary. sticking point in the climate talks.
At the G20 top on Tuesday, when leaders turned their. conversation to the environment, Lula prompted establishing countries. to broaden their environment targets to resolve all emissions that. trigger global warming, not just from specific sectors or gases.
U.S. President Joe Biden told the gathering that establishing. nations need to have adequate firepower and access to capital. to slow climate change and protect their countries from its. results. That cash needed to flow into their economies and give. breathing space to debt-laden nations.
History is seeing us, Biden stated. I urge us to keep the. faith and keep going. This is the single biggest existential. hazard to humankind.
COP29 TALKS
At the leaders meeting on Tuesday, Lula proposed the. development of a brand-new council at the United Nations to accelerate. the application of the Paris Agreement on environment modification.
He likewise criticized industrialized nations for disappointing. a promise to deliver $100 billion of environment funding every year. to developing countries by 2020.
Lula kept in mind settlements at COP29 on the new monetary goal,. which might reach more than a trillion dollars.
Those talks, set to conclude on Friday, have actually bogged down as. industrialized countries require more nations to contribute towards. the objective, while the developing world argues that the abundant. countries most responsible for environment modification require to pay up.
The G20 leaders' statement on Monday stated nations must break. the deadlock on financing, however they did not offer clear assistance on. an option.
G20 leaders have sent a clear message to their mediators. at COP29: do not leave Baku without an effective new financing. objective. This remains in every nation's clear interests, U.N. climate. primary Simon Stiell said in a statement reacting to the G20. communique.
Climate negotiators aim to produce a full draft of a deal. for the monetary objective by Wednesday evening, said the summit's. lead arbitrator Yalchin Rafiyev of Azerbaijan.
We have stepped up the speed, Rafiyev said. The result. will just be as good as parties' dedication to help us construct. services.
The G20 also devoted to settling on a legally binding. treaty to limit plastic contamination by the end of 2024, with talks. resuming next week to hammer out an offer 2 years in the making.
(source: Reuters)