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WASHINGTON, Dec 1, bdnews24.com/Reuters) - US President Barack Obama's decision on a new strategy for the war in Afghanistan carries political peril as his Democratic Party gears up for tough midterm congressional elections next year. Obama will unveil the strategy on Tuesday in an address from the West Point military academy. He will significantly bolster US troop levels in Afghanistan and may also outline an exit strategy for the conflict. Republicans have urged Obama to take decisive action, while many Democrats have expressed serious doubts, making a delicate balancing act for a president already battling to deliver on his political promises. WHAT IS AT STAKE? Obama must decide whether to grant a request by his top Afghan commander, Army General Stanley McChrystal, for as many as 40,000 more U.S. troops or to side with more cautious advisers who favor a smaller deployment of 10,000 to 20,000 additional troops and a greater role for Afghan forces. Influential voices in Obama's Cabinet, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates as well as military chiefs, favor a US troop increase of 30,000 or more, and the final number could reach 35,000 once US trainers are factored in. The decision is critical for the future of the US-led war in Afghanistan, where 68,000 US soldiers already anchor a multinational force of about 110,000 troops battling resurgent Taliban militants. Part of a broader campaign against al Qaeda, the conflict carries risks for neighboring countries such as nuclear-armed Pakistan as well as for US allies such as Britain, where public support for the war is flagging. It could also imperil Obama's domestic agenda from healthcare to climate change as politicians in Washington and the voters who put them there weigh the wisdom of a costly US campaign in a country long known as "the graveyard of empires." WHAT DO AMERICANS THINK? Opinion polls show Americans -- exhausted by the long war in Iraq and their own economic problems -- are deeply divided on Afghanistan. A recent Washington Post-ABC News poll found 46 percent of Americans supported a large influx of troops to fight insurgents and train the Afghan military, while 45 percent favored sending a smaller number of troops. The poll showed 48 percent of Americans disapproved of how Obama was handling Afghanistan, against 45 percent who approved. Most worrisome for Democrats, approval among independents -- swing voters who helped put Obama in the White House in 2008 -- fell to a new low of 39 percent. Doubts over Afghanistan coincide with widespread concern among Americans over high unemployment, huge government bailout programs, a rising federal budget deficit and a divisive debate over reforming the expensive healthcare system. The anti-incumbent mood could cut into Democrats' legislative majorities in November 2010, when all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and a third of the seats in the 100-member Senate are up for election. HOW ARE DEMOCRATS REACTING? Many liberal Democrats oppose a major escalation of involvement in a conflict they no longer see as central to U.S. security. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, an advocate for other Obama initiatives such as healthcare reform, spoke out against upping the ante in Afghanistan, calling Afghan President Hamid Karzai an "unworthy partner" tainted by corruption who does not merit more U.S. aid. Other top Democrats have urged Obama to outline what the U.S. "exit strategy" will be for Afghanistan. McChrystal, in a briefing to a delegation of U.S. lawmakers last week, suggested the U.S. troop presence could begin to diminish after a post-surge peak by 2013, while an international conference on Afghanistan set for London in January would aim to set conditions for a gradual transfer of security responsibility to Afghan control. Several veteran Democratic lawmakers have proposed a "war tax" -- almost unthinkable in an election year -- on the richest Americans to pay for the conflict. Democrats hope that by reining in Obama on Afghanistan, they can prevent the party from becoming too closely associated with an unpopular war with no clear path to victory. They also hope to regain some credibility as fiscal managers by hitting the brakes on war spending that could rise by $30 billion to $40 billion per year. WHAT DO REPUBLICANS SAY? For Republicans, Obama's Afghanistan quandary has been an opportunity to showcase their traditionally strong views on national security and highlight what some portray as indecisiveness on the part of the Democratic president. Former Vice President Dick Cheney told a conservative talk radio host that Obama's three-month review of the options in Afghanistan had taken too long. "The delay is not cost-free," Cheney said. "Every day that goes by raises doubts in the minds of our friends in the region what you're going to do, raises doubts in the minds of the troops." Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell urged Obama to "keep the pressure on" the Taliban, while 14 House Republicans sent Obama a letter endorsing McChrystal's request for 40,000 more troops. Republicans hope the debate will show them as vigilant against threats to the United States and win back voters in swing districts who have grown disillusioned with Obama. Democrats say Republicans are trying to distract Americans from the failure to defeat the Taliban in seven years of military operations under former President George W. Bush, who committed far greater forces to his war in Iraq.

Ocean scientists urged governments on Sunday to invest billions of dollars by 2015 in a new system to monitor the seas and give alerts of everything from tsunamis to acidification linked to climate change. They said better oversight would have huge economic benefits, helping to understand the impact of over-fishing or shifts in monsoons that can bring extreme weather such as the 2010 floods in Pakistan. A scientific alliance, Oceans United, would present the plea to governments meeting in Beijing on Nov. 3-5 for talks about a goal set at a 2002 U.N. Earth Summit of setting up a new system to monitor the health of the planet. "Most ocean experts believe the future ocean will be saltier, hotter, more acidic and less diverse," said Jesse Ausubel, a founder of the Partnership for Observation of the Global Oceans (POGO), which leads the alliance and represents 38 major oceanographic institutions from 21 nations. "It is past time to get serious about measuring what's happening to the seas around us," Ausubel said in a statement. POGO said global ocean monitoring would cost $10 billion to $15 billion to set up, with $5 billion in annual operating costs. Currently, one estimate is that between $1 and $3 billion are spent on monitoring the seas, said Tony Knap, director of the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences and a leader of POGO. Knap said new cash sounded a lot at a time of austerity cuts by many governments, but could help avert bigger losses. JAPAN TSUNAMI Off Japan, officials estimate an existing $100 million system of subsea cables to monitor earthquakes and tsunamis, linked to an early warning system, will avert 7,500-10,000 of a projected 25,000 fatalities in the event of a huge subsea earthquake. "It sounds a lot to install $100 million of cables but in terms of prevention of loss of life it begins to look trivial," Knap said. New cash would help expand many existing projects, such as satellite monitoring of ocean temperatures, tags on dolphins, salmon or whales, or tsunami warning systems off some nations. Ausubel told Reuters: "The Greeks 2,500 years ago realised that building lighthouses would have great benefits for mariners. Over the centuries, governments have invested in buoys and aids for navigation. "This is the 21st century version of that," said Ausubel, who is also a vice-president of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation in the United States. Among worrying signs, surface waters in the oceans have become 30 percent more acidic since 1800, a shift widely blamed on increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from burning of fossil fuels. That could make it harder for animals such as lobsters, crabs, shellfish, corals or plankton to build protective shells, and would have knock-on effects on other marine life.

South Korea, Asia's fourth largest economy, has pledged to set one of three targets for carbon emissions by 2020, voluntarily joining Kyoto signatories in moving toward a firm commitment to roll back climate change. The government said on Tuesday it would choose a 2020 gas emission target this year from three options: an 8 percent increase from 2005 levels by 2020, unchanged from 2005, or 4 percent below 2005 levels. The country is one of Asia's richest nations and an industrial powerhouse. Emissions doubled between 1990 and 2005 and per-capita emissions of planet-warming carbon dioxide based on 2005 levels were 11.1 tonnes, the same as some European nations and the 17th largest among OECD members. "Compared with developed countries, the targets may look mild," said Sang-hyup Kim, Secretary to the President for National Future and Vision at the Presidential Office. "But these are utmost, sincere efforts, reflecting Korea's capabilities." The government estimated each target to cost between 0.3 and 0.5 percent of GDP and will curb emissions by increased use of hybrid cars, renewable and nuclear energy consumption, energy efficiency with light-emitting diodes and smart grids. Rich nations bound by the Kyoto Protocol to curb greenhouse gas emissions are under intense pressure from developing countries to ramp up their targets to cut emissions as part of a broader climate pact under negotiation. Those talks culminate at the end of the year at a major UN gathering in the Danish capital, Copenhagen. Wealthy developing states such as South Korea, Singapore and Mexico have also come under pressure to announce emissions curbs. South Korea's targets are modest compared with developed countries such as the United States and the European Union. Japan and the United States respectively aim to cut emissions by 15 and 17 percent by 2020 against 2005 levels, while the European Union and Britain are each aiming for reductions of 20 and 34 percent by 2020, compared with 1990 levels. China and many developing nations want the rich to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40 percent by 2020 to avoid the worst effects of global warming such as droughts, floods and rising seas.

Nearby, sleeves rolled up, suds up to their elbows, women washed plastic jerrycans in rainbow colors, cut into pieces. Around them, piles of broken toys, plastic mayonnaise jars and hundreds of discarded synthetic wigs stretched as far as the eye could see, all ready to be sold and recycled. Plastic waste is exploding in Senegal, as in many countries, as populations and incomes grow and with them, demand for packaged, mass-produced products. This has given rise to a growing industry built around recycling plastic waste, by businesses and citizens alike. From Chinese traders to furniture makers and avant-garde fashion designers, many in Senegal make use of the constant stream of plastic waste. Mbeubeuss — the dump site serving Senegal’s seaside capital of Dakar — is where it all begins. More than 2,000 trash pickers, as well as scrubbers, choppers, haulers on horse-drawn carts, middlemen and wholesalers make a living by finding, preparing and transporting the waste for recycling. It adds up to a huge informal economy that supports thousands of families. Over more than 50 years at the dump, Pape Ndiaye, the doyen of waste pickers, has watched the community that lives off the dump grow, and seen them turn to plastic — a material that 20 years ago the pickers considered worthless. “We’re the people protecting the environment,” said Ndiaye, 76, looking out at the plastic scattered over Gouye Gui, his corner of the dump. “Everything that pollutes it, we take to industries, and they transform it.” Despite all of the efforts to recycle, much of Senegal’s waste never makes it to landfills, instead littering the landscape. Knockoff Adidas sandals and containers that once held a local version of Nutella block drains. Thin plastic bags that once contained drinking water meander back and forth in the Senegalese surf, like jellyfish. Plastic shopping bags burn in residential neighborhoods, sending clouds of chemical-smelling smoke into the hazy air. Senegal is just one of many countries trying to clean up, formalise the waste disposal system and embrace recycling on a bigger scale. By 2023, the African Union says, the goal is that 50% of the waste used in African cities should be recycled. But this means that Senegal also has to grapple with the informal system that has grown up over decades, of which the grand dump at Mbeubeuss is a major part. The recycled plastic makes it to enterprises of all stripes across Senegal, which has one of the most robust economies in West Africa. At a factory in Thies, an inland city known for its tapestry industry to the east of Dakar, recycled plastic pellets are spun out into long skeins, which are then woven into the colorful plastic mats used in almost every Senegalese household. Custom-made mats from this factory lined the catwalk at Dakar Fashion Week in December, focused this time on sustainability and held in a baobab forest. Signs were constructed out of old water bottles. Tables and chairs were made of melted down plastic. The trend has changed the focus of the waste pickers who have worked the dump for decades, gleaning anything of value. “Now everyone’s looking for plastic,” said Mouhamadou Wade, 50, smiling broadly as he brewed a pot of sweet, minty tea outside his sorting shack in Mbeubeuss, where he has been a waste picker for more than 20 years. Adja Seyni Diop, sitting on a wooden bench by the shack in the kind of long, elegant dress favored by Senegalese women, agreed. When she first began waste picking, at age 11 in 1998, nobody was interested in buying plastic, she said, so she left it in the trash heap, collecting only scrap metal. But these days, plastic is by far the easiest thing to sell to middlemen and traders. She supports her family on the income she makes there, between $25 and $35 a week. Wade and Diop work together at Bokk Jom, a kind of informal union representing over half of Mbeubeuss’ waste pickers. And most of them spend their days searching for plastic. A few days later, I bumped into Diop in her workplace — a towering platform made entirely of rancid waste that is so hostile an environment that it is known as “Yemen.” I almost didn’t recognise her, with her face obscured by bandannas, two hats and sunglasses, to protect her against the particles of trash blowing in every direction. Around us, herds of white, long-horned cattle munched on garbage as dozens of pickers descended on each dump truck emptying its load. Some young men even hung from the tops of trucks to catch precious plastic as it spilled out of the trucks, before bulldozers came to sweep what remained to the edge of the trash mountain. Most of the pickers who target plastic, such as Diop, sell it — at about 13 cents a kilogram — to two Chinese plastic merchants who have depots on the landfill site. The merchants process it into pellets and ship it to China to be made into new goods, said Abdou Dieng, manager of Mbeubeuss, who works for Senegal’s growing waste management agency and has brought a little order to the chaos of the landfill. Senegal is flooded with other countries’ plastic waste as well as its own. China stopped accepting the world’s unprocessed plastic waste in 2018. Casting around for new countries to export it to, the US began to ship plastic to other countries, including Senegal. But that is beginning to change, too, as the Senegalese government appears to be cracking down on plastic waste coming from abroad. Last year, a German company was fined $3.4 million when one of its ships was caught trying to smuggle 25 tons of plastic waste into Senegal. In the past two years, the number of trucks coming to Mbeubeuss daily has increased to 500 from 300. The government says that in a few years, the giant landfill will close, replaced by much smaller sorting and composting centers as part of a joint project with the World Bank. Then, most of the money made from plastic waste will go into government coffers. The waste pickers worry about their livelihoods. Ndiaye, the last of the original waste pickers who came to Mbeubeuss in 1970, surveyed what has been his workplace for the past half-century. He remembered the large baobab under which he used to take tea breaks, now long dead, replaced by piles of plastic. “They know there’s money in it,” he said, about the government. “And they want to control it.” But Dieng insisted that the pickers would either be given jobs at the new sorting centers, “or we help them find a job that will allow them to live better than before.” That doesn’t reassure everyone. “There are many changes,” said Maguette Diop, a project officer at WIEGO, a nonprofit organisation focused on the working poor worldwide, “and the place of the waste pickers in these changes is not clear.” For now, though, hundreds of waste pickers have to keep on picking. Dodging bulldozers, piles of animal guts and cattle, with curved metal spikes and trash bags in their hands, they head back into the fray. © 2022 The New York Times Company

Now, after sailing across the Atlantic on an emissions-free yacht, Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish climate activist, has disembarked in New York ahead of her speech next month at the UN Climate Action Summit. After a 15-day sail that was obsessively tracked by European news media, cheered by fellow climate activists, mocked by critics and rocked by rough waves off Nova Scotia, Greta and the boat’s crew went through customs on Wednesday morning while anchored off Coney Island, Brooklyn. Just before 3pm, a shout went up from those waiting in the intermittent light rain to greet her at the North Cove Marina, most of them young activists. The boat’s black sails had come into sight just blocks from Wall Street, the heart of the global financial system whose investments in fossil fuels are one of the main targets of climate protesters. “Sea levels are rising, and so are we!” they chanted. As the vessel glided past the marina, there were more chants, and one anxious cry: “She’s going to Jersey!” But the yacht, trailed by a fleet of small boats, wheeled around. Soon Greta, with a slight smile, disembarked unsteadily, perhaps unsure of her land legs. Amid a flurry of questions, Greta was asked to comment on President Donald Trump in his hometown. “My message to him is just to listen to the science, and he obviously doesn’t do that,” she said. Greta began protesting outside the Swedish parliament in 2018. With her signature double braids and stern demeanour, she inspired a movement called Fridays for Future, in which thousands of children have walked out of school in locally and sometimes globally coordinated strikes. She does not fly because of airplanes’ high emissions of gases. To reach New York for the UN speech on Sep 23 at the climate summit, she was offered a ride on the Malizia II, a racing yacht that uses solar panels and underwater generator turbines to avoid producing carbon emissions, according to a statement from Greta’s team. The yacht was skippered by a German sailor, Boris Herrmann, and Pierre Casiraghi, a son of Princess Caroline of Monaco. It collects data that allow scientists to study rates of ocean acidification, a byproduct of carbon emissions. Greta has her detractors. She was criticised after single-use plastic water bottles were seen on the yacht. Some have labelled her call to “pull the emergency brake” on emissions simplistic or even undemocratic. Others question whether encouraging teenagers and even younger children to skip school to protest is the right approach. She has responded by arguing that the world is in a climate emergency and requires emergency action. A shy, small girl who self-identifies as having Asperger’s syndrome, a neurological difference on the autism spectrum, Greta was thrust into the role of a global leader after years of struggling with crippling depression. One of her first victories was persuading her mother, a well-known opera singer in Sweden, to stop flying. “We cannot solve the crisis without treating it as a crisis,” she said in a 2018 speech at the UN Climate Change Conference in Katowice, Poland. “You say you love your children above all else, and yet you’re stealing their future in front of their very eyes.” Many of the students at North Cove Marina on Wednesday said they were planning to attend a “climate strike” on Sep 20. Some, like Olivia Wohlgemuth, said they regularly skip school to participate in the Fridays for Future movement. “There’s nothing in the curriculum to explain the urgency of the climate crisis and the need to act,” said Olivia, a 16-year-old senior at Manhattan’s LaGuardia High School who learned of Greta about a year ago. “We’re saying, ‘Why study for the future we’re not going to have?’” Greta’s arrival in New York comes just weeks after the state passed the country’s most aggressive climate law, which seeks to reshape the region’s economy over the next 30 years, cutting net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050 and requiring the state to get 70% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. When asked what she would miss about the voyage, Greta said — much as some harried adults feel about a long trip — the best part was “to just sit, literally sit, staring at the ocean for hours not doing anything.” “To be in this wilderness, the ocean, and to see the beauty of it,” she added. “That I’m going to miss. Peace and quiet.” She paused for a moment. “We love you Greta!” someone shouted. © 2019 New York Times News Service

At a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica opening the synod, Francis also denounced past and present forms of colonialism and said some of the fires that devastated forests in Brazil in recent months were set by special interest groups. In his sermon, Francis said some Church leaders risked becoming “bureaucrats, not shepherds”, and urged them to have the courage of rekindling what he called the fire of God’s gift by being open to change. “If everything continues as it was, if we spend our days content that ‘this is the way things have always been done’, then the gift vanishes, smothered by the ashes of fear and concern for defending the status quo,” he said. One of the most contentious topics of the synod, whose some 260 participants are mostly bishops from the Amazon, is whether to allow older married “proven men” with families and a strong standing in local communities to be ordained as priests in the Amazon. This solution to the shortage of priests, backed by many South American bishops, would allow Catholics in isolated areas to attend Mass and receive the sacraments regularly. At least 85% of villages in the Amazon, a vast region that spans eight countries and the French territory of Guiana - cannot celebrate Mass every week. Some see a priest only once a year. Conservative opponents fear it would be a doctrinal Trojan horse that would then spread to the entire Church in the West. HERESY AND ERROR They have attacked the synod’s working document as heretical, including what they say is an implicit recognition of forms of paganism and pantheism practiced by indigenous people, such as nature worship. The three-week synod will discuss spreading the faith in the vast region, a greater role for women, environmental protection, climate change, deforestation, indigenous people and their right to keep their land and traditions. Bill Donohue, president of the US-based Catholic League, a conservative group, drew criticism for what was perceived as a condescending attitude toward native cultures when he said this week that a dilemma in the Amazon was “how to respect the culture of indigenous peoples while at the same time acknowledging inherent deficiencies in it.” A number of conservatives have tweeted their disapproval of a three-planting ceremony in the Vatican on Thursday in which people from the Amazon used native symbols and gestures, such as blessing the earth. In his sermon, Francis said indigenous cultures had to be respected.  “When peoples and cultures are devoured without love and without respect, it is not God’s fire but that of the world. Yet how many times has God’s gift been imposed, not offered; how many times has there been colonization rather than evangelization!” he said. The synod is taking place at a time when the Amazon is in the world spotlight because of the devastating fires in Brazil. Francis implied that he believed at least some of the fires were intentionally set. “The fire set by interests that destroy, like the fire that recently devastated Amazonia, is not the fire of the Gospel (which is) fed by sharing, not by profits,” he said. The synod does not make decisions. Participants vote on a final document and the pope will decide which recommendations to integrate into his future rulings.

Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent OSLO, Dec 6 (bdnews24.com/Reuters) - After two years of work, and 12 years after their last attempt, 190 nations gather in Copenhagen from Monday to try to avert dramatic climate change -- what one minister called "the most difficult talks ever embarked upon by humanity." Already the sheer size of the measures needed, and splits between rich and poor about who should pay, mean that a historic U.N. pact to fight global warming and ease dependence on fossil fuels may be put off in favor of a less binding "declaration." The conference runs from December 7-18 and will draw 15,000 officials, campaigners and journalists, making it the biggest climate summit yet. U.N. scientists predict ever more heatwaves, floods, desertification, storms and rising sea levels this century. But recession has sapped willingness to invest in a green future, and many opinion polls suggest that public concern about global warming is declining. "These are the most difficult talks ever embarked upon by humanity," said Norwegian Environment Minister Erik Solheim. "The effects will be felt by the rice farmer in Sichuan in China, by Google headquarters ..., or by the oil worker in Norway," he said. "It's much more difficult than disarmament, global trade or previous environmental agreements." PLEDGES FALL SHORT Experts say pledges made so far are not enough to reach the benchmarks that have been set for averting the worst of climate change, such as ensuring that global emissions fall after 2020. And rich nations have not yet come up with cash to help developing nations kickstart a deal. "It's unlikely that we'll achieve what's necessary so that emissions will peak before 2020," said Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, head of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany. He hoped for a "magic moment" of concessions when more than 100 leaders come to the summit for a final push on the last two days, but added: "It's possible that Copenhagen could end up as a fiasco." After an offer by India on Thursday to slow the rise of its greenhouse gas emissions, mainly from burning coal and oil, all the top emitters, led by China and the United States, have pledged curbs. "We have a full house in terms of targets from industrialized countries and indications from major developing countries of what they intend to do," said Yvo de Boer, head of the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat. But he said there was still a "huge challenge" to work out a deal that produces action fast enough to slow climate change. "POLITICAL AGREEMENT?" At best, most experts say the talks will reach a "political agreement" including targets for cuts in greenhouse gases by rich nations by 2020, and new funds for the poor. Agreement on a legally binding treaty text to succeed the 1997 Kyoto Protocol will be put off until 2010. Most say a full treaty is out of reach at least partly because the United States has not yet joined other industrialized nations in passing carbon-capping laws. The U.S. Senate is still debating a bill, although U.S. President Barack Obama will come to Copenhagen on December 9, on his way to collect the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo. "What we need is a two-step process with some real momentum and a political agreement coming out of Copenhagen," said Eileen Claussen, head of the Washington-based Pew Center on Global Climate Change. A second step would be a legal treaty. There are also deep rifts between rich and poor nations about how to share the burden of fighting global warming. China, India, Brazil and South Africa have outlined domestic goals on carbon emissions but rejected some core demands by rich nations, including a goal of halving world emissions by 2050. They say the rich -- who have benefited from decades of the industrialization that has boosted carbon emissions -- first have to set deeper cuts in their own output by 2020. So far, cuts on offer by the rich total about 14 to 18 percent by 2020 below a U.N. benchmark year of 1990. Obama will offer 3 percent, or a 17 percent cut judged from 2005 levels.

As the 30-year-old leads the world's lone superpower on a global game of hide and seek, US government officials faced questions about whether they had botched the effort to extradite Snowden from Hong Kong to face charges related to his leak of classified information.The latest wrinkle in the Snowden saga poses a different set of questions for an administration that has spent weeks fending off questions about whether it has abused its power to collect taxes, investigate criminal activity and fight terrorism.On Monday, administration officials said they had done all they could to bring Snowden to justice. Chinese defiance, rather than bureaucratic bungling, had allowed the 30-year-old former contractor to slip out of Hong Kong as officials there weighed Washington's request for extradition, they said."This was a deliberate choice by the government to release a fugitive, despite a valid arrest warrant," White House spokesman Jay Carney said at a briefing.Carney said early Monday afternoon that it was the US assumption that Snowden was still in Russia after fleeing Hong Kong for Moscow over the weekend.Other administration officials tried to dispel any notion of foot-dragging since Snowden first went public on June 9, and dismissed suggestions that they could have taken other steps to detain Snowden, who had gained access to highly sensitive information as a contract systems administrator at a National Security Agency facility in Hawaii.Snowden's exact whereabouts were a mystery on Monday as Russia resisted White House pressure to stop him during his journey to escape US prosecution.Reporters staking out an Aeroflot flight to Havana from Moscow on Monday, saw no sign of Snowden. The captain told reporters on emerging from customs: "No Snowden, no."Ecuador said it was considering Snowden's request for asylum, and advocates in the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks were also asking Iceland to take him in.Snowden's decision to go on the lam creates another headache for the Obama administration, which has seen priorities like immigration reform threatened by a string of scandals.Republicans in Congress say the Obama administration has abused its power by targeting conservative groups for heavy-handed tax scrutiny and seizing reporters' phone records in the process of investigating security leaks.When it comes to the NSA revelations, most lawmakers were already aware of the surveillance program and few have raised objections. Republicans by and large have focused their criticism on Snowden and China rather than the administration.That may change if the ordeal drags on. Republican Representative Peter King of New York on Monday said Obama should have taken a harder line with the Chinese authorities who ultimately control the semi-autonomous region of Hong Kong."I hate to be in the middle of a crisis second guessing the president, but where is he? Where is the President? Why is he not speaking to the American people? Why is he not more forceful in dealing with foreign leaders?" King said on CNN television.There are also likely to be increasingly embarrassing questions about how Snowden managed to download and take many highly sensitive documents when he was working in Hawaii for NSA contractor Booz Allen Hamilton.The head of the NSA, General Keith Alexander, said on Sunday that he did not know why the NSA did not catch Snowden before he left Hawaii for Hong Kong in May.White House Steers ClearObama first learned that Snowden had turned up in Hong Kong on Sunday, June 9, as he flew back from a weekend of talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.But Obama does not appear to have played a direct role in trying to get him back. Obama declined to say on Monday whether he has spoken directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin or other foreign leaders about the extradition efforts. Obama had an icy meeting with Putin a week ago at the G8 summit in Northern Ireland."We're following all the appropriate legal channels and working with various other countries to make sure the rule of law is observed," Obama told reporters at an unrelated event on Monday on immigration reform.Obama's public schedule leaves little room for the extradition effort. He makes a major speech on climate change on Tuesday, and then leaves on a week-long trip to Africa.Michael Chertoff, a former Homeland Security Secretary under Republican President George W Bush, said extradition laws are riddled with loopholes and the United States has a limited ability to get other countries to do what it wants."You can do all the paperwork, but it becomes a question of leverage," he said. "Either they didn't have enough, or they didn't exercise enough."Though the White House has distanced itself from the Snowden affair, other agencies have taken pains to show that they have done all they could to bring Snowden back to face charges.The Justice Department said it had filed espionage and theft charges against Snowden on June 14, one week before it made the charges public, and asked Hong Kong to arrest Snowden the next day.Officials from the FBI, the Justice Department and the State Department worked with their counterparts in Hong Kong to extradite Snowden over the next several days, culminating in a telephone call between US Attorney General Eric Holder and Hong Kong's Secretary for Justice, Rimsky Yuen, on June 19."There was a sense that the process was moving forward," a Justice Department official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.Hong Kong officials asked for more information and evidence two days later, but did not give the United States enough time to respond before Snowden left the Chinese territory on June 23.Administration officials dismissed suggestions that they had mishandled the extradition effort. Using a so-called "red notice" to ask Interpol, the international police organisation, for help was unnecessary because Snowden should not have been able to leave Hong Kong if his passport had been revoked, a Justice Department official said.US officials said privacy laws prevent them from describing the status of any individual's passport, but Carney hinted that it had indeed been revoked."Hong Kong authorities were advised of the status of Mr. Snowden's travel documents in plenty of time to have prohibited his travel," he said.George Terwilliger, who served as the Justice Department's No. 2 official under President George HW Bush, said it was too early to know whether the agency should be blamed for failing to get Snowden."These are not legal issues, per se. They're political and diplomatic issues, and most of the skills that are exercised are exercised away from the public eye."

He is combative and outspoken. She is conciliatory and deferential. But few leaders in Europe have as much in common where it really counts as Nicolas Sarkozy, the winner of Sunday's French presidential election, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Born within six months of each other, Sarkozy and Merkel are outsiders who overcame strong opposition from within their own parties to reach the pinnacle of European politics -- she as a pastor's daughter from communist East Germany and he as the son of a Hungarian immigrant who fled communism. The two conservatives are united in their support for closer ties with Washington and in their opposition to Turkey's bid to join the EU -- clear departures from the stances of their predecessors Jacques Chirac and Gerhard Schroeder. Both are advocates of reforming the European welfare state, although Merkel has been limited by her "grand coalition" in Berlin and Sarkozy has raised questions with his protectionist support of French national champions. Together, they are ideally positioned to restart the Franco-German motor that has driven the European Union forward for the past five decades but stalled when French voters rejected a draft constitution for the bloc two years ago. "He wants to get European integration on track again and does not define Europe as a counterweight to the United States," Andreas Schockenhoff, a leading conservative in parliament told German television. "These are the very principles on which our foreign policy is based." Sarkozy has vowed to visit Merkel on his first foreign trip as president and, in his victory speech on Sunday, signalled that she can count on his cooperation as she strives to deliver a G8 deal on climate change and an EU agreement on reviving the rejected treaty at separate summits in June. In the speech, the 52-year-old Frenchman, said his country was "back in Europe" and urged the United States, whose reluctance to commit to measures to combat global warming risks dooming Merkel's G8 plans, to take a leadership role on climate change. Language like this has comforted the German government in its hopes that Sarkozy will be more pragmatic as president than he was during his campaign and stints in Chirac's government. At a March campaign rally in the southern city of Nice, Sarkozy raised eyebrows by taking a swipe at Germany as he defended his own country's past. "(France) has not carried out a genocide. It did not invent the final solution," he said. As finance minister under Chirac, he helped prevent German conglomerate Siemens from purchasing assets from ailing French rival Alstom, then rankled Berlin in 2004 by pushing through French drug maker Sanofi's purchase of part-German peer Aventis. But German officials praise Sarkozy for taking a more measured stance when a crisis flared at Franco-German plane maker Airbus earlier this year and note that he has dropped calls for an overhaul of the European Central Bank's statutes. "I think we will see a much more pragmatic Sarkozy on European issues than we have in past years," said a senior member of Merkel's cabinet, requesting anonymity.

Poor countries will soon receive billions of dollars from a new World Bank fund to help them cut pollution, save energy and fight global warming, the international organisation said. Developing countries such as India and China are already trying to reduce their carbon emissions, mainly to save on energy, but have baulked at doing more without technological help from Europe, Japan and the United States. Most carbon dioxide heating the planet now is a result of western industrialisation, and developing countries want financial help to cut their own growing emissions. "The fund will support publicly and privately financed projects that deploy technologies that can cut emissions, increase efficiency and save energy...(in) developing countries," the US, British and Japanese finance ministers said in the Financial Times on Friday. The World Bank clean technology fund would receive some of the $2 billion in climate funds US President George W Bush announced last month, and part of the 800 million pounds ($1.56 billion) Britain pledged to "environmental transformation" last year, Henry Paulson, Alistair Darling and Fukushiro Nukaga said. Japan last month announced a $10 billion package to support developing countries' fight against climate change but the finance ministers' letter did not detail how much of this would be channelled through the World Bank. In a written response to questions from Reuters, the World Bank said, "It is expected that the formal announcement of the creation of the facility will be made soon." "In addition to discussions with donor countries, talks have been or will shortly be undertaken with other interested parties, including other agencies in the UN system and the private sector." The World Bank statement referred to "a strategic climate investment facility that would accelerate and scale up low carbon and climate-resilient investments in developing countries". The three finance ministers said the fund would not be an alternative to UN-led talks to agree new emissions curbs to succeed measures now under the Kyoto Protocol from 2013, a concern in Europe. "While the idea of a clean tech fund is welcome it should not be used to distract from or undermine the main event which is global negotiations on reducing carbon emissions," an EU source told Reuters, who said agreeing on binding emissions cuts was the top priority.

Putin was speaking at a G20 leaders summit in Brisbane where he has come under intense pressure, with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper telling him to "get out of Ukraine".The leaders of the United States, Japan and Australia vowed to oppose Russian aggression, and European leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel have warned of more sanctions unless Russia withdraws troops and weapons from Ukraine and ends its support for pro-Russian separatist rebels.The crisis has taken relations between Russia and the West a post-Cold War low.Sanctions aimed at sectors like oil and banking, as well as individuals close to Putin, are squeezing Russia's economy at a time when falling oil prices are straining the budget and the rouble has plunged on financial markets.Elsewhere at the summit, the United States and other nations overrode host Australia's attempts to keep climate change off the formal agenda. The communique at the end of the meeting will include a significant passage on climate change, EU officials said.Russia has denied any involvement in the conflict in Ukraine that has killed more than 4,000 people this year."Today the situation (in Ukraine) in my view has good chances for resolution, no matter how strange it may sound, but certain structures had been established on both sides that could handle the tasks they are facing better," Putin told reporters before he left Brisbane ahead of the formal ending of the summit.U.S. President Barack Obama, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe lined up together against Russia on Sunday, vowing to oppose what they called Moscow's efforts to destabilise eastern Ukraine.Speaking after a rare trilateral meeting on the sidelines of the summit, the three said they would oppose "Russia's purported annexation of Crimea and its actions to destabilise eastern Ukraine", and were committed to "bringing to justice those responsible for the downing of Flight MH17."The Malaysian Airlines flight was shot down over Ukraine earlier this year.Obama is due to meet European leaders to discuss Ukraine later in the day and EU foreign ministers will meet on Monday to consider further steps, including additional possible sanctions on Russia.Security, climate changeSecurity and climate change have overshadowed G20 talks on boosting flagging global economic growth at the summit."The most difficult discussion was on climate change," an EU official told reporters on condition of anonymity. "This was really trench warfare, this was really step by step by step. In the end we have references to most of the things we wanted."As world leaders debated how to tackle climate change, environmental protesters outside the summit venue sweltered in the scorching heat of the Australian summer.Australia, one of the world's biggest carbon emitters per capita, had argued climate change was not a clear economic issue and should not be discussed at the G20. Prime Minister Tony Abbott has questioned the science behind climate change and abolished a tax on carbon emissions and plans for an emissions trading scheme in July.The EU official said the climate change passage included practical measures and a reference to the Green Climate Fund, which U.S. President Barack Obama committed $3 billion to on Saturday, and Japan pledged $1.5 billion on Sunday.The United States and Europe led the push to have climate change discussed at the meeting, with Obama using a speech on Saturday to warn that Australia's iconic Great Barrier Reef was under threat.Asked on Sunday if he accepted that climate change was potentially one of the biggest impediments to global economic growth, Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey said: "No. No I don't. Absolutely not.""Australia is doing the same amount of work on climate change as the United States over a 30-year period. Frankly, what we're focused on is growth and jobs."EU officials said the communique, likely to be three pages, down from 27 last year, would also include an anti-corruption action plan. China had agreed to a G20 deal aimed at cracking down on companies masking their ownership, after initial concerns about the proposal, the EU official said.A working group at the Group of 20 lead by Australia has been seeking agreement on how to improve beneficial ownership transparency and combat the use of shell companies that can hide ill-gotten money or avoid taxation. China had said on Thursday an agreement was still under discussion.Hockey also said the G20 will exceed a target to boost global growth by an additional 2 percentage points over the next five years."The 2 percent target that we announced in Sydney has been met. It will go further," Hockey told ABC television ahead of Sunday's G20 leaders meetings. He did not specify by how much the G20 would exceed the target.

Nuclear operator British Energy has reached a long-awaited decision to extend the lives of two reactors by an extra five years to 2016, helping the UK towards ambitious climate change goals. The Hinkley Point reactor in Somerset, southwest England, and the Hunterston reactor on Scotland's west coast had been scheduled to close in 2011, 35 years after they were first fired up. "This decision ... is important in supporting the UK's climate change goals for the reduction of CO2 emissions," said Chief Executive Bill Coley. "Life extension helps provide support as the country considers energy conservation, efficiency and investment in new generating plant of all types," he added. The company expects to spend an additional 90 million pounds ($183.6 million) in the three years to 2008 to get the two reactors ready. British Energy is currently running the two plants at a reduced capacity of 60 percent after shutting them down last winter to repair boiler cracks. But it hopes to get them up to 70 percent over the next year, at which point it needs a power price of around 27 pounds per megawatt hour to make the life extensions economically viable.

The Earthshot Prize will award five one-million-pound ($1.29-million) prizes each year for the next 10 years under the categories of protecting and restoring nature, cleaner air, reviving oceans, waste-reduction and climate change. Nominations open on Nov 1 ahead of the first awards ceremony in the autumn next year. William, grandson of Queen Elizabeth and second-in-line to the throne, said change was critical in the next decade to help protect and restore the environment. "By 2030 we really hope to have made huge strides in fixing some of the biggest problems the Earth faces," Prince William, 38, will tell BBC Radio when he is interviewed on Thursday with naturalist David Attenborough. "I think that urgency with optimism really creates action. And so the Earthshot Prize is really about harnessing that optimism and that urgency to find solutions to some of the world’s greatest environmental problems." The British royal family have been vocal campaigners on a host of environmental issues, with William's father Prince Charles speaking out for decades about the impact of climate change and the importance of conservation. Kensington Palace said the prize drew its inspiration from US President John F Kennedy's Moonshot, which it said since the 1969 moon landing was synonymous with ambitious and ground-breaking goals. It said the prizes would provide at least 50 solutions to the world’s environmental problems by 2030. The Earthshot Prize Council will be set up to decide on the winners with its members to include names from the environmental, philanthropic, business, sporting and entertainment worlds. They will be announced later on Thursday. The project has more than 100 partners around the world who will submit nominations from Nov 1, said the statement. The 2021 awards ceremony will take place in London and then in different cities around the world. The Earthshot Prizes were first announced last December.

WASHINGTON, Sep 4, (bdnews24.com/Reuters) - As the world's oceans get warmer, the strongest tropical storms get stronger, climate scientists reported on Wednesday as the remnants of Hurricane Gustav spun out over the central United States. "If the seas continue to warm, we can expect to see stronger storms in the future," James Elsner of Florida State University said. "As far as this year goes, as a season, we did see the oceans warm and I think there's some reason to believe that that's the reason we're seeing the amount of activity we are." Gustav made landfall on Monday just west of New Orleans; three more storms churned toward the US mainland on Wednesday. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts 12 to 16 tropical storms between June 1 and November 30 this year, with six to nine hurricanes and two to five major hurricanes. Many climate scientists have linked stronger storms to rising sea surface temperatures in the North Atlantic and elsewhere, under the so-called heat engine theory: because warm tropical cyclones feed on warm water, the warmer the water, the more intense the storm. U.S. researchers looked at 26 years of satellite data, from 1981 to 2006, and determined that the strongest storms got stronger as a result of increasing ocean warmth. "It's almost like a survival-of-the-fittest argument," said Elsner, whose study is published in the journal Nature. Overall, tropical waters that breed cyclones have warmed by about 0.6 degrees F since 1981. The heat engine theory suggests all storms should strengthen as the ocean's surface gets hotter, but in reality, few tropical cyclones achieve their full maximum potential intensity. A cyclone's intensity can be cut by other factors, such as where they form, how close they are to land, El Nino patterns and solar activity, the researchers said. Strong storms seem able to overcome these factors and gather more fuel from warming waters, Elsner said. The study's findings are in line with projections made last year by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which said there may be more intense storms due to global warming. The panel said "more likely than not" that a trend of intense tropical cyclones and hurricanes was caused by human activity. Elsner's study made no reference to any human cause for rising temperatures in the world's oceans.

BONN, Germany, Tue Mar 31, (bdnews24.com/Reuters) - The world is striving for a new UN climate "treaty" in December to succeed Kyoto. Or perhaps it will be a vaguer "agreement," "deal" or "decision." Delegates at 175-nation UN talks in Bonn on ways to step up the fight against global warming are locked in a semantic dispute -- but a vital one which will determine how ambitious a new deal is and how far it can be enforced in international law. "It certainly has big legal implications," Yvo de Boer, head of the UN Climate Change Secretariat, told Reuters Tuesday. He said he speaks broadly of a "deal," "agreement" or "pact." More than 190 nations launched a two-year push in 2007 in Bali, Indonesia, for what was described as an "agreed outcome" to fight global warming to be produced at a meeting in Copenhagen in December 2009. The idea of a new "protocol" or "treaty," favored by many developed nations, worries many poor nations since the words imply a legally binding deal backed by sanctions for non-compliance. But a non-binding "decision" in Copenhagen alarms many developed nations who want developing countries to take on tougher commitments to avert projected increases in heat waves, droughts, floods and rising seas. "It's impossible to say what the end result will be," de Boer said. The March 29-April 8 meeting in Bonn is looking at issues including the extent of curbs on greenhouse gas emissions needed by 2020. All developed nations except the United States already have binding commitments to cut emissions of greenhouse gases, mainly from burning fossil fuels, by an average of 5 percent below 1990 levels by 2008-12 under the Kyoto Protocol. Many are far over target but de Boer said most Kyoto countries looked capable of reaching the goals with their planned measures to curb emissions. And recession is curbing use of fossil fuels. CHINA Kyoto countries have already agreed to make deeper curbs beyond 2012 and many want developing countries, such as China and India, to take on legally binding commitments. China, the United States, Russia and India are the leading emitters. Australia, for instance, has outlined two options for what it calls a "post-2012 treaty" for all nations. Most poor nations favor non-binding goals for themselves. President Barack Obama has said the United States will cap emissions in what the Washington generally refers to as an "agreement." "But some say 'what's the meaning of legally binding?'" de Boer added. "Is someone going to arrest (US) President Barack Obama if he doesn't reach his target?" Under Kyoto, countries that fail to make the agreed cuts will have to make extra cuts in a planned new period. Former President George W. Bush kept the United States out of Kyoto, saying it wrongly omitted goals for poor nations and would damage the U.S. economy. Environmentalists fear that the global economic crisis will deflect attention from efforts to fight climate change.

The journalists, Maria Ressa of the Philippines and Dmitry Muratov of Russia, were recognised for “their courageous fight for freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.” “They are representatives of all journalists who stand up for this ideal in a world in which democracy and freedom of the press face increasingly adverse conditions,” the committee said in a statement released after the announcement in Oslo. Ressa — a Fulbright scholar, who was also named a Time magazine Person of the Year in 2018 for her crusading work against disinformation — has been a constant thorn in the side of Rodrigo Duterte, her country’s authoritarian president. The digital media company for investigative journalism that she co-founded, Rappler, has exposed government corruption and researched the financial holdings and potential conflicts of interest of top political figures. It has also done groundbreaking work on the Duterte government’s violent anti-drug campaign. “The number of deaths is so high that the campaign resembles a war waged against the country’s own population,” the committee said. “Ressa and Rappler have also documented how social media is being used to spread fake news, harass opponents and manipulate public discourse.” She is only the 18th woman to win the Peace Prize in its 120-year history. Speaking on Rappler’s Facebook Live platform, Ressa said she hoped the award was a “recognition of how difficult it is to be a journalist today.” “This is for you, Rappler,” she said, her voice breaking slightly, adding that she hopes for “energy for all of us to continue the battle for facts.” Muratov has defended freedom of speech in Russia for decades, working under increasingly difficult conditions. Within hours of news of the award breaking, the Kremlin stepped up its crackdown on critics, labelling nine journalists and activists as “foreign agents,” a designation that imposes onerous requirements on them. One of the founders of independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta in 1993, Muratov has been its editor-in-chief since 1995. Despite a continual barrage of harassment, threats, violence and even murders, the newspaper has continued to publish. Since its start, six of the newspaper’s journalists have been killed, the committee noted, citing Anna Politkovskaya, who wrote revealing articles about the war in Chechnya. “Despite the killings and threats, editor-in-chief Muratov has refused to abandon the newspaper’s independent policy,” the committee wrote. “He has consistently defended the right of journalists to write anything they want about whatever they want, as long as they comply with the professional and ethical standards of journalism.” Many Russian dissidents had hoped and expected that the prize would go to Alexei Navalny, the imprisoned opposition leader, expressing anger and disappointment that he was passed over. Muratov said the award had come as a surprise — and that he, too, would have given it to Navalny. He told Russian media that he ignored several unidentified calls from Norway on Friday while arguing with one of his journalists; in the end, his press secretary gave him a heads-up seconds before the announcement. He said he would donate some of the prize money to the fight against spinal muscular atrophy, a cause for which he has long advocated, and to support journalism against pressure from Russian authorities. “The fight against the media is not a fight against the media,” Muratov said in a radio interview Friday. “It is a fight against the people.” This year was only the third time in the 120-year history of the prize that journalists were honoured for contributions to the cause of peace. Ernesto Moneta, a newspaper editor and leader of the Italian peace movement, won in 1907. And Carl von Ossietzky, a German journalist, pacifist and opponent of Nazism, who was imprisoned by Hitler, won the 1935 prize. The Nobel committee chose from 329 candidates, one of the largest pools ever considered. Those who had been regarded as favourites included climate-change activists, political dissidents and scientists whose work helped fight the COVID-19 pandemic. In its citation, the committee said that “free, independent and fact-based journalism serves to protect against abuse of power, lies and war propaganda.” “Without freedom of expression and freedom of the press,” the committee said, “it will be difficult to successfully promote fraternity between nations, disarmament and a better world order to succeed in our time.” © 2021 The New York Times Company

Rushanara Ali, who was born in Sylhet and became the first member of the UK House of Commons of Bangladesh origin, will pressure her government to enact a law that requires the country to provide 0.7 percent of its national income as development aid. The shadow minister for international development from the British Labour Party told bdnews24.com in an exclusive interview on Monday that she, and her party, would call upon the Conservative Party-led government to demonstrate its seriousness about attaining the target of 0.7 percent of GNI (gross national income). "When Labour was in power, it was on track to introduce legislation so that this is a legally binding requirement to increase aid to 0.7 percent of GNI by 2013." "We're calling for the Conservative-led government to honour that commitment and demonstrate its seriousness by introducing a law towards the goal." "We must do it to send a clear signal about our commitment and in the process allay the prevailing scepticism that it's not merely a pledge and that we really mean it." The Bethnal Green and Bow MP from London agreed that development aid from rich countries should not be diverted to programmes for addressing climate change. "I agree that funding should be available that is not recycled or diverted away from other important issues like tackling poverty and health. But in some cases these will overlap," Ali said in reference to European Union's international climate pledge from recycled funds, which resulted from the demand of poor countries that climate aid must be over and beyond development assistance. "But these will overlap in some cases, so you have to be pragmatic. And that is why there is the ceiling of 10 percent." Ali explained that the Labour Party's position has been that climate funds should not exceed over 10 percent of development aid. She also referred to the international commitments made at the Copenhagen climate summit. Speaking at her hotel in Dhaka, fresh from hearing the testimonies of victims at a shadow climate tribunal organised by the Oxfam-managed Campaign for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods, Ali said she hoped to raise awareness about the climate issue and how it was crucial for Bangladesh. With a third of her constituency originally from Bangladesh, the British MP said, "What I hope to do is to raise awareness about the adverse impacts of climate change. It's already a huge issue and it will get worse if action is not taken now." She seemed particularly concerned about the prospect of millions of people getting displaced and becoming homeless due to sea-level rise in the next couple of decades. Having heard climate victims from coastal villages and their predicament, Ali said she had been moved by the emotional testimonies and how their lives were so dramatically affected by extreme weather conditions. Regarding the Labour Party's target of 10 percent automobile fuel coming from biofuels, Ali indirectly admitted that it been a mistake. "I think a lot of countries realised that there are unintended consequences of going down that track, for instance the impact it would have on food prices." The food crisis of 2008 is partially attributed to the surge of biofuels caused by substantial subsidies both in the US and EU. However, reducing carbon emissions was very important in Britain under Labour, she said. Ali said that Britain introduced a law for legally binding emission cuts. "It showed that we want to change our behaviour and know that it was for our own good." "It was also an admission that we are polluters."

There is a bright side to the plunge in solar panel prices that has brought down some US and German manufacturers which relied too heavily on subsidies for green energy - solar power costs have fallen faster than anyone thought possible. The falls in prices for photovoltaic components, pushed down by economies of scale and fierce competition from China, have made solar nearly as cheap as conventional sources in Germany's electricity grid. The boom in Germany, the world's biggest photovoltaic market with 24,000 megawatts of installed capacity, has also helped to drive down costs worldwide, making solar a more viable and accessible alternative to fossil fuels in places ranging from India and the Middle East to Africa and North America. The unexpectedly rapid drop in global solar prices has nevertheless hit some equipment makers hard - producers like Solyndra in the United States and Solon (SOOG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) in Germany that failed to keep pace and ended up in bankruptcy protection. The demise of Solyndra, which had got $535 million in loans from the U.S. government, is sometimes cited by sceptics as evidence of the dangers associated with supporting the industry with incentives. They argue subsidies waste public money. "Everyone's missing the real story and it's amazing how brain dead some people are," said Jeremy Rifkin, an adviser to the German government and European Union on climate change and energy security. "It's absolutely a positive thing that solar prices are dropping faster than anyone thought they could. "It's actually a great success," the US economist told Reuters. "Those criticising solar for that are being ignorant or disingenuous. It's a winnowing out process similar to what the computer and communications sectors went through. More companies that can't stay ahead of the curve will go belly up." CHEAP SOLAR POWER Germany is the biggest market for solar power despite its heavy clouds and northern latitude. A robust legal framework that forces utilities to buy solar power at above-market rates has more than negated these disadvantages, turning Germany into the world's top testing ground for photovoltaic energy. Yet due to plunging prices for components, solar power prices in Germany have been halved in the last five years and solar now generates electricity at levels only a few cents above what consumers pay. The subsidies will disappear entirely within a few years, the German BSW solar association says, when solar will be as cheap as conventional fossil fuels. Germany has added 14,000 megawatts capacity in the last two years alone and now has 24,000 MW in total - enough green electricity to meet nearly 4 percent of the country's power demand. That is expected to rise to 10 percent by 2020. Germany now has almost 10 times more installed capacity than the United States. Germany's government-mandated "feed-in tariff" (FIT) is the engine of growth. The FIT is the guaranteed fee utilities are obligated to pay a million producers of solar power for a period of 20 years. It fell to 24 euro cents per kWh for new plants in 2012 from 57 cents in 2004. Since 2010 semi-annual cuts in the incentives have accelerated, dropping the FIT from 43 cents. "The growth of solar in Germany in the last few years has been just incredible," said Martin Jaenicke, head of environment policy research at Berlin's Free University, noting solar power is the world's most abundant source of energy. "People sometimes call solar power expensive. But once the capital equipment is paid off, it's an unbelievably cheap source of energy. Ideally, subsidies eventually eliminate themselves and that is exactly what is happening in Germany." Yet solar remains a relatively expensive source of power, even in Germany where consumers are forced to pay a surcharge of some 7 billion euros annually on their electricity bill to pay for the above-market rates that solar power producers get. The incentives pay for the costs of the 1 million rooftop power plants installed in the last decade. The German government that wrote the Renewable Energy Act in 2000 had had more modest ambitions. They hoped to have 100,000 rooftop power plants. "It's important that electricity remains affordable," said Economy Minister Philip Roesler, who argues new installations should be capped at 1,000 MW per year. "We need to tackle the causes of rising costs and it is above all photovoltaic." Tom Mayer, chief economist of Deutsche Bank, said it was reasonable to support the sector before but it's now "high time" to cut the subsidies by 30 to 40 percent with prices falling to about 15 cents per kWh -- 8 cents below the retail price. "Now that the technology is mature, high subsidies are no longer needed," Mayer said in a research note. Even if some firms will perish, he said: "Leading producers on the world market can cope with (lower) prices." SURVIVAL OF FITTEST "It's remarkable how fast photovoltaic prices fell towards grid parity," said Peter Ahmels, head of renewable energy at the German Environmental Aid Association (DUH). "Germany will hit grid power parity next year -- three years faster than thought." As solar gained popularity in Germany and market prices for components fell, the government reacted by speeding up cuts in the FIT and is now mulling plans to cut the incentives faster to under 20 cents later this year. Claudia Kemfert, an energy expert at the DIW economic think-tank, said economies of scale from Germany's boom and technology innovations are behind the fall in solar prices. But she agreed Germany's FIT should fall faster. "The competition is getting tougher all the time," she said. "That's why some German solar companies might not survive." Falling prices for solar power have hit the earnings and the stocks of many solar firms. Along with Solon and Solyndra, Solar Millennium (S2MG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research), Evergreen Solar and SpectraWatt have sunk into insolvency. Rifkin, the US economist, said more firms that cannot keep up will fail. "This is disruptive but it's a success and it's moving so quickly," he said. "Germany is leading the way. Solar prices will keep falling. Grid parity is going to be reached in many countries between now and 2015 and that's a good thing. I don't think the world will need any more subsidies for solar by 2020."

Energy storage is an unglamorous pillar of an expected revolution to clean up the world's energy supply but will soon vie for investors attention with more alluring sources of energy like solar panels, manufacturers say. "It's been in the background until now. It's not sexy. It's the enabler, not a source of energy," said Tim Hennessy, chief executive of Canadian battery makers VRB Power, speaking on the sidelines of a "CleanEquity" technologies conference in Monaco. VRB will start mass production this year of a longer-lasting rival to the lead acid battery currently used to store energy for example produced by solar panel, Hennessy said. Low carbon-emitting renewable energy is in vogue, driven by fears over climate change, spiraling oil prices and fears over energy supply and security. While the supply of the wind and sun far exceeds humanity's needs it doesn't necessarily match the time when people need it: the sun may not be shining nor the wind blowing when we need to cook dinner or have a shower. Soaring production of solar panel and wind turbines is now spurring a race to develop the winning energy storage technologies which will drive the electric cars and appliances of the future. The race is heating up as manufacturers with entirely different solutions near the moment of commercial production. For example, UK-based ITM Power sees the future of energy storage in the explosive gas hydrogen. The company is developing a piece of kit called an electrolyzer which uses solar or wind power to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen is then stored in a pressurized container until it is needed, whether to drive a car, produce electricity or for cooking. "With batteries you're taking enormous quantities of basic raw materials," said Chief Executive Jim Heathcote, referring to cadmium in nickel cadmium varieties. His company won an award for research at the Monaco conference, organized by corporate finance advisers Innovator Capital. "Two things we're confident of is the supply of renewable energy and water," he said. ITM Power aims to start production later this year of electrolyzers and next year of hydrogen fuel cells which generate electricity. "The one problem everyone's had is how to store. The ability to take (surplus) renewable energy and make useful fuel out of it is almost priceless," Heathcote said. RICH The economic opportunities are highlighted by a third company, U.S.-based EnerDel, which aims to supply batteries for the "Th!nk City" electric vehicle, manufactured by Norway's Think Global. In the case of electric cars, cheap, lightweight batteries are needed to power motors, and will eliminate carbon emissions if the batteries are charged using renewable power sources. EnerDel has patented a lithium-ion battery which it says is lighter and cheaper than the nickel metal hydride batteries currently used in hybrid electric cars such as the Toyota Prius. "I think energy storage is the next frontier," said Charles Gassenheimer, chairman of EnerDel's owners Ener1 Inc. The "Th!nk" car could be the world's first mass production electric vehicle, starting in earnest in 2009. It will go from 0 to 60 miles an hour in about 8 seconds and have a range of up to 100 miles, said Gassenheimer. Investors have given their thumbs up to Ener1, which now has a market capitalization of around $700 million, a ten-fold increase over two years ago.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd celebrated his first 100 days in office by publishing a booklet on his achievements on Friday, and dismissed critics who said nothing much has changed since he took office. Rudd's centre-left Labor Party won elections 97 days ago on Nov. 24, 2007, ending almost 12 years of conservative rule. Rudd officially took power on Dec. 3. But newspapers have begun rolling out stories about Rudd's first 100 days, with some critical that Rudd's government has set up dozens of committees, reviews and inquiries, but has made few hard decisions. "If a camel is a horse designed by a committee, then Australia is at risk of growing humps," Sydney Morning Herald Political Correspondent Phillip Coorey wrote on Friday, in a swipe at Rudd's fondness for setting up committees. Rudd's 55-page book cites his decision to ratify the Kyoto Protocol on climate, the deployment of extra troops to East Timor, and preparing to pull Australian combat forces out of Iraq, as key achievements. But Rudd told reporters the biggest change to Australia since his election win was his government's apology to Aborigines for historic mistreatment. "When we undertook the apology to parliament ... we were doing something I believe was of long-term and enduring value to the nation," Rudd said. The Sydney Morning Herald said Rudd had averaged one new committee or inquiry every four days since he won office, while the Herald Sun newspaper said Rudd had commissioned at least 47 committees, with 50 more promised during the election campaign. Rudd defended his actions on Friday, saying the former conservative government set up 495 inquiries and reviews in 2005-06 alone. "It is a responsible course of action for an incoming government to say, here are areas where you need to review the future direction," Rudd said. Political analyst Nick Economou, from Melbourne's Monash University, said Rudd had made a good start to government, and had deliberately set out to find some kind of national consensus for his agenda. "I think he is going quite well," Economou said. "He handled the apology stuff with aplomb. He could be sacked tomorrow and he's already carved out a big place for himself in Australian political history -- a good place." He said Rudd's fascination with committees and reviews, including his plans for an ideas summit of 1,000 people in April, were all designed to help the government deliver its plans. "He's got an agenda for what he wants to achieve, but he wants to bring people on board in doing it," he said. "Rudd actually knows where he wants to go, but he wants to find the process to get there, the process that will lead to consensus."

Redistricting and West Virginia’s shrinking population forced the state’s Republican Legislature to pit McKinley, a six-term Republican with a pragmatic bent, against Mooney, who has served four terms marked more by conservative rhetoric than legislative achievements. McKinley has the backing of much of the state’s power structure, including its governor, Jim Justice, and, in recent days, its Democratic senator, Joe Manchin. Mooney, however, may have the endorsement that matters most: Trump’s — in a state that gave the former president 69% of the vote in 2020. Neither candidate could exactly be called a moderate Republican, but McKinley thought his primary bid would be framed around his technocratic accomplishments, his support for the bipartisan infrastructure bill that was co-written by Manchin and his attentiveness to a state used to — and still in need of — federal attention. On Thursday, he and Justice were in the state’s northern panhandle, not for a campaign rally but to visit a high-tech metal alloy plant. Mooney’s campaign does not go for nuance. His is built around one thing: Trump’s endorsement. The former president sided with Mooney after McKinley voted for the infrastructure bill as well as for legislation to create a bipartisan commission to examine the Jan 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol — legislation that was filibustered by Republicans in the Senate. “Alex is the only candidate in this race that has my complete and total endorsement,” Trump says in a radio advertisement blanketing the state. The former president goes on to blast McKinley as a “RINO” — “Republican in name only” — “who supported the fake infrastructure bill that wasted hundreds of billions of dollars on the Green New Deal” and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s “phony narrative” on Jan 6 that went “against the interests of West Virginia.” A television advertisement also featuring Trump tells viewers that Mooney defended the former president from Pelosi’s “Jan 6 witch hunt.” Sensing that any high-minded campaign on accomplishments was simply not going to work, McKinley has hit back at “Maryland Mooney” as a carpetbagger — he once headed the Maryland Republican Party and ran for office in New Hampshire — who is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for charges that he improperly used campaign dollars and staff for personal gain. Most remarkably, McKinley has turned to a Democrat, Manchin, for his closing argument. “Alex Mooney has proven he’s all about Alex Mooney, but West Virginians know that David McKinley is all about us,” Manchin says in a McKinley campaign ad. He also calls Mooney a liar for suggesting that McKinley supported the far-reaching climate change and social welfare bill that Manchin killed. All of this is somewhat extraordinary in a state where federal largess has made politicians like the now-deceased Sen. Robert Byrd and his protégé, Manchin, folk heroes. But the state has changed in the Trump era, and loyalties have hardened, said Scott Widmeyer, co-founder of the Stubblefield Institute for Civil Political Communications at Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. “We’ve seen heated political races, but I don’t think anything has been as nasty and down and dirty as this one,” he said. “Republicans are eating their own.” Institute officials invited both candidates to a debate, but only McKinley accepted. They then suggested that the candidates come separately to town hall meetings. Only McKinley accepted. Mooney is the one evincing confidence, however. McKinley entered the race at a structural advantage. The state’s newly drawn district includes 19 of the 20 counties McKinley previously represented and only eight of the 17 counties in Mooney’s current district. Mooney’s biggest population centre, the capital in Charleston, was sent to Rep Carol Miller, the only other West Virginian in the House. But Trump is popular in every West Virginia county, and on the power of his name, Mooney has been posting polls from national and local outfits showing him up by double digits before Tuesday’s primary. Aides close to McKinley say the race will be close, and as long as Trump does not swoop into the state at the last minute for a get-out-the-vote rally, either candidate could still win a low-turnout affair. One campaign official said many voters who long ago abandoned the Democrats but not their Democratic Party registration have been re-registering as independents or Republicans to vote against Mooney. Jonathan Kott, a former spokesperson and adviser to Manchin, said the Democratic senator has “a genuine friendship and working relationship” with McKinley, a point Manchin made during a local radio interview last week. But what seems to have really pushed the Democratic senator to intervene in a Republican primary was not his friendship with McKinley but his anger over Mooney’s opposition to the infrastructure bill. “Mooney’s vote against the infrastructure bill shows he isn’t interested in what’s best for West Virginia,” Kott said. In the interview, Manchin also took a swipe at “Maryland Mooney.” “Alex came here, I think, for political opportunity. I can’t figure any other reason,” he told radio host Hoppy Kercheval. It is only one House seat in a very particular state, but the narrative of the West Virginia race has caught the attention of a wider audience trying to divine how firmly Trump has the Republican Party in his grip. “I think we’ll all be watching the returns Tuesday night,” Widmeyer said, alluding to the author JD Vance’s come-from-behind victory in the Republican Senate primary in Ohio after Trump endorsed him. “This will be the second week where we’re watching the influence of Trump on one candidate.”   © 2022 The New York Times Company

Britain's landmark Climate Change Bill, which for the first time sets a legal requirement on a government to cut carbon emissions, is expected to pass its first parliamentary hurdle on Monday but has a rocky ride ahead. The House of Lords is expected to vote in its third reading on Monday on the bill which, in a departure from normal practice, was introduced in the upper house of parliament before the House of Commons to try to speed up the legislative process. The government had hoped to get the bill into law by May, but amendments forced through in its passage through the House of Lords against strong government opposition could now delay that until October or November, climate campaigners said. "It will be very tight to get it through this parliamentary session," said Friends of the Earth campaigner Martin Williams. "It is possible. But it is more likely it will be the Autumn." The bill forces the government to cut climate changing carbon dioxide emissions by 28-32 percent by 2020 and 60 percent by 2050 with five year rolling "carbon budgets". Climate campaigners have pushed for the end target to be raised to 80 percent, a figure the government has said it will ask a special climate committee set up by the bill to look at by the end of the year. In its passage through the House of Lords environmentalists managed to get several amendments put in to strengthen the legislation. "This is a much better bill than it was when it was introduced," said Williams. "But that also means it may face a rough ride when it goes to the House of Commons." But the almost certain rejection of many of the amendments by the Commons means it will have to come back again. The amendments shift in part the burden of responsibility for compliance from the environment minister to the prime minister and set annual indicative targets within the five year carbon budgets. Campaigners have failed to get the 2050 target raised to 80 percent but claimed partial victory with the inclusion of a clause committing the government to hold temperature rises to two degrees -- a goal they say is equivalent to 80 percent. In what they hailed as a major victory the amended bill also sets a strict limit on how many carbon emission permits the government can buy in from abroad to cover any shortfall in the national reduction performance. The government had fought against a limit on foreign carbon credits which would give it broad leeway to underperform its own legal targets. "The Lords' amendments do improve the bill, which means many won't make it through the Commons," said Greenpeace climate campaigner Charlie Kronick. The European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme has turned carbon into a commodity through issuing emission permits which can be bought and sold by companies. Also under the Kyoto climate change accord's Clean Development Mechanism countries and companies can buy into low emission developments to offset their own emission overshoots. Scientists say global average temperatures will rise by between 1.8 and 4.0 degrees Celsius this century due to carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels for power and transport, causing floods and famines and putting millions at risk.

Pakistan is facing a "raging" water crisis that if managed poorly could mean Pakistan would run out of water in several decades, experts say, leading to mass starvation and possibly war. The reliance on a single river basin, one of the most inefficient agricultural systems in world, climate change and a lack of a coherent water policy means that as Pakistan's population expands, its ability to feed it is shrinking. "Pakistan faces a raging water crisis," said Michael Kugelman, program associate for South and Southeast Asia Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington. "It has some of the lowest per capita water availability in Asia, and in the world as a whole." The vast majority -- between 90 and 95 percent -- of Pakistan's water is used for agriculture, the U.S. undersecretary for democracy and global affairs, Maria Otero, told Reuters. The average use in developing countries is between 70 and 75 percent. The remaining trickle is used for drinking water and sanitation for Pakistan's 180 million people. According to Kugelman, more than 55 million Pakistanis lack access to clean water and 30,000 die each year just in in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, from unsafe water. "Of the available water today, 40 percent of it gets used," Otero said. "The rest is wasted through seepage and other means." Otero was in Islamabad as part of the first meeting of the U.S.-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue Water Working Group. Pakistan's Indus river basin is supplied by melting snow and glaciers from the Himalayas. A recent report in the journal Science by Walter W. Immerzeel of Utrecht University in the Netherlands said the Indus could lose large amounts of its flow because of climate change. Both India and Pakistan make use of the Indus, with the river managed under a 1960 water treaty. Pakistan has lately begun accusing India of taking more than its fair share from the headwaters by building a number of dams and waging water war against its downstream neighbour. India denies this. If the current rate of climate change continues and Pakistan continues to rely on the inefficient flood system of irrigation, by 2050, it will be able to feed between 23-29 million fewer people than it can today with approximately double its current population. The United States hopes to encourage Pakistan to modernise its agricultural system and plant less water-thirsty crops. Otero said Pakistan and the United States are also exploring ways to improve the storage of water and Pakistan must look at ways to charge more for water as a way of encouraging conservation. Such measures would likely be unpopular in the desperately poor nation. Measures to reduce subsidies on electricity, as mandated by the International Monetary Fund, amid chronic power shortages have battered the already unsteady civilian government. Pakistan needs to either pass land reform or a series of laws to govern proper water allocation, Kugelman said. "If nothing is done, the water crisis will continue, no matter how many canals are repaired or dams constructed," he said.

US relations in Latin America, energy cooperation and two upcoming summits of world leaders will top the agenda of President Barack Obama's meeting with his Brazilian counterpart on Saturday. Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva meets Obama at the White House at 11:00 a.m. (1500 GMT), making him one of a small handful of foreign leaders to visit the Democratic president in Washington since his inauguration on Jan. 20. The meeting comes against a backdrop of global economic and financial crises, which will dominate two gatherings of world leaders next month that both men will attend: the G20 meeting of old and emerging economic powers on April 2, and the Summit of the Americas on April 17-19. Officials said Obama and Lula would discuss the economic crisis and preparation for those summits while touching on climate change, biofuels and US policy toward Brazil's neighbors in Latin America. "The two presidents will use this opportunity to discuss strengthening our cooperation on bilateral, hemispheric and global issues, including how to address the financial crisis in the lead up to the upcoming G20 meeting," said Mike Hammer, spokesman for the White House National Security Council. Divisions between the United States and Europe over how best to address the financial crises have arisen ahead of the G20 meeting. Washington is pushing for increased government spending while countries such as France favor more emphasis on tough market regulation. A senior administration official said Obama would ask for Lula's position but not push him to join the US side. RAPPROCHEMENT For his part, Lula is expected to use Brazil's leverage as a regional heavyweight to press Obama for more engagement and fewer sanctions in dealing with Latin America's deep-seated social disparities and economic problems. "What I want is for the United States to look at Latin America and South America with a friendly eye," Lula said last week. "We are a democratic and peaceful continent and the United States should look at production and development, not only drug-trafficking and organized crime." Lula will also urge Obama to end the long-standing trade embargo on Cuba and seek a rapprochement with Venezuela's Socialist President Hugo Chavez, one of Washington's fiercest critics. Thomas Shannon, US Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, said the United States appreciated Brazil's efforts to promote regional dialogue. "Our willingness to engage constructively with countries around the region depends on a reciprocal willingness on their part to engage with us," he told reporters on Friday. Observers said Lula's early visit to the White House illustrated US recognition of Brazil's importance. "The US is quite aware that Brazil is becoming a major player on the world stage," said Leonardo Martinez-Diaz, a fellow at the Washington-based Brookings Institution. Though energy policy and efforts to fight climate change would come up, Lula will likely struggle with his demand that the United States cut import tariffs on Brazilian ethanol. "At this point biofuels have receded on the agenda," said Martinez-Diaz, noting the current low price of oil.

Owners of gas-guzzling cars will have to pay 25 pounds ($50) a day to drive them in central London from October in a push to cut carbon emissions, mayor Ken Livingstone said on Tuesday. Livingstone admitted it would have little immediate impact on emissions but said the lifestyle signal and other moves such as recycling initiatives and new building rules would help cut London's carbon emissions by 60 percent by 2025. "I believe that this ground-breaking initiative will have an impact throughout the world with other cities following suit as they step up their efforts to halt the slide towards catastrophic climate change," he told a news conference. London, which generates 7 percent of Britain's climate-warming carbon emissions, is one of 40 world cities pooling their knowledge to fight climate change. Livingstone said the new scheme would raise 30 million to 50 million pounds ($60 million to $100 million) a year and cover most of the cost of a major cycling initiative he unveiled on Monday that will include a Paris-style roadside bicycle hire scheme in the city centre. Environmentalists welcomed Tuesday's move as a step in the right direction, but said far more was needed. "We now know that we face an emergency situation on planet Earth that requires us to bring down carbon dioxide emissions very quickly indeed," said Friends of the Earth's Tony Juniper. But motoring organisations were not so keen. "We welcome incentives for cleaner, greener cars. However, larger families who do low mileage will be clobbered by this new tax," said Automobile Association president Edmund King. Livingstone, who has made the environment a central plank of his tenure, is facing a tough re-election battle in May. If he loses, his emissions policy is likely to go with him. The 25 pound daily tax on vehicles emitting 225 grams of carbon dioxide per km would apply in the same way as the normal 8 pounds ($16) daily charge does to all but the cleanest cars. "I have every sympathy with a Scottish hill farmer who needs his 4x4 to get around. But there is absolutely no justification for cars producing high amounts of pollution being driven in central London," Livingstone said.

But Trump's COVID-19 infection, and his and Biden's advanced age, made it perhaps the most consequential US vice presidential debate in living memory. Here are a few standout moments from the debate: PACKING THE COURT? Frustrated that Trump and the Republican-controlled Senate may soon cement a 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court, some on the left have called on Biden to expand the nine-member court to 11 or 13 seats. Harris declined to say whether she supported that idea. Seeking to push that idea, Pence posed questions about Biden's and Harris' plans, which he also answered for her: "The straight answer is they are going to pack the Supreme Court if they somehow win this election." POLICY TO THE FORE The relatively sedate atmosphere allowed stark policy differences to come to the fore. On global warming, for example, Pence declined to say that it was caused by human activity - the overwhelming scientific consensus - and said Biden's proposed fixes would be too expensive. He also inaccurately said that Biden would ban hydraulic fracturing. Biden, in fact, has said repeatedly he would not pursue a fracking ban, although he would oppose new permits for drilling on federal land. It is a key issue in electoral backgrounds like western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio, where the technique has led to a boom in energy production over the past decade. A FLY IN THE OINTMENT Pence's left eye was noticeably bloodshot for much of the debate. More than an hour in, a black housefly sat for several minutes on Pence's white hair, hanging on as he shook his head and parried with Harris over race and criminal justice. The hashtag #fly2024 surfaced on Twitter. "Three debaters are now on the stage: Harris, Pence, and a very political fly that has nested in the Veep’s head," Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, wrote on Twitter. COLORING INSIDE THE LINES Following last week's chaotic, insult-laden debate between Biden and Trump, moderator Susan Page warned both candidates that she would strictly enforce rules designed to ensure decorum. "We want a debate that is lively. But Americans also deserve a discussion that is civil," she said. Pence opened by saying it was a "privilege" to be on stage with Harris - even after she said the administration's coronavirus response was "the greatest failure of any presidential administration in the history of our country." Things eventually heated up, but only to a simmer, not a boil. Pence repeatedly interrupted Harris and the moderator, leaving Harris to plead: "Mr Vice President, I'm speaking." SPEAK NOT OF THE AGED In 2008, when he was Barack Obama's running mate, Biden said that "no one decides who they're going to vote for based on the vice president." Yet this debate has outsized importance. Biden, 77, would be the oldest president in US history if he were to win the election, and he has hinted he might only serve one term. Trump, only slightly younger at 74, spent the weekend at a military hospital outside Washington after contracting the novel coronavirus. From purely an actuarial standpoint, Pence, 61, and Harris, 55, would be more likely to step into the presidency than other vice presidential candidates. Pence also carries an additional burden as he has been tasked with campaigning for the ticket as Trump has been sidelined because of his COVID-19 infection. Yet both candidates avoided the topic. When asked whether they had a firm plan of succession in place, Pence used his time to talk about vaccines, while Harris talked up her biography as a child of immigrants who went on to serve as California attorney general. Likewise, neither answered directly when asked why their elderly running mates had not released detailed health information. Pence thanked those who had wished for Trump's recovery, while Harris criticised Trump for not releasing his tax returns. DINGING BIDEN ON PLAGIARISM Candidates typically show up with a quiver of prepared one-liners, and Pence loosed one early. He accused Biden of copying the Trump administration's plan to fight the coronavirus, dredging up charges of plagiarism that helped sink Biden's first presidential run in 1988. "It looks a little bit like plagiarism, which is something Joe Biden knows a little bit about," he said. ‘We have seen a pattern with this administration, which is they don't believe in science’: Senator Kamala Harris criticized Trump’s record on climate change during the #VPDebate https://t.co/i075izFnb5 pic.twitter.com/ZnBORTqrdI— Reuters (@Reuters) October 8, 2020   ‘We have seen a pattern with this administration, which is they don't believe in science’: Senator Kamala Harris criticized Trump’s record on climate change during the #VPDebate https://t.co/i075izFnb5 pic.twitter.com/ZnBORTqrdI

OSLO, Fri Oct 31,(bdnews24.com/Reuters) - Climate change is likely to disrupt food chains by favoring animals with short lifespans over often bigger rivals that are worse at tolerating temperature swings, scientists said on Thursday. The researchers in Germany and Canada said that studies of the physical characteristics of animals showed that all have widely differing "thermal windows" -- a range of temperatures in which they best feed, grow and reproduce. That meant that climate change would not affect all equally. "Climate change will favor species with wide thermal windows, short life spans, and a large gene pool amongst its population," the journal Science said of the findings. Big fish such as cod, which have narrow thermal windows, were moving north in the Atlantic, for instance, partly because the food chain was disrupted by a shift to smaller plankton, reducing the amount of prey on which large fish can feed. A shift to smaller plankton meant that juvenile cod in the Atlantic had to use more energy to feed, slowing their growth. Female cod tolerate only a narrow "thermal window" when they produce eggs, part of a strategy evolved to cut energy use. The study focused on the oceans but the scientists said the findings may also apply to land creatures. "Each species covers a certain range. The ranges overlap, but their (thermal) windows are not the same," Hans Poertner, of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, who was one of the authors, told Reuters. Knowledge of the differences could help predict the reactions to climate change, widely blamed on human emissions of greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels. In the German Wadden Sea, larger eelpout fish, a long and thin species that grows up to about 500 grammes (1 lb), suffered more quickly than smaller specimens when summer temperatures rose above normal. "In the Japan Sea, different thermal windows between sardines and anchovies ... caused a regime shift to anchovies in the late 1990s," they wrote.

To address the "crises" of the pandemic, the economy, climate change and racial inequity, Biden will sign the executive orders and memorandums in the Oval Office in the afternoon, and ask agencies to take steps in two additional areas, said incoming Press Secretary Jen Psaki. The actions include a mask mandate on federal property and for federal employees, an order to establish a new White House office coordinating response to the coronavirus, and halting the process of withdrawing from the World Health Organization.   Biden will also begin the process of re-entering the Paris climate accord and issue a sweeping order tackling climate change, including revoking the presidential permit granted to the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline. Among a raft of orders addressing immigration, Biden will revoke Trump's emergency declaration that helped fund the construction of a border wall and end a travel ban on some majority-Muslim countries. The Day One plans were just the start of a flurry of executive actions Biden would take soon after taking office, Psaki added. "In the coming days and weeks we will be announcing additional executive actions that confront these challenges and deliver on the President-elect's promises to the American people," said Psaki. Further actions will include revoking the ban on military service by transgender Americans, and reversing a policy that blocks US funding for programs overseas linked to abortion. On the economic front, Biden will ask the Centres for Disease Control to extend moratoriums on evictions and foreclosures until the end of March, and the Department of Education to suspend student loan payments until the end of September.

Floodwater swamped a new area of Thailand's capital on Wednesday as some shops started rationing food and the prime minister warned that parts of Bangkok could be flooded for up to a month. Residents of Bang Phlad, a riverside district some way from Bangkok's three swamped northern districts, were told to urgently evacuate as floods hit the capital on a second front, deepening anxiety in the city of at least 12 million people, many of whom were expected to flee ahead of a special five-day holiday. "After assessing the situation, we expect floodwater to remain in Bangkok for around two weeks to one month before going into the sea," Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra told reporters. "However ... we shouldn't face water as high as two or three metres staying for two or three months as we've seen in other provinces." Thailand's worst flooding in half a century has killed at least 366 people since mid-July and disrupted the lives of nearly 2.5 million, with more than 113,000 in shelters and 720,000 people seeking medical attention. Bangkok residents scrambled to stock up on food, but bottled water was nowhere to be seen and some shops restricted customers to small quantities of food to prevent hoarding. With high tide approaching in the Gulf of Thailand, Seri Supharatid, director of Rangsit University's Centre on Climate Change and Disaster, said the city's fate rested with river dykes holding. "In the worst-case scenario, if all the dykes break, all parts of Bangkok would be more or less flooded," Seri said. The economic damage is difficult to quantify, but the central bank has revised its growth forecast for Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy to 3.1 percent this year from 4.1 percent. The finance minister's projection was a gloomier 2 percent. Flooding has forced the closure of seven industrial estates in Ayutthaya, Nonthaburi and Pathum Thani provinces bordering Bangkok, causing billions of dollars of damage and disrupting international supply chains for industry and putting about 650,000 people temporarily out of work. The cabinet on Tuesday agreed on a 325 billion baht ($6.6 billion pound) budget to rebuild the country, while city authorities and the Commerce Ministry were meeting with industrial estate operators, hotels and food producers to try to minimise the damage and kick-start a recovery. SWELLING RIVER Authorities have called a holiday from Thursday until Monday to allow people to get out Bangkok, although financial markets will remain open. The rising tide could complicate efforts to drive water from the swelling Chao Phraya river out to the sea, putting more pressure on a city that accounts for 41 percent of Thailand's gross domestic product. Heavy rain could also deepen the crisis and thunderstorms were forecast for Wednesday. The floods are expected to take a toll on Thailand's tourism industry, which employs more than 2 million people and makes up 6 percent of GDP. Tourism Minister Chumphol Silpa-archa said arrivals could be 500,000 to 1 million below the government's target of 19 million this year. Three northern districts of Bangkok have been under water since Saturday, with army vehicles driving at a snail's pace through 1.5 metres of water, ferrying evacuees away. Some people were being evacuated for a second time, with 4,000 sheltering in Don Muang moving to the province of Chon Buri. Evacuees at a university in Pathum Thani province also had to move on as floodwater engulfed the campus. To tackle the flooding, the authorities have pumped an estimated 8 billion cubic metres of water daily through canals and a river around Bangkok's east and west towards the sea. But the large volume of water flowing through the city remains a concern, with the vast Chao Phraya river at record levels and running past high-end hotels, embassies and the Sathorn and Silom areas of the city's business district. Water has engulfed two areas, with levels climbing higher than half a metre in the densely populated Bang Phlad district near to the Chao Phraya and closer to the commercial heart. Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra said the situation was "critical" in Bang Phlad. Overloaded trucks shuttled out evacuees, gas stations were inundated and shop owners pulled down shutters and added sandbags to makeshift defence walls. "My shop is damaged. I've prepared for this, but it's not enough -- there's too much water," said grocery store owner Vichit Pookmaitree. As panic mounted, shoppers at a central Bangkok hypermarket run by Big C Supercenter Pcl were being restricted to one packet of rice and one tray of eggs. Toilet paper was also being rationed. Bottled water had run out. In some areas, people are already complaining about a deterioration in the quality of normally drinkable tap water. The Metropolitan Waterworks Authority said floodwater had got into raw canal water used for its supply. Chemicals were being used to purify it. Shares in Thai beverage firm Haad Thip Pcl surged more than 6 percent on Wednesday on expectations the company would benefit from the huge demand.

The IMF issued the report on Jan 28 at the conclusion of a routine country surveillance mission to Tokyo to review Japan's economic policies. The published concluding statement from IMF staff focused on Japan's need to scale back pandemic-relief measures as its economy recovers. It included a section entitled "Shifting to a Low-carbon Economy" that made no mention of coal but said meeting carbon emissions reduction goals would be especially challenging for Japan given its heavy reliance on fossil fuels for energy since a 2011 earthquake and tsunami. A Jan 26 draft of the document included this sentence: "While the Japanese government pledged to end new unabated coal financing, ending exceptions from the pledge and phasing out of existing commitments to support coal projects abroad would further contribute to the global efforts on climate policy." It was not immediately clear who directed deletion of the passage. The review was the first of Japan's economy since the IMF board voted last year to increase climate coverage in its surveillance activities. As part of the normal country review process, the IMF is due to issue an Executive Board statement on Japan's review - known as an Article IV review - and a detailed staff report in coming weeks. An IMF spokesperson declined to comment on the draft seen by Reuters, adding that the global lender - as a matter of policy - does not comment on its communications with members. "Japan's government is not in a position to comment on the process" in which the IMF crafted the Article IV statement based on discussion with Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, the government's top spokesperson, told a regular press conference on Thursday, answering a question on the matter. The Japanese government, which has backed exports of coal power plants to Indonesia, Vietnam and Bangladesh, adopted stricter rules for such projects in 2018 and 2020. However, it has resisted divestments of such projects, and has continued to grant exceptions to a June 2021 policy pledge to stop backing coal projects that lack measures to reduce carbon emissions. Kate Mackenzie, an independent climate finance consultant and researcher based in Australia, said the change in the Japan report was disappointing given that the fund had only belatedly committed to including climate risk in its Article IV reports. "For the fund to be already pulling its punches on climate mitigation, especially in regard to to one its most influential member countries and a long time funder of coal-fired power, is very disappointing," she said. Kevin Gallagher, who heads Boston University's Global Development Policy Center, said it was great to see IMF staff initially sided "with science and climate ambition," and the incident could still prove useful. "Given the IMF's uneven track record, it is important for member states to have a say on the final outcomes of Article IV reports, but let's hope this has opened up a dialogue between Japan and the IMF on this very important issue," he said. The change in the Japan statement follows controversy unleashed last year after changes made to an IMF report on Brazil's economy removed language related to climate change. In that case, nearly 200 IMF staff signed a petition asking whether IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva or her office had asked or advised staff to remove the specific language before it was sent to the IMF board and after objections from Brazil's representative on the board. The issue boiled over after Georgieva won the IMF executive board's backing despite allegations that she had applied "undue pressure" on World Bank staff to alter data to favour China in 2017 while serving as the bank's CEO.

But there is nothing he likes less than feeling belittled. Learning that he could not have his large security detail at Glasgow — security has been an obsession since a failed coup against him in 2016 — when the American president was allowed one seems to have enraged Erdogan enough for him to cancel his appearance abruptly. Not going to the climate talks, known as COP26, might have seemed self-defeating, given his recent green pivot, but Erdogan tried to play to his home base and cast his turnaround as a matter of honour. “We never allow our country’s reputation or honour to be damaged anywhere,” he said in remarks to journalists on the flight home from Europe. “One more time we showed that we can establish a fair world only with a more equitable approach.” Unpredictable, combative, politically astute, Erdogan has been in power for 18 years by always knowing which buttons to push. Yet he is politically vulnerable these days, more so perhaps than at any time in his career. The president is sliding in the polls as the economy stumbles. Last month, the lira hit a new low against the dollar. Unemployment among his supporters is rising. Inflation is galloping at nearly 20%. Increasingly, Erdogan finds himself on his back foot in the face of a vibrant, unified opposition. Determined to become modern Turkey’s longest-serving ruler by winning reelection in 2023, Erdogan is showing signs of growing frustration, as his usual tactics are not working, and voters, especially young people eager for a change, grow restless. “I think he is worried and afraid of losing power, and it seems to be a plausibility, even to him, for the first time in many years,” said Soner Cagaptay, director of the Turkish research program at the Washington Institute. “He has been in office for too long, nearly two decades,” Cagaptay added. “He is suffering from establishment fatigue, simply too tired to be on top of his game and of the opposition all the time.” As Erdogan’s grip on power turns shaky, some analysts warn that the Turkish president may become even more unpredictable as elections approach. In particular over the past decade, Erdogan has used foreign policy as a tool to burnish his image at home, said Sinan Ulgen, chair of the Centre for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies in Istanbul. He has in turn insulted foreign leaders, presented himself as a champion of the Turkish diaspora and of Muslims worldwide, and notably last year projected Turkey’s military muscle in a series of interventions abroad. He pursued military operations in Syria, Libya and Azerbaijan and stirred tensions with Greece in the Eastern Mediterranean by sending out drilling ships to explore for gas. Since last November, however, when he fired his son-in-law as finance minister, the dire state of the Turkish economy has led Erdogan to soften his stance internationally, dialling back on the rhetoric, Ulgen said. “The main issue now is to prevent or preempt tension so the economy can rebound,” he said. But Erdogan has accumulated so many powers that his whims carry the day, and he seems not always to be able to help himself. He reverted to his old tactics in the last couple of weeks, ignoring his closest advisers and threatening a diplomatic crisis in a show of strength for his supporters. When 10 Western ambassadors issued a statement calling for the release of a jailed Turkish philanthropist, Erdogan railed against them for interference in Turkey’s affairs and threatened to expel them all. Then, just as suddenly, he backed down. “He went against his own best interests and also against the best counsel from his most trusted advisers, and that’s what makes me think that he is not on top of his game anymore,” Cagaptay said. The expulsion of the ambassadors was narrowly averted after frantic diplomacy, in time for Erdogan to meet President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the Group of 20 meeting in Rome, only to have Erdogan create another fuss over security protocol at Glasgow. It was yet another display of the impetuousness that has become a hallmark of Erdogan’s relations with the world, risking major upsets with international partners in a sometimes dubious, increasingly desperate effort to lift his domestic standing. Sensing political opportunity, Erdogan had recently made a startling climate conversion after years in which Turkey stood out as an environmental laggard. He renamed his environment ministry as the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change and offered Biden a copy of a book on the green revolution for which he had written the introduction. He had allowed the Paris climate agreement to languish but then had the Turkish Parliament ratify it Oct 6, and he was prepared to announce to the gathering of world leaders that Turkey would aim to be carbon neutral by 2053. “Climate change is a reality and threatens the future of humanity, so Turkey naturally will have a leading role in such a vital matter,” he said in a televised address in Turkey before the COP26 summit. Erdogan’s conversion came after Turkey suffered a bruising summer. The worst forest fires in recorded memory scorched a swath of coastal forestland eight times the size of average annual fires, killing at least eight people. Flash floods killed at least 82 people in the northeast in the heaviest rains seen in hundreds of years. And an outbreak of slime choked sea life in the Marmara Sea. The disasters gave fresh momentum to support for climate action that had been steadily building — in public opinion, in business circles, among civil society groups and across the political spectrum — over the last year or so. “All the public opinion polls are showing that now the political parties in Turkey in the next elections will have to address this issue very seriously,” said Bahadir Kaleagasi, president of the Institut du Bosphore, a French association that encourages Turkish relations with France and Europe. In the end, though, the climate summit went begging. Erdogan apparently saw more benefit in kicking up a diplomatic fuss over the security protocol than in addressing the gathering. Or, as rumours flew about his health, he needed a rest. He had, in any case, already obtained what analysts said he really wanted from the weekend: an hour with Biden on the sidelines of the Group of 20 meeting, a sign of potential improvement in US-Turkish relations that might lift Turkey’s standing in international markets. After Erdogan had failed to secure a meeting with Biden in New York in September during the United Nations General Assembly, a meeting this month with the American president “became the No. 1 issue of the Turkey-US relations,” said Aydin Sezer, a political analyst and former trade official. The Biden administration, while maintaining pressure on Erdogan over human rights and the rule of law — Turkey has notably not been invited to Biden’s democracy summit in December — has made clear that it regards the country as an important NATO ally and strategic partner. “We may have differences, but we never lose sight of the strategic importance we and our partners hold each to the other,” David Satterfield, the American ambassador to Turkey, said at a reception aboard the command ship Mount Whitney, which called in to Istanbul on Wednesday. But an overriding US concern will be to keep relations with the unpredictable Erdogan on an even keel, said Asli Aydintasbas, a senior fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. That has meant dialling back the close, if stormy, personal relationship that former President Donald Trump had with Erdogan in favour of something a bit more at arm’s length. “Ankara is simultaneously vulnerable and bellicose,” she said. “Washington’s way of dealing with this duality is distancing itself from Turkey. “There is a desire to keep this at this stable level — at least for another year — but given that this is an election year, it may not be so easy,” she added. © 2021 The New York Times Company

Climate change, high water demand and even tourism are putting unprecedented pressures on the world's desert ecosystems, according to a new report. The Global Deserts Outlook, produced by the UN's Environment Programme, is described as the most authoritative assessment to date of desert regions. Its authors say too much water is being frittered away on water-intensive agricultural crops. But, they add, deserts have huge economic benefits if managed sensibly. Far from being barren wastelands, deserts are biologically, economically and culturally dynamic, the report says. Desertification is the theme of World Environment Day on Monday when ecologists plan to plant trees to slow erosion, or deliver talks in schools. A group in Mauritius plans to plant vegetation on dunes to protect beaches from erosion Activists in Churchill, Australia, is collecting computer parts for recycling A group in Zambia holds a "Miss Environment" beauty pageant. Activists in Vadodara, India, encourage local schools both to plant trees and build sandcastles to "get a closer connection to the topic of deserts and desertification". "Across the planet, poverty, unsustainable land management and climate change are turning drylands into deserts, and desertification in turn exacerbates and leads to poverty," UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said in a statement. According to the report, while many changes are likely to occur in the next 50 years, some are surprisingly positive. There are new economic opportunities such as shrimp and fish farms in Arizona and in the Negev Desert in Israel offering environmentally friendly livelihoods for local people. Similarly, desert plants and animals are being seen as positive sources of new drugs and crops. Even the problems of global warming could be tackled by better use of deserts: Some experts say that an area of the Sahara 800km by 800km could capture enough solar energy to meet the entire world's electricity needs. However, most of the 12 desert regions whose climate has been modelled are facing a drier future. There are also problems caused by the melting of the glaciers whose waters sustain deserts in South America. The impact of humans continues to cause difficulties. In the United States and in the United Arab Emirates more and more people are choosing to live in desert cities creating further pressures on scarce water resources. Mountainous areas in deserts face particular threats to their wildlife and ecosystems - all of which could be lost in 50 years without urgent action.

ROME, Nov 16, (bdnews24.com/Reuters) - The United Nations opened its world food summit on Monday by saying that a climate change deal in Copenhagen next month is crucial to fighting global hunger as rising temperatures threaten farm output in poor countries. Government leaders and officials met in Rome for a three-day UN summit on how to help developing countries to feed themselves, but anti-poverty campaigners were already writing off the event as a missed opportunity. The sense of scepticism deepened at the weekend, when US President Barack Obama and other leaders supported delaying a legally binding climate pact until 2010 or even later, though European negotiators said the move did not imply weaker action. "There can be no food security without climate security," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the Rome summit. "Next month in Copenhagen, we need a comprehensive agreement that will provide a firm foundation for a legally binding treaty on climate change," he said. Africa, Asia and Latin America could see a decline of between 20 and 40 percent in potential agricultural productivity if temperatures rise more than 2 degrees Celsius, the FAO says. Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to be the hardest hit from global warming as its agriculture is almost entirely rain-fed. With the number of world's hungry topping 1 billion for the first time, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation had called the summit in the hope that leaders would commit to raising the share of official aid spent on agriculture to 17 percent of the total -- its 1980 level -- from 5 percent now. That would amount to $44 billion a year against $7.9 billion now. Farmers in rich countries receive $365 billion of support every year. TARGETS DILUTED But a draft of the final declaration to be adopted on Monday includes only a general promise to pour more money into agricultural aid, with no target or timeframe for action. A pledge to eliminate malnutrition by 2025 was also taken off the draft, which now states that world leaders commit to eradicate hunger "at the earliest possible date". Last year's spike in the price of food staples such as rice and wheat sparked riots in as many as 60 countries. Rich food importers have rushed to buy foreign farmland, pushing food shortages and hunger up the political agenda. Food prices have fallen back since, but they remain high in poor countries. The FAO says sudden price rises are very likely. A summit of the Group of Eight leading powers in July pledged $20 billion over the next three years to boost agricultural development, in a big policy shift towards long-term strategies and away from emergency food aid. But, apart from Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, G8 leaders are skipping the food summit, which is looking more like a gathering of Latin American and African heads of state. Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe and Libya's Muammar Gaddafi and are among those attending. UN officials said those dismissing the summit because G8 leaders are not taking part were wrong, arguing the aim was to get poorer countries on board in the fight against hunger. Still, the absence of many heavyweights means that another divisive issue -- who should manage donors' funds to boost agriculture in poor countries -- will not be resolved. The draft declaration urges a reform of the UN Committee on Food Security, which groups 124 nations, to give it a monitoring role and ensure that aid money goes to agriculture. But the United States, the world's biggest food aid donor, is looking to the World Bank rather than the United Nations to manage at least part of the money. While governments dither, food companies are stepping up their own investments in sustainable farming to counter price volatility and to secure long-term supplies.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen was quoted on Wednesday as calling for an "open-minded and unprecedented dialogue" with Russia to reduce security tensions in Europe and confront common threats. Rasmussen, who took over as NATO chief last month, said in an interview with Britain's Financial Times he would ask senior officials to visit Moscow to hear the Kremlin's views on how NATO should develop strategically in the long term. "We should engage Russia and listen to Russian positions," said the former Danish prime minister, who has made boosting ties with Russia a top priority since taking office. Rasmussen acknowledged differences remained between NATO and Russia on issues including the aftermath of last year's conflict in Georgia and the alliance's possible enlargement to Georgia and Ukraine, both former Soviet republics. But Rasmussen said he wanted to begin an "open and frank conversation (with the Kremlin) that creates a new atmosphere." He said he had a "vision" of a "true strategic partnership" in which both sides collaborated on Afghanistan, terrorism and piracy. "Russia should realize that NATO is here and that NATO is a framework for our transatlantic relationship. But we should also take into account that Russia has legitimate security concerns," said Rasmussen. He said he was prepared to discuss a proposal from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev for a new security architecture in Europe. NATO's relations with Russia were damaged by the five-day Russia-Georgia war last year. The 28-member alliance has put the subject of Georgian and Ukrainian NATO membership on the back burner in the interest of getting relations with Moscow back on track, but says membership remains open to countries that meet NATO standards. Rasmussen said climate change "could lead to battles over scarce resources, notably a lack of drinking water and a lack of food, leading to armed conflicts." "We will see an increase in climate refugees and that will destabilize the situation in regions that are already unstable," he said. Rasmussen said there would be security implications for the Arctic. "In a few years' time, polar sea routes will be open to navigation. We will see new access to energy resources and it will increase competition in this part of the world. That might lead to conflict," he said.

US President Barack Obama laid out his vision for the 21st century in the heart of Europe on Sunday in a speech that called to mind those of two famous forerunners. Where John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan came to show solidarity with a divided Europe living in the shadow of a nuclear arms race, Obama held out the prospect of consigning those weapons to history and entering a new era. His speech in Prague, its medieval castle rising behind him, carved out his own place in the tradition laid down by both men in their West Berlin speeches of 1963 and 1987. "No nuclear war was fought between the United States and the Soviet Union, but generations lived with the knowledge that their world could be erased in a single flash of light. Cities like Prague that had existed for centuries would have ceased to exist," Obama declared. "Today, the Cold War has disappeared but thousands of those weapons have not." By pledging that the United States would take concrete steps towards a world without nuclear weapons, Obama dedicated himself to a goal that Reagan had once articulated. "Just as we stood for freedom in the 20th century, we must stand together for the right of people everywhere to live free from fear in the 21st," he said. While Kennedy memorably declared "Ich bin ein Berliner", Obama confined his venture into the local language to a mention of "Sametova revoluce", the Czechoslovak "Velvet Revolution" of 1989 that brought down communist rule. That event, he said, "proved that moral leadership is more powerful than any weapon". "That is why I am speaking to you in the centre of a Europe that is peaceful, united and free, because ordinary people believed that divisions could be bridged ... They believed that walls could come down, that peace could prevail," Obama told an audience of tens of thousands. Besides evoking the nuclear theme, in a country where Washington plans to station an anti-missile radar to protect against the threat it sees from Iran, Obama sought European solidarity on the global economic crisis and climate change. Tomas Sedlacek, a 31-year-old Prague-based economist who was in the crowd, said the speech worked for him. "It was great. It was the most stately speech I've heard in a very long time," he said. "It made me proud to be Czech."

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left for New York on Saturday night on a nine-day official visit to the USA to attend the 67th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). An Emirates flight carrying the Prime Minister and members of her entourage took off from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 9.30 pm. The flight is expected to reach the John F Kennedy (JFK) International Airport in New York at 8.15am (New York time) on Sunday. On their way to New York, Hasina and members of her entourage would make a stopover at Dubai International Airport for two hours. From the JFK Airport the Prime Minister will straight drive to the Hotel Grand Hayatt in New York where she will be staying during her visit to the city. Foreign Minister Dipu Moni, Environment and Forest Minister Hasan Mahmud, Ambassador-At-Large M Ziauddin, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Shaikh Mohammad Wahid-Uz- Zaman and Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad, among others, would accompany Hasina during her visit to the USA. A 23-member high-level business delegation led by AK Azad, president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), will accompany the Prime Minister to explore new areas of trade and business in the USA. The Prime Minister will attend a high-level event on 'Rule of Law' on Sept 24 at the General Assembly Hall at the UN headquarters. On the same day, she will join a reception to be hosted by the US President Barak Obama and the First Lady Michelle Obama. On Sep 25, Hasina will attend the reception to be hosted by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. She will also join the opening session of the 67th UN General Assembly on the same day. On the next day, the Prime Minister will launch an event titled 'Second Edition of the Climate Vulnerability Monitor'. Expatriate Bangladeshis will give her a reception at Marriott Marquis Hotel adjacent to the Times Square in New York. On Sep 27, Hasina will attend a meeting on autism to be arranged by the US First Lady at the Roosevelt House. She is also scheduled to join the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) initiative. She will deliver a speech at the General Assembly at 8pm local time on Sep 27. The theme for this year's session is "Bringing about adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations by peaceful means". Before leaving New York for home on Sep 30, Hasina will attend a press conference at 4pm. She is expected to reach Dhaka in the morning on Oct 2.

If Barack Obama were a corporate chief executive, the incoming US president already would be winning high marks for his management style, experts say. The president-elect's steady hand and calm demeanor that have earned him the moniker "No Drama Obama" are traits business leaders could well learn from, according to management experts. "What he's doing is masterful," said Paul Reagan, a management consultant and senior lecturer at Wayne State University in Detroit. "His value system is clear, and he spends a tremendous amount of time reinforcing that he does what he says he will do. "His credibility right now is so high most people already see him as the corporate head," Reagan said. There's one particular aspect of Obama's style that business leaders likely do not share -- an acute awareness of his own strengths and weakness, said Paul Copcutt, a personal brand strategist based in Dundas, Ontario. That awareness is evident in his cabinet selections, in which Obama has chosen veterans to provide the expertise or experience he lacks, he said. "In corporate, we're brought up to look at our weaknesses and how can you improve those and what can you work on," Copcutt said. "Really good leaders should be focusing on what they're good at and either delegating or finding other ways to achieve what they're not good at." From Hillary Clinton, a former campaign rival, to Robert Gates, a holdover from the administration of Republican President George W. Bush, Obama's cabinet choices show an effort to build a coalition with voices that may disagree with his own, Reagan said. Chief executives, on the other hand, often build a "go-to team" of supportive advisors who "don't bring in all of the voices that they really need to lead all of the organization," he said. 'JURY IS STILL OUT' Obama's demonstration of skill is still in its early days, however. All he has done so far is pick some key cabinet members and urge Congress to act swiftly on an economic stimulus plan when it takes office in early January. "The jury is still out," said Nancy Koehn, a business historian and professor at Harvard Business School. The tougher tests come once Obama moves into the White House on January 20. On the downside, a management style that appeals to so many constituencies, such as Obama's, poses the risk of broad disappointment, Reagan said. "He may have oversold change," he said. "If there is a vulnerability, it will be in a lack of clarity or, because it was so general, an inability to make good on what everyone interpreted was something for them." Chief executives could borrow a page from Obama's responses to two hurdles in his path to the U.S. presidency -- his loss in the New Hampshire primary and the maelstrom over his controversial former pastor Jeremiah Wright, said Koehn. In each case, Obama responded with an "emotional competence" that leaders could use, especially in today's troubled financial climate, to cope with currents such as fear of job losses or anxiety over poor performance at their organizations, she said. "Business leaders need to be very conscious of those aspects to their people and their organization that are more than just, 'What are our tangible resources?' 'What's our head count?' 'What's our market?' 'What's our customer?'" she said. CEO coach Deb Dib can tick off a list of traits she sees in Obama -- caring, confident, consistent, commanding, calm and more -- traits she tries to teach business executives. "If you look at any really effective CEO, they almost all share in one way or another almost every one of those attributes," said Dib from her office in Medford, New York. "It transcends politics. You really have to look at him and say, 'Wow, I can learn something from this."

The two-day annual gathering will be a major test for the Group of 20 industrialized nations, whose leaders first met in 2008 to help rescue the global economy from the worst financial crisis in seven decades, but which now faces questions over its relevance to deal with the latest round of crises. Overhanging the summit in Buenos Aires, the Argentine capital, is a bitter trade dispute between the United States and China, the world’s two largest economies, which have imposed tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of each other’s imports. All eyes will be on a planned meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday to see whether they can find a way to calm the waters and make progress toward resolving differences that threaten the global economy. On the eve of the summit, G20 member nations were still racing to reach agreement on major issues including trade, migration and climate change that in past years have been worked out well in advance. Those divisions have highlighted the fractures in the grouping. In fact, Trump’s skepticism that global warming is caused by human activity has even raised questions about whether the countries will be able to reach enough consensus on the issue to include it in the summit’s final communique. Further clouding the summit is the escalation of conflict between Russia and Ukraine – a topic that will be on many leaders’ minds when they see Russian President Vladimir Putin. There are also questions about how to handle the awkward presence of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler arrived under swirling controversy over the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October. Uncertainty prevailed about how Trump, known for his unpredictability, would behave at what was shaping up as one of the group’s most consequential summits. Earlier this month, officials from countries attending a major Asia-Pacific summit failed to agree on a joint statement for the first time as the US delegation, led by Vice President Mike Pence, clashed with China over trade and security. In May, Trump rejected a statement by fellow leaders of the G7 industrialized economies after a tense gathering ended in acrimony, again over tariffs and trade. Before heading for Buenos Aires on Thursday, Trump said he was open to a trade deal with China, but added, “I don’t know that I want to do it.” After initial plans for him to stay away from the summit, Trump’s hardline trade adviser, Peter Navarro, was added to the US delegation at the last minute and is expected to attend the meeting between Trump and Xi, a US official and a source familiar with the situation told Reuters. The official said it was meant to send a message to China of US resolve on trade. China, for its part, is hoping for “positive results” in resolving the trade dispute with the United States, the Commerce Ministry said on Thursday. A slowdown in the global economy will worsen if Trump presses ahead with plans to further increase tariffs on some $200 billion of Chinese imports to 25 percent, OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria told Reuters. While Trump’s meeting with Xi is all but certain to go ahead, the US president on Thursday abruptly scrapped his planned talks with Putin, citing Russia’s recent seizure of Ukrainian vessels. Trump has often voiced a desire for better relations with Putin, and many critics at home slammed him in July for appearing to disregard US intelligence agencies’ conclusion that Moscow meddled in the 2016 US presidential election, while giving credence to the Russian president’s assertion that it did not. One potential bright spot at the summit could be the signing of a revised US-Mexico-Canada trade pact. But a day before the three neighbors were due to formalize the agreement on Friday, negotiators were still thrashing out what exactly they will be putting their names to, officials said on Thursday. The three countries agreed a deal in principle to govern their trillion dollars of mutual trade after a year and a half of contentious talks concluded with a late-night bargain just an hour before a deadline on Sept. 30.

Bird enthusiasts are reporting rising numbers of snowy owls from the Arctic winging into the lower 48 states this winter in a mass southern migration that a leading owl researcher called "unbelievable." Thousands of the snow-white birds, which stand 2 feet tall with 5-foot wingspans, have been spotted from coast to coast, feeding in farmlands in Idaho, roosting on rooftops in Montana, gliding over golf courses in Missouri and soaring over shorelines in Massachusetts. A certain number of the iconic owls fly south from their Arctic breeding grounds each winter but rarely do so many venture so far away even amid large-scale, periodic southern migrations known as irruptions. "What we're seeing now -- it's unbelievable," said Denver Holt, head of the Owl Research Institute in Montana. "This is the most significant wildlife event in decades," added Holt, who has studied snowy owls in their Arctic tundra ecosystem for two decades. Holt and other owl experts say the phenomenon is likely linked to lemmings, a rodent that accounts for 90 percent of the diet of snowy owls during breeding months that stretch from May into September. The largely nocturnal birds also prey on a host of other animals, from voles to geese. An especially plentiful supply of lemmings last season likely led to a population boom among owls that resulted in each breeding pair hatching as many as seven offspring. That compares to a typical clutch size of no more than two, Holt said. Greater competition this year for food in the Far North by the booming bird population may have then driven mostly younger, male owls much farther south than normal. Research on the animals is scarce because of the remoteness and extreme conditions of the terrain the owls occupy, including northern Russia and Scandinavia, he said. The surge in snowy owl sightings has brought birders flocking from Texas, Arizona and Utah to the Northern Rockies and Pacific Northwest, pouring tourist dollars into local economies and crowding parks and wildlife areas. The irruption has triggered widespread public fascination that appears to span ages and interests. "For the last couple months, every other visitor asks if we've seen a snowy owl today," said Frances Tanaka, a volunteer for the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge northeast of Olympia, Washington. But accounts of emaciated owls at some sites -- including a food-starved bird that dropped dead in a farmer's field in Wisconsin -- suggest the migration has a darker side. And Holt said an owl that landed at an airport in Hawaii in November was shot and killed to avoid collisions with planes. He said snowy owl populations are believed to be in an overall decline, possibly because a changing climate has lessened the abundance of vegetation like grasses that lemmings rely on. This winter's snowy owl outbreak, with multiple sightings as far south as Oklahoma, remains largely a mystery of nature. "There's a lot of speculation. As far as hard evidence, we really don't know," Holt said.

Australia's Prime Minister John Howard, tipped to ask voters for a fifth term within days, faces an election drubbing, with voters ranking his opponent as more trustworthy and visionary, a new poll showed on Monday. With his youthful opponent Kevin Rudd promising generational change taking the country into the future, the Labor Party had a 56 percent cent to 44 lead over Howard's conservatives on preferences, the AC Nielsen poll in Fairfax newspapers showed. Rudd, 50, also maintained a strong 52 percent to 39 lead over Howard as preferred prime minister. It was the 18th straight monthly lead for the opposition in the closely-watched survey. "A point must come when John Howard leaps out of the aeroplane and hopes that a miracle opens the parachute," veteran politician analyst Michelle Grattan wrote in the Age newspaper. Howard, 68, known as "Honest John" by many conservative political supporters, is expected to call an election next weekend, with voters going to ballot boxes on November 17 or 24. Howard used a weekly radio message on Monday to highlight his economic credentials, which is the one area he has maintained a steady lead over Rudd. Rudd's support has come from his promises to re-shape education, health and employment laws. "I want Australia to become a full employment economy where anyone who wants a job and is able to work has a meaningful job that leads to a lasting career," Howard said, highlighting unemployment at 33-year lows. But Howard's pitch has been blunted by successive central bank interest rate rises to a decade high of 6.5 percent, denting traditional conservative support in outer city mortgage belts. "At the moment these people don't really care about the economy at they're saying they intend to vote Labor or Greens," AC Nielsen pollster John Stirton told the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper. The survey showed Rudd had a 43 percent to 32 lead over Howard on trustworthiness, while Rudd had a 48 to 38 percent lead on the question of who had a better vision for Australia. "The polls, it seems, are not going to provide any greater security before the jump," Grattan wrote. Adding to Howard's woes, public opposition to the war in Iraq and Australia's military deployment there and in Afghanistan is eroding his usual strengths in defence and security. A long-running drought has also lifted the importance of climate change as a major issue for 8 in 10 voters, polls show. That made Howard's backing last week for a new A$2 billion timber pulp mill in the divided island state of Tasmania a political gamble. Howard, unlike Rudd, has refused to ratify the Kyoto climate pact, angering environmentalists. The candidate for Howard's Liberal Party resigned at the weekend in protest at the mill decision, although leaked government polling on Monday showed the plant would boost Howard's stocks in electorates outside the one hosting the mill. Opposition environment spokesman Peter Garrett said voters, jaded by months of government advertising in an as-yet undeclared campaign, were more occupied by Australia's shock weekend 12-10 loss to England in the Rugby World Cup in France. "Given that we've had this devastating result in the football, and we're all feeling it this morning, why doesn't he just get on and call the election," Garrett said. ($1=A$1.11)

“It was a little scary to, you know, rely on it and to just, you know, sit back and let it drive,” he told a US investigator about Tesla’s Autopilot system, describing his initial feelings about the technology. Geoulla made the comments to the investigator in January 2018, days after his Tesla, with Autopilot engaged, slammed into the back of an unoccupied fire truck parked on a California interstate highway. Reuters could not reach him for additional comment. Over time, Geoulla's initial doubts about Autopilot softened, and he found it reliable when tracking a vehicle in front of him. But he noticed the system sometimes seemed confused when faced with direct sunlight or a vehicle in front of him changing lanes, according to a transcript of his interview with a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator. He was driving into the sun before he rear-ended the fire truck, he told the investigator. Autopilot’s design allowed Geoulla to disengage from driving during his trip, and his hands were off the wheel for almost the entire period of roughly 30 minutes when the technology was activated, the NTSB found. The US agency, which makes recommendations but lacks enforcement powers, has previously urged regulators at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to investigate Autopilot's limitations, potential for driver misuse and possible safety risks following a series of crashes involving the technology, some of them fatal. "The past has shown the focus has been on innovation over safety and I’m hoping we’re at a point where that tide is turning," the NTSB's new chair, Jennifer Homendy, told Reuters in an interview. She said there is no comparison between Tesla's Autopilot and the more rigorous autopilot systems used in aviation that involve trained pilots, rules addressing fatigue and testing for drugs and alcohol. Tesla did not respond to written questions for this story. Autopilot is an advanced driver-assistance feature whose current version does not render vehicles autonomous, the company says on its website. Tesla says that drivers must agree to keep hands on the wheel and maintain control of their vehicles before enabling the system. LIMITED VISIBILITY Geoulla’s 2018 crash is one of 12 accidents involving Autopilot that NHTSA officials are scrutinising as part of the agency’s farthest-reaching investigation since Tesla Inc introduced the semi-autonomous driving system in 2015. Most of the crashes under investigation occurred after dark or in conditions creating limited visibility such as glaring sunlight, according to a NHTSA statement, NTSB documents and police reports reviewed by Reuters. That raises questions about Autopilot’s capabilities during challenging driving conditions, according to autonomous driving experts. "NHTSA’s enforcement and defect authority is broad, and we will act when we detect an unreasonable risk to public safety," a NHTSA spokesperson said in a statement to Reuters. Since 2016, US auto safety regulators have separately sent 33 special crash investigation teams to review Tesla crashes involving 11 deaths in which advanced driver assistance systems were suspected of being in use. NHTSA has ruled out Autopilot use in three of those nonfatal crashes. The current NHTSA investigation of Autopilot in effect reopens the question of whether the technology is safe. It represents the latest significant challenge for Elon Musk, the Tesla chief executive whose advocacy of driverless cars has helped his company become the world's most valuable automaker. A photo provided by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department shows emergency responders examining a Chevrolet Tahoe that was struck by a Tesla Model S as it was operating on Autopilot in Key Largo, Fla, in 2019. The crash highlights how gaps in Tesla’s driver-assistance system and distractions can have tragic consequences. (Monroe County Sheriff's Department via The New York Times) Tesla charges customers up to $10,000 for advanced driver assistance features such as lane changing, with a promise to eventually deliver autonomous driving capability to their cars using only cameras and advanced software. Other carmakers and self-driving firms use not only cameras but more expensive hardware including radar and lidar in their current and upcoming vehicles. A photo provided by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department shows emergency responders examining a Chevrolet Tahoe that was struck by a Tesla Model S as it was operating on Autopilot in Key Largo, Fla, in 2019. The crash highlights how gaps in Tesla’s driver-assistance system and distractions can have tragic consequences. (Monroe County Sheriff's Department via The New York Times) Musk has said a Tesla with eight cameras will be far safer than human drivers. But the camera technology is affected by darkness and sun glare as well as inclement weather conditions such as heavy rain, snow and fog, experts and industry executives say. "Today's computer vision is far from perfect and will be for the foreseeable future," said Raj Rajkumar, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. In the first known fatal US crash involving Tesla’s semi-autonomous driving technology, which occurred in 2016 west of Williston, Florida, the company said both the driver and Autopilot failed to see the white side of a tractor trailer against a brightly lit sky. Instead of braking, the Tesla collided with the 18-wheel truck. DRIVER MISUSE, FAILED BRAKING NHTSA in January 2017 closed an investigation of Autopilot stemming from that fatal crash, finding no defect in the Autopilot performance after some contentious exchanges with Tesla officials, according to documents reviewed by Reuters. In December 2016, as part of that probe, the agency asked Tesla to provide details on the company's response to any internal safety concerns raised about Autopilot, including the potential for driver misuse or abuse, according to a special order sent by regulators to the automaker. After a NHTSA lawyer found Tesla's initial response lacking, Tesla's then-general counsel, Todd Maron, tried again. He told regulators the request was "grossly overbroad" and that it would be impossible to catalog all concerns raised during Autopilot's development, according to correspondence reviewed by Reuters. Nevertheless, Tesla wanted to co-operate, Maron told regulators. During Autopilot’s development, company employees or contractors had raised concerns that Tesla addressed regarding the potential for unintended or failed braking and acceleration; undesired or failed steering; and certain kinds of misuse and abuse by drivers, Maron said, without providing further details. Maron did not respond to messages seeking comment. It is not clear how regulators responded. One former US official said Tesla generally co-operated with the probe and produced requested materials promptly. Regulators closed the investigation just before former US president Donald Trump's inauguration, finding Autopilot performed as designed and that Tesla took steps to prevent it from being misused. LEADERSHIP VACUUM IN NHTSA NHTSA has been without a Senate-confirmed chief for nearly five years. President Joe Biden has yet to nominate anyone to run the agency. NHTSA documents show that regulators want to know how Tesla vehicles attempt to see flashing lights on emergency vehicles, or detect the presence of fire trucks, ambulances and police cars in their path. The agency has sought similar information from 12 rival automakers as well. "Tesla has been asked to produce and validate data as well as their interpretation of that data. NHTSA will conduct our own independent validation and analysis of all information," NHTSA told Reuters. Musk, the electric-car pioneer, has fought hard to defend Autopilot from critics and regulators. Tesla has used Autopilot’s ability to update vehicle software over the air to outpace and sidestep the traditional vehicle-recall process. Musk has repeatedly promoted Autopilot’s capabilities, sometimes in ways that critics say mislead customers into believing Teslas can drive themselves - despite warnings to the contrary in owner's manuals that tell drivers to remain engaged and outline the technology's limitations. Musk has also continued to launch what Tesla calls beta - or unfinished - versions of a "Full Self-Driving" system via over-the-air software upgrades. "Some manufacturers are going to do what they want to do to sell a car and it’s up the government to rein that in," the NTSB's Homendy said.

US technology and other companies flooded the government on Tuesday with an estimated 200,000 visa applications for highly skilled foreign workers in what has become an annual lottery for just 65,000 visas. The competition is for so-called H-1B visas, which allow U.S. companies to employ foreign guest workers in highly specialized jobs for three years. The visas can be extended for an additional three years. The U.S. government last year was overwhelmed with about 120,000 applications on the first day that applications were accepted for H-1B visas, leaving many job candidates out of luck. One of those applicants left out in the cold last year was Sven, a German national working as a civil engineer in San Diego. Sven, who asked for his last name to be withheld due to privacy concerns, will try his luck again at the H-1B visa lottery this year but he understands that the odds are long. "It would be like the hitting the jackpot," said the 33-year-old, who studied at a German university for eight years to get a civil engineering degree. "When I found out how many people applied in two days last year, I was shocked." The company he works for has supported his efforts, paying attorney's fees and providing information to the government. Sven is frustrated, however, that the decision about whether he works in America or not comes is determined by luck. This year, the odds of getting an H-1B visa could be even slimmer. Experts said they expected about 200,000 applications on Tuesday, the first day U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) begins accepting the visa petitions for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1, 2008. "The people we've offered jobs to are really subject to the whims of a lottery," said Jack Krumholtz, managing director of federal government affairs for Microsoft Corp. Last year, the USCIS closed the application window after two days and pooled the petitions, granting the visas by a computerized lottery system. The agency said the applicants got the same shot at getting selected. But tech companies say the huge demand for the visas shows the need for the industry to tap into foreign resources. "This leaves Cisco and other U.S. companies at a competitive disadvantage if we cannot access the best and the brightest workers," said Heather Dickinson, a spokeswoman for network equipment maker Cisco Systems Inc. Companies who specialize in science, technology, engineering and technology fields say the current system is a Catch 22: the United States is not producing enough homegrown job candidates and won't let companies bring them in, either. "Getting this right is important for the U.S. to maintain competitiveness," Krumholtz said. "It goes to our economic well-being." "A BAD JOKE" Jacob Sapochnick, a San Diego immigration lawyer, said he's submitting about 150 applications this year on behalf of employers and workers in the high tech, scientific and marketing fields, and even one for an executive chef. Last year, Sapochnick submitted about 200 applications and about half were granted visas. This year the situation is even more unknown, he said, because the USCIS has said it won't close the application window for five business days. He said he expects about 300,000 applications to be submitted over the five days. "It's almost like a bad joke," Sapochnick said. The National Association of Manufacturers called for "a permanent fix" to address the need for highly skilled employees in manufacturing and other sectors. There wasn't always such a mismatch in supply and demand. In 2000, the quota for H-1B visas was raised to 195,000 per year and was rarely reached, but as the tech boom faded, the quota was reduced to 65,000. Tech companies have lobbied Congress to raise the quota but labor groups oppose a change, arguing that doing so would hurt U.S. employees' job prospects. Krumholtz said roughly one-third of Microsoft's U.S.-based employees have required some form of visa assistance. Last year, Microsoft submitted about 1,200 applications for H-1B visas and was granted about 900, he said. This year, Microsoft is trying to improve its chances in the lottery by filing about 1,600 applications. "We've got between 3,000 and 4,000 core openings at Microsoft we're trying to find people for," Krumholtz said. But he said the company's internal immigration staff expects it will "at best" get about 40 percent, or 640 visas, approved. Bob Gaynor, a Boston-based attorney who specializes in immigration law, said his clients applying for H-1B visas this year are worried about their chances in the computer selection process. Gaynor, who represents dentists, intellectual property experts, engineers and accountants from India, Australia and Germany, among other countries, said he expected about 200,000 applications to flood the system on Tuesday. "It's sad," Gaynor said. "These people really contribute to the business climate of the country."

Global warming was impossible to avoid on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, with a trio of hearings on the consequences or cures for climate change and another on the related question of endangered wildlife. But even as the climate change issue spurred debate among US lawmakers, a demographer said that while Americans take this matter seriously, they are lukewarm about taking any tough action to control it. "It's real, it's serious -- impressions of that are certainly growing," said Karlyn Bowman, who watches polling data at the pro-business American Enterprise Institute. "But in terms of what people are willing to do: They're willing to do things that are easy ... It just isn't a top-tier issue." Global warming has been a top-tier issue in Congress since Democratic leaders took over in January, including members of a new committee dedicated to energy independence and climate change. That panel heard testimony about the trials of rising gasoline prices, and its chairman, Rep Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, blamed dependence on foreign oil, warning of environmental consequences. "Our oil dependence has too many costs -- to our national security, to entrepreneurs, to our environment, and to American families -- for us to delay taking action on this important problem any longer," Markey said. Across the Hill, a Senate panel that deals with climate change heard about possible technological ways to limit the emissions of climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions. "I believe we must fight global warming to protect our economy as well as our planet," said Sen Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat. "... If we do nothing, the cost can't even be calculated. But Sen John Warner, a Virginia Republican, cautioned against rushing to action with the wrong plan: "If we make a false start ... and it just proves to have been wrong, I don't know when we'll get an opportunity like the one before us now." Meantime, the Senate Foreign Relations committee heard from former military leaders who warned of potential national security risks from climate change. Sen Richard Lugar, an Indiana Republican, said he has urged the Bush administration and others in Congress to return to an international leadership role on global warming. "Many nations and businesses across the globe are moving to respond to climate change in innovative ways," Lugar said. "How the United States participates in these efforts will profoundly affect our diplomatic standing, our economic potential, and our national security." A House of Representatives panel on natural resources took aim at the Interior Department over its handling of endangered species, and while this was not framed as an outgrowth of global warming, it added to the chorus of environmental voices in Washington. This seemed in sync with what recent polling suggests Americans feel about climate change, Bowman said by telephone. "They (Americans) don't necessarily think it's a problem for them now. But everybody says it's going to be a threat to their grandchildren," Bowman said.

Peru plans to start desalinating water from the Pacific Ocean to make up for declining supplies from fast-melting glaciers affected by climate change, President Alan Garcia said on Tuesday. The Andean nation relies for fresh water mostly on rivers, some of which descend the dry western slopes of the Andes and are partly fed by large tropical glaciers that are melting at an unprecedented rate. Garcia said Peru must develop an alternate, more secure source by pumping water from the ocean and desalinating it. "We can't think about the future with yesterday's plans. We must use modern technology and this will happen as we treat ocean water," Garcia said at the opening of a conference on desalination. Treating sea water would be cheaper than pumping water over the Andes or from the Amazon rain forest to the coast, where most people live. Lima, Peru's capital and home to 9 million people, is located in a coastal desert. Doosan Hydro Technology, a unit of South Korea's Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co Ltd that specializes in desalination, may build two plants on Peru's coast to supply water to more than a million people, the government said. Companies and cities in South America are increasingly looking to the ocean for a solution to the problem declining water supplies due to climate change. Mines in Chile and Peru, both major mineral producers, have started relying on desalination plants.

Australia's ruling Labor party is heading for a narrow election victory on Saturday, with a lead of just 2-4 percent over the conservative opposition, according to exit polls by two broadcasters. The vote, which has ended in eastern Australia but is still underway in some states, is shaping up as the closest election in decades with Australians divided on whether to give Labor a second term or opt for conservative rule, raising a real risk of a minority government unpopular with investors. An early exit poll by Sky News showed Labor on 51 percent to the opposition's 49 percent, on a two-party preferred basis, while another by Nine Network indicated a 52-48 result. "The poll says a narrow Labor win...," said John Armitage of Auspoll which conducted the exit poll. He said he could not rule out an opposition victory, given the tight margin. At stake was not only the political future of Prime Minister Julia Gillard and the opposition's Tony Abbott, both new and untested leaders, but also Labor's plans for a 30 percent resource tax and a $38 billion (24 billion pounds) broadband network. From surf club polling booths along Australia's coast to dusty outback voting stations, where political banners swayed in the hot breeze, Australians stood in line to vote. But even after five weeks of campaigning, many Australians remained undecided as to whom they wanted to run their country. "I will get fined if I don't vote. I don't think it makes any difference who is in power...," said one disgruntled voter. Voting is compulsory in Australia. Financial markets were unsettled on Friday by the prospect that no major party would win enough votes to form government --- a scenario which would see the Australian dollar sold off and possibly result in policy gridlock and investment paralysis. Investors are also worried about the likelihood the Greens party will win the balance of power in the upper house Senate and stifle policy and force the next government to increase spending. The poll may be determined in marginal seats in mortgage-belt areas of Sydney and Melbourne, where there are worries over immigration, as well as in resource states of Queensland and Western Australia, where there is bitterness over the mining tax. "It will be tough. Let's just get through the day and see how the vote goes tonight," said Gillard after casting her ballot at a polling booth in a Melbourne school. Conservative leader Abbott, who cooked sausages at his local surf club in Sydney before voting, said: "This is a big day for our country, a day when we can vote out a bad government." The first polls have closed in the big, populous states of New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria, which are expected to decide the election. Voting in other states continues with Western Australia the last to close at 11:00 a.m. British time. About 40 percent of the local share market is owned by foreign investors and one analyst has tipped a fall of 2-5 percent in the Australian dollar if a minority government is elected. Without a clear winner, the next government would have to rely on a handful of independent or Green MPs to rule. AFGHANISTAN DEATHS OVERSHADOW VOTING Abbott's Liberal-National coalition, which ruled for 12 years before Labor won the last election in 2007, has pledged to scrap Labor's three key policies: a new mine tax, fibre-optic broadband network and a future carbon price to tackle climate change. But with no dominant election theme, the election is expected to be decided on various issues in important marginal seats, mainly in the resource states of Queensland and Western Australia and the mortgage belts of Sydney and Melbourne. A uniform swing of only 1.7 percent would unseat Labor. The deaths of two Australian soldiers in Afghanistan cast a shadow over polling, with both leaders stopping to reiterate a bipartisan commitment to Afghanistan. Abbott was regarded as unelectable nine months ago when he became opposition leader and with the poll so close, the result may come down to whether voters like Gillard or Abbott better. Gillard, Australia's first female prime minister, is unmarried, childless, and does not believe in God. Abbott is a former seminarian, who is now married with daughters.

U.S. President George W. Bush's plan to halt a rise in U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 2025 could undermine, rather than support, efforts to combat climate change, German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel said. "Gabriel criticises Bush's Neanderthal speech" was the title of a news release from the Environment Ministry on Thursday. "Without binding limits and reduction targets for industrial countries, climate change will not be stopped," said Sigmar Gabriel, adding the United States and Europe had to lead the way in cutting greenhouse gas emissions. "The motto of his speech is: losing instead of leading," said Gabriel, a Social Democrat in conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition government. Bush on Wednesday unveiled plans to cap U.S. emissions by 2025, toughening an existing target to slow the growth of emissions by 2012 but critics say the world needs tougher action to combat global warming. The United States is the world's top greenhouse gas emitter. Germany is the world's sixth largest CO2 emitter and its efforts to reduce emissions have stagnated since the mid-1990s.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on Thursday for swifter work on a climate treaty, saying inaction could spell economic disaster and a rise in sea levels of up to 2 meters (6.5 ft) by 2100. "We cannot afford limited progress. We need rapid progress," he told a 155-nation climate conference in Geneva of negotiations on a new United Nations deal to combat global warming that is due to be agreed in December in Copenhagen. "Climate change could spell widespread economic disaster," Ban said, urging action to promote greener growth. "By the end of this century, sea levels may rise between half a meter and two meters," he said. That would threaten small island states, river deltas and cities such as Tokyo, New Orleans or Shanghai, he said. His sea level projection is above the range of 18 to 59 cms (7-24 inches) given in 2007 by the U.N.'s own panel of experts. Their estimates did not include the possibility of an accelerated melt of vast ice sheets in Antarctica or Greenland. Ban said greenhouse gas emissions, mainly from burning fossil fuels, were still rising fast. "Our foot is stuck on the accelerator and we are heading toward an abyss," he said. Just back from a trip to see thinning Arctic sea ice off Norway, Ban said he hoped a summit of world leaders he will host in New York on September 22 would give a new push to Copenhagen. "I am really trying to raise a sense of urgency," he told a news conference after speaking to an audience including about 20 leaders, mostly of developing nations such as Tanzania, Bangladesh and Mozambique, and ministers from up to 80 nations. He reiterated calls for developed nations to agree "more ambitious" targets for cuts in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 than promised so far and more aid. Rich nations want clearer pledges from the poor that they will slow rising emissions. AID "China faces enormous tasks in developing its economy, eradicating poverty and improving people's livelihood, but it still attaches great importance to climate change," Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu said in a speech. The Geneva August 31-September 4 conference, gathering about 1,500 delegates, also formally approved a new system to improve monitoring and early warning systems about the climate to help everyone from farmers to investors in renewable energies. Delegates said the "Global Framework for Climate Services" would mainly help developing nations adapt to changes such as more floods, wildfires, droughts, rising seas or more disease. Many Asian farmers, for instance, want to know how a projected thaw of Himalayan glaciers will disrupt water flows in rivers. Investors in wind farms can benefit from information on future wind patterns, rather than historical data. The U.N.'s World Meteorological Organization (WMO) would set up a "task force" of advisers within four months who would then have a year to report back with proposals about how it would work in sectors such as health, energy and agriculture. "For us, it is a success," Michel Jarraud, head of the WMO, said of the conference. Tanzania's Vice President Ali Mohamed Shein said the impact of disasters, such as droughts or floods, could be averted with better information. He also said the snows of Mount Kilimanjaro would vanish in coming decades at current rates. The Geneva talks are the third world climate conference. Meetings in 1979 and 1990 helped pave the way to a U.N. Climate Panel and a U.N. 1992 Climate Convention.

Europe expects to overcome a dispute with the United States blocking the launch of negotiations on a new climate treaty beyond 2012 at UN talks in Bali, Germany said on the final day on Friday. "All parties are willing to be flexible, to search for a compromise," said German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel, playing down a long-running clash with the United States over how far rich nations should cut greenhouse gases by 2020. "I think that the situation is good, the climate in the climate conference is good, that we will have success in the end," he said. "I don't know when we will come to an end." Indonesia, hosting the Dec. 3-14 talks in Bali, had suggested dropping an ambition for rich nations to make stiff cuts in emissions of between 25 to 40 percent by 2020 in a bid to overcome Washington's opposition to a draft text. The United States, the world's top emitter of greenhouse gases and the only developed nation outside the 37-country Kyoto, has repeatedly said that setting a 2020 goal would prejudge the outcome of coming negotiations. Earlier, the EU insisted the rich should lead the way in curbing emissions to persuade developing nations, such as China and India, to agree in Bali to launch two years of negotiations on a global climate pact to succeed the U.N.'s Kyoto Protocol. "We continue to insist on including a reference to an indicative emissions reduction range for developed countries for 2020," European Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said. "Let me underline once again that the Bali 'roadmap' must have a clear destination," he said. Reading a statement, he did not, however, repeat the 25 to 40 percent demand. Gabriel would not say what had caused his more optimistic tone. One compromise draft by Indonesia retains an ambition for global greenhouse gas emissions to peak in the next 10-15 years and to fall well below half of 2000 levels by 2050. But it drops the 25-40 percent range for rich nations by 2020. It was not clear if the United States and other countries would agree to the text. Indonesia presented an alternative with the 2020 goals, as part of a drive to avert climate changes such as more heatwaves, floods, rising seas and melting glaciers. BAN RETURN The United States did not want to distinguish between climate efforts by rich and poor countries, isolating it from the G77 group of developing nations and the European Union. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon decided warned of the risks of failure in Bali. "That would be very serious," he said, but added: "I think there will be an agreement." Organisers say the talks may last overnight into Saturday. Ban, on a visit to East Timor after attending the Bali talks, would make an unscheduled return on Saturday morning to give a news conference, his spokeswoman Michelle Montas said. Yvo de Boer, head of the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat, said most nations considered it vital to include the United States in a new climate treaty. "The general sense of everyone here is that it doesn't make a lot of sense to begin crafting a post-2012 climate change regime without the major economy and the major emitter," he said. Outside the conference centre, activists wearing red t-shirts reading "Kyoto - just do it" chanted "breakthrough, breakthrough". Developing nations are exempt from Kyoto's 2008-2012 first phase. Despite opposition to Kyoto, the United States plans to join a new treaty, meant to be agreed in Copenhagen in late 2009 with participation of developing nations led by China and India. On other issues, the Bali talks agreed steps on Friday to slow deforestation. Trees store carbon dioxide as they grow. "The agreement on deforestation is a good balance between different countries views and is one of the substantial achievements of this conference," Dimas said. He said the agreement launched pilot projects, which would tackle deforestation and forest degradation, and contribute to harder proposals in a broader climate pact in 2009.

Researchers from University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the US warn that humans can expect more such illnesses to emerge in the future as climate change shifts habitats and brings wildlife, crops, livestock, and humans into contact with pathogens to which they are susceptible but to which they have never been exposed before.“It is not that there is going to be one 'Andromeda Strain' that will wipe everybody out on the planet. There are going to be a lot of localised outbreaks putting pressure on medical and veterinary health systems,” said noted zoologist Daniel Brooks.Brooks and co-author Eric Hoberg, zoologist with the US National Parasite Collection of the USDA's Agricultural Research Service, have observed how climate change has affected very different ecosystems.They have witnessed the arrival of species that had not previously lived in that area and the departure of others.“Over the last 30 years, the places we have been working have been heavily impacted by climate change," Brooks said.“Even though I was in the tropics and he (Hoberg) was in the Arctic, we could see something was happening. Changes in habitat mean animals are exposed to new parasites and pathogens,” he noted.Brooks calls it the “parasite paradox”.Over time, hosts and pathogens become more tightly adapted to one another.According to previous theories, this should make emerging diseases rare because they have to wait for the right random mutation to occur.However, such jumps happen more quickly than anticipated.Even pathogens that are highly adapted to one host are able to shift to new ones under the right circumstances.“Even though a parasite might have a very specialised relationship with one particular host in one particular place, there are other hosts that may be as susceptible,” Brooks pointed out.In fact, the new hosts are more susceptible to infection and get sicker from it, Brooks said, because they have not yet developed resistance.The article was published online in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B.

During a speech on his first foreign visit since winning re-election, he told the Maldivian parliament in Male that "terrorism is not just a threat for a country, but to the entire civilisation". "The international community has actively arranged for global convention and many conferences on the threat of climate change. Why not on the issue of terrorism?" Modi said. He called for a global conference "so that there can be meaningful and result-oriented discussions for plugging the loopholes that terrorists and their supporters exploit". India is pursuing what it calls a "neighbourhood first" foreign policy centred on its allies in South Asia, although there is little sign of a warming in relations with arch rival Pakistan. His trip to the Maldives is being viewed as a statement of intent to counter the rise of China, which has been making strategic inroads in the Indian Ocean in recent years and seeking closer military ties, to the alarm of New Delhi. "In the neighbourhood, Maldives is priority," Modi said in his speech. During the visit, Modi has signed a slew of agreements with the island nation encompassing ferry services, port terminals and a new national cricket stadium. His next stop is Sri Lanka's capital, Colombo, where security is likely to be high on the agenda. A wave of bombings on Easter Sunday killed more than 250 people across Sri Lanka despite repeated warnings from Indian intelligence services about a militant plot.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has turned the spotlight on foreign charities since he took office last year, accusing some of trying to hamper projects on social and environmental grounds. Last year, Modi government withdrew permission to Greenpeace to receive foreign funding, saying the money was used to block industrial projects. Under the latest order issued by authorities in Tamil Nadu where Greenpeace is registered, the government said it had found that the organisation had violated the provisions of law by engaging in fraudulent dealings. Greenpeace denied any wrongdoing and said the closure was a "clumsy tactic" to silence dissent. "This is an extension of the deep intolerance for differing viewpoints that sections of this government seem to harbour," Vinuta Gopal, the interim executive director of Greenpeace, said in a statement. A government official confirmed that the closure order had been issued on Wednesday but did not elaborate. Greenpeace India has campaigned against coal mines in forests, genetically modified crops, nuclear power and toxic waste management. In recent months the federal government has toughened rules governing charities and cancelled the registration of nearly 9,000 groups for failing to declare details of overseas donations.

"India irrigates its deserts and dumps extra water on Pakistan without any warning," the bearded Saeed told Reuters, as he surveyed a vast expanse of muddy water from a rescue boat just outside the central city of Multan. "If we don't stop India now, Pakistan will continue to face this danger." His comments will surprise few in India, where Saeed is suspected of helping mastermind the 2008 Mumbai massacre which killed 166 people, a few of them Americans. Saeed, who also has a $10 million US bounty on his head, denies involvement. But his presence in the flood-hit area is part of a push by Pakistani Islamists, militants and organisations linked to them to fill the vacuum left by struggling local authorities and turn people against a neighbour long viewed with deep mistrust. Water is an emotive issue in Pakistan, whose rapidly rising population depends on snow-fed Himalayan rivers for everything from drinking water to agriculture. Many Pakistanis believe that rival India uses its upstream dams to manipulate how much water flows down to Pakistani wheat and cotton fields, with some describing it as a "water bomb" designed to weaken its neighbour. There is no evidence to prove that, and India has long dismissed such accusations as nonsense. Experts say this month's floods, which also hit India's part of the disputed Kashmir region, were caused by the sheer volume of rainfall. In fact, some Pakistanis accuse their own government of failing to invest in dams and other infrastructure needed to regulate water levels through wet and dry seasons. But others agree with the narrative pushed by Saeed and Syed Salahuddin, head of the militant anti-Indian Hizbul Mujahideen group and also one of India's most wanted men. "India wants to turn Pakistan into an arid desert," Salahuddin told Reuters in a telephone interview, describing another scenario feared by some Pakistanis - that India will cut off supplies of water in times of shortage. "If this continues, a new Jihad will begin. Our fighters and all of Pakistan's fighters are ready to avenge Indian brutality in whatever form." CHARITY BRINGS FOOD, IDEOLOGY Saeed's charity, Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), has sent hundreds of workers to areas of Pakistan worst affected by the floods, where they distribute food and medicine at the same time as spreading the organisation's hardline ideology against India. JuD is believed by many experts to be a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba, the militant group which India says carried out the Mumbai attack. Saeed was a co-founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba, but he has played down his links to the group in recent years. "This is a premeditated plan by India to make Pakistan suffer," Abdur Rauf, who has worked as a JuD volunteer for 16 years, told Reuters, as he prepared to distribute medicine and syringes at a relief camp near Multan. "Don't be fooled. This water bomb is no different from the atom bomb. It's worse." Officials in India's water resources ministry this week declined to respond to charges of "water terrorism", saying they were being stoked by militants, not the Pakistani government. Much of the Indian-held side of Kashmir has also been hit by flooding, the worst in that region for more than a century, and officials have put the death toll there at more than 200. However, in a country rife with conspiracy theories, large numbers of Pakistanis buy into the idea of sabotage. "This is not a mistake: this is a deliberate act to destroy Pakistan and make its people suffer," said Syed Ali, a farmer, as he looked forlornly at the murky waters covering his village of Sher Shah in central Pakistan. Disagreement over how to share the waters of the Indus river, which flows from India into Pakistan, has dogged the nuclear-armed rivals since independence in 1947. The neighbours have fought two of their three wars over the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir and observers are worried that the next conflict could be over water. CLAIMS ARE "DOWNRIGHT ABSURD" The lives of more than two million people were affected by this month's floods in Pakistan, and more than 300 were killed. Some are critical of their own government, saying the mass devastation caused by the latest floods was a result of Pakistan's own inefficiencies. "Some people will say India released the waters," Yousaf Raza Gillani, a former Pakistani prime minister, told Reuters. "But my question is: even if there was a timely warning from India that this was about to happen, would we have heeded it? Would this government have taken the right steps? I doubt it." Husain Haqqani, a former Pakistan ambassador to the United States and now a director at the Hudson Institute in Washington D.C., said that water issues are being exploited to keep relations between the two countries tense. "The Pakistani militants' claims about floods in Pakistan being the result of India releasing torrents of water are downright absurd," he said. "It is part of propaganda rooted in the belief that Pakistanis must be made to see India as their permanent enemy. Blaming India also covers up for Pakistan's own failure in water management." CLIMATE CHANGE Disputes over water-sharing are a global phenomenon, stoked by rapidly growing populations and increasingly unpredictable climate patterns. In South Asia, home to a fifth of humanity, the problem is particularly acute. "Regional flooding in South Asia is certainly linked to climate change effects. In recent years there has been major glacial recession on Pakistani mountains, and monsoon rains have been unusually and even unprecedentedly intense," said Michael Kugelman at the Woodrow Wilson International Center. "At the same time, I’d argue that ... human-made actions are making things even worse. Deforestation in Pakistan, for example, has caused floodwaters to rage even more," he said. The region's three major rivers - the Indus, the Ganges and the Brahmaputra - sustain both countries' breadbasket states and many of their major cities, including New Delhi and Islamabad. In Pakistan, agriculture contributes to about a quarter of its gross domestic product, and the country still relies on a network of irrigation canals built by the British. Hoping to resolve the issue once and for all, the two countries signed the Indus Water Treaty in 1960, but India's ambitious irrigation plans and construction of thousands of upstream dams continued to irk Pakistan. India says its use of upstream water is strictly in line with the 1960 agreement. According to a 2012 Indian government report, the country operates 4,846 dams in the region - a huge number compared with just a few dozen on the Pakistani side of the disputed border. "We can't blame India for our own mistakes," said Malik Abdul Ghaffar Dogar, the ruling party lawmaker from Multan. "We turn every dam project into a political deadlock and a stick to beat our political opponents with, but the truth is this country needs dams and it's just not building any."

Barack Obama this week makes his first trip to Asia as president, leaving behind a host of domestic problems with a visit that recognizes the region's economic and diplomatic importance to the United States. The trip, which starts on Thursday, will take Obama to an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Singapore. But the critical leg will come in China, where Obama will have to navigate an increasingly complex relationship with the country that is the largest holder of U.S. foreign debt and its second-largest trading partner. "I see China as a vital partner, as well as a competitor," Obama told Reuters in an interview before the trip. "The key is for us to make sure that that competition is friendly, and it's competition for customers and markets, it's within the bounds of well-defined international rules of the road that both China and the United States are party to, but also that together we are encouraging responsible behavior around the world," he said. He will also visit Japan and South Korea. "The overarching theme is that America is a Pacific nation, it understands the importance of Asia in the 21st century, and it's going to be very engaged in a very comprehensive way to make progress on a whole series of issues that are critical for our prosperity and our security," said Ben Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser. North Korea, Iran, the global economy and trade, climate change, energy, human rights, Afghanistan and Pakistan are likely to get the most attention. Obama will also use a stop in Tokyo to speak broadly about his view of U.S. engagement with Asia. In China from November 15-18, Obama will visit Shanghai and Beijing, hold bilateral meetings with President Hu Jintao -- their third -- and Premier Wen Jiabao. DEEPLY ENGAGED The trip is intended to make the point that the United States is deeply engaged with Asia, after years of focusing on the threat of Islamic militancy in the region. But the issues dominating U.S. politics -- his fight to reform the healthcare system, joblessness and the pressing question of how many more troops to send to Afghanistan -- are likely to dog Obama on his Asian trip. Those domestic worries could make it more difficult to make progress on climate change and trade, on which he faces stiff opposition from U.S. groups whose support he needs on healthcare and other issues. Many businesses, for example, are wary of new rules on climate change they say could be costly and labor unions worry about free trade agreements they fear could cost jobs, so Obama is unlikely to push hard for deals such as a free trade pact with South Korea. "I think the administration has been sending pretty careful signals that, hey, we're not gone on trade ... we'll be back to the table on trade on some of these regional agreements and some of the bilateral agreements," said Ernie Bower, director of the Southeast Asia program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "Do Asian leaders believe that? I'm not sure," he said. With Obama enjoying sky-high popularity ratings in the countries he is visiting, concrete results may be beside the point. Noting that Obama has been in office only since January, analysts and administration officials point to this trip as mostly laying the groundwork for future cooperation. "President Obama is enormously popular in all the countries that he's visiting. I haven't seen the latest polls, but the numbers I have seen are staggering," said Jeffrey Bader, senior director for East Asian affairs at the National Security Council. "When we have someone who has that degree of respect and affection and admiration, the message that he is bringing is much more likely to resonate than when you come in with a five percent approval rating," he said.

Several thousand protesters demanding urgent action on global warming marched through the streets of London, Berlin and Stockholm on Saturday. German authorities turned off the lights for five minutes at 8:00 p.m. (1900 GMT) at tourist sites including Berlin's Brandenburg Gate as part of a government-backed campaign to raise awareness of environmental issues. Carrying banners with slogans like "cut carbon not forests" and "actions speak louder than words" protesters in London marched in torrential rain past parliament and through Trafalgar Square to rally in front of the US embassy. Some posters carried a picture of US President George W Bush and the words "Wanted for crimes against the planet". The United States is the world's biggest emitter of carbon gases. British police said 2,000 people took part in the march. Organisers said they estimated the number at 7,000. In Sweden, police said about 1,000 protesters marched through Stockholm in the rain carrying banners reading "make love, not CO2", "kids for the climate" and "flying kills" in Swedish and English. "I've never seen so many people come to a demonstration in Stockholm," said Susanna Ahlfors, 34, marching with her two children. "If we don't act now, things will go really bad. I'm worried about their future." The protesters urged the world to stop driving and start biking and admonished Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt for "staying quiet while the water is rising". Around 1,500 people paraded through Berlin, German police said. About 10,000 people joined protests across the country, according to German environmental groups. The marches were among a series planned around the world and timed to coincide with a meeting of UN environment officials and ministers on the Indonesian island of Bali to discuss a successor to the Kyoto Protocol on cutting carbon emissions. "This march is a direct message for Bali, indeed for all governments around the world, to take action now," said Andy Wimbush, one of the London march organisers. "We can't wait." Kyoto, which has not been ratified by the United States, expires in 2012 and as yet there is nothing on the table to replace it. The UN hopes the meeting in Bali will produce a negotiating mandate that will lead in two years to a new global emissions cutting deal. A draft proposal on Saturday said all nations must do more to fight climate change and rich countries must make deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions to avoid the worst impacts. The four-page draft was written by delegates from Indonesia, Australia and South Africa as an unofficial guide for delegates from 190 nations at the Dec. 3-14 Bali talks.