UN chief urges countries not to surrender on climate fight

DEC 2, 2019, 1900 GMT | COP 2019 Summit Madrid, Spain | Attendees sit next to a security control access at the COP25 climate talks summit in Madrid, Monday Dec. 2, 2019. Delegates from almost 200 countries have begun a two-week international climate conference in Madrid that seeks to step-up efforts to stop global warming. The opening of the COP25 summit came as U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the efforts so far are insufficient to overcome the “point of no return” in climate change. (AP Photo)

MADRID (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres urged countries Monday not to lose hope in the fight against climate change, as representatives from nearly 200 countries gathered in Madrid for a two-week meeting on tackling global warming.

In his opening speech to delegates, Guterres cited recent scientific data showing that levels of heat-trapping gases have hit a record high, reaching levels not seen for at least 3 million years when sea levels were 10-20 meters (33-66 feet) higher than today.

Unless emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are sharply cut, temperatures could rise to twice the threshold set in the 2015 Paris accord by the end of the century, he warned.

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Trump thanks troops on a surprise thanksgiving visit to Afghanistan

NOV 28, 2019, 2100 GMT | Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan | US President Donald Trump addressing US Military Personnel at Bagram Air Field, few kilometers from capital city of Kabul. This visit considered as Trump’s surprise Thanksgiving visit to Afghanistan to salute brave American Soldiers who has greater responsibility to maintain security and peace in the region. (AP Photo)

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (AP) — President Donald Trump paid a surprise Thanksgiving visit to Afghanistan, where he announced the U.S. and the Taliban have been engaged in ongoing peace talks and said he believes the Taliban want a cease-fire.

Trump arrived at Bagram Air Field shortly after 8:30 p.m. local time Thursday and spent 3½ hours on the ground during his first trip to the site of America’s longest war. He served turkey and thanked the troops, delivered a speech and sat down with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani before leaving just after midnight. He arrived back in Florida, where he is spending the holiday weekend, early Friday morning local time.

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World markets mixed after US shares forge new highs

NOV 27, 2019 1130 GMT | Tokyo Japan | A man walks by an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2019. Shares were mostly higher in Asia on Wednesday after a fresh set of record highs on Wall Street, spurred by encouraging signs on trade talks between the U.S. and China. (AP Photo)

BEIJING (AP) — World shares were mixed Wednesday after Wall Street benchmarks set fresh highs, spurred by optimism over trade talks between the U.S. and China.

Investors are awaiting fresh U.S. home sales data, a key measure of inflation, and Washington’s latest quarterly estimate of economic growth.

Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.3% to 7,423.42 while the CAC 40 in France edged 0.1% lower to 5,924.05. Germany’s DAX lost less than 0.1% to 13,229.04. Wall Street looked set for a tepid start, with the future contract for the Dow Jones Industrial Average almost unchanged at 28,126.00. The future for the S&P 500 inched 0.1% higher to 3,145.60.

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In reversal, Seoul to keep Japan military intelligence pact

NOV 22, 2019, 1100 GMT | Seoul, South Korea | South Koreans hold banners during a rally to demand to keep the General Security of Military Intelligence Agreement, or GSOMIA, near the Foreign Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Nov. 22, 2019. South Korea says it has decided to continue a 2016 military intelligence-sharing agreement with Japan it previously decided to terminate amid ongoing disputes over their wartime history and trade. (AP Photo)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — In a major policy reversal, South Korea said Friday it has decided to continue, at least temporarily, a 2016 military intelligence-sharing agreement with Japan that it previously said it would terminate amid ongoing tensions over wartime history and trade.

The announcement, made just six hours before the agreement was to expire, followed a strong U.S. push to save the pact, which has been a major symbol of the countries’ three-way security cooperation in the face of North Korea’s nuclear threat and China’s growing influence.

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Former Soviet submarine docked in California to be sold

NOV 19, 2019 1500 GMT | California, United States | Scorpion, foreground, a former Soviet submarine that became a Los Angeles-area tourist attraction and is expected to be sold, is docked next to the Queen Mary in Long Beach, Calif., Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2019. (The Orange County Register via AP)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A former Soviet submarine that became a Los Angeles-area tourist attraction is expected to be sold.

The Los Angeles Times reports the Russian Foxtrot-class submarine known as the Scorpion is going to an anonymous buyer who is expected to remove the vessel by May.

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BRICS back Paris agreement, oppose Syria military solution

NOV 14, 2019 1000 GMT | BRICS Summit 2019 Brasilia, Brazil | From left to right, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa, China’s President Xi Jinping, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro pose for a photo at the BRICS emerging economies at the Itamaraty palace in Brasilia, Brazil, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2019. (AP Photo)

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Members of the BRICS group of nations said Thursday that they are committed to implementing the Paris climate agreement and there cannot be a military solution to Syria’s conflict.

The declaration issued by leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa at a summit in Brasilia stressed commitment to shoring up multilateralism and the United Nation’s central role in international issues.

Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping earlier particularly urged large emerging nations to assume a larger role in multilateral institutions.

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Bolivia’s president resigns amid election-fraud allegations

NOV 12, 2019 1400 GMT | In this photo provided by the Agencia Boliviana de Informacion, Bolivian President Evo Morales speaks from the presidential hangar in El Alto, Bolivia, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2019. Bolivia’s military chief Gen. Williams Kaliman said that President Evo Morales should resign so that stability can be restored after weeks of protests over his disputed election. He stepped in after Morales agreed earlier in the day to hold a new election. (Enzo De Luca/Agencia Boliviana de Informacion via AP)

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — President Evo Morales resigned Sunday under mounting pressure from Bolivia’s military and the public after his re-election victory triggered weeks of fraud allegations and deadly protests.

The decision came after a day of fast-moving developments, including an offer from Morales to hold a new election. The crisis deepened dramatically when the country’s military chief went on national television to call on the president to step down.

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Venezuelans charting escape selling off past at flea markets

NOV 9, 2019 1100 GMT | FILE – In this Oct. 31, 2019 photo, Yenika Calderon, 41, holds her 10-month-old baby Gael, while standing inside her apartment with suitcases packed with personal belongings to sell at a secondhand market, in Caracas, Venezuela. Deciding that it’s time to abandon her crisis-torn homeland of Venezuela, Calderon hopes the money she makes will give her young family a fresh start far away in Spain. (AP Photo)

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Having decided it’s time to abandon her crisis-torn homeland, Yenika Calderon spreads out her worldly possessions in the middle of a flea market in Venezuela’s capital, hoping to pocket enough money to give her young family a fresh start far away in Spain.

Millions of Venezuelans have already left on similar journeys in recent years, and many of those planning to follow are putting their hopes in street-side markets that are popping up across Caracas.

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Johnson tries to shake off rocky start as UK election begins

NOV 6, 2019 1900 GMT | Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during an election campaign event for his ruling Conservative Party at the NEC, (National Exhibition Centre) in Birmingham, England, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2019. Britain goes to the polls on Dec. 12. (AP Photo)

LONDON (AP) — Prime Minister Boris Johnson told British voters Wednesday that they have to back his Conservatives if they want an end to Brexit delays, as he tried to shake off a rocky start to the governing party’s election campaign.

Speaking outside his No. 10 Downing St. office on the first official day of Britain’s five-week campaign, Johnson said the political impasse over Britain’s departure from the European Union made him want to “chew my own tie in frustration.”

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India, Germany agree to boost industrial cooperation

NOV 1, 2019 1500 GMT } New Delhi, India | Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, shakes hand with German Chancellor Angela Merkel before their meeting in New Delhi, India, Friday, Nov. 1, 2019. Merkel is on a three-day visit to India. India and Germany have agreed to enhance cooperation in tackling climate change, cybersecurity, skill development, artificial intelligence, energy security, civil aviation and defense production. The two countries signed several agreements on Friday, (AP Photo)

NEW DELHI (AP) — India and Germany agreed on Friday to enhance cooperation in tackling climate change, cybersecurity, skill development, artificial intelligence, energy security, civil aviation and defense production.

The two countries signed several agreements, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying India is eager to benefit from Germany’s expertise.

Modi said he also hopes to work together in fighting global terrorism and extremism. He did not give any details.

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