Europe

GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 F) is “on life support” as U.N. climate talks enter their final days, but he added that “until the last moment, hope should be maintained.”

In an exclusive interview Thursday with The Associated Press, Guterres said the negotiations set to end Friday in Glasgow, Scotland, will “very probably” not yield the carbon-cutting pledges he has said are needed to keep the planet from warming beyond the 1.5-degree threshold.

GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — Governments are considering calling for a global end to coal use, according to a draft released Wednesday of the final document expected at the U.N. climate talks.

The early version of the document circulating at the negotiations in Glasgow, Scotland, also expresses “alarm and concern” about how much Earth has already warmed and urges countries to cut carbon dioxide emissions by about half by 2030. Pledges so far from governments don’t add up to that frequently stated goal.

MOSCOW, November 10. /TASS/: Tensions are rising as new challenges and threats emerge in the field of non-proliferation and global arms control, Russian top diplomat Sergey Lavrov said at a board meeting of the Russian and Belarusian Foreign Ministries on Wednesday.

MOSCOW, November 10. /TASS/: NATO reconnaissance aircraft increased the number of flights near the Russian borders in the Black Sea region over the past 24 hours, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Wednesday.

"Over the past 24 hours, reconnaissance aircraft of NATO countries increased the intensity of flights near the borders of the Russian Federation in the Black Sea region," the ministry said.

BELGRADE, November 10. /TASS/: Serbia maintains friendly relations with Russia and China and it is not going to make any apologies for this to anyone, President Aleksandar Vucic told the media on Wednesday.

MOSCOW, November 10. /TASS/: A humanitarian catastrophe is looming over the Polish-Belarusian border while Europe departs from its declared ideals in this situation, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"The situation is indeed highly tense, a trend [is observed] of increasing tension which can only concern us. A looming humanitarian catastrophe is evident against the background of the unwillingness of our European colleagues to demonstrate the adherence to their European values," the Kremlin official told journalists on Wednesday commenting on the unfolding situation.

MOSCOW, November 10. /TASS/: Moscow and Minsk have expressed concern over NATO’s buildup near the borders of the Union State, while the alliance prefers not to pay attention to these concerns, Belarussian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei told a news conference following a joint board meeting of the Russian and Belarusian foreign ministries. 

MOSCOW, November 10. /TASS/: Two Russian Tu-22M3 long-range bombers practiced interoperability with command posts of the Russian and Belarusian armed forces and checked the Union State’s air defenses, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Wednesday.

As the ministry specified, the two Tu-22M3 bombers of the Russian Aerospace Force conducted a patrol in the Belarusian airspace.

"During the flight, the aircraft practiced interoperability with the ground command posts of the armed forces of Russia and the Republic of Belarus," the statement says.

MOSCOW, November 10. /TASS/: Contacts between the Russian Health Ministry and the World Health Organization over the recognition of Russia’s anti-COVID vaccine Sputnik V are moving in the positive direction, Health Minister Mikhail Murashko told the media on Wednesday.

"The process is underway and contacts with the WHO are moving in the positive direction," he said.

Murashko added that dates for a visit by international experts to Russia were being discussed.

MOSCOW, November 10. /TASS/: A fragment of China’s Fengyun-1C weather satellite will approach the International Space Station (ISS) on November 12, the Russian space agency Roscosmos reported on Wednesday.

"According to preliminary data, a fragment of the Fengyun-1C satellite will fly close to the International Space Station at about 4 hours in the morning Moscow time on November 12. Currently, trajectories are being calculated and near-miss parameters are being specified," Roscosmos said.