Paris

History pact to slow global warming is celebrated in Paris

The "Paris agreement" aims to keep global temperatures from rising another degree Celsius (1.8 Fahrenheit) between now and 2100, a key demand of poor countries ravaged by rising sea levels and other effects of climate change.

Paris attacks kill at least 120

Eighty people were reported killed after gunmen burst into the Bataclan concert hall and took dozens hostage.

The siege ended when security forces stormed the building.

People were shot dead at bars and restaurants at five other sites in Paris. Eight attackers were later reported killed.

Police believed all of the gunmen were dead but it was unclear if any accomplices were still on the run after the string of near-simultaneous attacks.

Paris residents have been asked to stay indoors and about 1,500 military personnel are being deployed across the city.

FRENCH STATE OF EMERGENCY FORMALLY DECLARED

Tens of thousands of people join the football players at Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires in offering tribute to the dead and wounded in Paris before the start of a World Cup qualifying match between Argentina

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Decades of James Bond's cars hit the streets of Paris

From the Sunbeam Alpine in the 1962 "Dr. No" to this year's Aston Martin, the cars paraded down the Champs Elysees on Sunday after arraying in front of the Arc de Triomphe.

Minus the submarine car from "The Spy Who Loved Me," the display comes before the release of "Spectre" this fall and includes the Aston Martin DB10 created for the film, which features in a chase scene through the streets of Rome.

The film will be released on Nov. 6 in the U.S. and Oct. 26 in Britain.

 

Marshall Islands 'Will Go Under' If the Paris Climate talks fail: Minister

The roughly 50,000 people who call the Marshalls home are facing rising sea levels, increasingly violent storms, drought and flooding.

Last year, an especially high tide inundated several of the islands, including Majuro, the largest and most populous. Parts of the island were under water. Hundreds of people had to flee their houses. The president said later that his people “stand to lose everything.”

Defining moment for Pacific Community at United Nations in New York

Pacific Community Director-General, Dr Colin Tukuitonga, has highlighted climate change, youth, oceans and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the organisation’s inaugural statement at UN headquarters, made during the UN Summit for the Adoption of the Post-2015 Development Agenda.

“The global community has adopted a new Sustainable Development Agenda, and a new global agreement on climate change is expected in Paris later this year.  Let me say that from our perspective there cannot be Sustainable Development Goals without a binding agreement in Paris.

Failure not an option - Tuvalu PM

Tuvalu Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga wants this message relayed to the French Prime Minister through their ambassador to Fiji, Kiribati, Tonga and Tuvalu, Michel Djokovic.

He made the comment at the signing of a maritime boundary agreement for Fiji, France and Tuvalu.

"We're signing at this moment on the eve of the world coming to Paris to try and conclude a legally binding agreement.

Paris talks won’t hit global warming target, UN warns

The problem is that the pledges made by countries ahead of the COP21 talks on how they would reduce their emissions  “do not add up to 2 degrees,” said Figueres, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Two degrees above pre-industrial temperatures has been agreed by countries as a threshold beyond which climate change risks become unacceptably high.

Climate change threatens Forum solidarity

A senior official attending the small island states leaders’ summit told Islands Business that his country is unhappy about the draft Pacific Island Forum statement on climate change that is already in circulation among Forum delegates.

Yet to be released publicly, the document reportedly supports a 2 degrees temperate rise target, instead of the 1.5 degrees being advocated by small island states who are members of AOSIS, the Alliance of Small Island States 2 degrees is the preferred target of industrialised countries, of which Australia and New Zealand are members of. 

Pacific leaders make their point clear on climate change

A panel of Pacific Island leaders stressed this during a talanoa session on Climate Change and Migration Thursday.

“The question is, it’s not always about what we take to Paris as important, what is possibly more important what we will come away from Paris with. We really want to come away from Paris with some clear guarantees that something is going to be done that will ensure our future generations will have a chance of survival,” said  Kiribati President Anote Tong.