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Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in New Delhi for a two-day state visit, his first to India since the Ukraine conflict began, highlighting the enduring "special and privileged strategic partnership" between the two nations. This high-stakes meeting, amidst Western pressure on India, aims to reinforce bilateral ties through discussions on trade, energy cooperation, and geopolitical issues, despite India's consistent neutral stance on the conflict.
Record-breaking rains and a succession of tropical storms have unleashed widespread devastation across Southeast Asia, claiming nearly 800 lives and displacing over a million people. This catastrophic event, impacting nations like Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines, underscores the severe humanitarian toll of climate change and the region's increasing vulnerability to extreme weather.
A palm oil company is urgently clearing critical rainforest within a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in Borneo, threatening endangered species and Indigenous Dayak communities. This destructive activity by PT Equator Sumber Rezeki, a subsidiary of First Borneo Group, has already razed nearly 1,500 hectares of orangutan habitat, despite the parent company's "zero-deforestation" pledges, leading to calls for immediate government intervention.
Catastrophic floods and landslides have swept across South and Southeast Asia, claiming over 1,000 lives and displacing hundreds of thousands in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Malaysia. Sri Lanka, particularly hard-hit by Cyclone Ditwah with 334 fatalities, declared a state of emergency amidst widespread devastation that experts attribute to the climate crisis.
Europe is experiencing unprecedented December warmth, with temperatures 3 to 5 degrees Celsius above average, a phenomenon attributed to climate change, an erratic jet stream, and warm Atlantic winds. This unusual weather poses significant threats to the agricultural sector, disrupting crop cycles and increasing pest activity, while also highlighting Europe's status as the fastest-warming continent.
Cyclone Ditwah has unleashed catastrophic flooding and landslides across Sri Lanka, claiming at least 123 lives and leaving 130 missing in the nation's worst flooding crisis in two decades. With nearly 15,000 homes destroyed and 44,000 displaced, the Sri Lankan government declared a State of Public Emergency, while neighboring India swiftly launched 'Operation Sagar Bandhu' to deliver critical humanitarian aid.
Sri Lanka is facing a severe crisis as Cyclonic Storm Ditwah has triggered devastating floods and landslips, claiming 56 lives, leaving 21 missing, and forcing the closure of government offices and schools across the island nation. The widespread destruction to infrastructure and homes has prompted military rescue operations and international aid, with warnings of continued heavy rainfall exacerbating the dire situation.
New Zealand has launched an ambitious plan to eradicate feral cats across the country by 2050, integrating them into its "Predator Free 2050" strategy to protect vulnerable native wildlife. This crucial initiative, driven by strong public support and the severe threat posed by an estimated 2.5 million feral cats, aims to safeguard indigenous species from these "stone cold killers.
The United Nations and World Meteorological Organization have issued a dire warning, confirming that the period from 2023 to 2025 ranks among the hottest on observational records, with 2024 being the warmest year, underscoring a deepening climate crisis. This unprecedented heat streak, marked by accelerated ocean warming and record greenhouse gas concentrations, necessitates urgent global action to prevent irreversible environmental damage, even as limiting global warming to 1.5°C in the near future appears "virtually impossible.
Delegates at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belém, Brazil, have reached a pivotal agreement signaling a potential global shift away from fossil fuels, building upon previous summits like COP28. This landmark deal, achieved after arduous negotiations despite deep-seated disagreements and economic disparities, underscores a growing international commitment to accelerate efforts to limit global warming to 1.5°C.
The COP30 climate summit in Belém, Brazil, concluded with a landmark agreement to mobilize $1.3 trillion annually for climate action by 2035 and triple adaptation finance, but notably lacked a clear commitment to phase out fossil fuels. This significant omission, largely due to opposition from petrostates, sparked widespread criticism, leading the Brazilian presidency to announce plans for voluntary roadmaps to address the fossil fuel transition outside formal negotiations.
Niigata province authorities have officially approved the restart of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, the world's largest, marking the first such decision since the 2011 Fukushima disaster and a pivotal step for Japan's energy future. This move aims to reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels and achieve carbon neutrality, though the plant's operator, Tepco, still requires final permission from the national nuclear regulator before Reactor No. 6 can potentially become operational by March 2026.