Representatives from nearly 200 countries yesterday agreed at the COP28 climate summit to begin reducing global consumption of fossil fuels to avert the worst of climate change, a first of its kind deal signalling the eventual end of the oil age.

Israel came under pressure from its allies over its war in Gaza yesterday, as US President Joe Biden told the long time ally that its “indiscriminate” bombing of civilians was hurting its international support.

Italian archaeologists have uncovered a luxurious Roman home near the Colosseum, boasting an “unparalleled” mosaic featuring shells, marble and precious glass, the culture ministry said Tuesday.

An alliance of Myanmar ethnic minority groups said yesterday it would fight to end the country’s “dictatorship”, days after the junta said it had held talks with the alliance facilitated by China.

A Pakistani court yesterday indicted former prime minister Imran Khan on charges of leaking state secrets, several media channels reported, delivering a fresh blow to the jailed leader’s chances of contesting next year’s federal elections.

A volley of Russian missiles wounded dozens of people and damaged a children’s hospital yesterday in the worst attack on Kyiv in months, officials said, as Ukraine pleads for Western military aid.

Optimism high as deal to move away from fossil fuel agreed at COP28 in Dubai

Nearly 200 nations meeting in Dubai on Wednesday approved a first-ever call for the world to transition away from fossil fuels, the top culprit of climate change behind a planetary crisis

A Thai court on Wednesday sentenced a lawmaker from the progressive Move Forward Party to six years in jail on royal insult charges, the party's leader said

Israel came under pressure Wednesday from its allies over its war in Gaza, with key backer the United States criticising its bombing in response to the October 7 attacks as "indiscriminate"

The Arctic experienced the warmest summer on record this year, contributing to extraordinary wildfires and melting glaciers while threatening the rest of the world with problems including higher sea levels, a US report said on Tuesday

153 countries vote in favour of resolution, 23 abstain; US and Israel vote against measure

A Pakistan court yesterday overturned a conviction for graft of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his lawyer said, removing one of the last major hurdles for him to qualify to contest national elections in February.

Environmental campaigners are losing faith in the UN-led COP climate process after signs that a phase-out of fossil fuels may not be agreed in Dubai, a leading activist said yesterday.

Old foes China and Vietnam, at odds over claims in the South China Sea, declared yesterday they want to boost ties and build a community with a “shared future”, just three months after Hanoi upgraded its formal relations with the United States.

Aid trucks stalled at the Gaza border, hospitals treating missing limbs: UN Security Council envoys visiting Egypt on Monday encountered the fallout of the Israel-Hamas war, days after the United States vetoed a ceasefire resolution.

A six-man suicide squad drove an explosive-laden truck into a military camp in northwest Pakistan yesterday, killing at least 23 soldiers, the army said, the heaviest death toll in a single attack in years, less than two months ahead of national elections.

The COP28 climate talks went into overtime yesterday and countries engaged in shuttle-diplomacy to seek a new draft agreement and try to close a rift over ending the world’s use of fossil fuels.

Israeli warplanes and tanks pounded southern Gaza overnight and yesterday and the UN said aid distribution to Palestinians facing hunger had largely stopped because of the intensity of fighting.

The United States on Monday imposed visa restrictions on some 300 Guatemalans, including around 100 lawmakers, whom Washington accuses of “undermining democracy” in the Central American country.