World leaders gather in Paris for UN climate talks
Negotiations over two weeks involving nearly 150 nations and 25,000 delegates aim to limit global warming to 2C°.
| Politics, Climate Change, Europe, France
World leaders are gathering in Paris for the UN climate conference known as COP21, aimed at forging a deal to limit global warming to 2C.
Heads of 147 state and government are in the French capital for the start of two weeks of intense negotiations.
Monday's agenda includes speeches by the leaders and environment ministers of a number of countries, including Germany, Iceland, Peru and Scotland.
A total of 25,000 official delegates hope to secure a legally binding accord for every country to cut carbon emissions.
The accord needs to come into effect from the year 2020, when current commitments from the Kyoto Protocol run out.
Sydney Muslims feel at home despite very high racism exposure, survey finds
Survey of 600 Muslims finds they are three to five times more likely to experience extreme levels of bigotry compared with other Australians
Muslims in Sydney are three to five times more likely to experience “very high rates of exposure to racism” compared with Australians in general, a study shows.
But about 97% of the nearly 600 Muslims surveyed said relations between them and non-Muslims were friendly and that they felt “a very strong sense of belonging”, the report’s key author, professor Kevin Dunn, said.
The research, which revealed the workplace to be the most frequent site of anti-Muslim bigotry, was released to coincide with a conference in Sydney examining the links between Islamophobia and violent extremism.
Its keynote speaker, professor John Esposito of Georgetown University in Washington DC, said on Monday prejudice against Muslims played into the hands of extremists.
South Korean author of 'comfort women' book taken aback by indictment
SEOUL -- South Korean author Park Yu-ha told the Mainichi Shimbun in an interview on Nov. 29 that her indictment on charges of libel in connection with her book "Teikoku no Ianfu" (Comfort women of the empire), took her by surprise.
South Korean prosecutors indicted Park, a professor at Sejong University in Seoul, without arrest. They accuse her of damaging the reputation of former "comfort women" through her book.
On Nov. 26, a group of 54 Japanese and U.S. politicians and experts including former Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama released a statement in protest against Park's indictment. Her supporters in South Korea are expected to release a similar statement on Dec. 2.
Reality TV show seeks honest civil servant in graft-hit Liberia
REUTERS | 30 November, 2015 08:02Featuring contestants from a caretaker and nurse to a lawyer, a reality television show in Liberia is on the hunt for a different kind of star - a civil servant who embodies honesty in a country often blighted by accusations of corruption.
Integrity Idol is asking the public to vote for the most honest civil servant in the West African nation, as part of a drive to promote greater integrity among bureaucrats and tackle a perception of graft and mismanagement within the government.
Ebola-hit Liberia, which recently announced three new cases more than two months after being declared free of the virus, has been dogged with reports of state corruption as it recovers from years of civil war and the world's worst known Ebola outbreak.
The country has stabilised, secured debt relief and attracted billions of dollars in investment under the rule of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who has been in power since 2006, but her opponents have accused her of corruption and nepotism.
Change hits Saudi Arabia: 900 women run for office
Updated 0836 GMT (1636 HKT) November 30, 2015
More than 900 women are campaigning for public office in Saudi Arabia -- a first in the kingdom's history.
The December 12 municipal election will be the first opportunity for Saudi women to exercise their vote since a 2011 order by the now deceased King Abdullah that granted women some opportunities for political participation in the ultra-conservative kingdom.
According to the State Department, Abdullah issued a royal decree in 2013 mandating the Consultative Council, a royally appointed body that advises the King, be at least 20% women.
Critics have described the change as anywhere from modest to inconsequential. Women will only participate in elections at the municipal level.
Iraqi forces succeed in cutting Islamic State supply lines
IRBIL, IRAQ
Iraqi forces backed by Iranian-trained militias and U.S. air strikes have made significant progress in isolating Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province that the Islamic State overran in May, according to Iraqi officials, local residents and Western military advisers.
But there’s no certainty that that means the city will soon be retaken. Iraqi officials repeatedly have expressed optimism about progress against the Islamic State, only to find themselves unable to defeat the extremists, especially in areas such as Ramadi where Sunni Muslims are in the majority and have little trust in the Shiite-led government in Baghdad.
“We have now cut the last supply line of Daash connecting Ramadi to Syria,” said an Iraqi officer who works in the Anbar command center but lacks authorization to brief journalists publicly. “Iraqi forces can now strangle the terrorists inside the city and we should see victory in a few days.”
Daash is an Arabic term for the Islamic State, which also is known as ISIS and ISIL.
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