Plus: How to fight the winter blues, and a superstar's impromptu piano show
| | | | | | | Hello. The COP28 climate summit in Dubai was due to end today, but those talks might run into overtime as delegates attempt to draft a new agreement that includes a commitment to phase out fossil fuels. In Israel, Orla Guerin speaks to tech billionaire Eyal Waldman about his grief over the death of his daughter, who was killed by Hamas fighters on 7 October. In the Central African Republic, Yemisi Adegoke investigates local support for Russia's mercenary Wagner group. For a break from Christmas tunes, scroll down to hear Alicia Keys play some of her hits at public piano in London. |
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| | | | Top of the agenda | | COP28 stumbles ahead of the finish line | | | | Climate activists have been protesting at the talks in Dubai this morning. Credit: Getty Images |
| | Some may have thought it too ambitious to expect a UN climate summit hosted by a leading producer of oil and gas would mark a milestone in the fight against climate change. But many COP28 delegates in Dubai had been hopeful that the final agreement would include a commitment to phase out fossil fuels, in line with the recommendations of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. Those wishes were frustrated on Monday night, after a draft of that text watered down the goal that scientists consider necessary to tackle global warming. It has left delegates scrambling to edit the draft, to improve on COP26's language that pledged to "phase down" fossil fuels, on what is scheduled to be the conference’s closing day. Follow our live page for the latest news and analysis. | | • | For the future: Three mothers from different continents tell the BBC how love for their children has motivated them to take their arguments to the people in power. | | • | On a mission: One of the negotiators for the Pacific island nation of Tuvalu describes how COP28 represents an opportunity to save her country from disappearing under rising sea levels. | | • | Learning from floods: Scientists at the University of Leicester have analysed images of the deadly flash floods that hit a village in India's north-eastern state of Sikkim, in October, to study climate change and its impact. |
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| | | | | | | | AT THE SCENE | Tel Aviv, Israel | | A bereaved father's hope for the future | | Danielle Waldman was killed by Hamas gunmen, along with her boyfriend and other Supernova festival-goers, on 7 October. Her father, tech billionaire Eyal Waldman, recalls the moment he found out Danielle was missing, and talks of hope for peace between Israelis and Palestinians. | | | | Orla Guerin, Senior international correspondent |
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| | When he got word that Danielle was missing, he raced back from a trip to Indonesia - getting permission to land in Israel, even though the airspace was closed. Three hours later he went looking for her, tracking her Apple watch. It was a journey into a battlefield. "We were close to an engagement with seven terrorists, creatures, call them what you want," he says. "They had killed three or four soldiers. After that we took three officers in a jeep and went down south." He found the bullet-riddled car, but there was no sign of Danielle. |
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| | | | Beyond the headlines | | Wagner's win in Central African Republic | | | | Pro-Russia sentiment has recently swept across West and Central Africa, where there have been eight military coups since 2020. Credit: BBC |
| | A statue depicting Russian soldiers fighting alongside Central African troops to defend a woman and a child is a literal monument to the Wagner mercenary group's efforts against rebels in the CAR. Yemisi Adegoke explores how citizens feel about the group's lingering presence in the country, even after the death of their leader Yevgeny Prigozhin. | | | | |
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| | | | Something different | | Beat the winter blues | | Tips on coping with gloomy days and long nights - from those living with darkness. | | |
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| | | | And finally... | | Most of us might liven up a commute with a book, a podcast or other mobile phone distractions. But rail passengers in London were treated to a performance from 15-time Grammy winner Alicia Keys on Monday. Oh, and she was playing a piano donated by Sir Elton John. Here's a clip. |
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