Pope Francis urges "radical" action on climate change ahead of COP26
CBSN
London — Ahead of the upcoming G20 and COP26 conferences, Pope Francis said humanity must take "radical" action to address climate change and other crises. In a statement in Italian put out on CBS News partner network BBC News, the pontiff said humanity needs to abandon isolationism and work for the common good to offer "concrete hope" to future generations.
"We find ourselves increasingly frail and even fearful, caught up in a succession of crises in the areas of health care, the environment, food supplies and the economy, to say nothing of social, humanitarian and ethical crises," Francis said in a radio broadcast on the BBC.
"All these crises are profoundly interconnected. They also forecast a perfect storm that could rupture the bonds holding our society together. … These crises present us with the need to take decisions, radical decisions that are not always easy. At the same time, moments of difficulty like these also present opportunities, opportunities that we must not waste," he said.
Noumea — France's president held a flurry of meetings with local representatives in the restive Pacific territory of New Caledonia on Thursday, urging calm after deadly rioting, and vowing thousands of military reinforcements will stay in place to quell what he called an "unprecedented insurrection."
Kathmandu — Nepali climber Phunjo Lama on Thursday reached Mount Everest's summit in 14 hours and 31 minutes, smashing the record for the world's fastest ascent of the mountain by a woman. Climbers usually take days to reach the top of the 29,032-foot mountain, spending nights on its different camps to rest and acclimatize.
New Delhi — Indian justice officials have changed course amid outrage over the bail terms set for a teenager accused of killing two people while driving a Porsche at high speed while drunk and without a license. The 17-year-old son of a wealthy businessman had been ordered to write a 300-word essay and work with the local traffic police for 15 days to be granted bail — a decision that was made within 15 hours of his arrest.
Zurich — A woman jogger was killed by a naked man who was screaming and attacking people in a lakeside park in Switzerland, police said Wednesday. The attack happened Tuesday evening in Mannedorf on Lake Zurich, around 12 miles southeast of Switzerland's biggest city, the Zurich cantonal police said.
Norway, Ireland and Spain said Wednesday they are recognizing a Palestinian state in a historic move that drew condemnation from Israel and jubilation from the Palestinians. Israel immediately ordered back its ambassadors from Norway and Ireland and appeared ready to do the same with its ambassador to Spain.