GLASGOW (AP) – India’s environment minister sought to block efforts to include references to phasing out coal and fossil fuel subsidies in a deal proposed at this year’s UN climate summit. Bhupender Yadav told negotiators on Saturday that there was no consensus on key issues and blamed “unsustainable lifestyles and wasteful consumption patterns” in rich countries for causing global warming. He said developing countries were “entitled to the responsible use of fossil fuels.” European Union climate chief Frans Timmermans responded shortly after by warning that negotiators were “at risk of stumbling in this marathon a couple of meters before reaching the finish line.” “For heaven’s sake, don’t kill this moment,” Timmermans said. “Please embrace this text so that we bring hope to the hearts of our children and grandchildren.” Money is still the crucial point of disagreement between rich and poor nations and is delaying nations from a potential agreement at the UN climate summit, according to the Maldives’ minister for environment, climate change and technology. Small island nations have long pushed for an independent compensation mechanism for irreversible losses caused by climate change. But the current proposal at the talks in Glasgow, Scotland, fall short of what is needed to bridge the gap between developed and developing worlds, Maldives minister Aminath Shauna said Saturday.

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MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Several thousand people rallied in Melbourne against new vaccination mandates on Saturday, November 13, with some comparing the state government to Nazis and calling for violence against politicians, local media said. In Australia, nationwide vaccinations are voluntary. But states and territories have mandated vaccinations for many occupations and barred the unvaccinated from activities such as dining out and concerts. The Melbourne demonstration against the vaccination mandate that came into effect on Saturday - requiring construction workers in Victoria state to be fully inoculated - was peaceful, The Age newspaper said. Australia has seen frequent, occasionally violent, anti-vaccine rallies in recent few months, though the movement remains small, with polls showing nationwide opposition in the single digits.

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KINSHASA (Al Jazeera) – Thousands of people took to the streets of Kinshasa on Saturday, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), to protest against President Felix Tshisekedi’s move to install a close friend to head the country’s electoral commission. Tshisekedi’s move last month came despite the objection of the political opposition and the influential Catholic and Protestant religious leaders. Critics say Denis Kadima, the new head of the CENI (National Independent Electoral Commission), is corrupt and too close to the president. “This is our country, and no one will stop us from claiming our rights,” one protester in Kinshasa told Al Jazeera. “We refuse a politicized electoral commission. We want things to change in this country,” he added. Protesters also held up banners with slogans such as, “Enough is enough” and “No to a politicized CENI”. “We want teachers to be paid,” said another, after strikes in the education sector. Tshisekedi was elected in much-delayed elections in December 2018, which were peaceful but marred by accusations of fraud. He has said he intends to run again.

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NEW DELHI (AFP) – Authorities in New Delhi announced Saturday a one-week closure of schools as the Indian capital’s pollution control body warned of a looming health emergency due to smog. “Starting Monday, schools are being shut so that children don’t have to breathe polluted air,” Delhi’s chief minister Arvind Kejriwal told reporters in the megacity of 20 million people. Delhi is ranked one of the world’s most polluted cities, with a hazardous melange of factory and vehicle emissions and smoke from agricultural fires turning its air a toxic grey every winter. On Saturday, levels of PM 2.5 particles -- the smallest and most harmful, which can enter the bloodstream -- topped 300 on the air quality index. That is 20 times the maximum daily limit recommended by the World Health Organization. Kejriwal said on Saturday that no construction activity would be allowed for four days, starting Sunday, to cut down dust from vast, open sites. Government offices were asked to operate from home and private businesses advised to stick to work-from-home options as much as possible.

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NEW DELHI (Al Jazeera) – At least five Indian soldiers and two civilians have been killed in an attack carried out by an armed group in India’s northeastern state of Manipur, officials said. The suspected rebels ambushed a convoy of India’s paramilitary soldiers on Saturday who were on their way to inspect a remote village in Churachandpur district, a police officer in the state capital, Imphal, said. The dead include a colonel of the Assam Rifles, a paramilitary force of the Indian army, his wife and his son. Four more soldiers were killed in the attack. Security reinforcements have been rushed to the area and launched a search for the attackers. Police said it was likely the ambush was carried out by the People’s Liberation Army, a Manipur-based group that has been fighting against Indian rule in the state. So far no group has claimed responsibility for the attack. “The cowardly attack on an Assam Rifles convoy is extremely painful and condemnable. The nation has lost five brave soldiers, including Commanding Officer 46, Assam Rifles, and two family members. My condolences to the bereaved families. The perpetrators will be brought to justice soon,” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Twitter.