Did you miss the news this early morning? We’ve put together a recap to help you see things more clearly.
The world will try to find a “last chance” agreement to save species and natural environments from irreversible destruction. To achieve this colossal challenge, the UN conference on biodiversity, COP15, opens this Wednesday in Montreal. Delegates from more than 190 countries meet until December 19 to adopt a new ten-year global framework to safeguard nature and its resources essential to humanity. And time is running out with one million species threatened with extinction. “Humanity has become a weapon of mass extinction,” UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres thundered on Tuesday. But once again, the issue of funding could be a sticking point. The lack of political leadership could also be felt: apart from the Canadian Prime Minister, no head of state or government is expected.
The day will be crucial for the SNCF. A strike will affect the company, while negotiations open on wages. If the disturbances should be more limited than last weekend, the group wants above all to carry out the discussions in order to avoid strikes during the end of the year holidays. This Wednesday, the conflict mainly affects TERs in several regions (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Grand-Est, Occitanie and PACA) and certain lines in Ile-de-France (C, D, E and N ). Cancellations are also possible on certain TGVs or Intercités, in particular on the Paris-Lyon axis as well as for all TGVs south of Bordeaux.
The angry demonstrations across China, historic since 1989, have paid off. Beijing announced on Wednesday a general relaxation of health rules against Covid-19, thus abandoning its strict approach to the virus. According to the new instructions unveiled by the National Health Commission (NHC) – which has the value of a ministry – “asymptomatic infected people and mild cases who can be isolated at home will generally be so”. It is therefore a radical change from the norm in force for almost three years, which required that any positive case be taken to a quarantine center.