UNITED NATIONS
Paris climate pact hits mark
The landmark Paris agreement on climate change will enter into force on Nov. 4, after a coalition of the world’s largest polluters and small island nations threatened by rising seas pushed it past a key threshold on Wednesday. President Barack Obama hailed the news as “a turning point for our planet,” and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the agreement’s strong international support a “testament for the urgency of action.” U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said late Wednesday that the European Union and 10 countries deposited their instruments of ratification on Wednesday. The percentage of emissions they account for topped the 55 percent threshold needed for the treaty to take effect. Haq said the 10 countries were Austria, Bolivia, Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, Malta, Nepal, Portugal and Slovakia.
SYRIA
Bombing to be scaled back
Syria’s military command said it would scale back its bombardment of the contested city of Aleppo on Wednesday to allow civilians to evacuate besieged rebel-held neighborhoods. The announcement, broadcast on state TV, followed 16 days of airstrikes and shelling that have killed over 300 civilians and damaged hospitals and water facilities. Satellite images released Wednesday by the U.N. show the scale of the destruction since a U.S.-Russia brokered cease-fire collapsed two weeks ago. The government is accused of using violence to depopulate areas seen as disloyal to President Bashar Assad.
RUSSIA
Moscow halts research pact
Russia has suspended an agreement with the United States on research cooperation in the nuclear and energy sectors, the latest move underlining worsening tensions between Washington and Moscow. A suspension decree signed by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was posted Wednesday on the government website, which said the decree was a “countermeasure” to U.S. sanctions imposed over Russia’s role in the Ukraine conflict.
SOUTH SUDAN
Help abandoned, report says
United Nations peacekeepers abandoned their posts when fighting erupted in South Sudan’s capital in July and then used tear gas on frightened civilians who sought shelter at the center of the U.N. base, a new report says. Wednesday’s report by the U.S.-based Center for Civilians in Conflict adds to a growing list of incidents where U.N. peacekeepers have been accused of failing to carry out their mandate in South Sudan, where civil war erupted in December 2013. More than 12,000 U.N. peacekeepers are in the East African country.
Compiled from wire reports