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The world’s top conservation body kicked off its world congress Thursday in the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi, where it will unveil its updated “red list” of threatened species a day later.Hundreds of participants were meeting at the venue where the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), whose decisions help set the global agenda on environmental protection, will on Friday publish its list ranking plant and animal species from “least concern” to “extinct”.The congress, held every four years, sheds light on the dire state of the world’s biodiversity. An increasing number of animals suffer from the destruction of their natural habitat, climate change, and water, air and soil pollution.According to the United Nations’s expert scientific panel on biodiversity (IPBES), biodiversity has declined every decade in the past 30 to 50 years.In an update to its “red list” last year, the IUCN said that out of the 169,420 species studied, a total of 47,187 were classified as threatened — more than a quarter.The most impacted species were corals and amphibians, with more than 40 percent of each group under threat.- UAE climate diplomacy -The United Arab Emirates, a major oil exporter that also hosted the UN’s annual climate talks in 2023 (known as COP28), is seeking a bigger role in setting the environmental agenda by hosting these events.”The UAE has become a global convening power to bring countries together, bring all stakeholders on discussions that are very vital for our environment,” UAE climate change and environment minister Amna bint Abdullah Al Dahak told AFP at the meeting.”This is a platform where conversations can converge,” Al Dahak said of the congress.She called for translating “those conversations into pledges, into actions and into implementation plans”, urging “more implementation plans and actions on the ground”.The IUCN congress last convened in the French city of Marseille in 2021.The meeting revolves around votes on adopting resolutions.Though not legally binding, the resolutions can “shape the international agenda” and “accelerate” work on treaties under discussion, an IUCN source told AFP, requesting anonymity to discuss the event freely.”The Congress programme reflects the urgency and ambition of our time,” said Shaikha Salem Al Dhaheri, Secretary General of the Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi and IUCN councillor from the West Asia region.IUCN Director General Grethel Aguilar of Costa Rica said the upcoming announcements “reflect the scale of ambition and the real possibility of delivering the solutions we need to build a planet where people and nature thrive together”.- Synthetic biology debate -The most closely watched vote revolves around two competing motions on synthetic biology — a controversial technique widely used in the pharmaceutical industry and agribusiness.It enables scientists to redesign organisms by engineering them to have new abilities.One motion calls for a moratorium on the technology because “genetic engineering of wild species in natural ecosystems, including in protected areas, is not compatible with the practices, values and principles of nature conservation”.A competing motion argues that synthetic biology could complement conservation efforts, and says IUCN policy “should not be interpreted as supporting or opposing synthetic biology, per se”.Organisers expect 10,000 delegates and 5,000 civil society attendees.The IUCN congress describes itself as the “world’s largest and most inclusive nature conservation forum”.Its voting members include government agencies, national and international NGOs, and Indigenous groups.

France on Thursday hosts foreign ministers from Arab and European countries for talks on helping the Palestinians once the Gaza conflict between Israel and Hamas ends, a meeting that comes hours after the two sides agreed a ceasefire deal.French President Emmanuel Macron will give an introductory address to the gathering from 1500 GMT, the presidency said, after hailing the ceasefire deal as providing “great hope” for the region.Israel and Hamas earlier agreed a Gaza ceasefire deal to free the remaining living Israeli hostages held by the Palestinian militant group. It is being seen as a major step towards ending a war that has killed tens of thousands of people and unleashed a humanitarian catastrophe.The deal brokered through indirect talks in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh came two years after the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel, which triggered a relentless retaliatory assault on Hamas-ruled Gaza.While Europe has strongly supported the ceasefire efforts spearheaded by President Donald Trump, Washington and several European countries are at odds over whether it is the right moment to recognise a Palestinian state.Macron, in a September 22 speech at the United Nations, recognised a Palestinian state on the heels of similar announcements by Canada, Portugal and the United Kingdom.The Paris meeting brings together the top diplomats of five key Arab states — Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates — with European counterparts from France, Italy, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom. Turkey and the European Union will also be represented.Macron “will reiterate France’s constant mobilisation in favour of a comprehensive political solution by working to prepare for the ‘day after'”, the Elysee said in a statement, adding the president supported the full implementation of Trump’s peace plan.- ‘Unnecessary and harmful’ -Before the ceasefire deal was announced, the Paris meeting had angered Israel, further straining French-Israeli relations in the wake of Macron’s recognition of a Palestinian state, which infuriated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar had in a message on X denounced the “unnecessary and harmful” meeting “concocted behind Israel’s back” at the sensitive moment of the negotiations in Sharm el-Sheikh.But France is hoping that backing up its recognition of a Palestinian state can boost the prospects of a two-state solution, which Paris still regards as the sole prospect for long-term regional peace.The agenda at the meeting includes the International Stabilisation Force evoked by Trump as part of his peace plan and support for the Palestinian Authority which runs the occupied West Bank, a French diplomatic source said this week, asking not to be named.”It is essential to act together and get down to work,” said German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul.Berlin has repeatedly said it disagrees with the move by France and other European countries to recognise a Palestinian state now.

Thousands of jubilant Israelis gathered in a Tel Aviv square Thursday, hopeful for the return of hostages held in Gaza, after two years of fear and worry. Many wore stickers reading “They’re coming back”, waving Israeli and US flags and clutching photos of the hostages after Israel and Hamas reached a hostage release and truce deal in a major step towards ending the war. A group of beaming Israelis sang, clapped and jumped in a circle in Hostages Square, which has been the scene of weekly rallies calling for the captives’ return. “We have been waiting for this day for 734 days. We cannot imagine being anywhere else this morning,” said Laurence Yitzhak, 54, a Tel Aviv resident.”It’s a great joy — an immense relief mixed with anxiety, fear and sorrow for the families who haven’t and won’t get to experience this joy,” she said.”As I speak to you, I get goosebumps… It’s too beautiful, and we cannot help but think of the soldiers who sacrificed their lives for these hostages,” she told AFP.US President Donald Trump announced that both sides had agreed to a ceasefire and a hostage-prisoner exchange programme as part of a 20-point plan he had proposed last month.The formal agreement is expected to be signed later Thursday in Egypt, a key mediator alongside the United States and Qatar.”There are no words to describe the feeling today. It’s indescribable, like spontaneous joy, excitement, tears,” said Rachel Peery, 49, an employee in the tech sector. “We all came here from the office because we are just unable to work. It’s a day that the entire nation has been waiting for, for two years, every second, every day.”- ‘What hope feels like’ -Businessman Gyura Dishon was equally jubilant that the hostages were coming home.”It’s unbelievable… You couldn’t stop crying,” he said.”It’s like something that you wouldn’t believe can happen and you were wishing for it to happen and then it’s coming true all of a sudden.”The deal could free the remaining living hostages within days, in a major step toward ending the two-year war.Of the 251 people abducted during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack which sparked the war, militants still hold 47 in Gaza, including 25 the Israeli military says are dead.Hamas’s assault on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.Israel’s retaliatory campaign in Gaza has killed at least 67,194 people, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, figures the United Nations considers credible.In Jerusalem, a newsagent told AFP he supported the release of the hostages, “but I am against ending the war”.”They started something, they must pay the heavy price,” he said.A man praying to mark the Jewish holiday of Sukkot said it was a “wonderful feeling” and something that “should have been done a long time ago”.”This is not a happy ending,” he said. “We have lost many good people. But it was the right thing to do.”In Tel Aviv, Noam Ekhaus, a 36-year-old photographer and neuroscience researcher said she woke up in the middle of the night, saw the news, and went straight to Hostages Square.”I can’t just celebrate at home alone,” she said.”I haven’t been smiling like this in a while and I don’t think that I’m the only one,” she added.”I’m walking down the street and I’m feeling something different and I’m seeing something different and this is what hope feels like.”mib-vid-jd-acc/amj

Palestinians in Gaza clapped, cheered and danced in the pre-dawn darkness on Thursday, after Israel and Hamas agreed a ceasefire and hostage release deal in a major step towards ending the devastating two-year war in the territory.Around a dozen young men shouted joyful chants of “Allahu akbar”, meaning God is the greatest, outside Khan Yunis’s Nasser Hospital, as one man lifted another onto his shoulders.A man wearing a journalist’s press vest could also be seen carried above the crowd.”Thanks to God for this ceasefire, thanks for the end of the bloodshed and the killing,” said Abdelmajid Abedrabbo, one of the people celebrating.”I am not the only one who is happy, all of the Gaza Strip is happy, all of the Arab people are happy about the ceasefire,” he added. “Thanks and love to all those who stood with us and played a part in ending the bloodshed, sending you love from Gaza.”Israel and Hamas on Thursday agreed a Gaza ceasefire deal that could free the remaining living hostages within days, in a major step toward ending a war that has killed tens of thousands and unleashed a humanitarian crisis.The agreement, to be signed Thursday, also calls for Israel to release nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners as well as prompt a surge of aid into Gaza after more than two years of war started by Hamas’s unprecedented October 2023 attack on Israel.- ‘We are happy’ -“Despite all the wounding and the killing, and the loss of loved ones and relatives, we are happy today after the ceasefire,” Ayman al-Najjar told AFP in Khan Yunis.”I lost my cousins and some friends, and a week ago I lost my beloved grandfather, may his soul rest in peace. But today, and in spite of all this, we are happy,” he added.The war in Gaza was triggered by Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.Israel’s retaliatory campaign in Gaza has killed at least 67,194 people, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, figures the United Nations considers credible.Militants also took 251 people hostage into Gaza, where 47 remain, including 25 the Israeli military says are dead.On Thursday, Israel continued its air strikes in Gaza, with AFP footage showing plumes of smoke billowing into the sky.Gaza’s civil defence agency, a rescue force operating under Hamas authority, said at least four people were killed on Thursday in Israeli strikes.- ‘Indescribable’ -The ceasefire and hostage release deal follows a 20-point peace plan for Gaza announced last month by US President Donald Trump.”Thank God, President Trump has announced that war ended, we are very happy,” said Wael Radwan.”We thank our brothers and all of those who participated even with just words to stop this war and this bloodshed.”Children in Gaza also expressed their joy, hoping they would now be able to return to school.”As soon as I woke up, my mother told me ‘the war has stopped, there’s a truce’ and I replied, ‘So that means we’re not going to die today?'” said nine-year-old Layan Massoud, who is living in the coastal Al-Mawasi area.”I ran out of the tent shouting to my friends, ‘There’s a truce! There’s a truce!” she continued.Rami Nofal, a 22-year-old displaced Gazan, said he hoped people would be able to return to their normal lives.”We will rebuild the schools and universities. The children around us have seen things that no other children in the world have seen.”Khaled Al-Namnam, 26, who is displaced in Al-Maghzai in the central Gaza Strip, said he had not expected the news.”Suddenly, I woke up in the morning to incredibly beautiful news… everyone was talking about the end of the war, aid coming in and the crossings being opened. I felt immense happiness,” he told AFP by telephone.”It’s a strange feeling — indescribable — after two years of bombing, fear, terror and hunger. Truly, it feels like we are being born again.”

Israel and Hamas on Thursday agreed a Gaza ceasefire deal to free the remaining living hostages, in a major step towards ending a war that has killed tens of thousands of people and unleashed a humanitarian catastrophe.Israel’s cabinet will meet at 1500 GMT to discuss a plan for the release of all hostages, while a deal should be signed later Thursday in Egypt, where indirect negotiations are under way.The agreement follows a 20-point peace plan for Gaza announced last month by US President Donald Trump, under which Israel should withdraw from Gaza and release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the hostages.After more than two years of war sparked by Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel, the deal also envisions a surge of aid into Gaza, where the UN has declared famine.The Israeli army said it was preparing to pull back troops in Gaza, in line with the agreement, while the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the agreement would only take effect with cabinet approval.Trump’s plan also calls for the disarmament of Hamas and for Gaza to be ruled by a transitional authority headed by the US president himself, though these points have yet to be addressed in any discussions.A source within Hamas told AFP the group will exchange 20 living hostages all at the same time for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners as part of the deal’s first phase, with the swap to happen within 72 hours of its implementation.”The 72-hour countdown will begin only after the agreement is approved in the cabinet meeting, which is expected in the evening hours,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said.- ‘Tears of joy’ -The announcement sparked waves of joy in Gaza, much of which has been flattened by bombardment and most of whose residents have been displaced at least once over the past two years.”Honestly, when I heard the news, I couldn’t hold back. Tears of joy flowed. Two years of bombing, terror, destruction, loss, humiliation, and the constant feeling that we could die at any moment,” displaced Palestinian Samer Joudeh told AFP.In Israel, thousands of people gathered in a Tel Aviv square, many wearing stickers reading: “They’re coming back.” Others held photos of hostages still in Gaza and waved Israeli and US flags.”We have been waiting for this day for 734 days. We cannot imagine being anywhere else this morning,” said Laurence Ytzhak, 54, a Tel Aviv resident.The deal is being thrashed out in indirect negotiations behind closed doors in a conference centre in Sharm El-Sheikh, an Egyptian resort town on the Red Sea.While Arab leaders including Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said they hoped the ceasefire would lead to a permanent solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, there was no indication the talks were addressing any of the deeper issues at stake.Still, it was feted by governments around the world, with mediator Qatar saying the deal was the “first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, which will lead to ending the war, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and the entry of aid”.The hostages are to be freed in exchange for 250 Palestinians sentenced to life imprisonment and 1,700 others arrested by Israel since the war began, according to the Hamas source.- ‘With God’s help’ -Netanyahu said he would bring the hostages home “with God’s help”, while Trump said earlier he may travel to the Middle East this week.The fast-paced developments came after AFP journalists saw US Secretary of State Marco Rubio interrupt a White House event on Wednesday and hand Trump a note about the progress of negotiations in Egypt.Hamas has submitted a list of Palestinian prisoners it wants released from Israeli jails in the first phase of the truce.In exchange, Hamas is to free the remaining 47 hostages, both alive and dead, who were seized in October 2023.The talks were taking place under the shadow of the second anniversary of the Hamas attack, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.Militants also took 251 people hostage into Gaza, where 47 remain, including 25 the Israeli military says are dead.Israel’s retaliatory campaign in Gaza has killed at least 67,183 people, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, figures the United Nations considers credible.The data does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but indicates that more than half of the dead are women and children.Gaza’s civil defence agency, a rescue force operating under Hamas’s authority, reported several strikes on the territory after the announcement of the deal.- Protests, prisoners -Pressure to end the war has escalated massively in recent weeks, and a UN probe last month accused Israel of genocide, a charge the government rejected as “distorted and false”.Hamas has also been accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity.One key to the negotiations was the names of the Palestinian prisoners Hamas pushed for.High-profile inmate Marwan Barghouti — from Hamas’s rival, the Fatah movement — is among those the group wanted to see released, according to Egyptian state-linked media. Hamas’s top negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, also said the group wants “guarantees from President Trump and the sponsor countries that the war will end once and for all”.burs/ser/csp

Israel and Hamas on Thursday agreed a Gaza ceasefire deal to free the remaining living hostages, in a major step towards ending a war that has killed tens of thousands of people and unleashed a humanitarian catastrophe.The agreement, which follows a 20-point peace plan for Gaza announced last month by US President Donald Trump, is to be signed Thursday in Egypt, and calls for Israel to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Under the deal, there will be a a surge of aid into Gaza after more than two years of war started by Hamas’s unprecedented October 2023 attack on Israel.The Israeli army said it was preparing to pull back troops in Gaza as part of the deal.Further down the line, Trump’s plan also calls for the disarmament of Hamas and for Gaza to be ruled by a transitional authority headed by the US president himself, though this point has yet to be addressed.A source within Hamas told AFP the group will exchange 20 living hostages all at the same time for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners as part of the deal’s first phase, with the swap to happen within 72 hours of its implementation.The timing of the implementation would be announced on Thursday, the source said, while Trump said he believed all the hostages would “all be coming back on Monday”.- ‘Tears of joy’ -The announcement sparked waves of joy in Gaza, much of which has been flattened by bombardment and most of whose residents have been displaced at least once over the past two years.”Honestly, when I heard the news, I couldn’t hold back. Tears of joy flowed. Two years of bombing, terror, destruction, loss, humiliation, and the constant feeling that we could die at any moment,” displaced Palestinian Samer Joudeh told AFP.”Now, we finally feel like we’re getting a moment of respite.”In Khan Yunis in the south of the Gaza Strip, young people sang, danced and clapped, AFP footage showed.The deal is being thrashed out in indirect negotiations behind closed doors in a conference centre in Sharm El-Sheikh, an Egyptian resort town on the Red Sea.There was none of the pomp around the talks of previous deals agreed in Egypt, in a possible signal that the deeper issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are not being addressed.Qatar said the deal was the “first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, which will lead to ending the war, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and the entry of aid”.The hostages are to be freed in exchange for 250 Palestinians sentenced to life imprisonment and 1,700 others arrested by Israel since the war began, added the source within Hamas.- ‘With God’s help’ -Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would bring the hostages home “with God’s help”, and an official source added the premier’s cabinet would meet Thursday to approve the deal.Trump said earlier that he may travel to the Middle East this week as a deal was “very close”.The fast-paced developments came after AFP journalists saw US Secretary of State Marco Rubio interrupt an event at the White House on Wednesday and hand Trump an urgent note about the progress of the negotiations in Egypt.”I may go there sometime toward the end of the week, maybe on Sunday,” Trump said, adding that he was “most likely” to turn up in Egypt but would also consider going to Gaza.Hamas has submitted a list of Palestinian prisoners it wants released from Israeli jails in the first phase of the truce.In exchange, Hamas is to free the remaining 47 hostages, both alive and dead, who were seized in October 2023.In Egypt, the talks were taking place under the shadow of the second anniversary of the Hamas attack, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.Militants also took 251 people hostage into Gaza, where 47 remain, including 25 the Israeli military says are dead.Israel’s retaliatory campaign in Gaza has killed at least 67,183 people, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, figures the United Nations considers credible.The data does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but indicates that more than half of the dead are women and children.Gaza’s civil defence agency, a rescue force operating under Hamas’s authority, reported several strikes on the territory after the announcement of the deal.- Protests, prisoners -Global pressure to end the war has escalated, with a UN-declared famine unfolding in Gaza and Israeli hostage families longing for their loved ones’ return.Protests have erupted in countries around the globe in recent weeks, and a UN probe last month accused Israel of genocide, a charge the government rejected as “distorted and false”.Hamas has also been accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity.One key to the negotiations was the names of the Palestinian prisoners Hamas pushed for.High-profile inmate Marwan Barghouti — from Hamas’s rival, the Fatah movement — is among those the group wanted to see released, according to Egyptian state-linked media. Hamas’s top negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, also said the Islamist group wants “guarantees from President Trump and the sponsor countries that the war will end once and for all”.burs-dk/jm/hmn/ser