Month: November 2022

The US Powerball jackpot has risen to $1.9bn (£1.7bn) after there was no winning ticket for Saturday's world-record prize. The premier lottery game has had no winner in more than three months after 39 consecutive drawings. The odds of winning the jackpot in Monday's draw are one in 292.2 million, according to Powerball. The previous world-record jackpot was set in 2016, when $1.59bn was split between three Powerball players. While no-one claimed Saturday's winning prize, there were 16 tickets matching the five main numbers to win $1m (£879,000) each. Powerball tickets cost $2 (£1.76) to buy, and a winner has the option to choose a lump sum payment, which is currently estimated at $929m (£817m) for Monday's draw. Winn...

The UN's climate change summit has opened in Egypt with a warning that our planet is "sending a distress signal". Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was responding to a UN report released on Sunday saying the past eight years were on track to be the warmest on record. More than 120 world leaders are due to arrive at the summit known as COP27, in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. This will kick off two weeks of negotiations between countries on climate action. COP27 president, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, urged leaders to not let food and energy crises related to Russia's invasion of Ukraine get in the way of action on climate change. "It is inherent on us all in Sharm el-Sheikh to demonstrate our recognition of the...

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is set to urge world leaders at COP27 to move "further and faster" in transitioning to renewable energy. Mr Sunak will travel to Egypt on Sunday for the UN climate summit after U-turning on a decision not to go. In his address on Monday, he will say Russia's invasion of Ukraine "reinforced" the importance of ending dependence on fossil fuels. COP27 follows a year of climate-related disasters and record temperatures. The prime minister will also tell leaders gathered in Sharm el-Sheikh not to "backslide" on commitments made at last year's COP26 summit in Glasgow intended to prevent global temperature rises to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. But Petteri Taalas, secretary general of the World Meteorologi...

At this year's COP27 UN climate change summit, money will feature high on the agenda and is sure to be a sticking point in negotiations. Over the last 12 months the developing world has faced severe climate-related crises - from flooding in Pakistan to drought in East Africa. They want developed nations like the US, UK and those of the EU to pay for the "loss and damage" they've suffered. They also want help to make the switch to cleaner energy and infrastructure. So, will they get the finance? What do countries want money for? Money for climate action broadly falls into three buckets. The first is for mitigation - this is money to help developing nations move away from fossil fuels and other polluting activitie...

A Tanzanian passenger plane has crashed into Lake Victoria as it attempted to land in the lakeside town of Bukoba, killing at least 19 people. Of the 43 people on board there were 24 survivors, according to operator Precision Air. The two pilots initially survived and managed to speak to local officials from the cockpit but the prime minister says they may have since died. The plane crashed near the shore at the end of the Bukoba airport runway. Rescuers were able to wade through the water to bring some of those still inside the plane to safety. Abdul Nuri was at the airport waiting for the return flight to Tanzania's biggest city, Dar es Salaam, when he saw the plane plunge into Africa's largest lake. "We were really sh...

Jailed British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel Fattah has stopped drinking water as he steps up his hunger strike to coincide with the start of the COP27 summit, his sister has said. Calls for his release escalated after the climate summit opened in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt on Sunday. The 40 year old has consumed just 100 calories for more than 200 days to push Egypt to allow him UK consular access. UK PM Rishi Sunak has said he will raise the issue at the COP summit. Abdel Fattah, a key activist in the 2011 Arab Spring, is currently serving a five-year sentence for spreading false news. His sister, Sanaa Seif, has warned that her brother's hunger and water strike may mean he could die before the end of the summit. Speaki...