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Scotland will announce new funding towards the loss and damage from climate change suffered by vulnerable countries that are beyond the realms of human adaptation, Sky News can reveal.

“We’ll be announcing a further financial commitment to loss and damage,” First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told Sky News during the COP27 climate summit in Egypt.

The additional money will look “in particular at non-economic loss and damage that many countries are suffering,” she said, which could include things like loss of culture and tradition.

Johnson’s dig at Truss – as world warned it is ‘on highway to climate hell’ – COP27 latest

Economic losses encapsulate things like loss of jobs from industries collapsing, loss of buildings to hurricane damage or loss of entire communities and towns as sea levels eat away at coastlines.

“That would be a further very significant part of Scotland’s determination to see real progress behind that issue that should have been dealt with many years ago,” the first minister said in Sharm el-Sheikh on the Red Sea.

During the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow last year, Scotland became the first developed nation to pledge finance towards the contentious issue. The promised sum of £2m was small but helped break a taboo around the issue. Since then, Denmark has promised 100 million DKK (£11.8m).

More on Climate Change

But also since COP26, fierce weather events have hit the world over, from starvation amid drought in the Horn of Africa, to 32 million people uprooted from their homes by violent flooding in Pakistan, surprising scientists with their severity.

Further detail on the new funding will be revealed on Tuesday, Sky News understands.

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said the issue would be a “litmus test” of the commitment of governments at the COP27 climate talks, which get properly under way today.

Addressing world leaders, the secretary-general said loss and damage can “no longer be swept under the rug”.

“Those who contributed least to the climate crisis are reaping the whirlwind sown by others. Many are blindsided by impacts for which they had no warning or means of preparation.”

Read more:
Will developed nations pay compensation for climate damage?
Everything you need to know about COP27

Vulnerable nations, which research shows have typically done the least to cause climate change but are suffering the worst impacts, have been pleading for financial help for years.

The rich, polluting world, including the US and the EU, has historically been wary of what they fear could be opening the floodgates to endless claims and accusations of liability.

But the devastating impacts of climate change have been so acute, countries have become more open to discussing it, although fiercely resist it being framed as “compensation” or “reparations”.

COP27 opened with a breakthrough yesterday as the issue of funding for such losses made it on to the agenda at a United Nations climate talk for the first time. But countries have until 2024 to come up with a plan, far too slow for some, who point to the savage impacts already being felt.

“The first minister’s commitment to help people facing the climate crisis is unparalleled,” said Harjeet Singh, long-time campaigner for payment for such losses and damages and head of global political strategy at Climate Action Network.

“We need her leadership to inspire and put pressure on rich governments to recognise the huge gap in funding to deal with climate impacts, such as loss of land, homes and cultures,” he told Sky News.

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Labour MP Dan Norris arrested on suspicion of rape and child sex offences

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Labour MP Dan Norris arrested on suspicion of rape and child sex offences

Labour MP Dan Norris has been arrested on suspicion of rape and child sex offences.

A Labour Party spokesperson said: “Dan Norris MP was immediately suspended by the Labour Party upon being informed of his arrest.

“We cannot comment further while the police investigation is ongoing.”

Police said a man in his 60s had been arrested on Friday on suspicion of sexual offences against a girl, rape, child abduction and misconduct in a public office.

Sky News has contacted Mr Norris for comment.

Mr Norris, 65, defeated Jacob Rees-Mogg to win the new seat of North East Somerset and Hanham in last year’s general election.

He has also lost the party whip in the House of Commons and has stepped down from his role as chair of the League Against Cruel Sports.

Avon and Somerset Police said in a statement: “In December 2024, we received a referral from another police force relating to alleged non-recent child sex offences having been committed against a girl.

“Most of the offences are alleged to have occurred in the 2000s, but we’re also investigating an alleged offence of rape from the 2020s.

“An investigation, led by officers within Operation Bluestone, our dedicated rape and serious sexual assault investigation team, remains ongoing and at an early stage.

“The victim is being supported and given access to any specialist help or support she needs.

“A man, aged in his 60s, was arrested on Friday (April 4) on suspicion of sexual offences against a girl (under the Sexual Offences Act 1956), rape (under the Sexual Offences Act 2003), child abduction and misconduct in a public office. He’s been released on conditional bail for enquiries to continue.

“This is an active and sensitive investigation, so we’d respectfully ask people not to speculate on the circumstances so our enquiries can continue unhindered.”

Mr Norris first entered Parliament when Tony Blair came to power in 1997 and served as the Wansdyke MP until 2010.

He was an assistant whip under Mr Blair and served as a junior minister under Gordon Brown.

Mr Norris has also been West of England mayor since 2021 but is due to step down ahead of May’s local elections.

A spokesman for the League Against Cruel Sports, a UK-based animal welfare charity which campaigns to end sports such as fox hunting and game bird shooting, confirmed he had stepped down from his role.

“The charity cannot comment further while an investigation is ongoing,” a statement said.

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Jaguar Land Rover to ‘pause’ US shipments over Donald Trump tariffs

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Jaguar Land Rover to 'pause' US shipments over Donald Trump tariffs

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has said it will “pause” shipments to the US as the British car firm works to “address the new trading terms” of Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The US president has introduced a 25% levy on all foreign cars imported into the country, which came into force on Thursday.

JLR, one of the country’s biggest carmakers, exported about 38,000 cars to the US in the third quarter of 2024 – almost equal to the amount sold to the UK and the EU combined.

Follow live updates: Trump’s baseline 10% tariff kicks in

In a statement on Saturday, a spokesperson for the company behind the Jaguar, Land Rover and Range Rover brands said: “The USA is an important market for JLR’s luxury brands.

“As we work to address the new trading terms with our business partners, we are taking some short-term actions including a shipment pause in April, as we develop our mid- to longer-term plans.”

The company released a statement last week before Mr Trump announced a “baseline” 10% tariff on goods from around the world, which kicked in on Saturday morning, on what he called “liberation day”.

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JLR reassured customers its business was “resilient” and “accustomed to changing market conditions”.

“Our priorities now are delivering for our clients around the world and addressing these new US trading terms,” the firm said.

Trading across the world has been hit by Mr Trump’s tariff announcement at the White House on Wednesday.

All but one stock on the FTSE 100 fell on Friday – with Rolls-Royce, banks and miners among those to suffer the sharpest losses.

Read more: A red wall on Wall Street – but Trump seems to believe it will work out

Cars are the top product exported from the UK to the US, with exports worth £8.3bn in the year to the end of September 2024, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.

For UK carmakers, the US is the second largest export market behind the European Union.

Industry groups have previously warned the tariffs will force firms to rethink where they trade, while a report by thinktank the Institute for Public Policy Research said more than 25,000 car manufacturing jobs in the UK could be at risk.

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Two people die after caravan fire at holiday park in Lincolnshire

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Two people die after caravan fire at holiday park in Lincolnshire

Two people have died following a fire at a caravan site near Skegness, Lincolnshire Police have said.

In a statement, officers said they were called at 3.53am on Saturday to a report of a blaze at Golden Beach Holiday Park in the village of Ingoldmells.

Fire and rescue crews attended the scene, and two people were found to have died.

They were reported to be a 10-year-old girl and a 48-year-old man.

The force said the victims’ next of kin have been informed and will be supported by specially trained officers.

Officers are trying to establish the exact cause of the blaze.

“We are at the very early stages of our investigation and as such we are keeping an open mind,” the force said.

Two fire crews remain at the scene.

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