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Argentinian negotiators have been summoned home from global climate talks in Azerbaijan by the President Javier Milei’s government.

The team were ordered to pack up and leave on Wednesday, just three days into the two-week COP29 summit in Azerbaijan.

No reason was given, but the Argentinian president – a right-wing populist who has previously dubbed the climate crisis a “socialist lie” – had communicated with US president-elect Donald Trump the day before, according to his spokesperson.

Mr Trump had told Mr Milei “you are my favourite president”, spokesperson Manuel Adorni wrote on X.

Read more: Who thinks oil state Azerbaijan is ‘perfectly suited’ to hosting a climate summit?

It means Argentina, South America’s second-largest economy, loses its chance to influence the talks in Baku, which will draw up a new fund to help poor and middle-income nations cope with climate change.

The departure adds to concerns about the safety of the Paris Agreement, following the re-election of Mr Trump, who is expected to again withdraw the US from the treaty, and global climate efforts in general.

However, there has been no sense of other countries considering leaving, according to one negotiator.

“I have not heard anyone else make those noises in this process, and I don’t think it will be a chain reaction,” they said.

Other officials close to the process also said they had not caught wind of any other country wavering.

The group of more than 40 small island countries (AOSIS) said they “hope that that is not a signal of disengagement from other [countries]”.

“I think the answer lies in all of us coming together,” said Fatumanava-o-Upolu III Dr Pa’olelei Luteru of Samoa, and chair of AOSIS.

“This is a global issue, and it requires a global response.”

He said they were “concerned” about the election of Donald Trump because the US is “the leader of the free world” with a “responsibility to the global community.”

The Azerbaijan COP presidency team declined to comment on the move by Argentina.

In a news conference, lead negotiator Yalchin Rafiyev called it “a bilateral matter between Argentina and the United Nations”.

But he said COP29 was off to a “strong start” thanks to progress on rules for trading emissions cuts.

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Is Trump’s victory bad news for climate?

Delegates at COP29 have generally been reassured by the fact that the last time Mr Trump pulled the US out of the Paris Agreement, no other countries followed suit, despite fears of a domino effect.

On Sunday, one of Azerbaijan’s top officials told Sky News the US team remained “constructive”, while the US climate envoy has said the fight is “bigger than one election”.

But everyone meeting in Baku stadium for the talks is bracing for the US to disappear from future COP summits.

The COP29 presidency team found itself embroiled in another diplomatic spat yesterday when French climate minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher cancelled her trip.

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev had accused France of “crimes” in its overseas territories in the Caribbean.

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Tensions between the two are long-standing due to Paris’ support for rival Armenia.

“Regardless of any bilateral disagreements, the COP should be a place where all parties feel at liberty to come and
negotiate on climate action,” European Union climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said in response, in a post on X.

“The COP Presidency has a particular responsibility to enable and enhance that,” he said.

But it’s not been all doom and gloom in Baku. Diplomats’ moods were boosted by the UK’s new climate action plan, and development banks also managed to pull some strings to release more money for the new climate fund.

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Ukraine and NATO to hold emergency talks as Russia vows to increase production of ‘unstoppable’ missile

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Ukraine and NATO to hold emergency talks as Russia vows to increase production of 'unstoppable' missile

NATO and Ukraine will hold emergency talks on Tuesday after Vladimir Putin said Russia will ramp up the production of a new, hypersonic ballistic missile.

Ukraine‘s parliament cancelled a session as security was tightened following a Russian strike on Thursday on a military facility in Dnipro, a central city with a population of around one million. No fatalities were reported.

In a nationally-televised speech, Mr Putin said the attack – carried out with an intermediate-range Oreshnik missile – was in retaliation for Ukraine’s use of US and British missiles capable of striking deeper into Russian territory.

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Putin’s warning to the West

Russia war latest: Long-awaited US air defences arrive in Ukraine

“No one in the world has such weapons,” the Russian president said. “Sooner or later other leading countries will also get them. We are aware that they are under development.”

He added: “We have this system now. And this is important.”

Detailing the missile’s alleged capabilities, Mr Putin claimed it is so powerful that using several fitted with conventional warheads in one attack could be as devastating as a strike with nuclear weapons.

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General Sergei Karakayev, head of Russia’s strategic missile forces, said the Oreshnik could reach targets across Europe and be fitted with either nuclear or conventional warheads – while Mr Putin alleged Western air defence systems will not be able to stop the missiles.

Mr Putin said of the Oreshnik: “There is no countermeasure to such a missile, no means of intercepting it, in the world today. And I will emphasise once again that we will continue testing this newest system. It is necessary to establish serial production.”

Read more from Sky News:
What are storm shadow missiles?
How bionic limps are helping Ukrainian troops

Testing the Oreshnik will happen “in combat, depending on the situation and the character of security threats created for Russia“, the president added, stating there is “a stockpile of such systems ready for use”.

EU leaders condemn Russia’s ‘heinous attacks’

Numerous EU leaders have addressed Russia’s escalation of the conflict with Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk saying the war is “entering a decisive phase [and] taking on very dramatic dimensions”.

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Russia’s new missile – what does it mean?

Speaking in Kyiv, Czech foreign minister Jan Lipavsky called Moscow’s strike an “escalatory step and an attempt of the Russian dictator to scare the population of Ukraine and to scare the population of Europe”.

At a news conference, Mr Lipavsky gave his full support for delivering the additional air defence systems needed to protect Ukrainian civilians from the “heinous attacks”.

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Israel hits central Beirut with series of airstrikes – reports

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Israel hits central Beirut with series of airstrikes - reports

Israel has targeted central Beirut with at least four airstrikes, according to security sources cited by Reuters news agency.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said the attack “completely destroyed” an eight-storey residential building in the Basta neighbourhood early on Saturday.

It is not immediately clear how many have been killed or injured and the Israeli military did not warn residents to evacuate before the attack, the fourth targeting the centre this week.

The blasts happened at about 4am (2am UK time) and came after a day of bombardment of Beirut’s southern suburbs, which Israel had warned residents of in advance.

Pic: AP
Image:
Pic: AP

Heavy fighting between Israel and Hezbollah is ongoing in southern Lebanon, as Israeli forces push deeper into the country since launching a major offensive in September.

US envoy Amos Hochstein was in the region this week to try to end the more than 13 months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, ignited last October by the Gaza war.

Read more:
No 10 indicates Netanyahu would be arrested
‘Dozens’ of Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrike

According to the Lebanese health ministry, Israel has killed more than 3,500 people in Lebanon and wounded more than 15,000.

It has displaced about 1.2 million people – a quarter of Lebanon’s population – while Israel says about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed in northern Israel.

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Woman who accused Conor McGregor of rape wins civil assault case – and is awarded damages

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Woman who accused Conor McGregor of rape wins civil assault case - and is awarded damages

A woman who accused Conor McGregor of raping her has said “justice has been served” after she won her civil case against the Irish mixed martial arts fighter.

Nikita Hand has been awarded €248,603 (£206,000) in damages after a jury at Dublin’s High Court found McGregor assaulted her in a Dublin hotel in 2018.

McGregor, 36, made no comment as he swiftly left court following the decision on Friday evening.

He later said in a statement that he had instructed his legal team to appeal the civil court’s decision, adding he was “disappointed that the jury did not hear all the evidence that the director of public prosecutions reviewed”.

He ended the statement saying: “I am with my family, focused on my future.”

McGregor had previously told the court he had consensual sex with Ms Hand in a penthouse at the Beacon Hotel in December 2018.

‘No matter who the person is, justice will be served’

Speaking outside court after the decision, an emotional Ms Hand said the last two weeks of her civil case against the fighter have been a “nightmare” and has impacted not only her life but her daughter’s, friends and loved ones.

“I would like to start off by saying I’m overwhelmed and touched by the support I have received from everybody,” the mother-of-one said.

“It’s something that I’ll never forget for the rest of my life.

“Now that justice has been served, I can now try and move on and look forward to the future with my family and friends and daughter.”

Ms Hand continued: “I hope my story is a reminder that no matter how afraid you might be: Speak up, you have a voice and keep on fighting for justice.

“You can stand up for yourself if something happens to you – no matter who the person is – and justice will be served.”

Ms Hand told the civil court McGregor pinned her to a bed, choked her three times and “brutally raped and battered” her.

The jury was told she was left with extensive injuries, including purple and blue bruising along her hands and wrists, a bloodied scratch to her breast and tenderness to her neck.

McGregor no longer known for just his sporting abilities

There was not an inch to move in this tiny civil courtroom in centre Dublin.

The jury sat for six hours and 10 minutes, determining the future of one of Ireland’s biggest stars.

You could cut the tension with a knife.

McGregor sat stoney faced taking intermittent, deep heavy breaths as the clerk of the court declared the jury had reached their decision.

The judge sternly told the public gallery he would “jail” anyone who caused a scene when the news came out.

It was a sign of the high stakes in this case.

Within 40 seconds, the judge read out the news that McGregor was dreading, and Nikita Hand was determined to get.

“Did Conor McGregor assault Nikita Hand?”

“Yes” came the reply.

The blood drained from McGregor’s face. His head in his hands.

As the MMA star stepped out of court, he entered a new era. He walked straight to his Bentley, ignoring questions from reporters about whether he feels remorse.

He is no longer just a household name for his sporting abilities.

But lawyers for the fighter contested the lawsuit and accused her of attempted “extortion”.

They pointed to CCTV footage of Ms Hand arriving at and leaving the hotel with McGregor and a second man, James Lawrence, whom she also accused of assault.

Both McGregor and Lawrence denied any wrongdoing. While Ms Hand won her case against McGregor, she lost her claim against Lawrence.

On Monday, McGregor’s legal team told jurors it did not matter if they did not like or even loathed the famous fighter, urging them to look at the evidence and not his character.

McGregor and Ms Hand knew each other and had occasionally been in contact on social media, the civil trial heard.

Before the assault, Ms Hand had contacted the fighter, who picked up her and a friend in his car.

McGregor “came on to her”, but she did not want to have sexual intercourse with him as she was on her period, the court heard.

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