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The US will continue to back Ukraine in its fight against Russia for “as long as it takes”, President Joe Biden has said while outlining further military support.

In a news conference at the White House, and stood at a podium next to Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he paid tribute to Ukrainians’ “steel backbone, love of country and unbreakable determination to choose their own path”.

And he said: “American people are prepared to have us stand up to bullies, stand up for freedom. That’s who we are.”

Mr Biden said that Ukraine has “defied Russia’s expectations at every turn” and he went on: “The American people are with you every step of the way and we will stay with you… for as long as it takes.”

“Together we will keep the flame of liberty burning bright,” he added.

Mr Zelenskyy thanked the US and the American people for their support, in particular the Patriot surface-to-air missile defence system, saying that “every dollar of this investment for the US is going to be strengthening global security”.

“This is the only way that we can deprive the terrorist state of its main instrument of terror – the possibility to hit our cities, our energy,” Mr Zelenskyy said.

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Mr Biden said the Patriot system is “a defensive system, it’s not escalatory, it’s defensive”

The US president and Secretary of State Antony Blinken had earlier said the United States would provide $1.85bn in additional military assistance for Ukraine, which includes a transfer of the Patriot system.

The Ukrainian president said during the conference that his country’s defence capabilities will be strengthened in the coming months but would not give further details, and he said Russia needs to be held accountable for its actions.

Mr Zelenskyy, on his first known trip outside his country since Russia invaded in February, was asked by a reporter what was his message to the American people. He replied: “My message: I wish you peace.

“To be together with us, because we really fight for our common victory against this tyranny… and we will win. And I really want to win together. Not want, sorry… I’m sure.”

Mr Zelenskyy also said the war would end once Ukraine’s sovereignty, freedom and territorial integrity were restored, as well as the “payback for all the damages inflicted by Russian aggression”.

Earlier, during a fireside welcome in the White House, Mr Zelenskyy gave Mr Biden a medal that had originally been awarded to a Ukrainian military captain for bravery. The captain said he wanted the US president to get it for his support of Ukraine.

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President Zelenskyy gave Mr Biden a medal in the Oval Office

Receiving the medal, Mr Biden said: “Oh God love you… undeserved but much appreciated.”

The highly sensitive trip is taking place after 10 months of a brutal war that has seen tens of thousands of casualties on both sides and devastation for Ukrainian civilians

Shortly after arriving in the US, Mr Zelenskyy posted on his Telegram account about his determination to win the war with Russia, writing: “Next year, we must return the Ukrainian flag and freedom to our entire land, to all our people.”

The United States has so far sent around $50bn (£41bn) in assistance to the Kyiv government as it defends itself against an invasion by Russia that began 10 months ago.

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Zelenskyy and Biden laugh together

Former UK ambassador to Ukraine Leigh Turner told Sky News Mr Zelenskyy’s primary goal is to combat fatigue from supporting countries for what could be a “long and grinding war”.

He said: “At the beginning, everybody was supporting Ukraine, every Western government and the people of Britain and the US were strongly supporting Ukraine, from providing arms and taking in refugees into their homes.

“Ten months later winter is drawing on, there are a lot of other crises… and even some US lawmakers mostly from the Republican Party have been voting against providing more aid to Ukraine.”

President Biden said he was “not at all worried” about holding together an international coalition supporting Ukraine and said he had never seen the NATO alliance or the European Union more united.

“I see no sign of there being any change. We all know what’s at stake here,” he said.

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COP29 strikes last ditch deal on funding for climate measures in vulnerable countries

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COP29 strikes last ditch deal on funding for climate measures in vulnerable countries

The COP29 climate talks have reached a last ditch deal on cash for developing countries, pulling the summit back from the brink of collapse after a group of countries stormed out of a negotiating room earlier.

The slew of deals finally signed off in the small hours of Sunday morning in Azerbaijan includes one that proved hardest of all – one about money.

Eventually the more than 190 countries in Baku agreed a target for richer polluting countries such as the UK, EU and Japan to drum up $300bn a year by 2035 to help poorer nations both curb and adapt to climate change.

It is a far cry from the $1.3trn experts say is needed, and from the $500bn that vulnerable countries like Uganda had said they would be willing to accept.

But in the end they were forced to, knowing they could not afford to live without it, nor wait until next year to try again, when a Donald Trump presidency would make things even harder.

Bolivia’s lead negotiator Diego Pacheco called it an “insult”, while the Marshall Islands’ Tina Stege said it was “not nearly enough, but it’s a start”.

UN climate chief Simon Stiell said: “This new finance goal is an insurance policy for humanity, amid worsening climate impacts hitting every country.

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“No country got everything they wanted, and we leave Baku with a mountain of work still to do. So this is no time for victory laps.”

The funding deal was clinched more than 24 hours into overtime, and against what felt like all the odds.

The talks were rocked from the start by the incoming presidency of climate denier Mr Trump, the moment Argentina’s team were recalled back to Buenos Aires by their right-wing president and a controversial letter that sent shockwaves through the United Nations.

Pic: AP
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Pic: AP

The fraught two weeks of negotiations pitted the anger of developing countries who are footing the bill for more dangerous weather that they did little to cause, against the tight public finances of rich countries.

A relieved Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez, climate envoy for Panama, said there is “light at the end of the tunnel”.

Just hours ago, the talks almost fell apart as furious vulnerable nations stormed out of negotiations in frustration over that elusive funding goal.

They were also angry with oil and gas producing countries, who stood accused of trying to dilute aspects of the deal on cutting fossil fuels.

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Climate-vulnerable nations storm out of talks

The UN talks work on consensus, meaning everyone has to agree for a deal to fly.

A row over how to follow up on last year’s pledge to “transition away from fossil fuels” was left unresolved and punted into next year, following objections from Chile and Switzerland for being too weak.

A draft deal simply “reaffirmed” the commitment but did not dial up the pressure in the way the UK, EU, island states and many others here wanted.

Saudi Arabia fought the hardest against any step forward on cutting fossil fuels, the primary cause of climate change that is intensifying floods, drought and fires around the world.

Governments did manage to strike a deal on carbon markets at COP29, which has been 10 years in the making and will allow countries to trade emissions cuts.

‘Not everything we wanted’

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The UK’s energy secretary, Ed Miliband, said the deal is “not everything we or others wanted”, but described it as a “step forward”.

“It’s a deal that will drive forward the clean energy transition, which is essential for jobs and growth in Britain and for protecting us all against the worsening climate crisis,” he added.

“Today’s agreement sends the signal that the clean energy transition is unstoppable.

“It is the biggest economic opportunity of the 21st century and through our championing of it we can help crowd in private investment.”

Activists participate in a demonstration for climate finance at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
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Protesters at the summit in Baku. Pic: AP

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The Azerbaijan team leading COP29 said: “Every hour of the day, we have pulled people together. Every inch of the way, we have pushed for the highest common denominator.

“We have faced geopolitical headwinds and made every effort to be an honest broker for all sides.”

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At least 20 killed in Israeli strikes on central Beirut, Lebanese authorities say

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At least 20 killed in Israeli strikes on central Beirut, Lebanese authorities say

At least 20 people have been killed and 66 injured in Israeli strikes on central Beirut, Lebanese authorities have said.

Lebanon‘s health ministry said the death toll could rise as emergency workers dig through the rubble looking for survivors. DNA tests are being used to identify the victims, the ministry added.

The attack destroyed an eight-storey residential building and badly damaged several others around it in the Basta neighbourhood at 4am (2am UK time) on Saturday.

The central Basta neighbourhood in Beirut, where four people were killed in an Israeli airstrike
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The central Basta neighbourhood in Beirut

Map of Lebanon and Israel

The Israeli military did not warn residents to evacuate before the attack and has not commented on the casualties.

At least four bombs were dropped in the attack – the fourth targeting the city centre this week.

A separate drone strike in the southern port city of Tyre this morning killed two people and injured three, according to the state-run National News Agency.

The victims were Palestinian refugees from the nearby al Rashidieh camp who were out fishing, according to Mohammed Bikai, spokesperson for the Fatah Palestinian faction in the Tyre area.

Israel’s military warned residents today in parts of Beirut’s southern suburbs that they were near Hezbollah facilities, which the army would target in the near future. The warning, posted on X, told people to evacuate at least 500 metres away.

The army said that over the past day it had conducted intelligence-based strikes on Hezbollah targets in Dahiyeh, in Beirut’s southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has a strong presence. It said it hit several command centres and weapons storage facilities.

Pic: AP
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Pic: AP

Israel has killed several Hezbollah leaders in air strikes on the capital’s southern suburbs.

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.

According to the Lebanese health ministry, at least 3,670 people have been killed in Israeli attacks there, with more than 15,400 wounded.

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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‘Dozens’ of Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrike

Meanwhile, six people, including three children and two women, were killed in the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis.

Some 44,176 Palestinians have been killed since the start of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, according to the Gaza health ministry.

The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count, but it has said that more than half of the fatalities are women and children.

The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking another 250 hostage.

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

Mr Hochstein indicated progress had been made after meetings in Beirut on Tuesday and Wednesday, before going to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defence minister Israel Katz.

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Mossad investigating disappearance of rabbi in Abu Dhabi in potential terror incident, Israeli PM’s office says

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Mossad investigating disappearance of rabbi in Abu Dhabi in potential terror incident, Israeli PM's office says

Israeli intelligence agency Mossad is investigating the disappearance of a rabbi in Abu Dhabi after receiving information indicating a “terrorist incident”, the Israeli prime minister’s office has said.

Zvi Kogan, an Israeli-Moldovan citizen, has been missing since Thursday.

Mr Kogan is the Chabad representative in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The Israeli prime minister’s office said the country’s security and intelligence services have been investigating in Abu Dhabi.

It said: “Mossad has updated that since his disappearance, and given information indicating that this is a terrorist incident, an active investigation has been going on in the country.

“Israeli security and intelligence organisations, concerned for Kogan’s safety and wellbeing, have been working tirelessly on this case.”

In a travel advisory, it warned Israelis: “In major cities, or locations where demonstrations or protests are taking place, conceal anything that could identify you as Israeli or Jewish.”

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The Israeli government’s travel advisory service warns its citizens to “avoid unnecessary travel” to the UAE as “there is terrorist activity in the UAE, which constitutes a real risk to Israelis who are staying/visiting in the country”.

The UAE diplomatically recognised Israel in 2020, a deal it has honoured throughout the Israel-Hamas war and Israel’s ground invasion of Lebanon.

The Chabad movement is a Hasidic branch of Judaism, according to Chabad Lubavitch UK.

The organisation describes the work of emissaries like Zvi Kogan as “explaining, shedding light, dispelling myths, countering stereotypes” about Judaism.

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