UN chief warns of ‘point of no return’ on climate change
MADRID — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Sunday that the world’s efforts to stop climate change have been “utterly inadequate” so far and there is a danger global warming could pass the “point of no return.”
Speaking before the start Monday of a two-week international climate conference in Madrid, the U.N. chief said the impact of rising temperatures — including more extreme weather — is already being felt around the world, with dramatic consequences for humans and other species.
He noted that the world has the scientific knowledge and the technical means to limit global warming, but “what is lacking is political will.”
“The point of no return is no longer over the horizon,” Guterres told reporters in the Spanish capital. “It is in sight and hurtling toward us.”
Delegates from almost 200 countries will try to put the finishing touches on the rules governing the 2015 Paris climate accord at the Dec. 2-13 meeting, including how to create functioning international emissions trading systems and compensate poor countries for losses they suffer from rising sea levels and other consequences of climate change.
Alabama unveils statue of civil rights icon Rosa Parks
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A new statue of civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks was dedicated in Alabama’s capital city on Sunday, the 64th anniversary of her historic refusal to give up her seat on a public bus to a white man.
Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed and Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey pulled back a cloth to unveil the statue before a crowd of about 400 spectators.
The ceremony coincided with the anniversary of Parks’ Dec. 1, 1955 arrest that sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a pivotal part of the civil rights movement.
“This depiction will inspire future generations to make the pilgrimage to our city, to push toward the path of righteousness, strength, courage and equality,” Reed, who recently became the first African American mayor of Montgomery, said at the ceremony, according to al.com.
Four granite markers near the statue honor plaintiffs in Browder v. Gayle, the court case that determined segregation on Montgomery buses was unconstitutional. One of the plaintiffs, Mary Louise Smith, took part in the ceremony Sunday.
Burkina Faso leader says 14 slain in attack on church
The president of the West African nation of Burkina Faso has confirmed that 14 people were killed in an attack on a Protestant church in the country’s east.
Going on Twitter, President Roch Marc Christian Kabore said Sunday that he condemned “the barbaric attack” in the town of Hantoukoura. He said several people also were wounded.
Kabore offered his “deepest condolences to the bereaved families and wish a speedy recovery to the wounded.”
Islamic extremists have been active in Burkina Faso since 2015. Jihadists have attacked police stations and churches across the country’s north but also recently have struck in the east.
In October, gunmen generally believed to be Islamic extremists attacked a convoy carrying employees of a mining company in that region, killing at least 37 people.
Daughter in admissions scandal returns to YouTube channel
LOS ANGELES — Social media star Olivia Jade Giannulli on Sunday posted her first YouTube video since the arrest of her parents, actress Lori Loughlin and fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, made her one of the most visible figures in the college admissions scandal that ensnared dozens of wealthy parents and their children.
“Welcome back to my YouTube channel, obviously I’ve been gone for a really long time,” Jade says in the two-minute video, titled “hi again,” posted to her account that has nearly 2 million subscribers.
She says she debated for months whether to return to her channel, which focused on fashion, beauty and video-diary entries about her life.
“I’m terrified to make this video and come back,” Jade says, “but I want to start taking smaller steps in the right direction.”
Loughlin and Giannulli are accused of paying $500,000 to have their two daughters labeled as recruits to the USC crew team so they could gain admission to the school, even though neither participated in the sport.
From wire sources