
-
Italian director Nanni Moretti in hospital after heart attack: media
-
LIV Golf stars playing at Doral with Masters on their minds
-
Trump unveils sweeping 'Liberation Day' tariffs
-
Most deadly 2024 hurricane names retired from use: UN agency
-
Boeing chief reports progress to Senate panel after 'serious missteps'
-
Is Musk's political career descending to Earth?
-
On Mexico-US border, Trump's 'Liberation Day' brings fears for future
-
Starbucks faces new hot spill lawsuit weeks after $50mn ruling
-
Ally of Pope Francis elected France's top bishop
-
'Determined' Buttler leads Gujarat to IPL win over Bengaluru
-
US judge dismisses corruption case against New York mayor
-
Left-wing party pulls ahead in Greenland municipal elections
-
Blistering Buttler leads Gujarat to IPL win over Bengaluru
-
Tesla sales slump as pressure piles on Musk
-
Amazon makes last-minute bid for TikTok: report
-
Canada Conservative leader warns Trump could break future trade deal
-
British band Muse cancels planned Istanbul gig
-
'I'll be back' vows Haaland after injury blow
-
Trump to unveil 'Liberation Day' tariffs as world braces
-
New coach Edwards adamant England can win women's cricket World Cup
-
Military confrontation 'almost inevitable' if Iran nuclear talks fail: French FM
-
US stocks advance ahead of looming Trump tariffs
-
Scramble for food aid in Myanmar city near quake epicentre
-
American Neilson Powless fools Visma to win Across Flanders
-
NATO chief says alliance with US 'there to stay'
-
Myanmar junta declares quake ceasefire as survivors plead for aid
-
American Neilson Powless fools Visma to win Around Flanders
-
Tesla first quarter sales sink amid anger over Musk politics
-
World's tiniest pacemaker is smaller than grain of rice
-
Judge dismisses corruption case against NY mayor
-
Nintendo to launch Switch 2 console on June 5
-
France Le Pen eyes 2027 vote, says swift appeal 'good news'
-
Postecoglou hopes Pochettino gets Spurs return wish
-
US, European stocks fall as looming Trump tariffs raise fears
-
Nintendo says Switch 2 console to be launched on June 5
-
France's Zemmour fined 10,000 euros over claim WWII leader 'saved' Jews
-
Le Pen ally denies planned rally a 'power play' against conviction
-
Letsile Tebogo says athletics saved him from life of crime
-
Man Utd 'on right track' despite 13th Premier League defeat: Dalot
-
Israel says expanding Gaza offensive to seize 'large areas'
-
Certain foreign firms must 'self-certify' with Trump diversity rules: US embassies
-
Deutsche Bank asset manager DWS fined 25 mn euros for 'greenwashing'
-
UK drawing up new action plan to tackle rising TB
-
Nigerian president sacks board of state oil company
-
Barca never had financial room to register Olmo: La Liga
-
Spain prosecutors to appeal ruling overturning Alves' rape conviction
-
Heathrow 'warned about power supply' days before shutdown
-
Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre 'stable' after car crash
-
Myanmar quake survivors plead for more help
-
Greece to spend 25 bn euros in 'drastic' defence overhaul: PM

High seas treaty talks fail to reach a deal
The clock ran out Friday at UN talks to forge a legally binding treaty to protect open oceans beyond national jurisdictions, with no schedule set for prolonging the discussions.
This fourth round of negotiations since 2018 -- preceded by a decade of preliminary talks -- was meant to create vast marine reserves to prevent biodiversity loss, oversee industrial-scale fisheries and share out the "genetic resources" of the sea.
"We have not come to the end of our work," said conference president Rena Lee, a diplomate from Singapore, noting that the Covid pandemic had caused major delays.
"I believe that with continued commitment, determination and dedication, we will be able to build bridges and close the remaining gaps," she said at the end of Friday's session.
It now rests with the United Nations General Assembly to give the green light for another round of talks.
"All efforts must be devoted in the coming months to secure this long-awaited treaty in 2022," said Peggy Kalas, president of the High Seas Alliance, a coalition of more than forty major NGOs and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
A so-called High Ambition Coalition of European Union nations and 13 other countries, including India, Australia, Canada and Britain, have endorsed the same goal.
Some nations and many environmental groups have called for at least 30 percent of the world's oceans to be granted protected status, a target also to be on the table at UN biodiversity talks later this year.
Currently less that one percent of open ocean enjoys that status, according to the High Seas Alliance.
Oceans produce half the oxygen we breathe, regulate the weather and provide humanity's single largest source of protein.
But they are being pushed to the brink by human activities.
- Marine genetic resources -
Carbon dioxide emissions and global warming drive devastating marine heatwaves and acidification.
The UN's climate science advisory body has projected that more than 99 percent of shallow water corals will die if average global temperatures rise more than degrees above preindustrial levels.
"The oceans as a whole are becoming warmer, the salinity levels are increasing. There's less oxygen for marine life," said Liz Karan, an expert with The Pew Charitable Trusts.
Humans have also fished some marine species to the edge of extinction, and used the world's waters as a garbage dump.
Today, a patchwork of agreements and regulatory bodies govern shipping, fishing, and mineral extraction, while the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, negotiated in the 1970s, lays out rules for how far a nation's zone of influence extends beyond its shores.
But despite two decades of consultations, there is still no treaty protecting international waters beyond national jurisdiction, accounting for about two-thirds of the world's oceans.
Another contentious question is who gets a share of the benefits from the exploitation of what are known as "marine genetic resources".
Poorer countries fear they will be sidelined as wealthier nations scour the seas for the next wonder ingredients for the pharmaceutical, chemical or cosmetic industries, and lock up the spoils in trademarks and patents.
Will McCallum, head of oceans for Greenpeace UK, said wrapping up a deal by the end of this was crucial.
"We're not disappointed to have a 5th session," he told AFP. "But if a deal is not concluded in 2022 the chances of having a solid treaty are practically zero."
"Ministers and heads of state need to step up ahead of the next round of negotiations to ensure we land the strong treaty," he added.
The treaty covers the so-called high seas, which begin beyond national exclusive economic zones that extend 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres) from their shores.
M.King--AT