UN's Antonio Guterres 'encouraged' by India's climate change progress

Antonio Guterres, the Secretary General of the United Nations, jointly launched India’s ambitious mission to fight climate change with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the second-day of his visit to the country.

Mr Guterres, 73, who is on a three-day India visit on Thursday jointly launched Mission LiFE — Lifestyle for Environment, India’s ambitious global plan of action aimed at saving the planet from the disastrous consequences of climate change.

Mission LiFE is designed to encourage individual behaviour such as switching off vehicle engines at traffic lights, turning off taps when not in use and switching to longer-lasting alternatives to single-use plastic bags.

The government estimates those actions, if taken on a national scale, could significantly limit emissions, water use and waste.

LiFE was introduced by Mr Modi during Cop26 in Glasgow last November.

India must stop building coal infrastructure and focus on renewables, UN chief says

The two leaders launched the mission at the Statue of Unity — world’s tallest statue depicting freedom fighter Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in Kevadia in western Gujarat.

“I am immensely encouraged by the commitments that India has made to pursue environmentally sound policies,” Mr Guterres said.

The launch comes ahead of the UN climate meeting, Cop27, in Egypt next month.

Children greet Narendra Modi and Antonio Guterres at an event at the Statue of Unity in Kevadia in Gujarat state. AFP

Mr Guterres had arrived in Mumbai late on Tuesday on a commercial flight for a three-day visit to the country, his first since he commenced his second term in office in January.

He had addressed a gathering at city’s premier engineering college Indian Institute of Technology where he said that India has an opportunity to lead by a model of “resilience and an advocate for sustainable development and climate justice”.

He also spoke about the need for pluralism in the country where communal divide is on the rise.

“India can gain authority and credibility only from a strong commitment to inclusivity and human rights at home,” Mr Guterres said.

“India has a responsibility to shape global human rights, and act and promote the rights of all individuals including members of minority communities."

Sole survivors

Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.

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MATCH INFO

Inter Milan 2 (Vecino 65', Barella 83')

Verona 1 (Verre 19' pen)

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Squad

Ali Kasheif, Salim Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdulrahman, Mohammed Al Attas, Abdullah Ramadan, Zayed Al Ameri (Al Jazira), Mohammed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammed Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Essa, Mohammed Shaker, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah) Walid Abbas, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli), Tariq Ahmed, Jasim Yaqoub (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Muharami (Baniyas)

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F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

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Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

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Key facilities

Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
Premier League-standard football pitch
400m Olympic running track
NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
600-seat auditorium
Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
Specialist robotics and science laboratories
AR and VR-enabled learning centres
Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills