Luisa Neubauer, a prominent German activist with Fridays for Future, told DW that world leaders underestimate "the amount of mistrust" felt by vulnerable countries at this year's UN climate talks in Egypt.

The EU and other critics were frustrated by the lack of progress to cut emissions that cause climate change. Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock blamed "a number of large emitters and oil producers.''

In an interview with FRANCE 24, the president of Seychelles hailed the deal reached at the COP27 climate conference on a "loss and damage" fund for vulnerable nations as "good news". Wavel Ramkalawan said that "loss and damage" had been a long-standing request of small island states like his, but added that the key now was implementation and funding.

The deal to set up a fund to compensate poorer countries being hit by climate change is viewed as a positive development, but many remain skeptical as it's not clear who would pay for it and who would benefit.

In an interview with FRANCE 24 in Strasbourg, the chairman of the environment committee at the European Parliament reacted to the recent COP27 climate summit in Egypt. Pascal Canfin hailed the deal on "loss and damage" for vulnerable countries as "better than nothing" and welcomed the fact that China has been asked to contribute to it.

A court in Hong Kong has found Cardinal Joseph Zen and five others guilty of failing to register a legal defense fund set up to help protesters in the 2019 anti-government protests.

Judges have ruled that Germany should be able to take part in the EU's €750-billion COVID-19 reconstruction fund. The court rejected two complaints that participation hands too much power from Berlin to Brussels.

A year ago, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised to upgrade the Bundeswehr with a massive one-off fund. Critics say not much has happened since.

Tallinn has hit back at reports that it upset its EU allies with reimbursements it has sought for weapons sent to Ukraine, in a trying moment for the bloc.

In addition to private investment totaling some $7 billion, US Vice President Kamala Harris announced that Washington would provide federal investment to boost access to climate information services.

Abductions are a new fundraising method used by separatists, analysts say. Over 30 women were taken last week for "allowing themselves to be manipulated by Cameroon's government," according to the insurgents themselves.

At their meeting in Luxembourg, the bloc's foreign ministers agreed to boost the military aid fund for Ukraine by €3.5 billion.