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BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — In the wee hours Sunday at the United Nations climate talks, countries from around the world reached an agreement on how rich countries can cough up the funds to support poor countries in the face of climate change. It’s a far-from-perfect arrangement, with many parties still deeply unsatisfied but some hopeful that the deal will be a step in the right direction. World Resources Institute president and CEO Ani Dasgupta called it “an important down payment toward a safer, more equitable future,” but added that the poorest and most vulnerable nations are “rightfully disappointed that wealthier countries didn’t put more money on the table when billions of people’s lives are at stake.” The summit was supposed to end on Friday evening but negotiations spiraled on through early Sunday. With countries on opposite ends of a massive chasm, tensions ran high as delegations tried to close the gap in expectations. Here’s how they got there: What was the finance deal agreed at climate talks? Rich countries have agreed to pool together at least $300 billion a year by 2035. It’s not near the full amount of $1.3 trillion that developing countries were asking for, and that experts said was needed. But delegations more optimistic about the agreement said this deal is headed in the right direction, with hopes that more money flows in the future. The text included a call for all parties to work together using “all public and private sources” to get closer to the $1.3 trillion per year goal by 2035. That means also pushing for And it means, hopefully, that companies and private investors will follow suit on channeling cash toward climate action. The agreement is also a critical step toward helping countries on the receiving end create more ambitious targets to limit or cut emissions of heat-trapping gases that are due early next year. It’s part of the plan to keep cutting pollution with new targets every five years, which the world agreed to at the U.N. talks in Paris in 2015. The Paris agreement set the system of regular ratcheting up climate fighting ambition as away to keep warming under 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels. The world is already at 1.3 degrees Celsius (2.3 degrees Fahrenheit) and carbon emissions keep rising. What will the money be spent on? The deal decided in Baku replaces a previous agreement from 15 years ago that charged rich nations $100 billion a year to help the developing world with climate finance. The new number has similar aims: it will go toward the developing world’s long laundry list of to-dos to prepare for a warming world and keep it from getting hotter. That includes paying for the transition to clean energy and away from fossil fuels. Countries need funds to build up the infrastructure needed to deploy technologies like wind and solar power on a large scale. Communities hard-hit by extreme weather also want money to adapt and prepare for events like floods, typhoons and fires. Funds could go toward improving farming practices to make them more resilient to weather extremes, to building houses differently with storms in mind, to helping people move from the hardest-hit areas and to help leaders improve emergency plans and aid in the wake of disasters. The Philippines, for example, has been hammered , bringing to millions of people howling wind, massive storm surges and catastrophic damage to residences, infrastructure and farmland. “Family farmers need to be financed,” said Esther Penunia of the Asian Farmers Association. She described how many have already had to deal with millions of dollars of storm damage, some of which includes trees that won’t again bear fruit for months or years, or animals that die, wiping out a main source of income. “If you think of a rice farmer who depends on his or her one hectare farm, rice land, ducks, chickens, vegetables, and it was inundated, there was nothing to harvest,” she said. Why was it so hard to get a deal? Election results around the world that herald a change in climate leadership, a few key players with motive to stall the talks and a disorganized host country all led to a final crunch that left few happy with a flawed compromise. The ending of COP29 is “reflective of the harder geopolitical terrain the world finds itself in,” said Li Shuo of the Asia Society. He cited Trump’s recent victory in the US — with his promises to pull the country out of the Paris Agreement — as one reason why the relationship between China and the EU will be more consequential for global climate politics moving forward. Developing nations also faced some difficulties agreeing in the final hours, with one Latin American delegation member saying that their group didn’t feel properly consulted when small island states had last-minute meetings to try to break through to a deal. Negotiators from across the developing world took different tacks on the deal until they finally agreed to compromise. Meanwhile, activists ramped up the pressure: many urged negotiators to stay strong and asserted that no deal would be better than a bad deal. But ultimately the desire for a deal won out. Some also pointed to the host country as a reason for the struggle. Mohamed Adow, director of climate and energy think tank Power Shift Africa, said Friday that “this COP presidency is one of the worst in recent memory,” calling it “one of the most poorly led and chaotic COP meetings ever.” The presidency said in a statement, “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.” Shuo retains hope that the opportunities offered by a green economy “make inaction self-defeating” for countries around the world, regardless of their stance on the decision. But it remains to be seen whether the UN talks can deliver more ambition next year. In the meantime, “this COP process needs to recover from Baku,” Shuo said. ___ Associated Press reporters Seth Borenstein and Sibi Arasu contributed to this report. ___ The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at .
PHILADELPHIA , Nov. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Independence Blue Cross (IBX) is implementing the Epic Payer Platform with health systems and providers in its network to streamline data exchange, close gaps in care, and improve health outcomes for members. Epic Payer Platform is part of Epic, a global healthcare technology company. The platform helps facilitate data exchange and workflow processes for providers and health plans, giving them the insights they need to make care decisions while also saving them time. "We're excited about the implementation of Epic Payer Platform with Drexel Medicine , Jefferson Health , Main Line Health , and Penn Medicine being the first to join us in this transformation. We look forward to more of our health care partners signing on as well," said Michael Vennera , executive vice president and chief strategy, technology, and operations officer at Independence Blue Cross . "We expect the platform to transform how we coordinate care for our members with automatic sharing of information with our members' doctors. There are also anticipated cost savings to both IBX and the health systems and providers on the platform due to decreasing administrative burden, avoiding unnecessary admissions and emergency department visits, and improving preventive care." Some key improvements that IBX expects to see in the not-so-distant future from this implementation include: "The integration of the Epic Payer Platform with Independence Blue Cross will significantly enhance our ability to provide comprehensive and efficient care to our patients, ensuring better health outcomes and streamlined operations," said John S. Potts , DO, FAAFP, assistant chief medical information officer at Main Line Health. In the long-term future, IBX expects its use of Epic Payer Platform to lead to automating prior authorization requests and updates, improving efficiency and reducing delays. Other activities that IBX anticipates happening in the future include: "We are excited to modernize our partnership with Independence Blue Cross via their Epic Payer Platform integration. These efforts aim to improve patient health outcomes, reduce provider burden, and grow digitally shared patient data," Nathalie S. May , MD, FACP, professor of medicine and chief quality officer at Drexel University College of Medicine. IBX is working with health systems and providers in the region who are already utilizing Epic's EHR system to implement the platform in a phased approach. This implementation of Epic Payer Platform complements IBX's existing work with HealthShare Exchange , a platform that allows health insurers and different types of providers (e.g., community providers, health systems, community-based organizations, etc.), who may or may not use Epic, to share clinical records to make patient care more informed. Member privacy and confidentiality is a top priority for IBX. IBX is working with Epic to safeguard clinical information utilizing physical, administrative, and technical safeguards as required by HIPAA. About Independence Blue Cross: Independence Blue Cross is the leading health insurance organization in southeastern Pennsylvania . For more than 85 years, we have been enhancing the health and well-being of the people and communities we serve. We deliver innovative and competitively priced health care products and services; pioneer new ways to reward doctors, hospitals, and other health care professionals for coordinated, quality care; and support programs and events that promote wellness. To learn more, visit ibx.com . Connect with us on Facebook , LinkedIn , and Instagram . Independence Blue Cross is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. CONTACT: Diana Quattrone 215-815-7828 (cell) Diana.Quattrone@ibx.com View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/independence-blue-cross-launches-epic-payer-platform-to-transform-care-coordination-and-boost-member-health-outcomes-302314517.html SOURCE Independence Blue CrossNone
Maleeha Lodhi As the year comes to an end, among the non-fiction books I read in 2024, three were the most interesting and insightful. Let me start with the book The Coming Wave by Mustafa Suleyman. This joins a growing body of literature on one of the defining dynamics of the 21st century – the transformative impact of new technology. There has been a profusion of books in recent years about the promise and peril of technological advances. Suleyman offers a tech insider’s perspective as he is the co-founder of two AI companies, which has done innovative work in this field. He shows how the coming wave of technology will take human history to a turning point. The two core technologies that constitute the coming wave – AI and biotechnology – will bring about unprecedented progress and wealth. But their proliferation will also unleash many adverse effects even “catastrophe on an unimaginable scale.” He calls this the “great meta-problem of the 21st century”, which his thought-provoking book examines by focusing on the bind that exists between risks and rewards and how to deal with it. For Suleyman, human history can be told through a series of waves. A wave he says is “a set of technologies coming together around the same time powered by one or several new general-purpose technologies with profound societal implications.” He argues the coming wave has no historical precedent and is the most consequential. This urges the need to strike a balance between its promise and hard-headed caution. In discussing the ‘Grand Bargain’ between citizens and the state, he describes the threats posed by new technologies to this delicate equilibrium. This he posits is “fracturing the grand bargain.” Given this and other dangers Suleyman gets to the book’s core argument: how to contain technology’s harmful effects without foregoing its enormous benefits. He sees containment as a set of interlocking technical, cultural, legal, political and governance mechanisms to ensure societal control of technology. Containment, the book concludes, is not “a resting place” but “a narrow and never-ending path”. The second book I found insightful given the ongoing turmoil in the Middle East is What Really Went Wrong: The West and the Failure of Democracy in the Middle East by Fawaz Gerges. This examines the contribution of US foreign policy to the chaos and instability found in the region today. Its main thesis is that the Middle East’s instability is not rooted in factors inherent in the region such as ancient hatreds, tribalism and chronic violence. It is mostly the consequence of America’s disastrous foreign policy decisions and interventions during the Cold War that left a lasting legacy. Gerges writes that the Cold War confrontation between the US and Soviet Union turned the Middle East into a battleground for proxy conflicts, marking a continuity with the legacy of “dysfunction” bequeathed by European colonialism. Washington’s obsessive concern with countering Russian communism, efforts to establish a Pax Americana and secure access to cheap oil drove it to ally with repressive autocrats. These regimes were assured American patronage so long as they deferred to US hegemonic aims and ensured uninterrupted supply of oil. This denuded the region of any postcolonial peace dividend and undermined these countries’ independence. In narrating the story of lost opportunities and dashed hopes, Gerges focuses on key flashpoints that “sowed the seeds of discontent, hubris and subsequent conflict.” They include the 1953 CIA-sponsored coup against Prime Minister Muhammed Mossadegh in Iran and confrontation with Egyptian President Gemal Abdel Nasser in the mid-1950s. The author uses these ‘ruptures’ to reinterpret the history of the region and challenge the version popularized by Western scholars. Gerges draws this conclusion from his lucid assessment of covert and overt external interventions during the Cold War. Today’s tragic situation in the Middle East would have been very different if Washington had been tolerant of countries that disagreed with its foreign policy and declined to serve its economic interests at the cost of their own. Another compelling read is Bob Woodward’s latest book War, especially relevant as Donald Trump is set to assume the US presidency for a second term. This draws comparisons between Trump and President Jo Biden in how they dealt with international crises. Woodward considers Trump as “the most reckless and impulsive president in American history” unfit for a second term in office. These views are no different from what he previously wrote in his trilogy of books on Trump’s record. The first two, titled ‘Fear’ and ‘Rage’, were about the chaos in the Trump White House and depicted the former president as a self-obsessed and impetuous leader. The principal focus of his new book is on how the Biden Administration handled the wars in Ukraine and Gaza although Woodward’s disclosures about Trump’s relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin – sending him Covid test kits when they were scarce at home– attracted greater pre-publication publicity for the book. The chapters on the war in Gaza portray a frustrated US president, livid with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his constant lies about his intention to escalate the conflict, which Biden saw as inextricably linked to his political survival. “Defined by distrust” their tense relationship is described in graphic detail. Woodward cites several times when Washington’s advice was willfully ignored, including on a ceasefire deal, Israel’s invasion of Rafah, siege of Gaza, airstrikes on Beirut and on avoiding civilian casualties. He cites Biden as telling Netanyahu that “the perception of Israel around the world increasingly is that you’re a rogue state, a rogue actor.” Despite their disagreements on the conduct of the war, Biden remained firm in his support of Israel. Whatever Woodward’s explanation of his inability to prevent Israel from escalating and broadening the war, this failure was a reflection both of Washington’s strategic compulsion to avoid a rupture with Tel Aviv as well as the limits of a tired superpower’s eroding leverage, with a manipulative Netanyahu getting the better of a lame duck Biden. Courtesy: arabnews
In conclusion, Neymar's decision to stay at PSG rather than join Barcelona due to the uncertain registration situation highlights the intricate dynamics at play in modern football transfers. While fans may have been disappointed by the outcome, Neymar's professionalism and strategic thinking in safeguarding his playing career deserve recognition and respect. As the football world continues to evolve and adapt to new challenges, Neymar's case serves as a reminder of the importance of balancing ambition with pragmatism in making career-defining decisions.
In conclusion, Xu Zhengyuan's holiday trip to the English Premier League was not just a chance to relax, but a valuable learning experience that reinforced his passion for the game and strengthened his bonds with fellow football enthusiasts like Park Jisung. As he returned home to Rongcheng, Xu Zhengyuan carried with him a wealth of new knowledge and ideas that would undoubtedly shape his coaching career for the better.
Moreover, the airstrikes highlight the challenges of achieving peace and stability in the Middle East, as long-standing grievances and competing interests continue to fuel conflict and bloodshed. The international community, including key players such as the United Nations and various regional powers, must work together to find peaceful and diplomatic solutions to the conflicts in the region.
Littler, who won the Grand Slam of Darts last week, hit checkouts of 170, 164 and 136 as he threatened to overturn an early deficit, but Humphries held his nerve to win the last three legs. “I’m really, really proud of that one to be honest,” Humphries told Sky Sports. FOR THE SECOND TIME 🏆🏆 Luke Humphries retains his 2024 Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals title, beating Luke Littler 11-7 in the final. pic.twitter.com/QUhxvSbGeu — PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) November 24, 2024 “I didn’t feel myself this week playing-wise, I felt like I was a dart behind in a lot of the scenarios but there’s something that Luke does to you. He really drives me, makes me want to be a better player and I enjoy playing him. “He let me in really early in that first session to go 4-1 up, I never looked back and I’m proud that I didn’t take my foot off the gas. These big games are what I live for. “Luke is a special talent and he was right – I said to him I’ve got to get these (titles) early before he wins them all. “I’d love to be up here and hitting 105 averages like Luke is all the time but he’s a different calibre, he’s probably the best player in the world right now but there’s something about me that never gives up. “This is a great way to go into the worlds.” HUMPHRIES GOES BACK-TO-BACK! 🏆 Luke Humphries retains his Players Championship Finals title! Cool Hand puts on an absolute clinic to defeat Luke Littler 11-7 in an epic final! 📺 https://t.co/AmuG0PMn18 #PCF2024 | Final pic.twitter.com/nZDWPUVjWE — PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) November 24, 2024 Littler, who lost the world championship final to Humphries last year, said: “It was tough, missed a few doubles and if you don’t take chances early on, it’s a lot to come back. “I hit the 170 and the 164 but just didn’t have enough in the end. “It’s been a good past two weeks. I just can’t wait to go home, chill out, obviously practice at home for the worlds. That’s it now, leading up to the big one.”In response to the government's initiative, market participants have expressed optimism and confidence in the future outlook of the real estate and stock markets. The proposal is seen as a significant step towards addressing current challenges and promoting long-term growth and stability in these sectors.
Why Tennessee Titans must turn back to Will Levis for Week 18 | Sporting NewsTop reads this year: From Middle East turmoil to the great meta-problem
