November 2, 2021

*) Over 100 global leaders pledge to end deforestation by 2030 More than 100 global leaders have pledged to halt and reverse deforestation and land degradation by the end of the decade. The agreement at the COP26 climate talks was underpinned by $19 billion in public and private funds to invest in protecting and restoring forests. The Glasgow Leaders' Declaration on Forest and Land Use will cover forests totalling more than 33 million square kilometres. *) China, Russia revive push to lift UN sanctions on North Korea China and Russia are pushing the UN Security Council to ease sanctions on North Korea. Both countries want to revive a 2019 attempt to remove a ban on Pyongyang's exports of statues, seafood and textiles and expand it to lift a refined petroleum imports cap. North Korea has been subject to UN sanctions since 2006 over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. *) Six dead, 100 feared missing in Nigeria after collapse of high-rise At least six people have been killed and 100 believed to be missing in Nigeria after a residential high-rise under construction in Lagos collapsed. The luxury building collapsed on Monday, trapping workers under a pile of concrete rubble, witnesses said. Around 100 people were reportedly at work when the building came crashing down. *) ​​France delays trade sanctions on the UK for a day France has postponed planned trade sanctions on Britain for a day so both sides could work on new proposals to defuse their dispute over post-Brexit fishing rights. France said it would restrict cross-Channel trade starting from Monday night, threatening to turn bickering over fish into a wider dispute between two of Europe's biggest economies. But President Emmanuel Macron said the plan was on hold pending the outcome of renewed talks, after meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in Glasgow earlier on Monday. And finally… *) Iraq's Babylon arts festival back after almost two-decade hiatus Showcasing traditional dance, music and arts, Iraq's Babylon Internatio