president elect trump makes more key appointments — ahead of his return to the white house injanuary. keir starmer becomes the first british prime minister to attend armistice day in paris since 1944, as cities across europe fall silent to remember. and cycling a0 miles fora dumpling? we look at the social media trend that overwhelmed a small tourist city in china. hello. i'm lauren taylor. the united nations has warned that 2024 is on track to be the hottest year on record, as its annual climate conference — cop 29 — begins in azerbaijan. these are live pictures from baku, where world leaders and heads of states are converging for the first time since reports that average global temperatures are expected to exceed 1.5 degrees celsius above what they were before the industrial revolution.

in terms of where we are in the climate for 2024, we are worried, because all indicators have gone worse than before. so particularly the temperature now is 1.54 above preindustrial levels, and with a level of uncertainty, but still worrying. speaking at the summit — the united states�* climate envoyjohn podesta said that donald trump's election victory last week was disappointing to climate advocates, but that work would continue in the us to combat global warming. injanuary, in january, we injanuary, we are going to inaugurate a president whose relationship with climate change is captured by the words hoax and fossil fuels. he has vowed to dismantle our environmental safeguards are once again withdraw the united states from the paris agreement. while the united states federal government under

donald trump may put climate action on the back burner, the work to contain climate change is going to continue in the united states with commitment and passion and belief. representatives of 200 nations are due to appear over the next two weeks at cop29, including keir starmer for the uk. but he's the only g7 leader expected to attend. attendence is quite a lot lower than previous summits. both emmanuel macron the french president, and the german chancellor, 0laf scholz, have said they will not travel to azerbaijan. neitherjoe biden nor his successor donald trump are expected to attend the summit. india's prime minister, narendra modi, and chinese president xijinping have not said they will be there. and the european commission president ursula von der leyen will also be absent. let's speak to esme stallard — our climate and science reporter — who joins us live from baku. given these kind of high profile absences, what can we expect from this summit? figs

profile absences, what can we expect from this summit? as you said, expect from this summit? as you said. they — expect from this summit? as you said. they are _ expect from this summit? as you said, they are noticeably - expect from this summit? as you said, they are noticeably not - said, they are noticeably not here, and the importance of the world leaders is to send a signal that they are taking climate change seriously. having said that, there are still 32,000 attendees including government ministers and civil servants who are part of the delegations here and involved in detailed negotiations. the leaders of all those countries will telling their delegates what they want on the table and that they want on the table and that they want on the table and that they want to be secure, so it doesn't mean things are not happening here. in fact negotiation are still ongoing at the moment about one of the keyissues at the moment about one of the key issues around carbon markets. and going back to what mr podesta has been saying, he seems to be hinting that they are trying to continue the work of mr biden before mr trump gets in. exactly, he wanted to make the key point here that biden�*s administration in the last couple of months he has left but also states across the us will be continuing action on

climate change. let's not forget that some states like california are among some of the biggest economies in the world, and their action progress that they are taking on energy efficiency and renewable energy will kneer to drive emissions down, albeit slower than before. i will read you a section of his quote. he said, the fight is bigger than one election. 0ne political cycle in one country. so that demonstrates despite trump coming into powerforfour years, that there is future action that can be taken by future presidents of the united states but also by other countries around the world. find countries around the world. and what is the _ countries around the world. and what is the focus _ countries around the world. and what is the focus on the first few days?— what is the focus on the first fewda s? ., ., few days? today was all about kickin: few days? today was all about kicking off _ few days? today was all about kicking off the _ few days? today was all about kicking off the conference. - few days? today was all about kicking off the conference. wei kicking off the conference. we heard from the executive secretary of the united nations and also a clip in which it was said that the world is on the road to ruin, and he listed a number of climate disasters that the world has faced this year, hurricanes in the caribbean and florida, the

floods in spain, cyclones in bangladesh, and that all comes of the wmo report that we got today which showed that 2024 was on record for the hottest year, demonstrating the impact of those rising temperatures and countries around the world, so that was day one. 0ver and countries around the world, so that was day one. over the next few days we will hear from world leaders, and as you mentioned not all of them a here, but representatives of their governments, and for the first time we will see the presence of the taliban government, theirfirst major global event that they have attended, and over the following few days, the delegates here will knuckle down and get involved in the negotiations, talking about a global goal for finance, negotiations, talking about a global goalforfinance, carbon markets and trade. thank you very much indeed. let's speak to matthew samuda — the jamaican government minister with responsibilty for climate policy. going to the absence of big

hitters, is that something you are concerned about?- are concerned about? good morning — are concerned about? good morning from _ are concerned about? good morning from jamaica. - are concerned about? good morning from jamaica. we | are concerned about? good i morning from jamaica. we are morning from jamaica. we are concerned _ morning from jamaica. we are concerned about the indicated absences that are expected later — absences that are expected later this week. jamaica itself will participate and does already have a significant delegation on the ground, expect— delegation on the ground, expect to be there myself later this week. climate change is something that sometimes falls to political faults, and where we won't _ to political faults, and where we won't comment on the geopolitics, we are concerned that they— geopolitics, we are concerned that they do is fall and more to political fallout in the current _ to political fallout in the current environment, whereas it is becoming apparent to all who see that — is becoming apparent to all who see that the climate has already— see that the climate has already changed, it is changing at a much _ already changed, it is changing at a much faster rate than was expected. _ at a much faster rate than was expected, and we have had several— expected, and we have had several climatic events which have — several climatic events which have devastated our region this yeah _ have devastated our region this year. jamaica has faced already won major— year. jamaica has faced already won major hurricane and a major tropical— won major hurricane and a major tropical store which devastated infrastructure, and so the time is now — infrastructure, and so the time is now we _ infrastructure, and so the time is now. we are concerned that it appears— is now. we are concerned that it appears that at cop29 the

urgency— it appears that at cop29 the urgency seen at previous meetings does not seem to be there. — meetings does not seem to be there, but let's not throw in the — there, but let's not throw in the towel— there, but let's not throw in the towel before negotiations begin — the towel before negotiations beiin. �* , , begin. and the focus this time seems to _ begin. and the focus this time seems to be — begin. and the focus this time seems to be trying _ begin. and the focus this time seems to be trying to - begin. and the focus this time seems to be trying to get - begin. and the focus this time | seems to be trying to get some of the money flowing. how confident are you given the climate you have just described perhaps somewhat dipping in the political will over the issue. are you confident that some of the money will be coming through for the projects that need it? through for the pro'ects that need it? ., ., need it? there are a few positive _ need it? there are a few positive sides. _ need it? there are a few positive sides. the - need it? there are a few positive sides. the uk i positive sides. the uk government for instance through several finance coalitions can unlock the global financial architecture for these developing countries, and we are happy. we are also seeing an even more positive posture from the leadership of the gcf. but one should understand what jamaica and other countries face, we have been here before, and we have and promises before, but the reality is that it is coming home to developed

nations that recently have seen massive floods in spain, frightening wildfires in australia, so it is not limited to, the effect of climate change is not limited purely to smaller countries. so because the chicken is coming home to roost, as they say, we believe there is a greater urgency now. my there is a greater urgency now. my own personal feeling there is a greater urgency now. my own personalfeeling is there is a greater urgency now. my own personal feeling is that you won't get everything unlocked in this particular meeting, but for us it is very important that the text that is negotiated protects and outlook in terms of releasing these funds to those who most need it. we think there has to be an overhaul of the financial architecture, and our prime minister has been advocating for this since 2018. we are looking for an overhaul of the globalfinancial looking for an overhaul of the global financial architecture. but most of all one of the things that we will be very firm on in this cop is that smaller countries must be

represented in the decision—making bodies for these globalfinancial these global financial mechanisms. it can't be limited solely to donor nations which then standards that simply can't working economy is less developed. can't working economy is less developed-— can't working economy is less develoed. . ~' , . developed. thank you very much indeed, matthew _ developed. thank you very much indeed, matthew from _ developed. thank you very much indeed, matthew from jamaica. | indeed, matthew from jamaica. and we are getting some pictures coming in from tbilisi of greta thunberg utter demonstration at the start of cop29, objecting against the continued use of fossil fuels around the world, and making their voices heard on the first day of cop29. let's turn to the middle east now, where syria's president, bashar al—assad has joined leaders of arab and muslim states at an emergency summit in saudi arabia, focusing on the conflicts in gaza and lebanon. delegates say they want to see an immediate end to israel's military action against the iranian—backed militant groups,

hamas and hezbollah. syria's attendance signals shifting dynamics in the middle east, with the incoming us administration potentially playing a smaller role — and saudi arabia and iran putting past differences aside to strengthen their ties. 0ur security correspondent frank gardner is following the meeting in riyadh. he explains its significance. this is the second so—called emergency arab and islamic summit to discuss what the organisers are calling the israeli aggression against the people of gaza and lebanon. it's exactly a year since the last one held here in riyadh. and of course, since then, the conflict in the region has grown into more than one conflict. israel is now at war with notjust hamas in gaza, but hezbollah in lebanon, and exchanging blows with the houthis in yemen and intermittently with iran as well. so this conference is aiming to try and do two things. they're trying to get a ceasefire in both

lebanon and gaza, and also to try and find or push forward plans for a palestinian state. i think reaching some kind of consensus isn't going to be that easy. usually the final communique is always a little bit of a fudge, because you've got to try and match everybody�*s aspirations, and not everybody agrees here. you've got countries that have got full diplomatic relations with israel like the uae, bahrain, morocco, sudan, jordan, egypt. and then you've got countries like iran and algeria and others which are very much opposed to israel and don't see really the point in countries making peace with it if it is waging war on other countries. 0vershadowing all of this, of course, is the news that donald trump is going to have a second term in the white house, and there's a lot of expectation, hopes, optimism and trepidation about that. he's a firm friend of israel. he's thought likely to give israel a freer hand when it comes to striking iran if there is further confrontation

between those two countries. but he's also a friend of saudi arabia. he chose riyadh as his first overseas visit as president back in 2017. i was there covering it, and you could see how pleased, how flattered saudis were by the fact that he chose their capital as his first overseas visit as president. so mbs, that's crown prince mohammed bin salman, the de facto ruler of this country, saudi arabia, will be ithink, welcoming him as the new leader of the united states and hoping for better relations than the saudis had with the current incumbent, joe biden. donald trump has made two more key appointments ahead of his return to the white house in january. tom homan will serve as trump's "border tsar", having previously served as the returning president's acting director of immigration and customs enforcement. new york congresswoman elise stefanik, has also been made ambassador to the united nations meanwhile, mr trump's republican party are edging closer to full

control of the us congress. they already have a majority in the senate and need to win just a handful of seats to take the house of representatives. let's speak to our correspondent jessica parker who's at west palm beach in florida. it is quite busy there. we now know a bit more about this appointments. how significant are the latest ones?— appointments. how significant are the latest ones? yes, hello from florida, _ are the latest ones? yes, hello from florida, west _ are the latest ones? yes, hello from florida, west palm - are the latest ones? yes, hello| from florida, west palm beach, where we are hearing this drip, drip of appointments coming from mar—a—lago, nicknamed the winter white house, as donald trump starts making these key appointments. as you were mentioning, one of those is going to be the ambassador to the united nations, an important role in terms of projecting donald trump's thoughts on foreign and security policy, a senior house republican, new york congresswoman and somebody who once upon a time was a trump sceptic but has for many years been a loyal advocate and

supporter of donald trump, and there has been all this talk about loyalty potentially being rewarded in the future trump administration. and then as well, tom hoblyn being appointed as this board at sarr —— border tsar role, and homan is somebody who played a role in the previous trump administration, he was known for his views on a zero tolerance approach to immigration policy and the separation of families. he said that families could essentially be deported together, and he is a former border force official and this reflects, and again this idea of loyalty but also

the kind of hard line that donald trump says he wants to take on administration. find donald trump says he wants to take on administration. and me well, it is _ take on administration. and me well, it is starting _ take on administration. and me well, it is starting to look - well, it is starting to look like the house of representatives is going to go's way. representatives is going to 90's way-— go's way. yes, the result hasn't been _ go's way. yes, the result hasn't been finalised - go's way. yes, the result| hasn't been finalised yet, go's way. yes, the result - hasn't been finalised yet, and they are obviously hoping to control the house, they already have control of the senate. they will be a lot of focus have control of the senate. they wil