Virtual Summit Seeks to Galvanize Climate Change Adaptation

Wind turbines are seen on a dike near Urk, Netherlands, Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. A group of scientists, including five Nobel laureates, called Friday for more action to adapt the world to the effects of climate change, drawing comparisons with the faltering response to the coronavirus crisis, ahead of a major online conference on climate adaptation starting Monday and hosted by the Netherlands. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Wind turbines are seen on a dike near Urk, Netherlands, Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. A group of scientists, including five Nobel laureates, called Friday for more action to adapt the world to the effects of climate change, drawing comparisons with the faltering response to the coronavirus crisis, ahead of a major online conference on climate adaptation starting Monday and hosted by the Netherlands. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
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Virtual Summit Seeks to Galvanize Climate Change Adaptation

Wind turbines are seen on a dike near Urk, Netherlands, Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. A group of scientists, including five Nobel laureates, called Friday for more action to adapt the world to the effects of climate change, drawing comparisons with the faltering response to the coronavirus crisis, ahead of a major online conference on climate adaptation starting Monday and hosted by the Netherlands. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Wind turbines are seen on a dike near Urk, Netherlands, Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. A group of scientists, including five Nobel laureates, called Friday for more action to adapt the world to the effects of climate change, drawing comparisons with the faltering response to the coronavirus crisis, ahead of a major online conference on climate adaptation starting Monday and hosted by the Netherlands. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

World leaders are converging - virtually - on the Netherlands Monday for a summit that will seek to galvanize more action and funding to adapt the planet and vulnerable communities to the effects of climate change.

The Netherlands-based Global Center on Adaptation last week called on governments and financiers around the globe to include funding for adaptation projects in their COVID-19 recovery spending.

Dutch Overseas Trade and Development Cooperation Minister Sigrid Kaag got the ball rolling by announcing that the summit's host nation will pump 20 million euros ($24 million) into an adaptation fund for the world's least-developed nations and 100 million euros ($121 million) into a program for sustainable farming in Africa's Sahel region.

Kaag said that by using new and existing adaptation techniques, "we can build a climate-proof future together and promote sustainable economic growth in all parts of Africa."

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will use the Climate Adaptation Summit to announce a new Adaptation Action Coalition that brings together more than 120 countries along with the European Union and nearly 90 other organizations to double down on climate adaptation efforts.

Other world leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also are taking part in the 24-hour summit, along with new US President Joe Biden's climate envoy, John Kerry.

Last Thursday, Kerry spoke remotely to an Italian business conference and lamented "wasted years" under the Trump administration to slow climate change and urged faster work to curb fossil fuel emissions.

Biden, in his first hours in office Wednesday, signed an executive order returning the United States to the Paris climate accord. It reversed the withdrawal by President Donald Trump, who ridiculed the science of human-caused climate change.

Host nation the Netherlands has centuries of experience in adapting to the threat of water, from major rivers that run through the low-lying nation to its long North Sea coast. It shares and exports the know-how around the world, for example to flood-prone Mozambique, where Dutch experts have helped strengthen drainage systems and coastal defenses.



Troops Kill 30 Militants Attempting to Sneak into Pakistan from Afghanistan

Police officers stand guard to secure a procession during the mourning month of Muharram in Karachi, Pakistan, 03 July 2025.  EPA/SHAHZAIB AKBER
Police officers stand guard to secure a procession during the mourning month of Muharram in Karachi, Pakistan, 03 July 2025. EPA/SHAHZAIB AKBER
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Troops Kill 30 Militants Attempting to Sneak into Pakistan from Afghanistan

Police officers stand guard to secure a procession during the mourning month of Muharram in Karachi, Pakistan, 03 July 2025.  EPA/SHAHZAIB AKBER
Police officers stand guard to secure a procession during the mourning month of Muharram in Karachi, Pakistan, 03 July 2025. EPA/SHAHZAIB AKBER

Pakistani security forces killed 30 militants who attempted to enter the country from Afghanistan, the military said Friday.

It said the members of the Pakistani Taliban were spotted overnight in the North Waziristan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and the troops seized weapons, ammunition and explosives from the militants. The military's statement did not mention if there was a gunfight or other details of the operation.

The military alleged the militants were backed by India and asked the Afghan government to prevent the use of its territory by “foreign proxies” to attack Pakistan, The Associated Press reported.

There was no immediate comment from New Delhi. Pakistani authorities often accuse India of backing outlawed groups like the Baloch Liberation Army and Pakistani Taliban who commit violence in Pakistan. Such accusations have increased since a shooting in Indian-controlled Kashmir in April heightened tensions between the nuclear-armed nations.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised security forces for the successful operation.

Pakistani troops killed 54 insurgents in the same area in April.

Militant violence has surged in Pakistan in recent months, much of it blamed on the Pakistani Taliban. The group is separate from the Afghan Taliban but closely allied with them. Many of its leaders and fighters have found sanctuary in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover in 2021.