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| Commonwealth talks target climate | |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Commonwealth leaders are to meet in Trinidad with climate change high on the agenda in the last major summit before the Copenhagen climate talks. | |
| UN chief Ban Ki-moon, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Danish PM Lars Rasmussen are attending to give weight to any statement on the issue. | |
| Another key issue will be the venue for the 2011 Commonwealth summit - with the UK vowing to block Sri Lanka's bid. | |
| The Trinidad summit will also discuss the issue of Rwanda's entry bid. | |
| Sri Lanka concerns | |
| The 60th anniversary Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting, being held in Port of Spain, begins on Friday. | The 60th anniversary Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting, being held in Port of Spain, begins on Friday. |
| Climate change will be high on the agenda, ahead of the global summit on the subject that starts in Copenhagen on 7 December. | |
| About half of members, like the Maldives, are island states | About half of members, like the Maldives, are island states |
| About half of the Commonwealth's members are island states, many of them threatened by rising sea levels. | |
| Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Patrick Manning, who is hosting the three-day meeting, said he hoped the summit could boost momentum for an agreement on carbon emissions at Copenhagen, amid "concerns about the way the negotiations were going". | Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Patrick Manning, who is hosting the three-day meeting, said he hoped the summit could boost momentum for an agreement on carbon emissions at Copenhagen, amid "concerns about the way the negotiations were going". |
| "We hope to arrive at a political statement that can add value to the process that will culminate in Copenhagen next month... what we can do is raise our voices politically," he said. | "We hope to arrive at a political statement that can add value to the process that will culminate in Copenhagen next month... what we can do is raise our voices politically," he said. |
| The Commonwealth's 53 nations comprise about two billion people, or one-third of the planet's population. | The Commonwealth's 53 nations comprise about two billion people, or one-third of the planet's population. |
| The leaders are meeting days after pledges by the US and China to limit their greenhouse gas emissions, amid concerns that the Copenhagen meeting could fail to agree substantial cuts. | The leaders are meeting days after pledges by the US and China to limit their greenhouse gas emissions, amid concerns that the Copenhagen meeting could fail to agree substantial cuts. |
| Rwanda membership | |
| The UK has indicated it will try to block Sri Lanka's bid to host the next Commonwealth summit over its handling of the recent war. | |
| Tens of thousands of Sri Lankans are still displaced | |
| A UK government source said that Prime Minister Gordon Brown had "real concerns about Sri Lanka's bid". | |
| The source said: "We simply cannot be in a position where Sri Lanka - whose actions earlier this year had a huge impact on civilians, leading to thousands of displaced people without proper humanitarian access - is seen to be rewarded for its actions." | |
| The UN estimates the conflict with Tamil Tiger rebels left at least 7,000 civilians dead with 150,000 people still displaced and living in camps. | |
| The summit will also discuss Rwanda's entry into the English-speaking club. | The summit will also discuss Rwanda's entry into the English-speaking club. |
| The Francophone nation has been seeking membership following disagreements with France over events leading up to the 1994 genocide. | The Francophone nation has been seeking membership following disagreements with France over events leading up to the 1994 genocide. |
| The issue is likely to be controversial. The nation's entry bid has received strong backing from some member states. | The issue is likely to be controversial. The nation's entry bid has received strong backing from some member states. |
| However, some rights activists are angry that entry would reward a nation they say is guilty of abuses dating back to the 1994 genocide. | However, some rights activists are angry that entry would reward a nation they say is guilty of abuses dating back to the 1994 genocide. |
| BBC diplomatic correspondent James Robbins, in Trinidad, says the leaders are expected to admit Rwanda. | BBC diplomatic correspondent James Robbins, in Trinidad, says the leaders are expected to admit Rwanda. |
| He says most of the leaders apparently believe that if Rwanda is admitted, then they will be able to apply peer pressure to improve the lives of its people. | He says most of the leaders apparently believe that if Rwanda is admitted, then they will be able to apply peer pressure to improve the lives of its people. |
| Zimbabwe's possible re-entry could also be brought up at the meeting. | Zimbabwe's possible re-entry could also be brought up at the meeting. |