- Not for sale. Greenland shrugs off Trump's new push
- Acid complicates search after deadly Brazil bridge collapse
- Norwegian Haugan dazzles in men's World Cup slalom win
- Arsenal's Saka out for 'many weeks' with hamstring injury
- Mali singer Traore child custody case postponed
- France mourns Mayotte victims amid uncertainy over government
- UK economy stagnant in third quarter in fresh setback
- African players in Europe: Salah leads Golden Boot race after brace
- German far-right AfD to march in city hit by Christmas market attack
- Ireland centre Henshaw signs IRFU contract extension
- Bangladesh launches $5bn graft probe into Hasina's family
- US probes China chip industry on 'anticompetitive' concerns
- Biden commutes sentences for 37 of 40 federal death row inmates
- Clock ticks down on France government nomination
- Mozambique on edge as judges rule on disputed election
- Mobile cinema brings Tunisians big screen experience
- Honda and Nissan to launch merger talks
- Police arrest suspect who set woman on fire in New York subway
- China vows 'cooperation' over ship linked to severed Baltic Sea cables
- Australian tennis star Purcell provisionally suspended for doping
- Luxury Western goods line Russian stores, three years into sanctions
- Wallace and Gromit return with comic warning about AI dystopia
- Philippine military says will acquire US Typhon missile system
- Afghan bread, the humble centrepiece of every meal
- Honda and Nissan expected to begin merger talks
- 'Draconian' Vietnam internet law heightens free speech fears
- Israeli women mobilise against ultra-Orthodox military exemptions
- Asian markets track Wall St rally as US inflation eases rate worries
- Tens of thousands protest in Serbian capital over fatal train station accident
- Trump vows to 'stop transgender lunacy' as a top priority
- 'Who's next?': Misinformation and online threats after US CEO slaying
- Only 12 trucks delivered food, water in North Gaza Governorate since October: Oxfam
- Beyond Work Unveils Next-Generation Memory-Augmented AI Agent (MATRIX) for Enterprise Document Intelligence
- Langers edge Tiger and son Charlie in PNC Championship playoff
- Explosive batsman Jacobs gets New Zealand call-up for Sri Lanka series
- Holders PSG edge through on penalties in French Cup
- Daniels throw five TDs as Commanders down Eagles
- Atalanta fight back to take top spot in Serie A, Roma hit five
- Mancini admits regrets over leaving Italy for Saudi Arabia
- Run machine Ayub shines as Pakistan sweep South Africa
- Slovak PM Fico on surprise visit to Kremlin
- 'Incredible' Liverpool must stay focused: Slot
- Maresca 'absolutely happy' as title-chasing Chelsea drop points in Everton draw
- Salah happy wherever career ends after inspiring Liverpool rout
- Three and easy as Dortmund move into Bundesliga top six
- Liverpool hit Spurs for six, Man Utd embarrassed by Bournemouth
- Netanyahu vows to act with 'force, determination' against Yemen's Huthis
- Ali hat-trick helps champions Ahly crush Belouizdad
- Salah stars as rampant Liverpool hit Spurs for six
- Syria's new leader says all weapons to come under 'state control'
Indigenous campaigners at COP27 channel 'spirit' of nature
Delegates at COP27 representing Indigenous communities -- some of the world's most vulnerable to the climate crisis -- have used traditional clothing to draw attention to their plight and urge action.
As Indigenous "communities are not the focus of discussions" at the UN climate summit in Egypt, Ninawa Huni Kui said it was important for him to visually represent his constituency as president of the Federation of Huni Kui Peoples in Brazil's Amazon basin.
"We don't have much hope for what is happening at COP27," he told AFP at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, frustrated by his lack of access to the decision-making process at the conference.
The Amazon basin, which stretches over 7.4 million square kilometres (2.9 million square miles), covers nearly 40 percent of South America and takes in nine countries, with around 34 million -- mostly Indigenous people -- living across this area.
The world's biggest rainforest, which until recently has helped soak up humanity's soaring carbon emissions, is now strained to the point of starting to release more carbon than it absorbs, rendering the recent elections in Brazil a key climate issue.
Incoming president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who arrived at COP27 on Tuesday with the world's eyes on him, has pledged to "fight for zero deforestation".
Between negotiation halls and in a designated protest space outside that has remained largely empty, small-scale demonstrations have demanded climate justice, including more urgent action to protect the Amazon.
"This COP is more restrictive than any previous one," Ninawa said.
"In other countries we could demonstrate in the street, rally more people as we went. But here we can only demonstrate inside the Blue Zone."
Stroking the sacred feathers on his head -- instantly striking through a crowd of delegates in suits and activists in T-shirts -- Ninawa said he wore them "because I am a chief, but also because the birds that gave us these feathers protect us".
"I am here to represent the voice of the forest and its living creatures," he added.
"This is my community's traditional clothing. Every item here represents a spirit of the forest speaking to us."
- Fight for rights -
Gloria Ushigua, a celebrated activist in her native Ecuador, told AFP she sought to "force COP27 participants to respect Indigenous peoples".
A long orange feather emerged from her painted headpiece, above a cascading string of flowers.
While defending the rights of the Sapara people and their segment of the Amazon against oil interests -- for which she has faced death threats -- Ushigua wore her traditional lanchama dress, because these are the clothes she "grew up in."
Ushigua said she came to Sharm al-Sheikh with the same clothes she wore to "defend her culture and her people" against drilling and deforestation projects.
Juan Calvin, representing the Mapuche people from Patagonia in southern Chile, said "governments cannot make decisions without our agreement."
The traditional white hat he dons with colourful embroidery is one more way for him to advocate for "Indigenous people's identities and their rights to land and resources".
The hat, symbolising his people's "relationship with the earth, water and fire", is a reminder of "our ancestors, who fought to preserve our identity", he told AFP.
But traditional clothes also "remind the men and women of today's society of what they're really connected to", which he said is key "to raising awareness about climate change".
C.Cassis--PC