Climate : Important finance decisions adopted at climate talks (PRIV)
(Indrajit Bose and Meena Raman, Penang)
A host of decisions on finance-related matters were adopted on 15 Dec at the 24th session of the UNFCCC's Conference of the Parties (COP24), as well as the Conference of Parties serving as the meeting of Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA), in Katowice, Poland.

Opinion : Taking away the ladder (PRIV)
(IPS, Kuala Lumpur/Sydney)
Kuala Lumpur/Sydney, 18 Dec (IPS/Jomo Kwame Sundaram and Anis Chowdhury*) -- The notion of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and l ater, South Africa) was concocted by Goldman Sachs' Jim O'Neill.

United Nations : Mercury contamination threat gravitates into outer space (PRIV)
(IPS, New York)
The dangers of mercury contamination have escalated from the dental chair to the realm of outer space.

Latin America : Global pact gives dignity and rights to migrants (PRIV)
(IPS, Santiago)
A landmark global migration pact provides dignity and rights to migrants in every situation and context, str essed representatives of non-governmental organisations in Latin America and the Caribbean, where some 30 million people live outside their countries, force d by economic, social, security, political and now also climatic reasons.

Note to Readers : Holiday Notice (PRIV)
(, )
In view of the year-end recess in most UN activities and to enable the staf f to have some rest, SUNS will not be published during the holiday period. The next i ssue #8824 will appear on 15 January. We wish all our readers best wishes for th e season and a Happy New Year.