Outside of the Cop29 UN climate summit, Saturday, 9 November 2024, in Baku. (Keystone/AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

🥾With boots and bots on the ground: how Azerbaijan prepared for Cop29. In the lead-up to Cop29, Azerbaijan, a nation that has been meticulously cultivating its ties with the world's powerful elite, has launched an offensive against its critics. The campaign extends online, where thousands of fake social media accounts are actively promoting the country's merits.

🇦🇫Afghanistan attends UN climate talks for first time since Taliban's return to power. The Afghan rulers sent a delegation to Baku on Monday with the aim of asking for help addressing climate impacts back home, where flash floods and droughts are frequent.

🛒Countries endorse global carbon market framework at Cop29. Rules key to operationalising a UN-backed carbon trading scheme were given the green light on the first day of the conference, with some countries complaining about how quickly the deal was made without letting them have their say.

🦠WHO says mpox cases in Congo’s epicentre where the new variant was detected may be ‘plateauing’. The UN agency will convene an expert meeting next week to review the level of concern about the virus. The number of infections appears to be stabilising in South Kivu even as they continue to rise in other affected areas in Africa.

🎙️Swiss government's cost-cutting measures threaten international Geneva, warns Geneva official Nathalie Fontanet. Bern is considering withdrawing funding from the Geneva Police's Diplomatic Security Brigade as well as the Red Cross Museum.

✏️Swiss foreign ministry memo on UNRWA funding raises alarm. The internal document from February 2024 warns Switzerland risks breaching the Genocide Convention if it cuts funding to the UN Palestinian aid agency, like the Swiss parliament is currently considering doing.