China on Tuesday pledged about $230 million to establish a fund to protect biodiversity in developing countries.

President Xi Jinping, speaking by video to a U.N. conference in the southwest Chinese city of Kunming, said that China would put in 1.5 billion yuan and called on other countries to contribute to the Kunming Biodiversity Fund.

Croatia midfielder Luka Modric scored from a free kick to salvage a 2-2 draw with Slovakia as Russia moved to the top of Europe Group H in World Cup qualifying on Monday.

Dropping points means 2018 World Cup runner-up Croatia is likely to need a win over Russia next month to qualify automatically for next year's World Cup in Qatar. Neither team can finish lower than second, ensuring them of at least a spot in the playoffs.

Germany is the first country to qualify for the 2022 World Cup after booking its place on Monday with an error-strewn 4-0 win in North Macedonia.

Kai Havertz broke the deadlock in the 50th minute before Chelsea clubmate Timo Werner's quickfire double helped Germany atone for its surprise 2-1 loss to North Macedonia in Duisburg in March – the only blip in an otherwise perfect qualifying campaign with seven wins from eight games in Europe Group J.

A climate change conference will underscore to policymakers in the Middle East and the east Mediterranean that the switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources is needed urgently because greenhouse gas emissions are helping to drive up regional temperatures faster than in many other inhabited parts of the world.

George Zittis, a scientist at the Cyprus Institute's Climate and Atmosphere Research Center, said that although this "can't happen overnight" because of the region's heavy dependency on fossil fuels for energy production, governments have to make the switch within the next two decades to avert potentially "irreversible effects" such as desertification.

Not long ago, Argentina supporters didn't have much affection for Lionel Messi. He was respected for all those Ballon d'Ors but considered cold-hearted in comparison to Diego Maradona.

Meanwhile, Brazil fans felt represented by their star; Neymar was the soul of the Seleção because of his joyful style and goal-scoring hunger, another link to a long chain of Brazil greats.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called Tuesday on the United Nations Security Council to take action against Iran over its escalating nuclear program.

Bennett spoke at a conference in Jerusalem, where he suggested that Iran's conduct is every nation's problem, and subject to global accountability.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reviewed powerful missiles developed to launch nuclear strikes on the U.S. mainland, as he vowed to build an "invincible" military to cope with what he called persistent U.S. hostility, state media reported Tuesday.

In an apparent continued effort to drive a wedge between Washington and Seoul, Kim also used his speech at a rare exhibition of weapons systems Monday to stress that his military might isn't targeted at South Korea and that there shouldn't be another war pitting Korean people against each other.

The International Monetary Fund expressed "full confidence" in its managing director Tuesday in response to allegations that World Bank staff were pressured to change business rankings for China in an effort to placate Beijing.

The IMF's 24-member executive board said in a statement that its review "did not conclusively demonstrate that the managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, played an improper role" in the situation in her former role as a top official of the World Bank.

Iran on Tuesday kicked off a massive, two-day air defense drill in the country's sprawling central desert, state TV reported, the latest show of force by the Islamic Republic.

The report said both the army and the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard were taking part in the annual maneuvers dubbed "Velayat." It said elite air force and air defense units as well as the Guard's airspace division would participate.

It was late on Christmas Eve last year when the European Union and Britain finally clinched a Brexit trade deal after years of wrangling, threats and missed deadlines to seal their divorce.

There was hope that now-separated Britain and the 27-nation bloc would sail their relationship toward calmer waters.