Wednesday briefing: Making sense of the new draft climate deal as crucial summit comes to a climax

In today's newsletter: Fossil fuels are mentioned for the first time - but early reviews are mixed on whether the text is strong enough to limit warming to 1.5C? Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning."We will not go silently to our watery graves": those were the stern words from John Silk, the head of the Marshall Islands delegation, in response to a draft climate agreement at Cop28. The unequivocal condemnation of the draft by dozens of countries reflects the gravity of the situation for those who are facing the sharpest effects of the climate crisis.Conservatives | Rishi Sunak narrowly avoided a major rebellion by rightwing Conservative MPs after they abstained on his controversial Rwanda bill but the prime minister faces further peril in the new year. In a blow to Sunak's authority, more than two-dozen Tory rightwingers abstained in the vote on deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda, including the former home secretary Suella Braverman.Israel-Gaza war | Joe Biden said on Tuesday that he has warned Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel's indiscriminate bombing of Gaza was beginning to alienate Europe and the rest of the international community. Speaking at a 2024 re-election campaign fundraiser in Washington, the US president ramped up pressure on Israel over any post-hostilities deal.Banking | MPs on the cross-party Treasury committee have been "shocked and alarmed" to hear about the scale of bullying and sexual harassment against women in the City of London, which suggests there has been "no improvement whatsoever" over the past 20 years.Immigration | An asylum seeker is believed to have killed himself while being housed on the Bibby Stockholm barge, it is understood. Police said they were investigating the "sudden death of a resident" on the vessel in Portland, Dorset, which was leased by former home secretary, Suella Braverman, to house recent arrivals to the UK.US news | The Harvard Corporation, the highest governing body at the university, has backed the university's president, Claudine Gay, to remain in post after calls for her removal after controversial testimony over antisemitism on campus. Continue reading...