The chief of the United Nations has conceded that a deal in Copenhagen on climate change might not include promised financial aid for developing countries, an admission that will infuriate poorer nations and potentially scupper a broad-based agreement.

Rifts deepened between rich and poor countries at the UN's Copenhagen climate conference yesterday as world leaders prepared to converge on the Danish capital in a bid to break the deadlock.

Several leaders, including Angela Merkel of Germany and Gordon Brown of Britain, voiced doubt over the chances of reaching a deal before talks are due to end on Friday.

It is too soon even to second-guess the outcome of the Copenhagen climate summit. The re-set goal is to produce an

It is a week into the Copenhagen climate conference. The clock is ticking to Friday, when heads of state will descend, all to sign a global

Ready Deal By Dec 16, PM Won

Pallavi Aiyar / Copenhagen December 14, 2009, 0:56 IST

The day after tens of thousands of protestors took to the street to express frustration over the deadlock at the ongoing United Nations climate negotiations, a lull hung over this city, with the conference site, the Bella Centre, closed to business. Yet, it was the kind of lull that holds within it the promise of an impending storm.

DESPITE the gloomy talk that preceded the UN climate conference, the opening was upbeat. Most big countries had vowed to cut or limit emissions during the previous few weeks. As delegates arrived, America