New Delhi: The G77 won a big round at the UN climate negotiations that began on Monday at Bangkok with US backing down from its threat to block negotiations unless the line between industrialized countries and emerging economies is blurred. India played a leading role in the defensive surge of G77, which many have been claiming could fall apart sooner rather than later.

VIEW FINDER NOT A USUAL EXERCISE Soldiers smell the ground to detect bodies of flash flood victims in Taiwan after Typhoon Morakot battered the island"s southern region in the second week of August. The typhoon, which Met officials call the deadliest in 50 years, also triggered mudslides; one such mudslide

Britain said on Monday it would host a meeting of major economies next month ahead of talks to reach a new U.N deal to fight climate change.

The United States had asked Britain to hold the meeting of the 17-member Major Economies Forum (MEF) it set up earlier this year to provide an informal forum to discuss climate issues in London on October 18 and 19.

EUROPEAN ministers warned that December's landmark UN climate talks could fail, as the EU Commission urged rich nations to stump up tens of billions of euros to help the developing world combat global warming.

Environment Ministers from about 190 nations gather in the Danish capital at the end of the year to try and agree to a broader global pact to fight climate change.

The aim is to build on the existing Kyoto Protocol by ensuring rich nations sign up to deeper emissions cuts while offering greater assistance to developing countries to help them curb greenhouse gas pollution as well.