Global climate talks stumbling near finish line, as Obama, Xi talk

Efforts to craft a global accord to combat climate change stumbled early on Dec. 11 after a "hard night" of talks, forcing host nation France to extend the U.N. summit by a day to overcome stubborn divisions. 

After revealing a new draft treaty that removed some main points of contention late Dec. 10, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said a final text would now be presented to nearly 200 nations for review only on Dec. 12, not later on Dec. 11 as he had hoped just hours earlier, Reuters reported. 

"I will not present the text Friday evening, as I had thought, but Saturday morning," Fabius said on BFM television. "There is still work to do ... Things are going in the right direction," the Associated Press quoted him as saying.

While annual U.N. climate meetings almost always run into overtime, the abrupt announcement came as some officials and observers also said that wee-hours discussions had not run as smoothly as hoped. The talks had been due to end on Dec. 11. 

As all-night talks wrapped up at nearly 6 a.m. on Dec. 11, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry zipped in and out of negotiation rooms as delegates broke into smaller groups overnight to iron out their differences, the Associated Press reported. 

As at the outset two weeks ago, some nations remain at odds over issues such as how to balance actions by rich and poor to limit greenhouse gases, and also the long-term goals of any agreement to limit emissions that are warming the earth. 

One source said the "night was very hard." 

"Major countries have entrenched behind their red lines instead of advancing on compromise," said Matthieu Orphelin, spokesman for the Nicolas Hulot Foundation. 

Fabius, speaking on French BFMTV, kept a...