Sleepless, tense climate negotiators haggle over Paris deal

LE BOURGET, France (AP) — Sleep-deprived and increasingly tense, diplomats and climate negotiators outside Paris struggled Thursday to narrow down a 29-page draft of an unprecedented deal to tackle climate change— but countries remained at odds on critical issues a day before the organizers' deadline for an agreement.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry reached out to two major developing nations — Brazil and India — and is expected to meet other negotiators as the Obama administration works for a deal that reflects its concerns about global warming but doesn't require congressional approval.

The draft released Wednesday left major issues unresolved, including the long-term goal of an eventual accord, and which countries should pay to help the most vulnerable nations cope with global warming.

The document doesn't settle the sensitive question of whether advanced developing countries such as China and oil-rich Arab nations should join industrialized countries in providing financial aid.