Divisions over enforcing a climate deal, China loses its top voice at World Bank and the office fear factor

The daily briefing “FirstFT” from the Financial Times.

John Kerry, US secretary of state, has warned that a climate change summit to be held in Paris next month will not deliver a treaty that legally requires countries to cut their carbon emissions, exposing international divisions over how to enforce a deal.

Delegates from 195 countries are due to finalise a new global climate accord in Paris that will replace the Kyoto treaty, which failed to stop emissions rising. The EU and many countries have long argued that the accord should be an international treaty but Mr Kerry insisted in an interview with the FT the agreement was definitively not going to be one. (FT)

In the news

China loses its top voice at World Bank Jin-Yong Cai, a US-educated economist and former Goldman Sachs banker, has been a vital link to Beijing within the institution. (FT)

Hands off Microsoft will allow foreign customers to hold data in European facilities designed to shield customers from US government surveillance, in one of the most drastic corporate responses yet to the American internet spying scandal. The arrangement is intended to put the data of European customers completely out of reach from US authorities. (FT)

Myanmar president congratulates Suu Kyi President Thein Sein has congratulated Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the Myanmar opposition party, on her election success. But what happens next? (BBC, FT)

Beer merger bubbling forth AB InBev formally offered GBP71bn for SABMiller on Wednesday in what would be the biggest brewing takeover in the world. (FT)

Russia circulates Syria peace plan A Russian document circulating at the UN has proposed a constitutional reform process in Syria lasting 18 months to be followed by presidential elections. The document does not say whether Bashar al-Assad should remain in power during that time. (BBC)

Putin counsels on doping row Vladimir Putin called on Russian sports bodies to co-operate with western investigators, sounding a conciliatory note in his first comments on the doping scandal that has engulfed Russian athletics. But the Russian president argued that athletes should not be excluded from international competition en masse. (FT)

As big as the Ritz? A rare and flawless diamond was sold for $48.4m to a Hong Kong buyer on Wednesday, setting a world record for a gemstone at auction.(Reuters)

It’s a big day for

Indo-UK relations Narendra Modi begins a three-day visit during which he will have lunch with the Queen and address British Indians at Wembley Stadium. But a host of issues hang over the proceedings, from a student visa row to growing religious tensions and anti-Muslim violence. (FT)

You can see more upcoming events here. (FT)

Food for thought

Anxiety: the office fear factor Employers are increasingly having to pay attention to the stress that employees experience and the mental health issues — and lost productivity — that goes along with it. (FT)

Our friends in the north The economy of the little town of Kirkenes in northern Norway thrives due to its close connections with Russians living nearby. But as East-West tensions risethe sacking of a prominent local journalist has highlighted the fragility of this special relationship. (BBC)

No place of greater safety The safe-zone idea in modern warzones faces several insurmountable problems, despite calls for creating protected areas to save civilians in Syria. (The Atlantic)

We were wrong about universal banking Few cost efficiencies come from merging many functions in a single bank, writes the former chairman and chief executive of Citigroup — and no amount of restructuring, management change or regulation is ever likely to change that. (FT)

A handful of dust Documenting abandoned buildings has become a popular pastime — here, a photographer explores the crumbling buildings of the former German Democratic Republic, many abandoned after the country was reunited. (BBC)

Saudi suffragettes Municipal elections in December will allow women in the kingdom their first taste of voting and campaigning , albeit without showing their faces or driving to campaign rallies. (FT)

Video of the day

An anti-austerity alliance is set to take power in Portugal after defeating a shortlived minority centre-right administration. James Mackintosh wonders if this is part of a global political shift, and considers how to invest if it is. (FT)

Publication does not imply endorsement of views by the World Economic Forum.

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Author: FirstFT is the Financial Times’ editors curated free daily email of the top global stories from the FT and the best of the rest of the web.

Image: A Chinese national flag flutters at the headquarters of a commercial bank. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon.