Warsaw - Polish President Lech Kaczynski vetoed a bill on Monday that would cut early retirement for 750,000 people amid pressure from trade unions.

The lower house of parliament approved the bill last month, which would reduce the number of people eligible for early pensions from more than 1 million to some 250,000.

"On the basis of arbitrary criteria ... for some it gives early pensions while not for others," Kaczynski said, calling the bill "unjust."

Poznan, Poland  - Negotiators at UN climate talks were poised Friday to unlock a 60-million-dollar fund to help poor countries combat effects of global warming such as rising sea levels, participants said.

While money would not be available immediately and details were to be settled later, the deal signalled rare progress as a two-week conference in Poznan, Poland, entered its final hours.

"This could open up a bit more of an empowering process for developing countries," said Kit Vaughan of the Worldwide Fund for Nature.

Poznan, Poland - Climate negotiators struggled Friday to bridge gaps between rich and poor nations as this year's main UN global warming talks headed toward the finish line.

Hours before the 189-nation conference was to end, delegates haggled over issues like financing for projects to protect developing nations against effects of climate change such as rising seas.

Warsaw  - Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama drew thousands to a lecture in the capital on Thursday amid warnings from Beijing to respect China's interests.

The Dalai Lama's visit to Poland sparked protests from China when he earlier met with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and prompted China to cancel two upcoming summits with the European Union.

Poznan, Poland - Any deal to cut emissions of gases blamed for global warming must include all countries or risk failure in the US Senate, a prominent US Democratic senator said Thursday.

Senator John Kerry's comments came during a UN climate conference. They injected a note of caution into the hopes pinned on president- elect Barack Obama, who has pledged to make the United States a leader in fighting climate change.

"The United States will assume its responsibilities - I am confident - for mandatory reductions," Kerry told reporters. "But we will not pass a treaty unless it is a global solution."

Poznan, Poland - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged rich and poor nations Thursday to agree on new steps to fight global warming, saying the United States and Europe must lead the way in avoiding a climate "catastrophe."

Addressing 189-nation talks on climate change, Ban said the global financial crisis was a chance to speed investment in clean technology.

He evoked the New Deal, a massive public works programme launched by US president Franklin D Roosevelt during the Great Depression.