Climate protesters were due to take to the streets in more than 50 countries from Friday to Sunday, during weekend demonstrations, to demand that governments phase out the burning of fossil fuels heating the planet. In a year of mounting deaths and economic destruction from record floods, fires and drought, protesters have planned more than 500 rallies in 54 countries - from Pakistan and Nigeria to the United States. Protest organizers expect worldwide participation to reach more than a million people over the weekend. That could make this weekend the biggest international climate protest since before the COVID-19 pandemic, when the "school strike" movement led by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg saw millions of people march around the world. "This is aimed at world leaders," said Mitzi Jonelle Tan, a climate activist with the Fridays for Future youth movement in Manila, Philippines. (Reuters).