World breaks hottest day record for second day in a row

World breaks hottest day record for second day in a row
Children cool off at a fountain in the Madrid Rio park amid heatwave conditions in Madrid on July 23, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 24 July 2024
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World breaks hottest day record for second day in a row

World breaks hottest day record for second day in a row
  • Gulf countries have sweltered through heat indexes — factoring in humidity — exceeding 60 degrees Celsius

LONDON: Monday, July 22 was again the hottest day on record, according to preliminary data from a European Union monitoring agency, inching past Sunday, July 21 which had just taken the title.
The global average surface air temperature rose to 17.15 degrees Celsius — 0.06 degrees higher than Sunday’s marginal record according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service, which has been tracking such patterns since 1940.
The record had last been set for four consecutive days in a row in early July 2023. Before that, the hottest day was in August 2016.
“This past Monday might have set a new global record for warmest absolute global average temperature ever — by that I mean going back tens of thousands of years,” said climate scientist Karsten Haustein at Leipzig University in Germany.
In recent days, cities in Japan, Indonesia and China have registered record heat. Gulf countries, too, have sweltered through heat indexes — factoring in humidity — exceeding 60 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile temperatures in parts of Europe have surged past 45 degrees Celsius. Climate change, driven by the burning of fossil fuels, is behind the record, scientists said. But unlike last year, which saw climate change combine with the El Nino climate pattern to usher in a new daily record, that is not the case this July.
Haustein said it was “remarkable” that the record had been breached now the world was well into neutral territory and no longer felling the impact of El Nino.


Nigeria bus crash kills at least 25 children on religious trip

Nigeria bus crash kills at least 25 children on religious trip
Updated 14 sec ago
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Nigeria bus crash kills at least 25 children on religious trip

Nigeria bus crash kills at least 25 children on religious trip
  • Organizers of the religious pilgrimage gave a higher toll of 40, with 31 injured
  • The children were from Kwandare village and heading to the nearby town of Saminaka for the annual Maulud festivities marking the birth of the Prophet

KANO, Nigeria: A bus carrying Muslim faithful celebrating the birth of Prophet Muhammad crashed in northern Nigeria’s Kaduna state, killing at least 25 children, an official told AFP Tuesday.
Organizers of the religious pilgrimage gave a higher toll of 40, with 31 injured.
The accident occurred on Sunday when the speeding bus overloaded with young adherents of the Tijjaniyya Sufi order lost control and crashed into a truck in Lere district, Kabiru Nadabo, head of the local office of Nigeria’s road safety agency, FRSC, said.
“The bus was overloaded with 63 children and the driver was speeding recklessly when he lost control and rammed into an articulated truck,” Nadabo said.
“Fifteen of them died on the spot while 48 injured were taken to various hospitals, among which 10 died the following day, raising the death toll to 25,” he said.
The children were from Kwandare village and heading to the nearby town of Saminaka for the annual Maulud festivities marking the birth of the Prophet, said Nadabo.
He said the death toll could have changed since the injured were taken to hospitals in various locations and he did not get further updates.
Dikko Dahiru, one of the organizers of the trip, said 40 children were killed in the accident, while 31 were injured.
“The bus was carrying 71 passengers and 36 died instantly while four more died in hospital the next day,” said Dahiru, whose nephew was among the dead.
“Thirty-one were taken to hospitals with severe injuries, 11 of them in critical condition,” he said.
Road accidents are common on Nigeria’s poorly maintained roads due largely to speeding and disregard for traffic rules.


Nouf Al-Marwaai honored for contribution to yoga in Saudi Arabia

Nouf Al-Marwaai honored for contribution to yoga in Saudi Arabia
Updated 18 min 50 sec ago
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Nouf Al-Marwaai honored for contribution to yoga in Saudi Arabia

Nouf Al-Marwaai honored for contribution to yoga in Saudi Arabia
  • The ceremony was recently held in New Delhi as part of the second News18 SheShakti Summit

JEDDAH: India’s Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar honored Nouf Al-Marwaai, president of the Saudi Yoga Committee, in recognition of her contribution to yoga in Saudi Arabia.

The ceremony was recently held in New Delhi as part of the second News18 SheShakti Summit, which aims to bring together women leaders from politics, art, social work and other fields, highlighting their contributions and leadership.

Under the theme “Breaking Barriers,” the summit featured an inspiring lineup of pioneers from diverse fields — politics, science, arts, business, sport and entertainment — who shared their groundbreaking journeys and insights on empowerment resilience, and leadership, reflecting the unstoppable momentum of women.

Al-Marwaai, Saudi Arabia’s first certified yoga instructor and the recipient in 2018 of India’s fourth-highest civilian award, the Padma Shri, told Arab News: “I am honored and humbled to have been recognized as a Saudi woman, and I am thankful for the recognition of efforts in promoting yoga in the Saudi Arabia.”

Al-Marwaai, whose interest in yoga began when her life was clouded by severe health problems, shared her journey on a SheShakti 2024 panel along with American Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati, a global spiritual leader, speaker, author and social activist.

She said her life was affected by severe health challenges at the age of 18 and doctors told her parents that her chances of survival were slim.

“Later, I started practicing yoga after getting a book from my father. It was not easy to follow. That year, in 1998, doctors told my parents that I won’t live anymore,” Al-Marwaai said.

She turned to the internet to explore yoga and its practice further.

Al-Marwaai expressed her gratitude and appreciation to the Saudi government for its efforts and support in promoting yoga and encouraging young people to practice the discipline.


Russia says shot dead Ukrainian agent who tried to blow up car

Russia says shot dead Ukrainian agent who tried to blow up car
Updated 17 min 39 sec ago
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Russia says shot dead Ukrainian agent who tried to blow up car

Russia says shot dead Ukrainian agent who tried to blow up car
  • The suspect, whom it did not name, allegedly worked for Ukraine’s GUR intelligence agency
  • A pistol with ammunition was found at the scene

MOSCOW: Russia’s FSB security service said Tuesday it shot dead a Ukrainian agent who attempted to plant explosives under the car of a senior defense industry official.
The suspect, whom it did not name, allegedly worked for Ukraine’s GUR intelligence agency and targeted a “senior employee of a defense enterprise in the Sverdlovsk region,” the FSB said.
He was detained while “placing an improvised explosive device in a hiding place, put up armed resistance and was neutralized by return fire,” the FSB added.
A pistol with ammunition was found at the scene, while law enforcement seized components used for making explosives during a search of his residence, it continued.
There was no immediate comment from Kyiv.
Ukraine has often targeted Russian officials it believes are complicit in the Kremlin’s full-scale military assault on its territory, which began in 2022.
In December 2023, pro-Russian Ukrainian defector Illia Kyva was shot dead near Moscow in an attack claimed by Kyiv’s security services.


Dubai gallery to host Andy Warhol exhibition ‘The Glam Factory’

Dubai gallery to host Andy Warhol exhibition ‘The Glam Factory’
Updated 23 min 34 sec ago
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Dubai gallery to host Andy Warhol exhibition ‘The Glam Factory’

Dubai gallery to host Andy Warhol exhibition ‘The Glam Factory’

DUBAI: Artworks by late pop art icon Andy Warhol will be displayed in the UAE as part of “The Glam Factory” exhibition at the Foundry gallery in Dubai.

Curated by Nada Ghandour, “The Glam Factory” highlights Warhol, a prominent American artist in the 1960s known for his pop art style. “Campbell’s Soup Cans,” “Marilyn Monroe” and “Banana” are among his most famous pieces.

In an interview with Arab News, Heritage Curator Nada Ghandour described the exhibition as a “new reading of Andy Warhol’s work through the lens of our digital era and here in Dubai.”

Warhol moved to New York City in 1949 to pursue his American Dream and become rich and famous, said Ghandour.

“People today come to Dubai to also live out this dream. The American dream is more about opportunity and prosperity, and we know that many people today are moving to Dubai because it is a destination for stability and growth,” she explained.

Inspired by Warhol’s workshop “The Silver Factory,” Ghandour named the exhibition “The Glam Factory,” paying homage to his artistic process.

To draw a portrait, she explained, Warhol would take about 150 photos. He would then choose small parts from each photo and mix them together.

“He was capable of doing the job of a plastic surgeon; this was the glamorous and beautiful aspect of it,” she said.

Ghandour described Warhol as an artistic and technological visionary.

“Warhol was ahead of his time and was describing the artificial intelligence that we know now,” she said.

If he were alive now, she added, “he would speak to AI to create something in collaboration with a computer.”

The collection features over 100 of Warhol’s original pieces including screen prints, photos and magazine illustrations.

Located at the Foundry art space in Downtown Dubai, “The Glam Factory” exhibition is set to run from Sept. 20 to Oct. 31 of this year.


Saudi Arabia opens main command and control center to enhance maritime, cargo operations

Saudi Arabia opens main command and control center to enhance maritime, cargo operations
Updated 13 min 39 sec ago
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Saudi Arabia opens main command and control center to enhance maritime, cargo operations

Saudi Arabia opens main command and control center to enhance maritime, cargo operations
  • Center contributes to crisis management in collaboration with the relevant authorities
  • It coordinates and integrates all activities and operations across various government sectors and levels to ensure business continuity

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia has opened a command and control center to ensure seamless maritime and cargo operations, enhancing readiness to handle risks such as natural disasters.

The Minister of Transport and Logistic Services Saleh Al-Jasser, who is also chairman of the Saudi Ports Authority, known as Mawani, inaugurated the center on Aug. 16 at the organization’s Riyadh-based headquarters.

The initiative aligns with Mawani’s commitment to enhancing the Kingdom’s ports by ensuring continuous excellence in maritime operations, including improving cargo procedures, the readiness of assets, and preparedness for challenges such as natural and environmental disasters. 

It supports the objectives of the National Transport and Logistics Strategy, aiming to solidify Saudi Arabia’s position as a global logistics hub connecting three continents.

The center contributes to crisis management in collaboration with the relevant authorities, utilizing advanced programs and systems that assist in data collection and analysis. It helps to issue appropriate guidance for decision-makers, fostering trust and sustainable relationships.

The center coordinates and integrates all activities and operations across various government sectors and levels to ensure business continuity. Its responsibilities include corresponding efforts among different entities and training and developing human resources to ensure their high efficiency in addressing various risks.

In June, Al-Jasser inaugurated a similar base at Jeddah Islamic Port, emphasizing the crucial role of command and control centers and capacity building in boosting operational efficiency and resilience in the port sector.

He said the center would enhance long-term institutional performance, improve coordination and cooperation among government and private entities, facilitate information exchange, enable joint decision-making, and help achieve Mawani’s strategic objectives.

Al-Jasser also said the Kingdom’s leadership supports projects and initiatives within the transport and logistics system to maximize service and developmental roles while ensuring the security and safety of maritime transport and the port sector.

Omar Hariri, president of Mawani, said that the Jeddah center aids in crisis management in collaboration with relevant authorities. It leverages advanced programs and systems for data collection and analysis, issuing directives, and fostering trust among stakeholders, thereby contributing to a positive and sustainable relationship.

According to Mawani, command and control centers offer several competitive advantages, including integrating and coordinating operations across various sectors and governmental levels to ensure business continuity. They also facilitate efforts between entities and support the training and development of human resources to manage risks effectively.