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.


Feyenoord knock out 10-man AC Milan to reach Champions League last 16

Feyenoord knock out 10-man AC Milan to reach Champions League last 16
Updated 7 min 58 sec ago
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Feyenoord knock out 10-man AC Milan to reach Champions League last 16

Feyenoord knock out 10-man AC Milan to reach Champions League last 16
Julian Carranza thumped home the winning header in the 73rd minute
Argentine attacker Carranza struck for Feyenoord shortly after coming on as substitute

MILAN: Feyenoord reached the last 16 of the Champions League on Tuesday after a 1-1 draw at 10-man AC Milan which took them past the seven-time kings of Europe 2-1 on aggregate.
Julian Carranza thumped home the winning header in the 73rd minute at a frigid San Siro, canceling out Santiago Gimenez’s first-minute opener for Milan and sending the Dutch through to meet either Inter Milan or Arsenal.
Argentine attacker Carranza struck for Feyenoord shortly after coming on as substitute as the away side pushed to reach the next round, while Milan struggled following Theo Hernandez’s sending off early in the second half.
Already on a booking for a needless foul on Anis Hadj-Moussa just before half-time, Hernandez was ruled by referee Szymon Marciniak to have dived in the penalty box when under pressure from Givairo Read.
The France full-back was dismissed, leaving Milan on the back foot after having dominated up to that point.
Hernandez’s sending off and Carranza’s tie-winning header ruined what looked to be Gimenez’s night when he nodded home the opener against his old team after just 36 seconds.
Mexico forward Gimenez has already scored three times for Milan since signing from Feyenoord during the winter transfer window but his sixth goal in the Champions League this season was also his last.
Sergio Conceicao’s Milan are by no means assured of a spot in next year’s tournament as they sit seventh in Serie A, five points off the top four with a game in hand.

White House says Elon Musk is not in charge at DOGE, but is advising the president

White House says Elon Musk is not in charge at DOGE, but is advising the president
Updated 16 min 50 sec ago
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White House says Elon Musk is not in charge at DOGE, but is advising the president

White House says Elon Musk is not in charge at DOGE, but is advising the president
  • Musk’s exact role could be key in the legal fight over DOGE’s access to government data
  • The Trump administration, on the other hand, says Musk is not a DOGE employee

WASHINGTON: The White House says billionaire Elon Musk is not technically part of the Department of Government Efficiency team that is sweeping through federal agencies, but is rather a senior adviser to President Donald Trump.
Musk’s exact role could be key in the legal fight over DOGE’s access to government data as the Trump administration moves to lay off thousands of federal workers. Defining him as an adviser rather than the administrator in charge of day-to-day operations at DOGE could help the administration push back against a lawsuit arguing Musk has too much power for someone who isn’t elected or Senate-confirmed.
The declaration was filed Monday as the Trump administration fends off the lawsuit from several Democratic states that want to block Musk and the DOGE team from accessing government systems. The litigants say Musk is wielding “virtually unchecked power” in violation of the Constitution.
The Trump administration, on the other hand, says Musk is not a DOGE employee and has “no actual authority to make government decisions himself,” Joshua Fisher, director of the White House Office of Administration, said in court papers. The documents do not name the administrator of DOGE, whose work Musk has championed in posts on his social-media platform X and in a public appearance at the White House.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt declined Tuesday to say who is leading DOGE. Layoffs are up to individual agency heads rather than DOGE, she said.
The DOGE team has roamed from agency to agency, tapping into computer systems, digging into budgets and searching for waste, fraud and abuse, while lawsuits pile up claiming Trump and DOGE are violating the law. At least two are targeting Musk himself.
Last week, Musk called for the US to “delete entire agencies” from the federal government as part of the push to radically cut spending and restructure its priorities.
US District Judge Tanya Chutkan seemed skeptical in a hearing Monday when Justice Department lawyers asserted that Musk has no formal authority.
“I think you stretch too far. I disagree with you there,” Chutkan said.


Ethiopia and Somalia hold a first round of technical talks in Turkiye toward resolving their dispute

Ethiopia and Somalia hold a first round of technical talks in Turkiye toward resolving their dispute
Updated 10 min 17 sec ago
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Ethiopia and Somalia hold a first round of technical talks in Turkiye toward resolving their dispute

Ethiopia and Somalia hold a first round of technical talks in Turkiye toward resolving their dispute
  • Tensions have simmered since landlocked Ethiopia signed a memorandum of understanding with Somaliland last year to lease land along its coastline
  • Somaliland seceded from Somalia over 30 years ago but is not recognized by the African Union or the United Nations as an independent state

ANKARA, Turkiye: Top diplomats from Ethiopia and Somalia on Tuesday held a first round of technical talks aimed at resolving a dispute sparked by a deal between Ethiopia and Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland, Turkiye’s Foreign Ministry said.
Turkiye has been mediating between the Horn of Africa countries after concerns about potential conflict in an already volatile region. Tensions have simmered since landlocked Ethiopia signed a memorandum of understanding with Somaliland last year to lease land along its coastline to establish a marine force base.
In return, Ethiopia would become the first country to formally recognize Somaliland’s independence. Somalia says the deal infringes on its sovereignty and territory.
In December, the leaders of Somalia and Ethiopia met in Turkiye and agreed to initiate technical talks aimed at reaching a potential agreement that upholds Somalia’s territorial integrity while allowing Ethiopia access to the sea.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry said delegations led by Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos and Somalia’s state minister for foreign affairs, Ali Mohamed Omar, held a first round of technical negotiations in the Turkish capital, Ankara.
“Both delegations demonstrated their commitment to the letter and spirit of the Ankara Declaration,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in reference to their statement issued in December. “The delegations began the concrete work to transform this vision into reality.”
The next round of talks is in March, the ministry statement said.
Turkiye has significant investment in Somalia, including its largest overseas military base.
Somaliland seceded from Somalia over 30 years ago but is not recognized by the African Union or the United Nations as an independent state. Somalia considers Somaliland part of its territory.
With a population estimated at over 120 million, Ethiopia is the most populous landlocked country in the world.


Arab countries welcome Saudi Arabia’s hosting of talks between US, Russia

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio shake hands in Riyadh. (SPA)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio shake hands in Riyadh. (SPA)
Updated 25 min 13 sec ago
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Arab countries welcome Saudi Arabia’s hosting of talks between US, Russia

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio shake hands in Riyadh. (SPA)
  • Russia, US agree to start working toward ending conflict in Ukraine

RIYADH: Arab countries on Tuesday welcomed Saudi efforts to host talks in Riyadh between the US and Russia on the Ukraine conflict.

Russia and the US agreed to start working toward ending the conflict in Ukraine and improving their diplomatic and economic ties, the two countries’ top diplomats said after the talks.

The UAE expressed “hope that the talks will serve as a significant step towards bridging differences, fostering communication and advancing dialogue to bring an end to the nearly three-year-long conflict,” the Emirates News Agency reported.

Its Ministry of Foreign Affairs commended the efforts of Saudi Arabia in hosting the talks “which reflect the Kingdom’s commitment to supporting international peace efforts, and achieving global stability and prosperity.”

The ministry reaffirmed the UAE’s commitment to supporting peaceful resolutions to conflicts and promoting international cooperation in addressing global challenges.

Majed Al-Ansari, the spokesperson for Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, welcomed Saudi efforts to lead the talks that “will hopefully result in peace in a struggle that has gone on for a very long time.”

Al-Ansari added: “We have called from day one for both parties to engage in a peaceful resolution of this war. This war has had huge humanitarian costs and great geopolitical (and) economic impact globally.”

Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry also welcomed the talks and expressed the hope that they would “lead to achieving their desired goals in enhancing security and stability in the world.”

Sufyan Qudah, Jordan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, commended Saudi Arabia for its pivotal role in hosting the talks and said they highlighted the Kingdom’s continuous efforts to foster comprehensive and just peace worldwide.

The Palestinian presidency said the talks were a culmination of the wise policy pursued by Saudi Arabia’s leadership, adding that it was “a policy that fosters regional and international stability and affirms Riyadh’s commitment to its effective role in achieving peace and security.”


What We Are Reading Today: ‘California Amphibians and Reptiles’

What We Are Reading Today: ‘California Amphibians and Reptiles’
Updated 33 min 33 sec ago
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘California Amphibians and Reptiles’

What We Are Reading Today: ‘California Amphibians and Reptiles’

Authors: Robert Hansen & Jackson D. Shedd

California is home to more than 200 species of reptiles and amphibians that can be found in an extraordinary array of habitats, from coastal temperate rainforests with giant redwoods to southeastern deserts offering dazzling wildflower displays each spring.

“California Amphibians and Reptiles” covers every species and subspecies in this biodiverse region of the United States, with outstanding color photography and in-depth species accounts that draw on the latest findings on taxonomy and distribution.