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European scientists make it official. July was the hottest month on record by far

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:19:51 GMT

Now that July’s sizzling numbers are all in, the European climate monitoring organization made it official: July 2023 was Earth’s hottest month on record by a wide margin.July’s global average temperature of 16.95 degrees Celsius (62.51 degrees Fahrenheit) was a third of a degree Celsius (six tenths of a degree Fahrenheit) higher than the previous record set in 2019, Copernicus Climate Change Service, a division of the European Union’s space program, announced Tuesday. Normally global temperature records are broken by hundredths or a tenth of a degree, so this margin is unusual.“These records have dire consequences for both people and the planet exposed to ever more frequent and intense extreme events,” said Copernicus deputy director Samantha Burgess. There have been deadly heat waves in the Southwestern United States and Mexico, Europe and Asia. Scientific quick studies put the blame on human-caused climate change from the burning of coal, oil and nat...

South Korea begins evacuating thousands of Scouts from coastal campsite as tropical storm nears

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:19:51 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Buses began moving tens of thousands of Scouts to inland venues ahead of a tropical storm Tuesday, bringing an effective end to a World Scout Jamboree that had already struggled with heat, hygiene and land use controversies.Known for its insatiable desire to host international events, the South Korean government scrambled to keep the 12-day gathering of Scouts from around the world going as thousands of British and American Scouts departed over the weekend because of an extreme heat wave that caused some attendees to be hospitalized. It wasn’t until Monday afternoon that officials announced the decision to abandon the coastal campsite in the southwestern town of Buan, after forecasters raised alarms that Tropical Storm Khanun was heading toward the Korean Peninsula. South Korean officials say the Jamboree will continue in the form of cultural events and activities, including a K-Pop concert in Seoul Friday.Critics have argued the decision to host the Jambor...

Pakistan’s former premier appeals his conviction and 3-year sentence in graft case, seeks release

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:19:51 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday appealed his conviction and three-year prison sentence in a graft case, a spokesman for his legal team said.Naeem Haider Panjutha, Khan’s lawyer, said the Islamabad High Court will hear the appeal on Wednesday.It’s the latest turn in Khan’s legal drama after being ousted in a no-confidence vote in April 2022. He remains the country’s leading opposition figure and was convicted and jailed Saturday on charges of concealing assets after selling state gifts he received while in power. Panjutha met with Khan in the high-security Attock jail in eastern Punjab province. The former cricket star has denied the charges, saying he did not violate any laws.In the appeal, Khan’s lawyers said the former premier’s conviction should be “set aside” and declared “illegal and without lawful authority.” It also requested the court acquit Khan, claiming he was arrested illegally.Panjutha told reporters outside the ...

In the news today: B.C. wildfire forces evacuation of music festival

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:19:51 GMT

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today…B.C. festival evacuated due to wildfire, more properties on alert over long weekendOut of an abundance of caution, officials decided to clear out a music festival in B.C.’s southern interior, after a nearby wildfire was ignited by a recreational vehicle fire.About 1,000 attendees at the Under the Stars event were safely evacuated as the sudden blaze began to quickly spread.Elsewhere, both the Thompson-Nicola and the Columbia Shuswap Regional Districts have evacuation orders in place for two wildfires burning on opposite sides of Adams Lake — the Lower East Adams Lake wildfire and the Bush Creek East wildfire.Evolving wildfire conditions challenging for Yukon officials after village evacuationYukon is burning — with 126 active wildfires across the territory.Fire information officer Haley Ritchie says they are keeping their fingers crossed that ...

Thousands of Los Angeles city workers walk off job for 24 hours alleging unfair labor practices

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:19:51 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Thousands of Los Angeles city employees, including sanitation workers, lifeguards and traffic officers, walked off the job Tuesday for a 24-hour strike alleging unfair labor practices. Picket lines went up before dawn at Los Angeles International Airport and other locations and a rally was planned for later in the day at City Hall. SEIU Local 721 said airport custodians, heavy duty mechanics and engineers are among the more than 11,000 LA city workers who are striking. The union said its members voted to authorize the walkout because the city has failed to bargain in good faith and also engaged in labor practices that restricted employee and union rights.“City workers are vital to the function of services for millions of Angelenos every day and to our local economy,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement Monday. “They deserve fair contracts and we have been bargaining in good faith with SEIU 721 since January. The city will always be availab...

Former Saskatchewan RCMP boss warned officers to watch opinions after Stanley verdict

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:19:51 GMT

The RCMP braced for backlash across rural Saskatchewan and kept a close eye on Indigenous groups after the not guilty verdict of a farmer charged in the death of Colten Boushie, emails show. The former top Mountie in the province also warned officers towatch their opinions, and police carefully watched and weighed in on testimony in the highly charged murder trial that exposed racial divides.This week marks seven years since Boushie, a 22-year-old Cree man from Red Pheasant First Nation, was shot and killed on in a rural area near the town of Biggar, about 95 kilometres west of Saskatoon.Gerald Stanley was acquitted of second-degree murder in 2018, after testifying at trial that his gun accidentally went off. After a five-year wait, The Canadian Press recently obtained RCMP emails sent during and immediately after the trial.Partially redacted documents indicate that Mounties monitored threats and were bracing for backlash, particularly after the verdict was read out Feb. 9, 2018. &#...

Canadians reassured to see military helping during local emergencies, Blair says

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:19:51 GMT

OTTAWA — Defence Minister Bill Blair says Canadians want to see the military come to their aid during natural disasters, and the Armed Forces will remain a key part of the government’s response. “There is just something, I think, incredibly reassuring to Canadians when the Canadian Armed Forces show up and men and women in uniform are out in their communities and they’re sandbagging and helping people evacuate and get to safety,” he said in a recent interview. Blair, who was moved from the Emergency Preparedness portfolio to head up Defence in last month’s cabinet shuffle, has been involved in co-ordinating the federal government’s response to various disasters. Those included floods caused by an atmospheric river in British Columbia in 2021, wildfires that have raged across the country each summer and the devastation caused by Hurricane Fiona in Atlantic Canada last year. And the number of calls for help is rising.There used to be between five an...

Quebec court authorizes class action against new isolation system in federal prisons

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:19:51 GMT

MONTREAL — A Quebec Superior Court judge has authorized a class-action lawsuit on behalf of federal prisoners in Quebec who were held in segregation units for more than 15 days after November 2019.Lawyers for Daniel Fournier, the representative plaintiff, say he was subject to cruel and unusual punishment when he was held in segregation units for 40 consecutive days in 2019 and 2020, never knowing when he would be released back into the general population.The transfer “caused the plaintiff to experience symptoms of depression and increased anxiety attacks; he now requires psychological counselling,” Fournier’s lawyers Justin Wee, Justine Monty and Alain Arsenault wrote in their request for a class action.“Detainees placed in solitary confinement can suffer psychological and physical disorders that can be long-lasting and irreversible from the very first day of isolation,” they write. “Prolonged isolation has negative consequences on the detainee&#...

Provinces may have to agree to Ottawa’s 2035 clean power target to access funding

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:19:51 GMT

OTTAWA — The federal government is considering restricting billions of dollars in tax credits and grants for electricity projects to provinces that commit to the 2035 target for an emissions-free electricity grid.The federal budget already made clear the restriction would be in place for the new refundable 15 per cent clean electricity investment tax credit, which is for investments in non-emitting electricity production, storage and interprovincial transmission.But there are several other new investment tax credits for hydrogen production, clean technology and carbon capture and storage systems, worth tens of billions over the next 12 years. There is also at least $3 billion in grants for renewable electricity projects and technology upgrades to make the grid more efficient, and the federal government has promised to consider helping fund transmission lines inside provinces in certain situations.A new document released Tuesday by Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson and Environment M...

India’s opposition targets Modi in their no-confidence motion over ethnic violence in Manipur state

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:19:51 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s opposition accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of choosing silence while a northeastern state governed by his party convulsed in ethnic violence as Parliament began debate Tuesday on a no-confidence motion against his government that’s certain to be defeated.“If Manipur is burning, India is burning. If Manipur is divided, India is divided,” Congress party lawmaker Gaurav Gogoi said as he opened debate on the motion.For three months, Modi has been largely silent on the bloodshed in the remote state, which teeters on the brink of a civil war, and the opposition moved the no-confidence motion to force Modi to address the Manipur conflict from the floor of Parliament.He is expected to speak Thursday when the motion will be put to a vote. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled government holds a clear majority in Parliament, meaning the motion is certain to be defeated.Gogoi said the no-confidence motion was never about numbers, but about seeking justic...