Cities in Asia and the United States are the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases contributing to climate change, with Shanghai being the most-polluting city, a new data, which combined observations and artificial intelligence, revealed. Seven states or provinces emit more than 1 billion metric tonnes of greenhouse gases, all of them in China, except Texas, which ranks sixth, news agency AP reported. The data, provided by an organisation co-founded by former US Vice-President Al Gore and released during the United Nations climate talks in Baku, Azerbaijan, revealed. Delegates at the climate talks are working to set new targets for reducing emissions and negotiating how much wealthier nations will contribute to global climate action. According to AP, using advanced AI and satellite observations, Climate Trace quantified the emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and other traditional air pollutants across the world, including data for more than 9,000 urban areas, which is a first-of-its-kind study. Globally, the total carbon dioxide and methane pollution increased by 0.7% last year, reaching 61.2 billion metric tonnes, with methane emissions alone rising by 0.2%. "The figures are higher than other datasets because we have such comprehensive coverage and have observed more emissions across more sectors than typically available," said Gavin McCormick, co-founder of Climate Trace. Shanghai topped the list of cities with 256 million metric tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, surpassing the total emissions of countries such as Colombia and Norway. Tokyo’s emissions of 250 million metric tonnes would place it in the top 40 if it were a nation, while New York City's 160 million metric tonnes and Houston's 150 million metric tonnes would rank in the top 50 globally. Seoul, South Korea, ranks fifth with 142 million metric tonnes, reported AP. Gore pointed out that a site in the Permian Basin in Texas is by far the largest-polluting site in the world. “Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised by that, but I think of how dirty some of these sites are in Russia and China. But the Permian Basin is putting them all in the shade,” Gore said. The countries with the largest increases in emissions from 2022 to 2023 include China, India, Iran, Indonesia, and Russia. In contrast, Venezuela, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States saw the biggest reductions in pollution. The dataset, compiled by scientists and analysts from various organisations, also covers traditional pollutants such as carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, ammonia, and sulfur dioxide, all of which are associated with harmful air quality. "Burning fossil fuels releases both types of pollution," Gore explained. He concluded, “This represents the single biggest health threat facing humanity.” (With AP inputs)
15 November,2024 09:13 PM IST | Baku | mid-day online correspondentThe National People's Power (NPP), led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, clinched a historic victory in the Sri Lankan parliamentary elections on Friday, securing a two-thirds majority and dominating the Jaffna electoral district, which is the heartland of the country's Tamil minority, news agency PTI reported. Contesting under the Malimawa (compass) symbol, the NPP won 159 out of 225 seats in parliament. This is the first time that any party has achieved a two-thirds majority under Sri Lanka's proportional representation system, introduced in 1978. The NPP secured more than 6.8 million votes (61 per cent) in the Sri Lanka elections, the poll body of the country said. According to PTI, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), led by Sajith Premadasa, was a distant second with 40 seats. Other smaller parties, including the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK), New Democratic Front, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, and Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, won eight, five, and three seats each, respectively. The voter turnout in Thursday’s poll was the lowest since 2010. Dissanayake had called for snap elections shortly after assuming the presidency in September. The new parliament is scheduled to meet next week. Historic result in Jaffna The NPP made history in the Jaffna electoral district, trouncing traditional Tamil nationalist parties in the cultural capital of the community. This is the first time a predominantly Sinhala party from Sri Lanka’s south has won seats in this district, PTI reported. Previously, the United National Party (UNP) had won only a single seat here. The NPP garnered more than 80,000 votes in Jaffna, outperforming ITAK, which received just over 63,000 votes in the final count. As a result, three seats in the district were claimed by Dissanayake's party, while ITAK, All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC), and Independent Group 17 each secured one seat. The result in Jaffna aligns with Dissanayake’s pre-election claim that his party has become a truly national party, accepted by all communities. "The era of dividing and setting one community against the other has ended as people are embracing the NPP," he had stated. The NPP, in its earlier Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) avatar, had been a vocal opponent of power-sharing arrangements — a key demand of Tamil groups during the armed separatist struggle led by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The shift in its approach is seen as significant, particularly in the context of the party’s broader appeal across Sri Lanka's diverse communities. NPP leaders expressed their gratitude to voters and acknowledged the responsibility that came with their victory. "We are cognizant of the mandate and the responsibility that comes with it. We will do everything to uphold public trust," said Tilwin Silva, a leader of the JVP, the NPP’s founding party. Indian High Commissioner to Colombo, Santosh Jha, congratulated Dissanayake on the NPP’s landslide victory. "As a fellow democracy, India welcomes the mandate and remains committed to further strengthening bilateral ties for the benefit of our people," Jha said in a statement. Sri Lanka went to the polls as the country continues to emerge from a severe economic crisis. (With PTI inputs)
15 November,2024 07:42 PM IST | Colombo | mid-day online correspondentBritish Hindus and members of the Indian community in the UK, under the banner of the social movement INSIGHT UK, staged a protest on Friday outside the Oxford Union, the debating society of Oxford University. The protest followed the Union's decision to host a debate titled "This House Believes in the Independent State of Kashmir", which included speakers allegedly linked to terrorism. Protesters raised slogans condemning the Oxford Union, chanting, “It is known far and wide, Oxford Union stands on terrorists’ side,” and held banners expressing their dissatisfaction. Many demonstrators also shouted Hindi slogans, such as “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” and “Vande Mataram”, passionately affirming their stance. Videos of the protest were shared on social media by INSIGHT UK, one of which included a caption stating, “Jammu Kashmir WAS India, Jammu Kashmir IS India, Jammu Kashmir WILL BE India.” The group criticised the Union’s choice to include controversial speakers, calling it a threat to the integrity of the debate and potentially harmful to public discourse. On Thursday, ahead of the debate, INSIGHT UK sent a formal letter to the Oxford Union, questioning the inclusion of speakers Muzzammil Ayyub Thakur and Zafar Khan, both of whom, according to INSIGHT UK, have been linked to groups with violent and extremist ties. The letter highlighted allegations against Muzzammil Ayyub Thakur, president of the World Kashmir Freedom Movement and co-founder of Mercy Universal. Both organisations have reportedly been investigated by Scotland Yard, the UK Charity Commission, and the FBI for suspected ties to terrorism. Thakur himself has been accused of incitement, hate speech, and creating public fear through social media. Similarly, Zafar Khan, Chairman of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), was linked to a group involved in violent activities against the Kashmiri Hindu community. The JKLF has a controversial history, including the 1984 kidnapping and murder of Indian diplomat Ravindra Mhatre in the UK. INSIGHT UK described the debate as undermining the values of free and fair discussion by platforming individuals with such allegations. The organisation advocates for the rights and causes of British Hindus and Indians in the UK, actively campaigning on issues of concern to these communities, according to ANI. Protesters called on the Oxford Union to reconsider its decision and uphold the principles of responsible dialogue and academic integrity.
15 November,2024 01:06 PM IST | LondonA delegation of former hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and their relatives met Thursday with Pope Francis and expressed hope that the incoming and outgoing US administrations would work together to bring the remaining hostages home. The freed hostages included Yelena Troufanov, who was released last November but whose son Sasha remains in Gaza and appeared in a video released Wednesday by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group. 'You see in the picture how my child has changed over the course of this year,' Yelena Troufanov told a news conference in Rome after the papal audience. 'I am very worried about his condition, I see that he is not in a good mental state and not in a good physical state.' She and the other former hostages and relatives renewed their calls for a deal to bring the remaining hostages home, especially with winter approaching. They said they hoped the incoming Trump administration would work with the outgoing Biden administration to push the process forward. The war started when Hamas attacked Israel on Oct 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping 250, with dozens still in Gaza. Israel's subsequent campaign has killed more than 43,000 people, according to Gaza health officials, whose count doesn't distinguish between civilians and fighters, though they say more than half of the dead are women and children. The war has ignited a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, driven Israel into increasing international isolation, with two world courts examining charges of war crimes, and had sparked a wave of protests on American campuses that have fuelled debate over the US role as Israel's key military and diplomatic supporter. 'We hope that with the election of Trump, together with Biden ' this is not about left and right ' we hope that Biden and Trump work together now to get the hostages back before the winter,' said Sharone Lifshitz, who accompanied her mother, Yocheved Lifshitz, to the audience. Her mother, a longtime peace activist, was released Oct 23, 2023, but her father Oded remains in Gaza. Sharone Lifshitz, who wasn't kidnapped, thanked Francis for meeting with the delegation and said that he promised to pray for each of the hostages still being held. Israel says that Hamas is holding about 65 hostages and the remains of about 35 others either killed on Oct 7, 2023, or who died in captivity. 'The pope is a few years older than my father. Both of them are men who spent a lifetime making this world a place that cares for the weak, that cares for each other, that reaches across religions and creeds to make it a place where humans, real humans, can live in dignity,' she said. Louis Har, an Argentine-Israeli who was freed during an Israeli army raid in Rafah last February, said that he never imagined that he would meet the Argentine pope. He wept at one point recounting his ordeal to reporters gathered at the Rome headquarters of Italy's Jewish communities. He said that he had given the pope a necklace with a charm signifying hope. 'I felt his sincerity, his care, and that we didn't come in vain,' he said. 'There is someone listening to us. I hope that his prayers and his message will reach the whole world, because he has an impact on the whole world.' Francis has tried to strike a balance in his comments on the Hamas attack in 2023 and the Israeli response, and conflicts in Gaza and southern Lebanon that have ensued. He has called for an immediate cease-fire, for the release of hostages and for humanitarian aid to get to Gaza. He has also suggested that Israel's actions in Gaza and southern Lebanon are disproportionate and immoral, and says that he calls a Catholic parish in Gaza every day to check in on the people it is sheltering. He has met twice before with relatives of the hostages, and once with Palestinians whose families were affected by Israel's operations in Gaza. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
15 November,2024 09:50 AM IST | Rome | ANIMore than two dozen lawmakers and eminent Indian Americans celebrated Diwali at the Capitol, the first major event at the US Congress after last week’s presidential elections. The annual ‘Diwali at Capitol Hill’ on Tuesday was organised by the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, in association with several other Indian American organisations including the Hindu American Foundation, Sikhs for America, Jain Association of North America, and Art of Living. President-elect Donald Trump is set to assume office after winning the presidential election last week. “This is an Indian festival which is embraced and celebrated the world over. Your presence here, the presence of so many congressmen and senators has made it all the most special. It is a reflection of their commitment to the relationship. Your presence there is a reflection of the important role that you at this festival place in the relationship,” India’s Ambassador to the US Vinay Mohan Kwatra said in his address. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
15 November,2024 07:59 AM IST | Washington | AgenciesSouth Africa’s government says it will not help about 4,000 illegal miners inside a closed mine in the country’s North West province as part of an official policy against illegal mining. The miners in the mineshaft in Stilfontein are believed to be suffering from a lack of food, water and other basic necessities after police closed off the entrances used to transport their supplies underground. It is part of the police’s Vala Umgodi, or Close the Hole, operation, which includes cutting off miners’ supplies to force them to return to the surface and be arrested. In the last few weeks, over 1,000 miners have surfaced at various mines in North West province, reportedly weak, hungry and sickly after going for weeks without basic supplies. About 20 miners have surfaced from the mineshaft in Stilfontein this week as police stand guard to catch all those appearing from underground. Cabinet Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said the government would not send any help to the illegal miners because they are involved in a criminal act. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
15 November,2024 07:56 AM IST | Johannesburg | AgenciesIsrael says 15 trucks carrying aid have been allowed into northern Gaza, where aid groups have warned that a monthlong Israeli offensive could cause a famine. The trucks entered Gaza on Wednesday with aid from the United Arab Emirates, said the military body handling aid deliveries into the territory, COGAT. It said the aid consisted of food and water as well as hygiene, shelter and medical supplies. UN agencies did not immediately confirm the delivery of the aid. Smoke plumes rise after an airstrike in Beirut. Pic/AFP Israeli forces have encircled the Gaza Strip’s northernmost areas for the past month, saying Hamas militants have regrouped there. Experts say the Israeli military campaign has caused a new wave of displaced civilians and warn that famine is imminent or may already be happening there. Meanwhile, the New York-based rights group, Human Rights Watch said in a report released on Thursday that Israel has committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip, including massive forced displacements that amount to ethnic cleansing. Air strikes killed 200 Hezb terrorists in a week Israeli air raids have killed approximately 200 Hezbollah terrorists and destroyed 140 rocket launchers in the past week, the Israel Defense Forces disclosed on Thursday morning. The IDF said the launchers posed “an immediate threat” to the Israeli home front and soldiers operating in southern Lebanon. Targets included a launcher from which rockets were fired into the Western Galilee and central Israel on Tuesday and Wednesday, the army added. Among the terrorists eliminated in the strikes were the head of battalion operations and the head of battalion anti-tank weapons in Hezbollah’s Radwan Force in the coastal sector. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
15 November,2024 07:53 AM IST | Jerusalem | AgenciesIndia has sent 15 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Nigeria as the country reels under devastating floods. The details of the humanitarian assistance were shared by the Ministry of External Affairs in a post on the social media platform, X. “In keeping with our commitment to humanitarian assistance for the people of Nigeria, India sent 15 tonnes of the total 75 tonnes of aid to Nigeria in the wake of the devastating floods in the country.” The post also noted, “The aid comprises of food items, sleeping mats, blankets, water purification supplies etc. and will support the rehabilitation efforts in the region.” Nigeria is reeling under severe stress as the country has faced devastating floods. Dominica to bestow Modi with highest honour The Commonwealth of Dominica will bestow its highest national award, the Dominica Award of Honour, upon PM Narendra Modi, in recognition of his contributions to Dominica during the COVID pandemic and his dedication to boost the partnership between India and Dominica. Sylvanie Burton, president of Dominica, will confer the award during the upcoming India-CARICOM Summit, scheduled to take place in Georgetown, Guyana from November 19 to 21. In February 2021, India supplied Dominica with 70,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, enabling it to extend support to its Caribbean neighbours. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
15 November,2024 07:49 AM IST | Abuja | AgenciesUS President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday met President Joe Biden in the Oval Office of the White House. Biden welcomed Trump and congratulated him following his 2024 presidential election victory, saying that he looks forward to a smooth transition. "Congratulations, looking forward to having a, like we said, smooth transition -- do everything we can to make sure you're accommodated, what you need. And we're going to get a chance to talk about some of that today," Biden said in the meeting with Trump, according to a White House statement. Trump responded, "And politics is tough. And it's, in many cases, not a very nice world, but it is a nice world today. And I appreciate it very much -- a transition that's so smooth it'll be as smooth as it can get. And I very much appreciate that, Joe." The First Lady also joined Biden in greeting Trump upon his arrival at the White House. She gave Trump a handwritten congratulatory letter, which also conveyed her team's readiness to assist with the transition. White House Chief-of-Staff Jeff Zients and incoming White House Chief-of-Staff Susie Wiles attended the meeting, according to the White House. Following his victory over Democratic candidate and US Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump is moving to finalize his foreign policy and national security team in preparation for his formal inauguration in January 2025. On Tuesday, Trump announced several key apppointments, including former Congresswoman and Governor from South Dakota, Kristi Noem, as the Secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and 'X' along with Indian-origin Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Pete Hegseth as the Secretary of Defense, William Joseph McGinley as White House Counsel, among others. In a historic political comeback, Trump won a second term as President of the United States after securing 295 electoral votes in the 2024 presidential election, defeating Democratic rival, Kamala Harris, who garnered 226 votes. Trump's return to the White House marks only the second time in US history that a president has served two non-consecutive terms. The first such instance was Grover Cleveland, who served as president in 1884 and 1892. Trump had earlier served as US President from 2016 to 2020. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
14 November,2024 12:25 PM IST | Washington | ANIAt least one explosion on Wednesday outside Brazil's Supreme Court killed a man and forced the justices and staff to evacuate the building in the capital of Brasilia, police and firefighters said. A police statement said an artifact exploded outside the court without providing more details. Local firefighters later confirmed that one man died at the scene, but did not identify him. The court's justices and staff safely left the building after the incident, which took place at about 7:30 pm local time, shortly after Wednesday's session finished. Jorge Macedo, a staffer at Brazil's top court, confirmed the evacuation to The Associated Press. Local media showed footage suggesting two blasts outside the court, with 20 seconds between the first and the second explosions. The incident took place in Brasilia's Praca dos Tres Poderes, an area where Brazil's main government buildings are located. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was not in the neighbouring presidential palace at the time of the blast, spokesman José Chrispiniano said. Police blocked all access to the area where Brazil's Supreme Court, Congress and presidential palace are located. The presidential security bureau was conducting a sweep of the grounds around the presidential palace.Brazil's federal police said it is investigating and did not provide a motive. The Supreme Court in recent years has become a target for threats by far-right groups and supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro due to its crackdown on the spread of false information. Justice Alexandre de Moraes has become a target of hundreds of threats since he started investigating riots in government buildings on January 8, 2023, led by supporters of Bolsonaro. Earlier, another explosion was heard outside Brazil's Congress, but it apparently did not cause damages. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
14 November,2024 12:21 PM IST | Sao Paulo | APPresident Joe Biden will hold talks Saturday with China's Xi Jinping on the sidelines of an international summit in Peru, a face-to-face meeting that comes as Beijing braces for Donald Trump's return to the White House. White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the meeting will take place while the two leaders are in Lima for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. That will come just over two months before Trump's inauguration. Sullivan was opaque about how Biden and administration officials will answer expected questions from Xi and his aides about the incoming Trump administration. "Transitions are uniquely consequential moments in geopolitics. They're a time when competitors and adversaries can see possibly opportunity,' Sullivan said. 'And so part of what President Biden will communicate is that we need to maintain stability, clarity, predictability through this transition between the United States and China.' During his campaign against Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump promised to slap blanket 60 per cent tariffs on all Chinese exports to the US, a move that would jolt the already tumultuous relationship between Beijing and Washington. Washington and Beijing have long had deep differences on the support China has given to Russia during its war in Ukraine, human rights issues, technology and Taiwan, the self-ruled democracy that Beijing claims as its own. A second Trump administration is expected to test US-China relations even more than the Republican's first term, when the U.S. imposed tariffs on more than USD 360 billion in Chinese products. That brought Beijing to the negotiating table, and in 2020, the two sides signed a trade deal in which China committed to improve intellectual property rights and buy an extra USD 200 billion of American goods. A couple of years later, a research group showed that China had bought essentially none of the goods it had promised. The White House has been working for months to arrange a final meeting between Xi and Biden before the Democrat leaves office in January. Sullivan traveled to Beijing in late August to meet with his Chinese counterpart and also sat down with Xi. After that, Sullivan indicated that there could be a final meeting between Xi and Biden at APEC or at next week's summit of the Group of 20 top economies in Rio de Janeiro, which both leaders are scheduled to attend. Biden has sought to maintain a steady relationship with Xi even as his administration repeatedly has raised concerns about what it sees as malign actions by Beijing. US intelligence officials have assessed China has surged sales to Russia of machine tools, microelectronics and other technology that Moscow is using to produce missiles, tanks, aircraft and other weaponry for use in its war against Ukraine. The administration last month imposed sanctions against two Chinese companies accused of directly helping Russia build long-range attack drones used against Ukraine. Tensions flared last year after Biden ordered the shooting down of a Chinese spy balloon that traversed the United States. And the Biden administration has criticized Chinese military assertiveness toward Japan, the Philippines and Taiwan. On the campaign trail, Trump spoke of his personal connection with Xi, which started out well during his first term before becoming strained over disputes about trade and the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a congratulatory message to Trump after his victory over Harris, Xi called for the US and China to manage their differences and get along in a new era, according to Chinese state media. Biden, for his part, is expected in the meeting with Xi to focus on efforts to stem the flow of Chinese-manufactured chemicals used to make fentanyl, concerns about Beijing's indirect support for Russia's war in Ukraine, cybersecurity concerns and the importance of maintaining military-to-military communications. Sullivan added that he expected that Biden would also raise an ongoing US investigation into an alleged Chinese hacker operation targeting cellphones used by Trump, Vice President-elect JD Vance, and people associated with the Harris campaign. Saturday's talks will be the third meeting between Biden and Xi during Biden's presidency. They met in Woodside, California, last November on the sidelines of the 2023 APEC summit, and the leaders last spoke by phone in April. Sullivan also announced that Biden while at APEC will hold a joint meeting with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japan's new prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba. That meeting is a follow-up on the historic Camp David summit Biden hosted in August 2023 with Yoon and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Biden has nudged the United States' two closest Asian allies to further tighten security and economic cooperation with each other amid their shared concerns about North Korea's nuclear provocations as well as China's military and economic assertiveness in the Pacific. The historic rivals have been divided by differing views of World War II history and Japan's colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
14 November,2024 12:18 PM IST | Washington | APADVERTISEMENT
