Skip to main content

Record-breaking heat wave grips western United States

A record early heat wave striking the western United States on Friday is a one-in-500-year event and almost certainly the result of human-caused climate change, experts say. The heat has been toppling records this week and is set to continue into the weekend across western cities while expanding eastward. Four locations in the desert area near the California-Arizona border registered 44.4 degrees Celsius on Friday, a US national record for March. The readings were recorded near Yuma and Martinez Lake in Arizona, and around Winterhaven and Ogilby in California. Read: Intense heatwave grips US, triggering record-breaking temperatures Already, 65 cities have recorded new March highs, ranging from Arizona and California to Idaho, Weather.com reported. Death Valley reached 40°C on Thursday, while typically cool and foggy San Francisco tied its historic March record at 29°C. In Colorado, skiers were seen hitting the slopes shirtless. The National Weather Service issued extreme heat warni...
Post a Comment

Hundreds of thousands demonstrate against right-wing extremism in Germany

Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets across towns and cities in Germany this weekend as the country enters a second week of nationwide protests against the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. Demonstrations have gained momentum after reports emerged from investigative news website Correctiv of a meeting of right-wing extremists in Potsdam at which migration policies including mass deportations of people of foreign origin were discussed. The AfD, which is polling second in nationwide surveys, has denied the reported migration plans are party policy. On Sunday, rallies were held in Berlin, Munich and Cologne, as well as in more traditional AfD voting strongholds in eastern Germany such as Leipzig and Dresden, with turnout in many places far higher than expected. Organisers in Munich ended the demonstration early due to overcrowding with around 100,000 participants, according to police. Protest organisers said 200,000 people attended. At the start of the event in Berlin, there were 30,000 people and the number was growing, police said. Several tens of thousands also took to the streets in Cologne and Bremen on Sunday. Event organisers estimated around 300,000 people demonstrated nationwide on Saturday. "It's a signal to the world that we won't let this happen without commenting on it," said protestor Steffi Kirschenmann, a social counsellor based in Frankfurt, one of tens of thousands that gathered peacefully in sub-zero temperatures in Frankfurt's centre on Saturday.  Lord Mayor of Frankfurt, Mike Josef, addressed crowds on Roemer Square, which he reminded protesters was the same spot where the Nazi regime had burnt books. The AfD declined to comment on the demonstrations against it. Business leaders have voiced their concerns, with Siemens Energy (ENR1n.DE), opens new tab supervisory board chairman Joe Kaeser telling Reuters the reports trigger "bitter memories". Read: Massive protests break out in Yemen after US-UK attacks President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has seen the rallies across Germany against right-wing extremism as a sign of strength. In a video message distributed on Sunday, Steinmeier said: "You are standing up against misanthropy and right-wing extremism, these people encourage us all." He called for an alliance of all democrats, saying "Let's show that we are stronger together." German Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck told a local newspaper he saw the demonstrations as an encouraging sign for democracy. "It is impressive to see that many people are now taking to the streets and flying the flag for our democracy", the Green party politician told the Augsburger Allgemeine. The Central Council of Jews in Germany also welcomed the demonstrations. For Jews, this is an image "that can restore confidence in the democratic conditions" of the country, Central Council President Josef Schuster told Welt-TV. Germany's Boersen-Zeitung on Saturday published a series of statements from companies listed in Germany's DAX stock market index in which the companies spoke out against xenophobia, anti-semitism and political extremism on the right-wing fringe.  

from Latest World News, International News | Breaking World News https://ift.tt/IdKr20t
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

At least 32 miners dead after bridge fails at cobalt site in southeast DR Congo

A bridge collapsed at a cobalt mine in southeast Democratic Republic of Congo killing at least 32 wildcat miners, a regional government official said Sunday. The bridge came down Saturday onto a flooded zone at the mine in Lualaba province, Roy Kaumba Mayonde, the provincial interior minister, told reporters. He said 32 bodies had been recovered and more were being searched for. The DRC produces more than 70 percent of the world supply of cobalt, which is essential for batteries used in electric cars, many laptop computers and mobile phones. More than 200,000 people are estimated to be working in giant illegal cobalt mines in the giant central African country. Local authorities said the bridge collapsed at the Kalando mine, about 42 kilometres (26 miles) southeast of the Lualaba provincial capital, Kolwezi. "Despite a formal ban on access to the site because of the heavy rain and the risk of a landslide, wildcat miners forced their way into the quarry," said Mayonde. He said ...
Post a Comment
Read more

US, Philippines kick off joint military drills in South China Sea with 16,000 troops

Some 16,000 US and Philippine troops kicked off the annual joint military drills on Monday in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), local media reported. WPS is the official designation by Philippines to the parts of the South China Sea that are included in the country's exclusive economic zone. The 19-day exercises, dubbed "Balikatan 2024," will involve around 5,000 Philippine and 11,000 US troops, making it the largest joint military drills between the two allies conducted in decades, local English daily Manila Times reported citing the military. A total of 14 nations, including Japan and India, will take part in the drills as observers amid mounting maritime tensions in the South China Sea. Contingents from the Australian Defence Force and the French Navy will also join the exercise as participants. Read also: China urges US to stop using Philippines as a pawn to destabilise South China Sea France will join the group sail but will only navigate on the edge of the Philippine E...
Post a Comment
Read more

Indian devotees splurge on jets, gold idols as Hindu temple opens

The private jet parking lots at airports near the Indian city of Ayodhya are full and the shops have run out of gold-plated idols, as wealthy devotees prepare for the invite-only opening ceremony of one of Hinduism's holiest temples. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Asia's richest man Mukesh Ambani are among the 8,000 or so attendees at Monday's inauguration event for the Ram Temple, which devotees believe is built on the birthplace of Lord Ram, a sacred Hindu deity. The construction of the temple, which began after the Supreme Court awarded the site to Hindus in 2019 more than two decades after a Hindu mob razed a mosque there, triggering deadly riots, fulfils a key campaign promise of Modi and his Hindu nationalist party. Read BJP-promised temple transforms Ayodhya: Muslims, locals feel neglected The opening ceremony, organised by the trust that built the temple, comes months before a national election which the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is widely expected to w...
Post a Comment
Read more