Friday, March 20

Business

Pakistan: Satellite images show smog over Punjab visible from space – as record levels of air pollution recorded | World News
Business

Pakistan: Satellite images show smog over Punjab visible from space – as record levels of air pollution recorded | World News

Satellite images show that smog in Pakistan can be seen from space, as the country battles record levels of air pollution.Images from NASA Worldview show the east of the country cloaked in a toxic haze, with smog also reaching into India's northern regions and New Dehli. Lahore, the capital of Pakistan's Punjab region and home to 14 million people, had an air quality index of more than 400 on Tuesday morning, according to IQAir, which tracks global air quality.Any reading above 300 is considered hazardous - anything between 0 to 50 is considered good.Earlier in November, parts of Lahore had a reading above 1,900, marking a record high. Image: No smog was seen in Punjab region on 10 October 2024. Pic: NASA Worldview IQAir a...
Shell wins appeal in landmark emissions case | Money News
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Shell wins appeal in landmark emissions case | Money News

Shell has won its appeal against a climate court ruling that it must sharply reduce its carbon emissions.The oil and gas producer went to the Court of Appeal in the Netherlands following a decision in support of environmental campaign groups in the country, including Friends Of The Earth. That ruling, in 2021, ordered Shell to cut its carbon emissions by 45% by 2030 compared to 2019 levels in order to protect Dutch citizens.Money latest: Queue 'for miles' as middle class status symbol goes on sale with 60% offThe emissions curbs included those caused by the use of Shell's products. The judge in the appeal dismissed all the claims against Shell.The company, which exited its dual headquarters structure in The Hague in 2022 to reside only in the UK, had argued that the original district court...
More arrests made over attacks against Israeli football supporters, Dutch police say | World News
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More arrests made over attacks against Israeli football supporters, Dutch police say | World News

Five more people have been arrested for their suspected involvement in attacks on Israeli football fans in Amsterdam, Dutch police have said.Some 63 suspects had already been arrested after Israeli fans were attacked in the Dutch capital on Thursday following a match between local side Ajax and Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv. Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said the Netherlands would focus all its efforts on bringing the perpetrators to justice."The images and reports for Amsterdam and what we've seen this weekend of antisemitic attacks against Israelis and Jews are nothing short of shocking and reprehensible," he said on Monday.Mr Schoof said police and prosecutors were still piecing together the details of what happened. Explained: What we know about violence in Amsterdam ...
Russian navy warship carrying hypersonic missiles conducts drills in English Channel, state media says | World News
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Russian navy warship carrying hypersonic missiles conducts drills in English Channel, state media says | World News

A Russian navy warship equipped with hypersonic cruise missiles has conducted drills in the English Channel, Russian news agencies have reported. The ship - the Project 22350 frigate Admiral Golovko - passed through the channel to carry out tasks in the Atlantic Ocean, according to state news agency TASS. It is reportedly equipped with Zircon hypersonic anti-ship missiles.While in the Channel it conducted counter-terrorism drills and training on avoiding dangerous targets, Russian state agencies reported, citing the northern fleet's press service.On Sunday, the Russian ministry of defence said that the Admiral Golovko had crossed the narrowest part of the Channel - Pas de Calais - having left the fleet's base in Severomorsk, Russia, on 2 November. It said the "main task of the mission" was...
Haiti: Commercial flights hit by gunfire as new prime minister pledges to stop gang violence | World News
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Haiti: Commercial flights hit by gunfire as new prime minister pledges to stop gang violence | World News

Two commercial planes have been hit by gunfire over the capital of Haiti. A Spirit Airlines flight was just metres from landing in Port-au-Prince having come from Fort Lauderdale in Florida, when gangs shot at the plane, injuring a flight attendant. Footage circulating on social media, which is believed to have been filmed by an airline employee, appeared to show the hole where a bullet had entered the aircraft near the back door and struck overhead lockers.The plane was diverted and landed in the Dominican Republic and all flights in and out of the Toussaint Louverture International Airport were halted, the US embassy in Haiti said.Shortly after, a JetBlue flight was struck by a bullet as it took off from the capital towards New York. Image: ...
Ireland PM brands Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary comments on teachers ‘crass and ill-informed’ | World News
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Ireland PM brands Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary comments on teachers ‘crass and ill-informed’ | World News

Ireland's prime minister has branded remarks made by Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary about teachers "crass and ill-informed".Taoiseach Simon Harris also said Mr O'Leary would not have any further involvement in his party's campaign. The CEO of Irish budget airline Ryanair said during a Fine Gael event over the weekend he would not hire teachers to "get things done".Addressing the comments, Fine Gael leader Harris, who last week announced Ireland's next general election will take place at the end of the month, said he was "annoyed" at Mr O'Leary's remarks. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 2:43 ...
Starmer has ‘no plans’ to meet Taliban at COP29, says Downing Street | Politics News
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Starmer has ‘no plans’ to meet Taliban at COP29, says Downing Street | Politics News

Sir Keir Starmer has "no plans" to meet with the Taliban during the COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan, Downing Street said.The militant group confirmed on Sunday that it will be sending delegates to the UN-led conference for the first time since their takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, which took place as the US, UK, and their allies retreated from the country. Asked what the prime minister thought of that, and whether he would come face to face with its leaders, a Number 10 spokeswoman said: "No plans to meet with them."She said that attendance was "a matter for the organisers", adding: "More broadly the summit I think is bringing together 96 different delegations from across the world and the objective is obviously to strengthen global climate action and engagement on that issue."It is ob...
Climate fight is ‘bigger than one election’, says US climate envoy John Podesta, after Donald Trump’s election win | Science, Climate & Tech News
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Climate fight is ‘bigger than one election’, says US climate envoy John Podesta, after Donald Trump’s election win | Science, Climate & Tech News

The fight against climate change is "bigger than one election", US envoy John Podesta has said. Mr Podesta was speaking at the UN COP29 climate talks after his party lost the White House to Republican and climate sceptic Donald Trump. The re-election of Mr Trump, who is expected to again pull the United States out of global climate treaties and efforts, sent concern through the almost 200 countries gathering in Azerbaijan for the climate summit.But a defiant Mr Podesta said: "This is not the end of our fight for a cleaner, safer planet."Facts are still facts. Science is still science. The fight is bigger than one election, one political cycle in one country." Mr Trump's campaign team indicated the president-elect would withdraw the US - the world's second biggest polluter - out of the land...
First emperor penguin found in Australia after 2,000-mile journey from Antarctica | World News
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First emperor penguin found in Australia after 2,000-mile journey from Antarctica | World News

A malnourished emperor penguin has been found in Australia for the first time - more than 2,200 miles north of the Antarctic coast.The adult male was discovered on 1 November on a tourist beach in the town of Denmark in southwest Australia. The emperor is the largest penguin species and has never been reported in the country before, according to Belinda Cannell from the University of Western Australia.She said she had no clue why he had taken such a long journey, although some emperors have been spotted in New Zealand before. Image: The penguin was well underweight when it was found. Pic: AP The one-metre tall bird weighed 23kg when he was found, but healthy males can weigh more than 45kg. He is being cared for by seabird r...
AI used to recreate historic Vatican church and identify damage invisible to naked eye | Science, Climate & Tech News
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AI used to recreate historic Vatican church and identify damage invisible to naked eye | Science, Climate & Tech News

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been able to identify structural vulnerabilities invisible to the naked eye in St Peter's Basilica, the Vatican City, for the first time. The AI technology was used to create a digital twin of the famous Catholic church - which consists of an ultra-precise 3D computer model that simulates an object in the physical world. Image: Pic: Iconem/Microsoft The project, called La Basilica di San Pietro, was developed by Microsoft and the Vatican, in collaboration with Iconem, a French startup specialising in digital preservation.Over a period of three weeks, drones, cameras and lasers were used to take more than 400,000 detailed images to create an exact digital replica of the exterior and interior...