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☆ China is bitter medicine for Europe’s EV pivot
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Neil Unmack | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

LONDON, Sept 12 (Reuters Breakingviews) - China can offer a bitter medicine for Europe’s bold electric vehicle pivot. That has prompted carmakers to develop premium e-cars for richer punters, rather than mass market vehicles. More competition from Chinese carmakers should help bring down prices of electric vehicles in Europe. It will force Western players to keep cutting costs to avoid losing too much market share, boosting overall e-car adoption. Sales of EVs picked up in August, with Jefferies analysts estimating a total market share across Europe of 23%.

Persons: Oliver Zipse, Olaf Scholz, carmakers, Morgan Stanley, Encouragingly, BYD, ”, EVs, Lisa Jucca, Oliver Taslic, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Volkswagen, European Automobile Manufacturers ’ Association, HK, Norway, BMW, Reuters Graphics, Jato Dynamics, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, BYD, Renault, UBS reckons, Financial, Electric, European Union, Jefferies, Thomson Locations: China, Europe, Italy, Europe’s, Germany, Norway, Latvia, Bulgaria, Britain, Polo . China, Western, EU

☆ Europe's economy threatened by extreme heat, fires and floods
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Olesya Dmitracova | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

London CNN —Mounting climate risks, illustrated by the extreme heat, wildfires and floods that ravaged parts of Europe this summer, could hurt the region’s economy as soon as this year, the European Commission warned Monday. In its latest economic forecast, the European Union’s executive arm downgraded its predictions for growth in the region in 2023 and 2024. But it added that there was “formidable uncertainty” over its latest forecast, with extreme weather among the “downside” risks. Construction and manufacturing are among other economic sectors vulnerable to extreme heat, said Owen at Saltmarsh Economics. Similarly to the European Commission, on Sunday the International Monetary Fund pointed to “grave risks to economic well-being” from climate change.

Persons: ” David Owen, Kyle Holland, Owen, Kristalina Georgieva Organizations: London CNN, European, European Travel Commission, CNN, Saltmarsh, Bank of Italy, Sunday, International Monetary, Group Locations: Europe, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Ireland, Denmark, Italy, Greece, Spain, India

☆ World isn’t moving fast enough to cut pollution and keep warming below 2 degrees Celsius, UN scorecard says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Ella Nilsen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —In the eight years since the landmark Paris Climate Agreement, the world’s nations have not done enough to cut pollution and avert catastrophic levels of warming, according to the first United Nations scorecard since Paris, released on Friday. The planet has already warmed about 1.2 degrees above preindustrial levels; during this year’s summer of record heat, it hit 1.5 degrees above preindustrial levels. June to August was the planet’s warmest such period since records began in 1940, according to data from the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. While the UN report finds the Paris Agreement “has driven near-universal climate action” from each country and put a major focus on lowering emissions, the actions themselves from countries aren’t matching up to the crisis. “Against forecasts made prior to its adoption, the Paris Agreement has led to contributions that significantly reduce forecasts of future warming, yet the world is not on track to meet the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement,” the UN authors wrote.

Persons: “, Dr, Sultan Al Jaber, ” Al Jaber, COP28, ” Tom Evans, ” Evans Organizations: CNN, United Nations, Paris, COP28, UN, United Locations: Paris, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

☆ Activists spray red paint over billionaire Walmart heiress’s superyacht for a second time
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Spanish climate activists sprayed red paint across a superyacht owned by billionaire Walmart heiress Nancy Walton Laurie in Barcelona on Friday, the second time the yacht has been the target of protests in the past two months. Two activists from the climate groups Scientist Rebellion and Extinction Rebellion accessed Marina Port Vell, a dock for superyachts, at 7 a.m. local time on Friday, according to a spokesperson for the organization. The Walmart heiress Nancy Walton's megayacht was spray painted this morning by climate activists in Marina Port Vell, Barcelona . Scientist RebellionA spokesperson for Marina Port Vell said that the boat had not been damaged in Friday’s action. The activists were detained by police at the marina for three hours before being released, according to a spokesperson for Scientist Rebellion.

Persons: Nancy Walton Laurie, Nancy Walton's megayacht, Port Vell, Samantha Burgess Organizations: CNN, Scientist Rebellion, Port Police Locations: Spanish, Barcelona, Marina Port Vell, superyachts, Ibiza

LONDON (AP) — Britain is rejoining the European Union’s $100 billion science-sharing program Horizon Europe, the two sides announced Thursday, more than two years after the country's membership became a casualty of Brexit. British scientists expressed relief at the decision, the latest sign of thawing relations between the EU and its former member nation. Britain is also rejoining Copernicus, the EU space program’s Earth observation component. Relations between Britain and the bloc were severely tested during the long divorce negotiations that followed Britain’s 2016 vote to leave the EU. British scientists, who feared Brexit would hurt international research collaboration, breathed sighs of relief at the Horizon deal.

Persons: Copernicus, ”, Ursula von der Leyen, Rishi Sunak, “, Sunak, Boris Johnson, Johnson, Paul Nurse, Francis Crick, didn’t, Peter Kyle Organizations: EU, Horizon, Northern, Republic of Ireland, Labour Party, Labour Locations: Britain, EU, Northern Ireland, Republic of, Europe

☆ Climate change: The world has just experienced the hottest summer on record
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —As heat waves continue to bake parts of the world, scientists are reporting that this blistering, deadly summer was the hottest on record – and by a significant margin. The planet experienced its hottest June on record, followed by the hottest July – both breaking previous records by large margins. August was also the warmest such month on record, according to the new Copernicus data, and warmer than every other month this year except for July. The global average temperature for the month was 16.82 degrees Celsius – 0.31 degrees warmer than the previous record set in 2016. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty ImagesCountries in the Southern Hemisphere have also experienced startlingly warm winters, with well-above average temperatures recorded in Australia, several South American countries and Antarctica.

Persons: Copernicus, It’s, ”, António Guterres, Petteri Taalas, Richard A, Brooks, Patrick T, Fallon, El, Samantha Burgess, CNN Burgess Organizations: CNN, Northern, United Nations, “, World Meteorological Organization, Getty, Southern, North Atlantic Locations: United States, Europe, Japan, Tokyo, AFP, Phoenix , Arizona, Australia, Antarctica, Atlantic, Pacific, Florida

Last month was the hottest August on record, topping off the hottest summer on record, according to climate scientists. June through August was the warmest summer on record globally by a “large margin,” according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. Well-above average temperatures also occurred in Australia, several South American countries and around much of Antarctica, according to the service. Climate change certainly left its mark on the summer, with one report finding that more than 80% of humanity – or 4 in 5 people – experienced a hotter July largely due to human-caused climate change. Cartoons on Climate Change View All 167 Images“The dog days of summer are not just barking, they are biting,” António Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations, said in a statement.

Persons: Samantha Burgess, –, António Guterres, El, Burgess Organizations: United Nations Locations: U.S, Europe, Asia, Australia, Antarctica

☆ Feel-good war on short flights misses the mark
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Rebecca Christie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Bryan Woolston Acquire Licensing RightsBRUSSELS, Sept 4 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Short flights within Europe are frequent flyers on wish lists of things to ban. But not all short flights are alike, and banning commercial hops makes less sense than targeting private jets. Limiting private jet travel would make a bigger difference, with fewer broad-based disruptions. Reuters GraphicsFollow @rebeccawire on XCONTEXT NEWSCountries such as France, Spain, Belgium and Germany have enacted or are considering measures to reduce or ban short flights. More than half of 2022 private jet travel was for distances of less than 750 km.

Persons: Bryan Woolston, Marjan, Davy, Stephen Furlong, George Hay, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Airbus, LaGuardia, REUTERS, Bryan Woolston Acquire, Rights, Reuters, Greenpeace, International Energy Agency, KLM, Institute for Policy Studies, Air, Brussels Airlines, European Commission . Aviation, Thomson Locations: New York City , New York, U.S, Rights BRUSSELS, Europe, Germany, Spain, France, Africa, Belgium

☆ Gabon military coup: What to know about the overthrow of the Bongo dynasty
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

International leaders have expressed concern and condemnation of the coup, some warning their citizens in Gabon to shelter in place. The military’s power grab began Wednesday, shortly after Gabon’s election authority said Bongo had been re-elected president following last weekend’s election. People celebrate following a military coup in Libreville, Gabon, on August 30. Coups in Africa were rampant in the early postcolonial decades, with coup leaders offering similar reasons for toppling governments: corruption, mismanagement and poverty, according to political analyst Remi Adekoya. The Gabon coup has been widely criticized by other African nations and in the West.

Persons: –, Ali Bongo Ondimba, Ali Bongo, Bongo, ”, president’s, Noureddin Bongo Valentin, Brice Oligui Nguema –, Bongo’s, Oligui, Gerauds Wilfried Obangome, “, Brice Oligui Nguema, there’s, Omar Bongo, Gabon's, Omar Bongo Ondimba, Nicolas Sarkozy, Frederic SOULOY, Ali Bongo’s, Remi Adekoya, Moussa Faki Mahamat, Ali, General Antonio Guterres, Guterres, Matthew Miller Organizations: CNN, Agence France, Presse, ” Residents, Bongo PDG, Reuters, Gabonese, Gabon Wednesday, African Union, ” United Nations, US State Department Locations: African, Gabon, Libreville, Ayong, Gabonese, Dakar, Senegal, Span, France, United States, Paris, Africa’s, Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger, Tunisia, Africa, West, United Kingdom, Spain

☆ US consumer spending is expected to cool further but not fall off a cliff
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( Bryan Mena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Investors and economists are bullish that consumer spending, the US economy’s main engine, won’t deteriorate too much, which should help stocks avoid a massive sell-off this year. The US Labor Department releases July figures on job openings, quits, hires and layoffs. The US Commerce Department releases July data on household spending, income and the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge. The US Labor Department reports the number of new applications for jobless benefits in the week ended Aug. 26. Friday: The US Labor Department releases August figures on the labor market, including monthly payroll gains, wage growth, and the unemployment rate.

Persons: “ We’re, we’ve, ” Matthew Palazzolo, we’re, We’re, ” Palazzolo, pare, It’s, Biden, Jerome Powell, Sinead Colton Grant, Anna Cooban Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, DC CNN, Federal Reserve, US, Bernstein Private Wealth Management, CNN, Nvidia, Research, Fed, Kansas City, San Francisco Fed, Mellon, International Monetary Fund, Global, US Labor Department, Board, US Commerce Department, National Association of Realtors, China’s National Bureau of Statistics, P Global, Institute for Supply Management Locations: Washington, Wells Fargo, Jackson Hole , Wyoming, American, Germany, Europe, Berlin

☆ Large US tech companies face new EU regulations
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Although the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA) passed last year, companies have had until now to prepare for its enforcement. Friday marks the arrival of a key compliance deadline — after which tech platforms with more than 45 million EU users will have to meet the obligations laid out in the law. But the list finalized in April includes the most powerful tech companies in the world, and, for those firms, violations can be expensive. The DSA permits EU officials to issue fines worth up to 6% of a very large platform’s global annual revenue. In a statement, a Microsoft spokesperson told CNN the DSA deadline “is an important milestone in the fight against illegal content online.

Persons: “, TikTok, “ We’ve, ”, Nick Clegg, Meta, Snap, Apple, Pinterest, Robert Grosvenor, Alvarez, ” Grosvenor, Thierry Breton, Breton, X, Agustin Reyna, Court’s, ” TikTok Organizations: CNN, Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Union’s Digital Services, EU, DSA, Companies, Facebook, European Commission, X Locations: Europe, London, “, BEUC

CNN —The burned bodies of 18 people were found as wildfires ripped through Greece on Tuesday and countries across Europe sweltered under yet another extreme heat wave. As dozens of wildfires scorch Greece, other parts of the region are suffering under intense heat, as Europe’s summer of extremes continues. Red heat warningsAs parts of Greece and Spain burn, temperatures are reaching record levels in other parts of Europe. These regions are all experiencing very high temperatures, with some pushing above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). Savona, in the northwest, saw an all-time record high of 39.1 degrees Celsius (102.4 Fahrenheit) on Monday.

Persons: Yiannis Artopios, Nikos Gioktsidis, “ I’ve, I’ve, Spyros Bakalis, Alexandroupolis, Dimitris Alexoudis, Artopios, Pedro Sánchez, –, MeteoAlarm, Igor Ferreira, Montbel, Alain Pitton, Aurélien Rousseau, Maximiliano Herrera, Martin, Rousseau, MeteoSchweiz Organizations: CNN, Reuters, Emergency Management Service, Firefighters, Getty, European Union, country’s, BFMTV, Puy St, Northern Locations: Greece, Europe, Athens, Alexandroupolis, Prodromos, AFP, Thrace, Cyprus, Romania, ANMA, Rhodes, Tenerife, Canary, Spanish, Spain, France, Drôme, Haute, Loire, Rhône, Puy, Italy, Savona, Switzerland, Swiss

☆ European Climate Czar Steps Down to Take Part in Dutch Elections
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Claire Moses | More About Claire Moses | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Frans Timmermans, the European Union’s climate chief, will leave his position in Brussels to become a candidate in coming elections in the Netherlands, the European Commission announced on Tuesday. Mr. Timmermans’s immediate departure comes as the European Union is focusing on meeting climate goals, reducing emissions on the continent as well as transitioning to clean energy. Mr. Timmermans served as the executive vice president for the European Green Deal, a set of proposals that aims to make the E.U.’s climate, energy, transport and taxation policies fit for reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030, compared with 1990 levels. Last month, European lawmakers approved a key element of the Green Deal that would require member nations to restore 20 percent of natural areas within their borders on land and at sea.

Persons: Frans Timmermans, Timmermans’s, Timmermans Organizations: European Commission, European Union, Green Deal, Green Locations: Brussels, Netherlands

☆ Cape Verde: Authorities 'left people to die' despite warnings about migrant boat weeks before tragedy, rights group alleges
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Benjamin Brown Zahid Mahmood Stephanie Busari Mostafa Salem | Benjamin Brown | Zahid Mahmood | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

At least 60 people are presumed dead after the boat was rescued off the coast of Cape Verde, the International Organization on Migration (IOM) told CNN on Thursday. Non-governmental organization Caminando Fronteras (Walking Borders) put the death toll at 92, adding it believed 130 people were on board the boat when it left Senegal. Garzón told CNN that Caminando Fronteras informed the authorities of Spain, Senegal, Mauritania and Morocco of the situation on July 20. Garzón further alleged that the European Union’s border patrol agency Frontex is active in the region, cooperating with the Senegalese and Mauritanian navies. She claimed that while the patrol ships look for boats in the area and monitor migrant routes, they do not provide assistance when required.

Persons: Frontex, Caminando, Caminando Fronteras, Helena Maleno Garzón, Garzón, “, ” Garzón, ” Organizations: CNN, Four, International Organization, Migration, Senegalese, ” CNN Locations: West Africa, Spanish, Cape Verde, Senegal, Spain, Mauritania, Morocco, Mauritanian, Europe

☆ Europe Is Embarking on a Mining Renaissance. Winning Over Locals Is Proving a Challenge.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Yusuf Khan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +12 min

“It’s definitely a [mining] renaissance,” said Rebecca Campbell, global mining and metals lead at law firm White & Case. “We’re trying to foster a permitting landscape that is both efficient and responsible.”In Europe, the mining renaissance comes after years of nearly no new mining activity on the continent. Left: A layer of spodumene within the host rock that Savannah Resources intends to mine. Savannah Resources, which has set up two offices in the municipality, has said it would strictly avoid that and instead build reservoirs to store rain water. That view is echoed by Savannah Resources.

Persons: COVAS, Portugal —, Barroso, BEL, mina ”, ”, Nelson Gomes, Covas, Alex Gorman, “, Nelson, YUSUF KHAN, “ It’s, Rebecca Campbell, ” “, Jayni Hein, Hein, “ We’re, Peel Hunt’s Gorman, Dale Ferguson, Gomes, Jessica Polfjärd, Polfjärd, Ana Fontoura Gouveia, Fontoura, ” Fontoura, Yusuf Khan Organizations: COVAS DO BARROSO, Associação, Peel, Vulcan Energy Resources, Adriatic Metals, White, Covington, Burling, Environmental, Council, Savannah Resources, Sustainable Business, Sweden’s Moderate Party, Serra Locations: Portugal, Porto, Boticas, Covas, It’s, Europe, Germany, Sweden, Bosnia, Finland, Greece, U.S, Savannah, London, spodumene, Serbia, China, yusuf.khan

☆ July hit a crucial warming threshold that scientists have warned the world should stay under
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Rachel Ramirez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Copernicus scientists say it’s the first summer month that has surpassed 1.5 degrees, offering a glimpse of future summers. Scientists are particularly concerned that global temperature will stay above 1.5 degrees for the long term. Before that, the other months that have been 1.5 degrees warmer than pre-industrial times have occurred during winter or early spring. “The year-to-date average is still below 1.5 degrees Celsius, and we find it unlikely that the rest of 2023 will be warm enough to bring the whole year average above 1.5,” he said. Copernicus scientists noted that as El Niño continues to develop, the world may witness more of these unprecedented temperature breaches.

Persons: Rebecca Emerton, Copernicus, Emerton, “ We’ve, ” Emerton, Robert Rohde, ” Rohde, Rohde, “, ”, El Niño Organizations: CNN, Berkeley, Northern Locations: Paris

☆ Google update lets users remove contact info, explicit images from search
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Google unveiled new privacy updates this week that lets US users have a wee bit more control over the search results that pop up about themselves online. “Then, you can quickly request the removal of those results from Google — right in the tool,” Danielle Romain, the vice president of Trust at Google, said in a blog post Thursday. “More broadly, whether it’s for websites containing personal information, explicit imagery or any other removal requests, we’ve updated and simplified the forms you use to submit requests,” Romain said Thursday. “Of course, removing content from Google Search does not remove it from the web or other search engines, but we hope these changes give you more control over private information appearing in Google Search,” she added. The privacy updates unveiled by Google this week, however, notably lack any mention of the latest privacy battleground in Big Tech: generative AI.

Persons: Danielle Romain, Romain, ” Romain Organizations: CNN, Google, Trust, EU, Big Locations: EU, Big Tech

☆ Oceans temperatures soared to the highest level on record this week
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

But what’s clear, she said, is “that current sea surface temperatures are exceptionally and unseasonably warm” and bringing wide-ranging implications, “especially for complex ecosystems such as coral reefs.”Gregory C. Johnson, an oceanographer at NOAA, said sea surface temperatures have soared this year. Surface temperatures tend to remain high from August through to September before starting to decline, said Johnson. “There’s still room to have warmer sea surface temperatures” this year. In the Florida Keys, a marine heat wave has pushed ocean temperatures to record-breaking, “hot tub” levels, leaving multiple coral reefs now completely bleached or dead. Some scientists are concerned that the ocean temperature records set this year could mark the start of an alarming trend for ocean heat.

Persons: El Niño, Kaitlin Naughten, Copernicus, ”, Gregory C, Johnson, “ There’s, –, Samantha Burgess, “ We’ve, ” Johnson Organizations: CNN, Antarctic Survey, Oceanic, NOAA, North Atlantic, Ireland Locations: Florida, North, North Atlantic

☆ Opinion: The Donald Trump and Hunter Biden surprises
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( Richard Galant | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +20 min

So it was remarkable Wednesday when the deal for Hunter Biden to plead guilty to two misdemeanors for his failure to pay taxes on time fell apart in a federal courtroom after the judge raised questions about it. Special counsel Jack Smith unexpectedly added a major allegation to the indictment charging former President Donald Trump with mishandling classified documents. The Trump and Hunter Biden developments underlined how America’s political climate is being shaped by what happens in the courts. This addition, an alleged surveillance tape conspiracy, almost reads like a spy novel.”“It features Trump employee and co-defendant Walt Nauta’s surprise clandestine trip to Florida. To W. James Antle III, it was the Hunter Biden plea deal snafu that brought to the forefront the “powerful split screen that drives” how Republican voters see the emerging 2024 presidential race.

Persons: Robert Burns, beasties, ”, Burns, aren’t, Hunter Biden, Jack Smith, Donald Trump, ” Smith, Trump, Dana Summers, Norman Eisen, Walt Nauta’s, Nauta, De Oliveira, De Oliveria, ’, ” Eisen, James Antle III, Hunter, Joe Biden’s, Maryellen Noreika, ” “ Noreika, couldn’t, Joe Biden, wasn’t, ” Bill Bramhall, Mitch McConnell, Sen, Dianne Feinstein, Julian Zelizer, “, ” “, Walt Handelsman, Elon Musk’s, Twitter “, Bill Carter, it’s, … Musk, —, Musk, ” Carter, Bill McGuire, ” McGuire, Mark Wolfe, Cassandra Lovejoy, Clay Jones, David Grusch, Jason Colavito, Colavito, Barbara Lee, Abigail E, Moore, ” Lee, Michael Bociurkiw, Odesa, Vladimir Putin’s, ” Bociurkiw, “ Handshakes, ” Netanyahu Israel’s, Benjamin Netanyahu, Frida Ghitis, Netanyahu, Drew Sheneman, Peniel, Joseph, Kamala Harris, Sophia A, Nicole Hemmer, Patrick T, Brown, David J, Skorton, Frank R, Lisa Benson, Barbie, Dean Obeidallah, ‘, GOP Sen, Ted Cruz, Mattel, Barbie —, Greta Gerwig’s, Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling —, ” Obeidallah, Taylor Swift Taylor Swift, Swift, Barbra Streisand, Margaret H, Willison, O’Connor Sinéad O'Connor, Andrew Chin, Sinéad O’Connor, Sarah Gundle, Taylor, Sinead O’Connor’s, ” Don’t, Lawrence, Kara Alaimo, Jill Filipovic, Jeff Pearlman, He’s, Catherine Steenkeste, David A, Andelman, Mort Rosenblum, who’s, he’s, ” We’ll Organizations: CNN, Mar, Trump, Justice Department, Fox, Republicans, GOP, of Justice, New York Daily, Times, Twitter, SpaceX, World Meteorological Organization, University College London, Pentagon, “, Disney, Supreme, Agency, Education, African, Trinity, Warner Bros, Warner Bros ., Billboard, Machine, Vogue Theatre, International Herald Tribune Locations: Scottish, Florida, Bedminster, New, California, Rhodes, Corfu, Evia, Europe, United States, Odesa, Miami, York, Ukrainian, Kyiv, Israel’s, North America, Vancouver, Canada, White, Paris, Seine, gunpoint, ”

☆ South Africa’s stance on Russia puzzles many. Could a mine in the desert hold answers?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( David Mckenzie | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Johannesburg, South Africa CNN —To many observers, South Africa’s stance on Russia’s war in Ukraine is puzzling. This week, while many African leaders stay away, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is attending a Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg along with key ministers. So, why is South Africa putting this important relationship at risk? The US had long treated South Africa with kid gloves, he said, mindful of not risking an important relationship. Officials have denied that anything was loaded up, but the claim is now subject to a sealed South African government inquiry.

Persons: South Africa CNN —, Cyril Ramaphosa, Viktor Vekselberg, Vladimir Putin, Byron Blunt, Chancellor House, Mogopodi Mokoena, Mokoena, UMK, ”, Karam Singh, Steven Gruzd, Reuben Brigety II, Brigety, Mikhail Metzel, Chancellor House’s, Putin, Yuri Trutnev, Konstantin Zavrazhin, Vekselberg, “, “ Mr Organizations: South Africa CNN, Russia, United Nations, Russian Navy, National Congress, Soviet Union, AmaBhungane, Investigative Journalism, CNN, Chancellor House Holdings, ANC, Mail & Guardian, Chancellor House, Corruption Watch, Chancellor, South African Institute of International Affairs, US, South, AP Mokoena, International Criminal Court, ICC, Getty, Treasury, FBI, Renova Group Locations: Johannesburg, South Africa, Ukraine, Africa, United States, Russian, Russia, St . Petersburg, States, St, Petersburg, Cape Town, African, Cape Town , South Africa, Mallorca, UMK, Cyprus, South

☆ July 2023 is planet's hottest month on record, Copernicus reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

We have just lived through the hottest three-week-period on record – and almost certainly in more than a hundred thousand years. “These are the hottest temperatures in human history,” said Samantha Burgess, deputy director at Copernicus. Remo Casilli/ReutersThe news that July will be the hottest month comes amid a slew of alarming records that have already been broken – and then broken again – this summer. Last month was the hottest June on record by a “substantial margin,” according to Copernicus. On July 6, the global average temperature rose to 17.08 degrees Celsius (62.74 Fahrenheit), according to Copernicus data, beating the previous temperature record of 16.8 degrees Celsius (62.24 Fahrenheit) set in August 2016.

Persons: Copernicus, ”, Samantha Burgess, Ronda Churchill, Carlo Buontempo, it’s, Burgess, El, Remo Casilli, we’ve, Fethi Belaid, Kim Cobb, ” Petteri Taalas Organizations: CNN, World Meteorological Organization, Visitor, Popolo, Getty, Brown University, WMO Locations: , California, AFP, Asia, US, China, Europe, Rome, Melloula, Tunisia

The extreme heat is prompting violent typhoons in Asia and flash floods in the United States. But to the pragmatist, extreme heat is the new normal. The good news: Investors are spending big on climate projects. Global warming helps make periods of extreme heat more frequent, longer and more intense, and it will continue getting worse unless humans essentially stop adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, scientists say. “There’s been huge, huge progress” in developing green technologies and bringing down their costs, said Bella Tonkonogy, the U.S. director of Climate Policy Initiative whose funders include the Bloomberg Foundation and the German government.

Persons: it’s, El Niño, Carl, Friedrich Schleussner, ” “, ”, DealBook, “ There’s, Bella Tonkonogy Organizations: Analytics, Global, Venture, Initiative, Biden, Bloomberg Foundation Locations: Asia, United States, Berlin, U.S

The intense heat afflicting much of the United States is putting pressure on the nation’s power grid. The agency is predicting unusually high temperatures in most of the country next month, almost everywhere except the northern Great Plains. Late Thursday, the operator of California’s power grid issued an emergency alert urging people to conserve electricity, as high temperatures put unusual strain on the system. In Phoenix, the temperature hit 116 degrees on Thursday, extending the city’s record streak to 21 straight days with temperatures of 110 degrees or higher. The first two weeks of July were likely the Earth’s warmest on record for any time of year, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.

Organizations: Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration Locations: United States, China, Europe, India, Great Plains, Phoenix

☆ Ukrainian air defenses in Odesa outgunned as Russia targets global grain supply
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Ivana Kottasová Olga Voitovich Mick Krever Alex Marquardt Scott Mcwhinnie Sebastian Shukla | Ivana Kottasová | Olga Voitovich | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Ukraine’s Air Force said it destroyed just five of 19 Russian cruise missiles fired at the country overnight into Thursday. “Systems such as Patriot or SAMP-T could provide protection for this region.”Ukraine has received at least two Patriot systems in April, one from the United States and one from Germany. Grain infrastructure targetedMoscow launched an intense campaign of bombardment against Odesa, Mykolaiv and other settlements in southern Ukraine on Monday when Ukraine struck the key Crimea bridge. Moscow announced on Monday that it was suspending its participation in an agreement that allowed the export of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea. “Not only they withdraw from the grain agreement in order to export grain from Ukraine, but they are burning the grain.

Persons: That’s, Oleh Kiper, Yurii Ihnat, ”, hasn’t, Volodymyr Zelensky, Samantha Power, Putin, Power, Josep Borrell, ” Borrell Organizations: Kyiv CNN —, Ukraine’s Air Force, CNN, Firefighters, Air Force Command, Ukraine’s Armed Forces, “ Systems, Ukraine’s, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Patriot, Monday, Russia’s Defense Ministry, Moscow, U.S . Agency for International Development Locations: Kyiv, Kyiv CNN — Ukraine, Odesa, Moscow, Russian, Ukraine, United States, Germany, Mykolaiv, Crimea, Russia, Africa, Asia

☆ Wikipedia’s Moment of Truth
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Jon Gertner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

At the moment, it goes against the grain to bet against A.I. The big tech companies, wagering billions on the new technologies and largely undaunted by their shortcomings or risks, seem intent on forging ahead as fast as they can. While Wikipedia’s licensing policy lets anyone tap its knowledge and text — to “reuse and remix” it however they might like — it does have several conditions. Mixing Wikipedia’s corpus into a chatbot model that gives answers to queries without explaining the sourcing may thus violate Wikipedia’s terms of use, two people in the open-source software community told me. In April, Reddit announced that it would not make its corpus available for scraping by big tech companies without compensation.

Persons: Theo, Joseph Reagle, Reagle, Reddit, Nicholas Vincent, Selena Deckelmann, Vincent, ‘, ’ Organizations: Northeastern University, A.I, Getty, Wikimedia Foundation, Google Locations: TikTok, California

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