Global News

[ad_1] WASHINGTON: State-of-the-art climate models drastically underestimate how much extreme rainfall increases under global warming , according to a study published Monday that signals a future of more frequent catastrophic floods unless humanity curbs greenhouse emissions. It comes as countries prepare to meet at the COP28 summit in Dubai beginning later this week, amid fears it could soon be impossible to limit long-term warming to the 1.5 degrees Celsius scientists say is necessary to curb the worst effects of human-caused climate change. Researchers from the Potsdam Institute of Climate Impact Research (PIK) looked at the intensity and frequency of daily precipitation extremes over land in 21 "next generation" climate models used by a UN body in its global assessments. They then compared the changes projected by the models with those observed historically, finding that nearly all climate models significantly underestimated the rates at which increases in preci

[ad_1] UNITED NATIONS: India's economic growth is projected to decelerate to 6 per cent in 2023 from 6.6 per cent in 2022, according to the United Nations . The UN Trade and Development Conference (UNCTAD) in its latest Trade and Development Report Update released Wednesday expects global growth in 2023 to drop to 2.1%, compared to the 2.2% projected in September 2022, assuming the financial fallout from higher interest rates is contained to the bank runs and bailouts of the first quarter. It warned that developing countries are facing years of difficulty as the global economy slows down amid heightened financial turbulence. Annual growth across large parts of the global economy will fall below the performance registered before the pandemic and well below the decade of strong growth before the global financial crisis. The report said that India grew 6.6 per cent in 2022, ceding the pole position among G20 countries in 2022 to oil-rich Saudi Arabia, which grew at 8.6 per cen

[ad_1] KYIV: Russia halted participation on Monday in the year-old UN-brokered deal that lets Ukraine export grain through the Black Sea, spreading a sense of dread in poorer countries where people fear price rises will put food out of reach. Hours earlier, a blast knocked out Russia’s bridge to Crimea in what Moscow called a strike by Ukrainian sea drones. Russia said two civilians were killed and their daughter wounded in what Moscow cast as a terrorist attack on the road bridge, a major artery for Russian troops fighting in Ukraine. The Kremlin said there was no link between the attack and its decision to suspend the grain deal, over what it called a failure to meet its demands to implement a parallel agreement easing rules for its own food and fertiliser exports. “Unfortunately, the part of these Black Sea agreements concerning Russia has not been implemented so far, so its effect is terminated,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call. UN Se

[ad_1] The United Nations Human Rights Council Wednesday approved a Pakistan-backed motion on religious hatred in the wake of the burning of the Holy Quran in Sweden — a move major Western powers opposed. Major Western powers — the United States, European Union, and the United Kingdom — opposed the resolution, claiming it was against their views on human rights and freedom of expression. Pakistan had moved the resolution titled "countering religious hatred constituting incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence" after a man in Sweden burned pages of the holy book, triggering a diplomatic backlash across the Muslim world. As many as 28 countries — including China, India, South Africa, and Ukraine — voted in favour, 12 voted against, and seven countries abstained. Among countries other than the UK and the US, Belgium, Costa Rica, Czechia, Finland, France, Germany, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Monte Negro, and Romania voted against the resolution. Pakistan's

[ad_1] Israel’s United Nations ambassador has called on UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to retract his condemnation of Israeli forces for using excessive force and harming civilians during their devastating raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. According to internaitonal media reports, the UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq responded saying that Guterres had conveyed his views on Israel’s operation in the Jenin refugee camp “and he stands by those views”. Guterres, angered by Israeli air attacks on Jenin and the danger posed to the civilian population, issued a statement on Thursday in which he said the assault had left over 100 civilians injured, uprooted thousands of residents, damaged schools and hospitals, and disrupted water and electricity networks. “Israel’s air strikes and ground operations in a crowded refugee camp were the worst violence in the West Bank in many years, with a significant impact on civilians,” Guterres said. The UN chief al