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2-metre sea level rise by 2100

WASHINGTON: Global sea levels could rise by two metres (6.5 feet) and displace tens of millions of people by the end of the century, according to new projections that double the UN’s benchmark estimates.The vast ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica contain enough frozen water to lift the world’s oceans dozens of metres. The expansion of water as oceans warm also contributes to sea level rise.But predicting the rates at which they will melt as the planet heats is notoriously tricky. The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said its 2013 Fifth Assessment Report that under current emissions trajectories — a “business-as-usual” scenario known as RCP8.5 — would likely rise by up to one metre by 2100.That prediction has since been viewed as conservative, as the levels of planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise year on year, and satellites showing accelerated rates of melt-off from massive ice sheets atop Antarctica and Greenland.A group of the w...
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Saudi media accuses Yemen rebels of missile fire at Makkah

Riyadh: Saudi-owned media accused Yemeni rebels Tuesday of targeting Islam’s holiest city Makkah after Riyadh and its allies said they had intercepted two missiles over the kingdom. Coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Maliki said two missiles were shot down between Jeddah and Taiz districts of Makkah province on Monday but did not elaborate on the suspected target or who fired them.However, both satellite news network Al-Arabiya and pan-Arab newspaper Asharq al-Awsat said the missiles were fired by Yemen’s Huthi Shiites rebels at Makkah. They said it was the third such launch by the Huthis targeting the holy city since the Saudi-led coalition intervened in the war in Yemen in March 2015.The Huthis denied any such missile fire, adding that they would have claimed responsibility if they had been behind a launch. "We wouldn’t be embarrassed to claim any operation to defend our people and land," a rebel spokesman said in a tweet. from The News International - World http://bit....
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BD govt blocks news website in fresh blow to media

DHAKA: Bangladesh authorities have blocked access to a popular news portal in what critics on Tuesday condemned as the latest blow to freedom of expression in the South Asian nation.Poriborton.com, one of the country’s top five online news outlets, was shut without notice on Sunday, managing editor Abu Sufian told AFP.He did not give a reason. Officials for government agencies that regulate the internet industry denied any knowledge of the case or refused to comment. But a Bangladesh media industry source said a government security agency ordered the closure after the website raised questions about the financing behind a newspaper advert against Muslim militancy.Muslim groups had condemned the advert, saying it described some signs of Islamic faith as marks of radicalisation. In recent months the authorities have shut 54 news portals and websites, including that of the main opposition party, citing security reasons. from The News International - World http://bit.ly/30yepYK
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‘Mother of Satan’ bombs show foreign hand in Sri Lanka bombings

COLOMBO: One month after the Sri Lanka suicide attacks that killed more than 250 people, investigators have told AFP the bombers used “Mother of Satan” explosives favoured by the Islamic State group that are a new sign of foreign involvement. Detectives said the back-pack bombs used in the April 21 attacks on three churches and three hotels were manufactured by local jihadists with Islamic State expertise.They named the explosive as triacetone triperoxide, or TATP, an unstable but easily made mixture favoured by Islamic State militants who call it “Mother of Satan”. It was also used in the 2015 attacks in Paris, by a suicide bomber who hit the Manchester Arena in England in 2017 and attacks on churches in Indonesia one year ago. Islamic State has claimed the Sri Lankan bombers operated as part of its franchise.But Sri Lankan and international investigators are anxious to know just how much outside help went into the attacks that left 258 dead and 500 injured. “The group had easy access...
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Man who threw milkshake at Farage is charged

LONDON: British police on Tuesday charged a man who threw a milkshake at Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage with common assault and criminal damage. The incident in Newcastle in northern England on Monday sparked condemnation from across the political spectrum, following a series of similar ambushes on populist and far-right candidates in the European elections. Police said the criminal damage charge against Paul Crowther, 32, related to a microphone that Farage was wearing while he was campaigning in the city. Common assault, a crime entailing a threat of physical violence, carries a maximum sentence of six months in prison, but first-time offenders in such cases usually only pay a fine. Crowther, who was detained and handcuffed at the scene, will appear in court next month. He told reporters that his action was "a right of protest against people like him" from The News International - World http://bit.ly/30D8bae
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Life support resumes for vegetative Frenchman after court order: lawyers

REIMS, France: Doctors on Tuesday resumed the life support for a Frenchman who has been in a vegetative state for over a decade, following a court order to restore it hours after the switching off process began, lawyers said. "We have the pleasure to inform you that... the hydration and feeding of Vincent Lambert has been resumed," said Jean Paillot, a lawyer for the parents who vehemently oppose ending his life, after a ruling late Monday by the Paris appeals court. "It is not a suspension but a new start," added the parents’ other lawyer Jerome Triomphe who said the aim now was to have Lambert transferred to a different hospital. The Paris court ordered authorities "to take all measures" to keep alive Lambert, a 42-year-old quadraplegic with severe brain damage, pending a review by the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. from The News International - World http://bit.ly/2VByb1L
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Police raiding homes of Iraqi gang in western Germany

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Police in western Germany are raiding premises linked to an Iraqi gang suspected of involvement in human trafficking, drug dealing, illegal arms trade and forging identity papers. from FOX News https://fxn.ws/2WYQIqa
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