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Showing posts with label Climate change. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Climate change. Show all posts

United States to spend $319 million on new Consulate General in Lagos, Nigeria

United States to spend $319 million on new Consulate General in Lagos, Nigeria






The American government (US Department Of States) has approved a $319 million contract for the building of a new U.S. Consulate General in the Eko Atlantic, developed by South Energyx Nigeria Limited in collaboration with Lagos State government.


According to a report from the US Department of State on Tuesday, the 12.2-acre site for the new Consulate General would be handled by the awardee of the contract, Pernix Federal, LLC of Lombard, Illinois.


The US Department of State’s Capital Security Construction Program, known as the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, which was established in 1999 awarded the contract while the design architect for the project is Ennead Architects of New York. 


The aim of the new Consulate General is to “provide a modern, resilient platform for diplomacy in Nigeria and is expected to be completed in 2027.”


 The report indicated that the Eko Atlantic as “the location will provide the future diplomatic campus and its neighbors with access to sustainable, modern infrastructure, including an 8.5 km seawall designed to protect the city from rising sea levels and coastal erosion.”


Since its establishment, the OBO has completed up to 168 new diplomatic facilities and currently has more than 50 active projects, either in design or under construction worldwide.






The American government (US Department Of States) has approved a $319 million contract for the building of a new U.S. Consulate General in the Eko Atlantic, developed by South Energyx Nigeria Limited in collaboration with Lagos State government.


According to a report from the US Department of State on Tuesday, the 12.2-acre site for the new Consulate General would be handled by the awardee of the contract, Pernix Federal, LLC of Lombard, Illinois.


The US Department of State’s Capital Security Construction Program, known as the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, which was established in 1999 awarded the contract while the design architect for the project is Ennead Architects of New York. 


The aim of the new Consulate General is to “provide a modern, resilient platform for diplomacy in Nigeria and is expected to be completed in 2027.”


 The report indicated that the Eko Atlantic as “the location will provide the future diplomatic campus and its neighbors with access to sustainable, modern infrastructure, including an 8.5 km seawall designed to protect the city from rising sea levels and coastal erosion.”


Since its establishment, the OBO has completed up to 168 new diplomatic facilities and currently has more than 50 active projects, either in design or under construction worldwide.

Russian capital Moscow registers warmest weather on record on March 8

Russian capital Moscow registers warmest weather on record on March 8

The air temperature in Moscow climbed to a record 8.5 degrees Celsius (47.3 degrees Fahrenheit) on March 8, the highest figure for more than 140 years of weather observations in the Russian capital, Scientific Head of Russia’s Weather Forecasting Agency Roman Vilfand told TASS on Sunday.

"The maximum figure since 1879 was registered in 2014, equaling plus 8.3 degrees. The warm weather today is such that already at night, at 5-6 hours in the morning, the temperature was plus 8.5 degrees. This is a new record for Moscow," Vilfand said.

"The pleasant information is that the rain intensity is decreasing and actually it won’t rain by the evening and the night is predicted without any precipitation at all.

During the next five-six days, homogenous weather is forecast by its temperature in Moscow: plus 8-10 degrees Celsius and moderate rains are likely," he said.


The air temperature in Moscow climbed to a record 8.5 degrees Celsius (47.3 degrees Fahrenheit) on March 8, the highest figure for more than 140 years of weather observations in the Russian capital, Scientific Head of Russia’s Weather Forecasting Agency Roman Vilfand told TASS on Sunday.

"The maximum figure since 1879 was registered in 2014, equaling plus 8.3 degrees. The warm weather today is such that already at night, at 5-6 hours in the morning, the temperature was plus 8.5 degrees. This is a new record for Moscow," Vilfand said.

"The pleasant information is that the rain intensity is decreasing and actually it won’t rain by the evening and the night is predicted without any precipitation at all.

During the next five-six days, homogenous weather is forecast by its temperature in Moscow: plus 8-10 degrees Celsius and moderate rains are likely," he said.


Every child under "immediate threat" from climate, poor diet, says UN

Every child under "immediate threat" from climate, poor diet, says UN

Paris, (AFP), The world is failing to protect children from the health dangers posed by climate change and poor diet, a landmark UN report said Wednesday, warning that every child is under "immediate threat".

According to more than 40 of the world's pre-eminent child and adolescent health experts, not one country on Earth is adequately protecting the next generation from the impacts of carbon emissions, the destruction of nature and high-calorie and processed foods.

They said that excessive carbon emissions, produced overwhelmingly by wealthier nations, "threaten the future of all children" and will burden them with additional health dangers, from deadly heatwaves to the increased spread of tropical diseases.

The report, commissioned by the World Health Organization and UNICEF, also highlights the threat children face from harmful marketing of fat- and sugar-laden foods, alcohol and tobacco.

"The big message is that no single country is protecting children's health today and for their future," said Anthony Costello, professor of International Child Health and Director of the Institute for Global Health at University College London.

"When you look at the damage being done to children's lungs by air pollution, we've got a very limited time to sort this out," he told AFP.

"We have the solutions, what we don't have is the political leadership and will to make it happen."

The report, published in The Lancet medical journal, ranks the performance of 180 countries when it comes to child survival, education and nutrition rates.

Under these criteria, less-developed nations such as Central African Republic and Chad perform particularly poorly compared to rich countries such as Norway and the Netherlands.

However the rankings are largely reversed when the impacts of air pollution from per capita carbon emissions were assessed.

"The world's decision makers are failing today's children and youth: failing to protect their health, failing to protect their rights, and failing to protect their planet," said WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.


- 11-fold obesity surge -

Around 250 million under-fives in low- and middle-income countries risk being stunted due to malnutrition and other impacts of poverty, the authors said.

At the same time, the number of obese children worldwide has surged 11-fold since 1975 to stand at 124 million.

Children in some countries see as many as 30,000 adverts on television in a single year. And despite industry self-regulation, one study showed that children in Australia were exposed 51 million times to alcohol adverts in just one year of televised sport.

"Industry regulation has failed," said Costello.

"And the reality could be much worse still: we have few figures about the huge expansion of social media advertising and algorithms aimed at our children."

The authors called on governments to radically reduce carbon emissions in line with the Paris climate goals and to tighten regulation of harmful marketing.

Current emissions pledges put Earth on course to warm more than 3C by 2100, which "would lead to devastating health consequences for children", from rising sea levels and heatwaves to disease and malnutrition.

Paris, (AFP), The world is failing to protect children from the health dangers posed by climate change and poor diet, a landmark UN report said Wednesday, warning that every child is under "immediate threat".

According to more than 40 of the world's pre-eminent child and adolescent health experts, not one country on Earth is adequately protecting the next generation from the impacts of carbon emissions, the destruction of nature and high-calorie and processed foods.

They said that excessive carbon emissions, produced overwhelmingly by wealthier nations, "threaten the future of all children" and will burden them with additional health dangers, from deadly heatwaves to the increased spread of tropical diseases.

The report, commissioned by the World Health Organization and UNICEF, also highlights the threat children face from harmful marketing of fat- and sugar-laden foods, alcohol and tobacco.

"The big message is that no single country is protecting children's health today and for their future," said Anthony Costello, professor of International Child Health and Director of the Institute for Global Health at University College London.

"When you look at the damage being done to children's lungs by air pollution, we've got a very limited time to sort this out," he told AFP.

"We have the solutions, what we don't have is the political leadership and will to make it happen."

The report, published in The Lancet medical journal, ranks the performance of 180 countries when it comes to child survival, education and nutrition rates.

Under these criteria, less-developed nations such as Central African Republic and Chad perform particularly poorly compared to rich countries such as Norway and the Netherlands.

However the rankings are largely reversed when the impacts of air pollution from per capita carbon emissions were assessed.

"The world's decision makers are failing today's children and youth: failing to protect their health, failing to protect their rights, and failing to protect their planet," said WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.


- 11-fold obesity surge -

Around 250 million under-fives in low- and middle-income countries risk being stunted due to malnutrition and other impacts of poverty, the authors said.

At the same time, the number of obese children worldwide has surged 11-fold since 1975 to stand at 124 million.

Children in some countries see as many as 30,000 adverts on television in a single year. And despite industry self-regulation, one study showed that children in Australia were exposed 51 million times to alcohol adverts in just one year of televised sport.

"Industry regulation has failed," said Costello.

"And the reality could be much worse still: we have few figures about the huge expansion of social media advertising and algorithms aimed at our children."

The authors called on governments to radically reduce carbon emissions in line with the Paris climate goals and to tighten regulation of harmful marketing.

Current emissions pledges put Earth on course to warm more than 3C by 2100, which "would lead to devastating health consequences for children", from rising sea levels and heatwaves to disease and malnutrition.

Record southeastern Brazil rainstorms kill 30, according to official

Record southeastern Brazil rainstorms kill 30, according to official

 HORIZONTE, BRAZIL (AFP) - At least 30 people have been killed by intense storms in south-eastern Brazil, the Civil Defense office in Minas Gerais state said on Saturday (Jan 25).

The toll was a jump from the 11 reported by the same office earlier in the day.

Seventeen people are also missing, seven injured, and some 3,500 have been forced to move in more following a series of landslides and house collapses, Civil Defense officials said.

Rainfall in the region has been the heaviest since records were first kept 110 years ago, the National Institute of Meteorology said. In one 24-hour period, state capital Belo Horizonte recorded 172 millimeters (almost seven inches) of rain.

Forecasters said the rain is expected to continue through Saturday.

The deluge coincided with the first anniversary of the dam collapse in the Minas Gerais town of Brumadinho, where 11 people are still listed as missing.

An accumulation of water and a lack of drainage caused the tailings dam rupture on January 25, 2019, according to a report commissioned by the mining firm Vale.

 HORIZONTE, BRAZIL (AFP) - At least 30 people have been killed by intense storms in south-eastern Brazil, the Civil Defense office in Minas Gerais state said on Saturday (Jan 25).

The toll was a jump from the 11 reported by the same office earlier in the day.

Seventeen people are also missing, seven injured, and some 3,500 have been forced to move in more following a series of landslides and house collapses, Civil Defense officials said.

Rainfall in the region has been the heaviest since records were first kept 110 years ago, the National Institute of Meteorology said. In one 24-hour period, state capital Belo Horizonte recorded 172 millimeters (almost seven inches) of rain.

Forecasters said the rain is expected to continue through Saturday.

The deluge coincided with the first anniversary of the dam collapse in the Minas Gerais town of Brumadinho, where 11 people are still listed as missing.

An accumulation of water and a lack of drainage caused the tailings dam rupture on January 25, 2019, according to a report commissioned by the mining firm Vale.

International tourism growth slows in 2019 —UNWTO

International tourism growth slows in 2019 —UNWTO

A profile picture
MADRID (AFP) — The rise in the number of international tourist arrivals slowed to 4.0 percent in 2019, its slowest rate since 2016 due to a cooling global economy, geopolitical tensions and uncertainty regarding Brexit, the World Tourism Organization said Monday.
The Madrid-based UN body, UNWTO, predicted global tourism will grow by 3.0-4.0 percent this year, buoyed by major sporting and cultural events such as the Tokyo Olympics in Japan.

The number of international tourist arrivals hit 1.5 billion last year, up from 1.4 billion in 2018, the body said in a statement.

Tourist numbers grew by 6.0 percent in 2018, 7.0 percent in 2017 and by 4.0 percent in 2016.

"The slowdown in linked to the results of the global economy, with economic growth of around 3.0 percent," UNWTO's market intelligence chief, Sandra Carvao, told a news conference.

She said "strong uncertainty around" Britain's looming exit from the European Union, simmering geopolitical tensions and the collapse of Thomas Cook, the world's oldest travel form, had also contributed to the slowdown.

But Carvao stressed that both 2017 and 2018 had posted exceptionally high rates of tourism growth.

"What is happening is we are returning to historical levels of tourism growth," she said.

Europe and the Asia-Pacific region were the most affected by the slowdown in tourism arrivals.

Arrivals rose by 4.0 percent in Europe in 2019, down from 6.0 percent in 2018, while in Asia-Pacific arrivals rose by 5.0 percent compared to 7.0 percent in 2018 as ongoing protests in Hong Kong weighed the sector down.

Africa posted a 4.0-percent rise in tourist arrivals, down from 9.0 percent in 2018.

The Middle East was the one bright spot as tourist arrivals in the region jumped by 8.0 percent in 2018, up from 3.0 percent in the previous year, due mainly to Saudi Arabia's ambitious plan to draw foreign visitors.

UNWTO expects France, Spain and the United States to once again be the three most visited countries in the world last year once it has final figures.

"We don't really expect changes in the rankings," said Carvao.

In 2018, France remained the world's most visited nation with 89 million arrivals followed by Spain and the United States. — Agence France-Presse


A profile picture
MADRID (AFP) — The rise in the number of international tourist arrivals slowed to 4.0 percent in 2019, its slowest rate since 2016 due to a cooling global economy, geopolitical tensions and uncertainty regarding Brexit, the World Tourism Organization said Monday.
The Madrid-based UN body, UNWTO, predicted global tourism will grow by 3.0-4.0 percent this year, buoyed by major sporting and cultural events such as the Tokyo Olympics in Japan.

The number of international tourist arrivals hit 1.5 billion last year, up from 1.4 billion in 2018, the body said in a statement.

Tourist numbers grew by 6.0 percent in 2018, 7.0 percent in 2017 and by 4.0 percent in 2016.

"The slowdown in linked to the results of the global economy, with economic growth of around 3.0 percent," UNWTO's market intelligence chief, Sandra Carvao, told a news conference.

She said "strong uncertainty around" Britain's looming exit from the European Union, simmering geopolitical tensions and the collapse of Thomas Cook, the world's oldest travel form, had also contributed to the slowdown.

But Carvao stressed that both 2017 and 2018 had posted exceptionally high rates of tourism growth.

"What is happening is we are returning to historical levels of tourism growth," she said.

Europe and the Asia-Pacific region were the most affected by the slowdown in tourism arrivals.

Arrivals rose by 4.0 percent in Europe in 2019, down from 6.0 percent in 2018, while in Asia-Pacific arrivals rose by 5.0 percent compared to 7.0 percent in 2018 as ongoing protests in Hong Kong weighed the sector down.

Africa posted a 4.0-percent rise in tourist arrivals, down from 9.0 percent in 2018.

The Middle East was the one bright spot as tourist arrivals in the region jumped by 8.0 percent in 2018, up from 3.0 percent in the previous year, due mainly to Saudi Arabia's ambitious plan to draw foreign visitors.

UNWTO expects France, Spain and the United States to once again be the three most visited countries in the world last year once it has final figures.

"We don't really expect changes in the rankings," said Carvao.

In 2018, France remained the world's most visited nation with 89 million arrivals followed by Spain and the United States. — Agence France-Presse


Hundreds of troops to help Canadian province recover from huge blizzard

Hundreds of troops to help Canadian province recover from huge blizzard

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Between 150 and 200 Canadian troops should be in the Atlantic province of Newfoundland and Labrador by the end of Sunday to help it dig out from a massive blizzard, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said.

The armed forces will also provide two transport planes and at least two helicopters. The storm dumped up to 76.2 cm (30 inches) of snow on St. John’s, the capital of Newfoundland, and packed wind gusts as high as 130 km per hour (81 mph).

Many major roads are totally impassable. Although a state of emergency remains in the town, authorities said on Sunday that gas stations and pharmacies would be allowed to reopen.

“Probably by the end of today you’ll have about 150 to 200 personnel on the ground ready to provide support. This could surge up to anywhere between 250 to 300 by tomorrow and the coming days,” Sajjan said on the sidelines of a cabinet retreat in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

The troops would be a mix of reserves already in the province and soldiers arriving from elsewhere, he added.

Conditions could continue to be difficult, since Environment Canada is predicting an additional 10 cm of snow starting on Sunday night.

“We really need to get the roads opened ... we need to make sure we get better access to the hospital,” St. John’s mayor Danny Breen told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. on Sunday.


Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Andrea Ricci for Reuters
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Between 150 and 200 Canadian troops should be in the Atlantic province of Newfoundland and Labrador by the end of Sunday to help it dig out from a massive blizzard, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said.

The armed forces will also provide two transport planes and at least two helicopters. The storm dumped up to 76.2 cm (30 inches) of snow on St. John’s, the capital of Newfoundland, and packed wind gusts as high as 130 km per hour (81 mph).

Many major roads are totally impassable. Although a state of emergency remains in the town, authorities said on Sunday that gas stations and pharmacies would be allowed to reopen.

“Probably by the end of today you’ll have about 150 to 200 personnel on the ground ready to provide support. This could surge up to anywhere between 250 to 300 by tomorrow and the coming days,” Sajjan said on the sidelines of a cabinet retreat in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

The troops would be a mix of reserves already in the province and soldiers arriving from elsewhere, he added.

Conditions could continue to be difficult, since Environment Canada is predicting an additional 10 cm of snow starting on Sunday night.

“We really need to get the roads opened ... we need to make sure we get better access to the hospital,” St. John’s mayor Danny Breen told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. on Sunday.


Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Andrea Ricci for Reuters

UN warns more extreme weather ahead after hottest decade on record

UN warns more extreme weather ahead after hottest decade on record

Geneva (AFP) - The past decade has been the hottest on record, the UN said Wednesday, warning that the higher temperatures were expected to fuel numerous extreme weather events in 2020 and beyond.

The World Meteorological Organization, which based its findings on analysis of leading international datasets, said increases in global temperatures had already had dire consequences, pointing to "retreating ice, record sea levels, increasing ocean heat and acidification, and extreme weather".

WMO said its research also confirmed data released by the European Union's climate monitor last week showing that 2019 was the second hottest year on record, after 2016.

"The year 2020 has started out where 2019 left off -- with high-impact weather and climate-related events," WMO chief Petteri Taalas said in a statement, pointing in particular to the devastating bushfires that have been raging in Australia for months.

The bushfires, unprecedented in their duration and intensity, have claimed 28 lives and highlighted the type of disasters that scientists say the world will increasingly face due to global warming.

The fires have already destroyed more than 2,000 homes and burnt 10 million hectares (100,000 square kilometres) of land -- an area larger than South Korea or Portugal.

"Unfortunately, we expect to see much extreme weather throughout 2020 and the coming decades, fuelled by record levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere," Taalas said.

The UN agency said that average global temperatures during both the past five-year (2015-2019) and 10-year (2010-2019) periods were the highest ever recorded.

"Since the 1980s each decade has been warmer than the previous one," the UN agency said in a statement, warning that "this trend is expected to continue".

The United Nations said last year that man-made greenhouse gas emissions needed to tumble 7.6 percent each year to 2030 in order to limit temperature rises to 1.5 Celsius -- the more ambitious cap nations signed up to in the landmark Paris climate deal. Continue reading
Geneva (AFP) - The past decade has been the hottest on record, the UN said Wednesday, warning that the higher temperatures were expected to fuel numerous extreme weather events in 2020 and beyond.

The World Meteorological Organization, which based its findings on analysis of leading international datasets, said increases in global temperatures had already had dire consequences, pointing to "retreating ice, record sea levels, increasing ocean heat and acidification, and extreme weather".

WMO said its research also confirmed data released by the European Union's climate monitor last week showing that 2019 was the second hottest year on record, after 2016.

"The year 2020 has started out where 2019 left off -- with high-impact weather and climate-related events," WMO chief Petteri Taalas said in a statement, pointing in particular to the devastating bushfires that have been raging in Australia for months.

The bushfires, unprecedented in their duration and intensity, have claimed 28 lives and highlighted the type of disasters that scientists say the world will increasingly face due to global warming.

The fires have already destroyed more than 2,000 homes and burnt 10 million hectares (100,000 square kilometres) of land -- an area larger than South Korea or Portugal.

"Unfortunately, we expect to see much extreme weather throughout 2020 and the coming decades, fuelled by record levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere," Taalas said.

The UN agency said that average global temperatures during both the past five-year (2015-2019) and 10-year (2010-2019) periods were the highest ever recorded.

"Since the 1980s each decade has been warmer than the previous one," the UN agency said in a statement, warning that "this trend is expected to continue".

The United Nations said last year that man-made greenhouse gas emissions needed to tumble 7.6 percent each year to 2030 in order to limit temperature rises to 1.5 Celsius -- the more ambitious cap nations signed up to in the landmark Paris climate deal. Continue reading

Environmentalists file suit against Merkel's 'weak' climate laws

Environmentalists file suit against Merkel's 'weak' climate laws

Merkel
Berlin (AFP) - Environmental groups announced Wednesday they had filed two lawsuits at Germany's highest court accusing Chancellor Angela Merkel's government had failed to protect basic rights through its weak climate protection law.

Greenpeace together with German groups BUND and Deutsche Umwelthilfe filed the legal actions, which are also backed by Luisa Neubauer, a prominent activist of the Fridays for Future climate strike movement.

A dozen Bangladeshis and Nepalis, whose countries have been hard hit by global warming, also support the initiative.

"Climate protection is the protection of fundamental rights, particularly those of younger generations and inhabitants of most affected countries," said Remo Klinger, a lawyer for the plaintiffs.

Germany should "make a contribution commensurate with its responsibility in terms of climate change", added Klinger, urging the Federal Constitutional Court to "show the way to go".

The environmental groups had already backed three farmer families who took their case to a Berlin administrative court last year, but that case was struck down by the judge.

Undeterred, they have now turned to Germany's highest court, evoking a decision of the Dutch supreme court, which in 2019 ordered the Dutch state to cut its greenhouse gas emissions.

Merkel's government last year agreed on a sweeping package of climate policy reforms that are estimated to cost 100 billion euros by 2030.

With plans to make train travel cheaper and air travel more costly, the package is intended to help Europe's largest economy slash its greenhouse gas emissions by 55 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.

- Environmental issues divide Germany -

But climate activists argue that the plan is too weak to halt the planet from hurtling towards irreversible and devastating warming.

"It's not just about future generations, but also our generation and our lives," said Neubauer.

After two blistering summers and the escalating Fridays for Future protests started by Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg, climate has shot up to the top of Germany's political agenda.

In her New Year's address, Merkel addressed the environmental challenge.

"Global warming and the crises that arise from it are caused by human activity. This means that we must do everything humanly possible to meet this human challenge," she said.

The issue has also exposed a deep rift in Germany.

Tens of thousands of workers here are dependent on the vital car industry, and where coal mining is still a key employer in many parts of eastern states.

This gulf also runs through industries, such as in the agriculture sector.

While some farmers have taken their tractors to Berlin in protest against more stringent restrictions against pollutants or pesticides like glyphosate, others in the agricultural industry are holding counter-demonstrations against Berlin for not going further with outright bans on health-hazardous fertilisers.

In the latest action Wednesday, beekeepers dumped glyphosate-tainted honey at the entrance of the agriculture ministry.


Merkel
Berlin (AFP) - Environmental groups announced Wednesday they had filed two lawsuits at Germany's highest court accusing Chancellor Angela Merkel's government had failed to protect basic rights through its weak climate protection law.

Greenpeace together with German groups BUND and Deutsche Umwelthilfe filed the legal actions, which are also backed by Luisa Neubauer, a prominent activist of the Fridays for Future climate strike movement.

A dozen Bangladeshis and Nepalis, whose countries have been hard hit by global warming, also support the initiative.

"Climate protection is the protection of fundamental rights, particularly those of younger generations and inhabitants of most affected countries," said Remo Klinger, a lawyer for the plaintiffs.

Germany should "make a contribution commensurate with its responsibility in terms of climate change", added Klinger, urging the Federal Constitutional Court to "show the way to go".

The environmental groups had already backed three farmer families who took their case to a Berlin administrative court last year, but that case was struck down by the judge.

Undeterred, they have now turned to Germany's highest court, evoking a decision of the Dutch supreme court, which in 2019 ordered the Dutch state to cut its greenhouse gas emissions.

Merkel's government last year agreed on a sweeping package of climate policy reforms that are estimated to cost 100 billion euros by 2030.

With plans to make train travel cheaper and air travel more costly, the package is intended to help Europe's largest economy slash its greenhouse gas emissions by 55 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.

- Environmental issues divide Germany -

But climate activists argue that the plan is too weak to halt the planet from hurtling towards irreversible and devastating warming.

"It's not just about future generations, but also our generation and our lives," said Neubauer.

After two blistering summers and the escalating Fridays for Future protests started by Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg, climate has shot up to the top of Germany's political agenda.

In her New Year's address, Merkel addressed the environmental challenge.

"Global warming and the crises that arise from it are caused by human activity. This means that we must do everything humanly possible to meet this human challenge," she said.

The issue has also exposed a deep rift in Germany.

Tens of thousands of workers here are dependent on the vital car industry, and where coal mining is still a key employer in many parts of eastern states.

This gulf also runs through industries, such as in the agriculture sector.

While some farmers have taken their tractors to Berlin in protest against more stringent restrictions against pollutants or pesticides like glyphosate, others in the agricultural industry are holding counter-demonstrations against Berlin for not going further with outright bans on health-hazardous fertilisers.

In the latest action Wednesday, beekeepers dumped glyphosate-tainted honey at the entrance of the agriculture ministry.


How Philippines struggles to keep evacuees away from volcano

How Philippines struggles to keep evacuees away from volcano

Talisay City (Philippines) (AFP) - Philippine authorities were struggling Wednesday to keep thousands of evacuees from returning to homes in areas threatened by a feared massive eruption of Taal volcano.

Some 40,000 people have taken refuge in shelters since the volcano let loose a towering burst of ash and jets of lava on Sunday.

Police subsequently set up no-go zones and mandatory evacuations in at-risk towns around Taal, which is about 65 kilometres (40 miles) south of Manila.

But days later locals are losing patience and demanding access, even as the nation's seismological agency warns the volcano could unleash a more powerful eruption at any time.


Melvin Casilao said he and his neighbours in the town of Talisay need to feed their livestock, remove the thick ash from their roofs and pull their boats from the water.

Their community is on the shore of a vast lake that rings Taal, a popular tourist attraction despite being one of the nation's most active volcanoes.

"We want to visit our houses and clean the roofs. They are smothered in thick ash and they could collapse," Casilao told AFP.

Soldiers have been deployed at checkpoints in some areas, including Talisay, with police officer Sarah Jane Saballa saying: "It's for the safety of the residents."

People around Taal had to leave at a moment's notice, so many fled with just the clothes on their back.

As the volcano has calmed slightly in the past 24 hours and is spewing less ash, the temptation to return has grown.

Seismologists have noted a string of earthquakes and fissures opening up in roads, indicating magma is still on the move and Taal remains very dangerous.

However, some areas have made concessions, allowing people in for short periods, despite the risks.

"These are residents appealing to us to allow them to feed their pets," said Gerry Malipon, San Nicolas town police chief.

"But after they've fed them, they will have to leave as soon as possible."

Talisay City (Philippines) (AFP) - Philippine authorities were struggling Wednesday to keep thousands of evacuees from returning to homes in areas threatened by a feared massive eruption of Taal volcano.

Some 40,000 people have taken refuge in shelters since the volcano let loose a towering burst of ash and jets of lava on Sunday.

Police subsequently set up no-go zones and mandatory evacuations in at-risk towns around Taal, which is about 65 kilometres (40 miles) south of Manila.

But days later locals are losing patience and demanding access, even as the nation's seismological agency warns the volcano could unleash a more powerful eruption at any time.


Melvin Casilao said he and his neighbours in the town of Talisay need to feed their livestock, remove the thick ash from their roofs and pull their boats from the water.

Their community is on the shore of a vast lake that rings Taal, a popular tourist attraction despite being one of the nation's most active volcanoes.

"We want to visit our houses and clean the roofs. They are smothered in thick ash and they could collapse," Casilao told AFP.

Soldiers have been deployed at checkpoints in some areas, including Talisay, with police officer Sarah Jane Saballa saying: "It's for the safety of the residents."

People around Taal had to leave at a moment's notice, so many fled with just the clothes on their back.

As the volcano has calmed slightly in the past 24 hours and is spewing less ash, the temptation to return has grown.

Seismologists have noted a string of earthquakes and fissures opening up in roads, indicating magma is still on the move and Taal remains very dangerous.

However, some areas have made concessions, allowing people in for short periods, despite the risks.

"These are residents appealing to us to allow them to feed their pets," said Gerry Malipon, San Nicolas town police chief.

"But after they've fed them, they will have to leave as soon as possible."

Magnetic North to Continue March Toward Russia, ‘Point East of True North by 2040’

Magnetic North to Continue March Toward Russia, ‘Point East of True North by 2040’

Earlier this month, the British Geological Survey (BGS) and the US National Centers for Environmental Information released yet another update to the World Magnetic Model, forecasting that the magnetic pole will continue its push toward Siberia at a rate of about 40 km per year.

BGS geophysicist and geomagnetic specialist Dr. Ciaran Beggan predicts that compasses will start pointing eastward of the geographic, True North Pole within the next twenty years.
“By 2040, all compasses will probably point eastward of True North,” the scientist, who played a role in creating the updated World Magnetic Model, said, speaking to Business Insider.

Used by everything from smartphone compass apps to GPS and telecom transmission systems, the World Magnetic Model has seen two updates this past year, with scientists replacing the 2015 model earlier than scheduled after calculating that it was becoming so inaccurate that it could cause navigational errors.

Commenting on the latest December 2019 update to the World Magnetic Model, Beggan explained that while “Magnetic North has spent the last 350 years wandering around the same part of Canada,” starting in the 1980s, “the rate it was moving jumped from 10 kilometres per year to 50 kilometres”.

Furthermore, it was also at this time that the Magnetic North Pole started moving out of the area around the northern islands of Canada and northward toward the northernmost Arctic and beyond that, toward Russia.

In September, Magnetic North passed within 390 km of True North (i.e. the point on Earth where the lines of longitude converge in the north), and crossed the Greenwich meridian. Such positioning of the Magnetic North has never been observed since geographers began tracking Geomagnetic North in the 16th century.

Beggan confirmed that the US military played a hand in the decision by the BGS and their US counterparts in releasing an early ‘update’ to the 2015 model this past February, even though the 2015 update was supposed to last until 2020.

“We asked the US Department of Defense if they wanted an early update, and they said yes,” he recalled. The UK’s defence ministry apparently “wasn’t bothered either way,” according to the scientist.
Liquid Hot Magma

Scientists still aren’t sure what’s causing the Magnetic North Pole’s drive toward Siberia over the past couple decades, although it’s believed to be related to the churning of liquid nickel and iron deep in the planet’s outer core, about 2,900 km below the surface, and the huge electrical currents that this creates.

This absence of certainty, and total lack of human ability to control the process means that although Geomagnetic North is predicted to continue its eastward movement, it could just as easily stop, or even reverse course sometime in the future

Interestingly, Beggan noted, compared to its northern counterpart, the South Magnetic Pole has remained comparatively docile, hanging around in an area south of Australia for over 100 years now.

@astroduff
Earth’s South Magnetic Pole is on the move, currently tracking towards Australia (ish) at 15km each year and already out of the Antarctic icesheet. These points are measured locations of over the last few hundred years! Thanks @noaa for the map https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/geomag/GeomagneticPoles.shtml …


Earlier this month, the British Geological Survey (BGS) and the US National Centers for Environmental Information released yet another update to the World Magnetic Model, forecasting that the magnetic pole will continue its push toward Siberia at a rate of about 40 km per year.

BGS geophysicist and geomagnetic specialist Dr. Ciaran Beggan predicts that compasses will start pointing eastward of the geographic, True North Pole within the next twenty years.
“By 2040, all compasses will probably point eastward of True North,” the scientist, who played a role in creating the updated World Magnetic Model, said, speaking to Business Insider.

Used by everything from smartphone compass apps to GPS and telecom transmission systems, the World Magnetic Model has seen two updates this past year, with scientists replacing the 2015 model earlier than scheduled after calculating that it was becoming so inaccurate that it could cause navigational errors.

Commenting on the latest December 2019 update to the World Magnetic Model, Beggan explained that while “Magnetic North has spent the last 350 years wandering around the same part of Canada,” starting in the 1980s, “the rate it was moving jumped from 10 kilometres per year to 50 kilometres”.

Furthermore, it was also at this time that the Magnetic North Pole started moving out of the area around the northern islands of Canada and northward toward the northernmost Arctic and beyond that, toward Russia.

In September, Magnetic North passed within 390 km of True North (i.e. the point on Earth where the lines of longitude converge in the north), and crossed the Greenwich meridian. Such positioning of the Magnetic North has never been observed since geographers began tracking Geomagnetic North in the 16th century.

Beggan confirmed that the US military played a hand in the decision by the BGS and their US counterparts in releasing an early ‘update’ to the 2015 model this past February, even though the 2015 update was supposed to last until 2020.

“We asked the US Department of Defense if they wanted an early update, and they said yes,” he recalled. The UK’s defence ministry apparently “wasn’t bothered either way,” according to the scientist.
Liquid Hot Magma

Scientists still aren’t sure what’s causing the Magnetic North Pole’s drive toward Siberia over the past couple decades, although it’s believed to be related to the churning of liquid nickel and iron deep in the planet’s outer core, about 2,900 km below the surface, and the huge electrical currents that this creates.

This absence of certainty, and total lack of human ability to control the process means that although Geomagnetic North is predicted to continue its eastward movement, it could just as easily stop, or even reverse course sometime in the future

Interestingly, Beggan noted, compared to its northern counterpart, the South Magnetic Pole has remained comparatively docile, hanging around in an area south of Australia for over 100 years now.

@astroduff
Earth’s South Magnetic Pole is on the move, currently tracking towards Australia (ish) at 15km each year and already out of the Antarctic icesheet. These points are measured locations of over the last few hundred years! Thanks @noaa for the map https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/geomag/GeomagneticPoles.shtml …


UK Ambassadors go green as Foreign Office replaces petrol official vehicles with electric cars

UK Ambassadors go green as Foreign Office replaces petrol official vehicles with electric cars

British ambassadors around the world are to have their official vehicles replaced with low-carbon cars in a drive to become "the greenest diplomatic service in the world". 

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has begun phasing out senior diplomats' chauffeur-driven petrol cars and replacing them with all-electric or hybrid Jaguar I-Paces.

The cars cost around £60,000 off-the-shelf, before any modifications for British diplomats’ extra needs.

British embassies in Oslo and the Vatican have already received the new vehicles, with a further 30 posts due to get them by April 2020.

Fast charging stations are being installed as part of the programme.

The move is in line with a target for all Government departments to have a 25% electric vehicle fleet by 2022 and an all-electric fleet by 2030.

It comes as the UK prepares to host the crucial COP26 international climate change talks in Glasgow in November.

Sir Simon McDonald, the permanent under-secretary at the FCO, said: “Climate change is the greatest challenge of our time, and our fleet of flag cars is a high-profile tool for demonstrating the UK’s international leadership on climate change diplomacy.

“I want us to be the greenest diplomatic service in the world. Shifting our vehicles away from petrol to all-electric will help us achieve this.”


British ambassadors around the world are to have their official vehicles replaced with low-carbon cars in a drive to become "the greenest diplomatic service in the world". 

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has begun phasing out senior diplomats' chauffeur-driven petrol cars and replacing them with all-electric or hybrid Jaguar I-Paces.

The cars cost around £60,000 off-the-shelf, before any modifications for British diplomats’ extra needs.

British embassies in Oslo and the Vatican have already received the new vehicles, with a further 30 posts due to get them by April 2020.

Fast charging stations are being installed as part of the programme.

The move is in line with a target for all Government departments to have a 25% electric vehicle fleet by 2022 and an all-electric fleet by 2030.

It comes as the UK prepares to host the crucial COP26 international climate change talks in Glasgow in November.

Sir Simon McDonald, the permanent under-secretary at the FCO, said: “Climate change is the greatest challenge of our time, and our fleet of flag cars is a high-profile tool for demonstrating the UK’s international leadership on climate change diplomacy.

“I want us to be the greenest diplomatic service in the world. Shifting our vehicles away from petrol to all-electric will help us achieve this.”


Despite US sanctions , top German official says Nord Stream 2 will be operational in 2nd half of 2020

Despite US sanctions , top German official says Nord Stream 2 will be operational in 2nd half of 2020

US sanctions will have an impact on building the Russo-German Nord Stream 2 pipeline, but the flagship project will nevertheless be completed next year, according to a top-tier government official in Berlin.

The $11-billion pipeline, which extends from Russia to Germany across the bottom of the Baltic Sea, will be finished “in the second half of the next year,” Peter Beyer, the government’s Coordinator of Transatlantic Cooperation, told Deutschlandfunk radio station on Monday.

Washington recently slapped crippling sanctions on сcompanies laying the remaining stretch of the Nord Stream 2 in the Baltic Sea. The penalties were “hardly surprising” although they will cause “a throwback in time” for the project, Beyer acknowledged.

Earlier, it emerged that Allseas, a Dutch-Swiss company installing pipes for the Nord Stream, has withdrawn its pipe-laying ships from the Baltic waters, according to a Bloomberg report.

Nevertheless, it remains to be seen if the American penalties will be able to jeopardize the entire project. Moscow has given reassurances that the pipeline “will become a reality anyway, despite all these threats,” as will the TurkStream project – another one in Washington’s sanctions legislation.

Some in US-Russian business circles agree with the standpoint. “It’s obvious that the project will be finalized,” Alexis Rodzianko, the president and CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia, told RIA Novosti.

“Therefore, the sanctions look more like an expression of discontent, I don’t think that they [the US] can somehow stop it. If some fines or penalties are to follow, they will be very unpopular among us allies,” he commented.

US ambassador to Berlin defended American sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 pipeline designed to supply the EU with Russian gas as “extremely pro-European” while Berlin condemned the legislation as “interference” in its internal affairs and Moscow threatened to “respond.”

Richard Grenell said: “There are 15 countries, plus the European Commission, plus the European Parliament, that have all voiced concern about the project.”

Adding that “hearing from European diplomats all day today thanking me for taking such action”, on the sanctions, which were signed into law by Mr Trump by last week Friday, were “an extremely pro-European position”.

The US was “very pleased” that Allseas had decided to comply with the sanctions, he added. Nord Stream 2 is a €9.5bn pipeline that would bring natural gas directly from Russia to Germany via the Baltic Sea.

US President Donald Trump has frequently spoken out against the project that it would increase Germany’s reliance on Russian gas and so turn Europe’s largest economy into a “captive” of Russia.

According to FT, The punitive measures threaten a further deterioration in relations between Berlin and Washington, already damaged by Mr Trump’s constant attacks on Germany’s trade surplus and its failure to meet Nato targets on defence spending.

German finance minister Olaf Scholz described the legislation as “serious interference in Germany and Europe’s internal affairs and our own sovereignty”. “We object to them in the strongest terms,” he told the German TV channel ARD.

Such measures were “incomprehensible and improper for friends that are also linked by our common membership of Nato”, he added.

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov on Sunday warned that Russia would respond to the measures with steps that would not also harm the Russian economy, without elaborating.

Mr Lavrov vowed that the pipeline — and a similar project to pipe gas to Turkey also affected by the sanctions — would be launched regardless of the US decision.

“Europeans understand their commercial interest,” he said. “An interest from the standpoint of providing long-term energy security.”

Sanctions against Nord Stream 2, which Washington justified as a means of protecting Ukraine’s interests, were “particularly hard to understand” in the light of the gas transit deal between Ukraine and Russia, she said.

On the other hand, Ukrainian officials suggested that Gazprom would never have come to terms with Kyiv had it not been for the effect of US sanctions. The legislation “reinforce[d] the talks that we’ve held with Russia on transit of gas to Europe and play a key role in preventing any monopolies in the EU energy market”, Oleksiy Honcharuk, Ukraine’s prime minister, tweeted on Saturday.

Echoing Mr Grenell, he said Ukraine’s rejection of Nord Stream 2 was shared by “many other EU countries, that for the past four years opposed the construction of this politically-motivated project”.

The European Commission is currently analysing the potential impact of these measures on European companies. The Commission’s objective has always been to ensure that Nord Stream II operates in a transparent and non-discriminatory way with the appropriate degree of regulatory oversight, in line with key principles of international and EU energy law.

Critics have said the line will allow Gazprom, Russia’s Kremlin-controlled gas export monopoly, to bypass Ukraine, potentially depriving Kyiv of billions of dollars in transit fees, and weakening the country in its long-running military and political confrontation with Russia.

However, that risk receded last week after Moscow and Kyiv concluded a landmark agreement that would ensure Russian gas continues to transit through Ukraine even after Nord Stream 2 is completed. Germany played a critical role in brokering the agreement and pressuring Russia to maintain Ukraine’s transit status.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev confirmed  on Monday that the Ruso-German Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline would be completed in a matter of months and U.S. sanctions imposed on the project last week would not be "catastrophic".

The Russia's new gas transit deal with Ukraine would also mollify the impact on Russian gas supplies of U.S. sanctions introduced on the pipeline project, he said.

Around 160 km (100 miles) of the gas pipeline, which will supply Russian gas to Germany and other European countries, remains to be laid, the consortium behind the project said earlier on Monday.

"Of course we will finish building (the pipeline)... Gazprom has alternative options for how to lay it. It will take a little more time, but that's no big deal," Medvedev told journalists, adding that it could take a couple more months.

"There's nothing catastrophic about (the sanctions), especially considering the fact that we have already reached an agreement with the Ukrainians about transit," Medvedev said.

With Nord Stream 2, Russia has planned to bypass Ukraine with which it has had a number of gas disputes in the past. Over the weekend, Moscow and Kiev managed to prevent another gas conflict, signing a new five-year transit deal days before the existing one expires at the end of 2019.

Medvedev described the tariff terms of the new gas transit deal as suitable for Moscow. "It's a very humane tariff, I would say," he said.

More than 2,300 km of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline has been laid to date. The pipeline will be about 2,460 km long when completed.

After the sanctions bill was signed on Friday, Nord Stream 2 said it aimed to complete the project but did not provide details.

Russia is exporting gas to Europe via a number of routes, with Ukraine remaining the key one. Two other routes are the Yamal pipeline via Belarus and Nord Stream 1 via the Baltic Sea to Germany. Europe gets over a third of its gas needs from Gazprom.

Nord Stream 2 is aimed at doubling the existing Nord Stream 1's export capacity to a total of 110 billion cubic metres a year. Gazprom has planned to start Nord Stream 2 in the first half of the next year.

Germany is Nord Stream 2's main supporter in western Europe. A member of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives said on Monday that sanctions were expected to delay completion of the project by several months and increase its cost.

Medvedev has ordered the Russian government to work out retaliatory measures following U.S. sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, Interfax news agency reported on Monday.
US sanctions will have an impact on building the Russo-German Nord Stream 2 pipeline, but the flagship project will nevertheless be completed next year, according to a top-tier government official in Berlin.

The $11-billion pipeline, which extends from Russia to Germany across the bottom of the Baltic Sea, will be finished “in the second half of the next year,” Peter Beyer, the government’s Coordinator of Transatlantic Cooperation, told Deutschlandfunk radio station on Monday.

Washington recently slapped crippling sanctions on сcompanies laying the remaining stretch of the Nord Stream 2 in the Baltic Sea. The penalties were “hardly surprising” although they will cause “a throwback in time” for the project, Beyer acknowledged.

Earlier, it emerged that Allseas, a Dutch-Swiss company installing pipes for the Nord Stream, has withdrawn its pipe-laying ships from the Baltic waters, according to a Bloomberg report.

Nevertheless, it remains to be seen if the American penalties will be able to jeopardize the entire project. Moscow has given reassurances that the pipeline “will become a reality anyway, despite all these threats,” as will the TurkStream project – another one in Washington’s sanctions legislation.

Some in US-Russian business circles agree with the standpoint. “It’s obvious that the project will be finalized,” Alexis Rodzianko, the president and CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia, told RIA Novosti.

“Therefore, the sanctions look more like an expression of discontent, I don’t think that they [the US] can somehow stop it. If some fines or penalties are to follow, they will be very unpopular among us allies,” he commented.

US ambassador to Berlin defended American sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 pipeline designed to supply the EU with Russian gas as “extremely pro-European” while Berlin condemned the legislation as “interference” in its internal affairs and Moscow threatened to “respond.”

Richard Grenell said: “There are 15 countries, plus the European Commission, plus the European Parliament, that have all voiced concern about the project.”

Adding that “hearing from European diplomats all day today thanking me for taking such action”, on the sanctions, which were signed into law by Mr Trump by last week Friday, were “an extremely pro-European position”.

The US was “very pleased” that Allseas had decided to comply with the sanctions, he added. Nord Stream 2 is a €9.5bn pipeline that would bring natural gas directly from Russia to Germany via the Baltic Sea.

US President Donald Trump has frequently spoken out against the project that it would increase Germany’s reliance on Russian gas and so turn Europe’s largest economy into a “captive” of Russia.

According to FT, The punitive measures threaten a further deterioration in relations between Berlin and Washington, already damaged by Mr Trump’s constant attacks on Germany’s trade surplus and its failure to meet Nato targets on defence spending.

German finance minister Olaf Scholz described the legislation as “serious interference in Germany and Europe’s internal affairs and our own sovereignty”. “We object to them in the strongest terms,” he told the German TV channel ARD.

Such measures were “incomprehensible and improper for friends that are also linked by our common membership of Nato”, he added.

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov on Sunday warned that Russia would respond to the measures with steps that would not also harm the Russian economy, without elaborating.

Mr Lavrov vowed that the pipeline — and a similar project to pipe gas to Turkey also affected by the sanctions — would be launched regardless of the US decision.

“Europeans understand their commercial interest,” he said. “An interest from the standpoint of providing long-term energy security.”

Sanctions against Nord Stream 2, which Washington justified as a means of protecting Ukraine’s interests, were “particularly hard to understand” in the light of the gas transit deal between Ukraine and Russia, she said.

On the other hand, Ukrainian officials suggested that Gazprom would never have come to terms with Kyiv had it not been for the effect of US sanctions. The legislation “reinforce[d] the talks that we’ve held with Russia on transit of gas to Europe and play a key role in preventing any monopolies in the EU energy market”, Oleksiy Honcharuk, Ukraine’s prime minister, tweeted on Saturday.

Echoing Mr Grenell, he said Ukraine’s rejection of Nord Stream 2 was shared by “many other EU countries, that for the past four years opposed the construction of this politically-motivated project”.

The European Commission is currently analysing the potential impact of these measures on European companies. The Commission’s objective has always been to ensure that Nord Stream II operates in a transparent and non-discriminatory way with the appropriate degree of regulatory oversight, in line with key principles of international and EU energy law.

Critics have said the line will allow Gazprom, Russia’s Kremlin-controlled gas export monopoly, to bypass Ukraine, potentially depriving Kyiv of billions of dollars in transit fees, and weakening the country in its long-running military and political confrontation with Russia.

However, that risk receded last week after Moscow and Kyiv concluded a landmark agreement that would ensure Russian gas continues to transit through Ukraine even after Nord Stream 2 is completed. Germany played a critical role in brokering the agreement and pressuring Russia to maintain Ukraine’s transit status.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev confirmed  on Monday that the Ruso-German Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline would be completed in a matter of months and U.S. sanctions imposed on the project last week would not be "catastrophic".

The Russia's new gas transit deal with Ukraine would also mollify the impact on Russian gas supplies of U.S. sanctions introduced on the pipeline project, he said.

Around 160 km (100 miles) of the gas pipeline, which will supply Russian gas to Germany and other European countries, remains to be laid, the consortium behind the project said earlier on Monday.

"Of course we will finish building (the pipeline)... Gazprom has alternative options for how to lay it. It will take a little more time, but that's no big deal," Medvedev told journalists, adding that it could take a couple more months.

"There's nothing catastrophic about (the sanctions), especially considering the fact that we have already reached an agreement with the Ukrainians about transit," Medvedev said.

With Nord Stream 2, Russia has planned to bypass Ukraine with which it has had a number of gas disputes in the past. Over the weekend, Moscow and Kiev managed to prevent another gas conflict, signing a new five-year transit deal days before the existing one expires at the end of 2019.

Medvedev described the tariff terms of the new gas transit deal as suitable for Moscow. "It's a very humane tariff, I would say," he said.

More than 2,300 km of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline has been laid to date. The pipeline will be about 2,460 km long when completed.

After the sanctions bill was signed on Friday, Nord Stream 2 said it aimed to complete the project but did not provide details.

Russia is exporting gas to Europe via a number of routes, with Ukraine remaining the key one. Two other routes are the Yamal pipeline via Belarus and Nord Stream 1 via the Baltic Sea to Germany. Europe gets over a third of its gas needs from Gazprom.

Nord Stream 2 is aimed at doubling the existing Nord Stream 1's export capacity to a total of 110 billion cubic metres a year. Gazprom has planned to start Nord Stream 2 in the first half of the next year.

Germany is Nord Stream 2's main supporter in western Europe. A member of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives said on Monday that sanctions were expected to delay completion of the project by several months and increase its cost.

Medvedev has ordered the Russian government to work out retaliatory measures following U.S. sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, Interfax news agency reported on Monday.

NO SNOW: Moscow wonders where winter has gone

NO SNOW: Moscow wonders where winter has gone

Winters in Moscow usually look like something out of a picture book: the Russian capital is covered in snow, people go skiing, and temperatures are well below freezing.

But this year things are different.

For the past two weeks, temperatures in Moscow have easily topped four degrees Celsius and are expected to move as high as 7C next week -- compared to the normal average for December of around minus 6C.

Snow is nowhere to be seen, the city's ski resorts are closed, and even the first spring buds on the trees are beginning to show -- three or more months too early. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has always been reluctant to acknowledge the link between human activity and global warming.

At his traditional year-end annual news conference last week, he again insisted that "nobody knows" the causes of climate change.

But Putin acknowledged the consequences of global warming could be catastrophic for a country that is one of the world's biggest producers of carbon fuel and a fifth of whose land lies within the Arctic circle.

Putin said that the rate of warming for Russia was 2.5 percent higher than elsewhere on the planet.

And "for our country, this process is very serious," he said.

Climate change was a particular risk for Russian regions where buildings are built into permafrost and there "could be very big consequences if it melts," Putin warned.

- Early blossom -


In the botanic garden of Moscow State University, rhododendrons, snowdrops and crocuses are already beginning to bud.

"I've never seen this before," chief gardener, Anton Dubenyuk, told AFP.

"I like this weather, it's a normal European winter," says one visitor, pensioner Svetlana Zolotukhina.

"When the flowers blossom, it makes you feel better."

But another visitor, Svetlana Gribkova, says she finds the situation "abnormal."

"I want snow because it protects plants in the winter," says the trained botanist.

According to the Russian meteorological office, Rosgidromet, Moscow, with its population of 12 million, experienced its hottest year this year since records began a century and a half ago.

"Only the month of July was slightly below normal for the season," said senior Rosgidromet representative Anatoly Tsygankov, who described December, with its temperatures around 10 degrees higher than average, as "very warm".

But he, too, remained cautious about the possible explanations for climate change, saying the current warm temperatures could be attributable to cyclones coming in from the Atlantic.

This summer, the vast region of Siberia was devastated by forest fires, which experts linked directly to the effects of climate change.

Nevertheless, at one Moscow ski resort, where 20 pistes had to be shut down because temperatures were too warm even for artificial snow, technical chief Andrei Kharkhota remained unfazed.

"I'm not worried. Winter always comes," he told AFP.
Winters in Moscow usually look like something out of a picture book: the Russian capital is covered in snow, people go skiing, and temperatures are well below freezing.

But this year things are different.

For the past two weeks, temperatures in Moscow have easily topped four degrees Celsius and are expected to move as high as 7C next week -- compared to the normal average for December of around minus 6C.

Snow is nowhere to be seen, the city's ski resorts are closed, and even the first spring buds on the trees are beginning to show -- three or more months too early. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has always been reluctant to acknowledge the link between human activity and global warming.

At his traditional year-end annual news conference last week, he again insisted that "nobody knows" the causes of climate change.

But Putin acknowledged the consequences of global warming could be catastrophic for a country that is one of the world's biggest producers of carbon fuel and a fifth of whose land lies within the Arctic circle.

Putin said that the rate of warming for Russia was 2.5 percent higher than elsewhere on the planet.

And "for our country, this process is very serious," he said.

Climate change was a particular risk for Russian regions where buildings are built into permafrost and there "could be very big consequences if it melts," Putin warned.

- Early blossom -


In the botanic garden of Moscow State University, rhododendrons, snowdrops and crocuses are already beginning to bud.

"I've never seen this before," chief gardener, Anton Dubenyuk, told AFP.

"I like this weather, it's a normal European winter," says one visitor, pensioner Svetlana Zolotukhina.

"When the flowers blossom, it makes you feel better."

But another visitor, Svetlana Gribkova, says she finds the situation "abnormal."

"I want snow because it protects plants in the winter," says the trained botanist.

According to the Russian meteorological office, Rosgidromet, Moscow, with its population of 12 million, experienced its hottest year this year since records began a century and a half ago.

"Only the month of July was slightly below normal for the season," said senior Rosgidromet representative Anatoly Tsygankov, who described December, with its temperatures around 10 degrees higher than average, as "very warm".

But he, too, remained cautious about the possible explanations for climate change, saying the current warm temperatures could be attributable to cyclones coming in from the Atlantic.

This summer, the vast region of Siberia was devastated by forest fires, which experts linked directly to the effects of climate change.

Nevertheless, at one Moscow ski resort, where 20 pistes had to be shut down because temperatures were too warm even for artificial snow, technical chief Andrei Kharkhota remained unfazed.

"I'm not worried. Winter always comes," he told AFP.

US is declining: Iranian Supreme Leader says No power can persist on coercion, interference, domination

US is declining: Iranian Supreme Leader says No power can persist on coercion, interference, domination

Rouhani’s visit to Japan has nothing to do with US talk - Deputy FM

Ayatollah Khamenei
MNA / Press TV – Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says no power can persist based on domination and interference in other countries’ affairs. “We also believe that the US is declining. A power built on the basis of coercion, interference in other countries’ affairs and domination over other nations won’t persist,” the Leader’s official English-language Twitter account quoted him as saying on Monday.

On separate development, Iran’s deputy foreign minister for political affairs says President Hassan Rouhani has no plan for talks with US officials as he jetted out to Malaysia Tuesday and scheduled to visit to Japan.

Abbas Araqchi made the remarks while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a conference held on Iran-Japan trade ties in Tehran on Monday when he was asked about the possibility of Tehran-Washington contacts during Rouhani’s forthcoming visit.

“No; there is no such plan during [Rouhani’s] visit to Japan,” Araqchi, who is also a former Iranian ambassador to Tokyo, said.

He added, “Rouhani’s visit to Japan is an intensive working visit. He will be in Japan less than 24 hours… The main topic of this visit is to pursue the expansion of bilateral relations and facilitate consultations between the two sides about regional conditions and international issues.”

Ayatollah’s remarks came to mark the anniversary of the conviction of the deceased French philosopher Roger Garaudy at a court in Paris for questioning the Holocaust.

“#RogerGaraudy has an accurate and precise prediction about the US regime, which we confirm, too,” the Leader added.

Garaudy was a French philosopher, resistance fighter and a prominent author who was convicted and fined in 1998 for Holocaust denial under French law.

In his book, The Founding Myths of Modern Israel, Garaudy asserted that the allegation about “six million” Jews having perished through the Holocaust was a myth, prompting the French judicial system to ban any further publication of his book and fining him 240,000 French francs on February 27, 1998, Press TV reported.

Ayatollah Khamenei also criticized the Western countries’ claims of being advocates of freedom of speech by bringing up Garaudy’s case, who was also given a suspended prison term of several years for denying the Holocaust.

The Leader noted that in response to Garaudy’s academic criticism of the Holocaust, instead of giving convincing answers or allowing unbiased research, “the French govt. not only banned his book, but also brought Garaudy to trial.”

“These are the claimants of advocating #FreedomOfSpeech,” Ayatollah Khamenei added.

Rouhani’s visit to Japan has nothing to do with US talk - Deputy FM

Ayatollah Khamenei
MNA / Press TV – Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says no power can persist based on domination and interference in other countries’ affairs. “We also believe that the US is declining. A power built on the basis of coercion, interference in other countries’ affairs and domination over other nations won’t persist,” the Leader’s official English-language Twitter account quoted him as saying on Monday.

On separate development, Iran’s deputy foreign minister for political affairs says President Hassan Rouhani has no plan for talks with US officials as he jetted out to Malaysia Tuesday and scheduled to visit to Japan.

Abbas Araqchi made the remarks while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a conference held on Iran-Japan trade ties in Tehran on Monday when he was asked about the possibility of Tehran-Washington contacts during Rouhani’s forthcoming visit.

“No; there is no such plan during [Rouhani’s] visit to Japan,” Araqchi, who is also a former Iranian ambassador to Tokyo, said.

He added, “Rouhani’s visit to Japan is an intensive working visit. He will be in Japan less than 24 hours… The main topic of this visit is to pursue the expansion of bilateral relations and facilitate consultations between the two sides about regional conditions and international issues.”

Ayatollah’s remarks came to mark the anniversary of the conviction of the deceased French philosopher Roger Garaudy at a court in Paris for questioning the Holocaust.

“#RogerGaraudy has an accurate and precise prediction about the US regime, which we confirm, too,” the Leader added.

Garaudy was a French philosopher, resistance fighter and a prominent author who was convicted and fined in 1998 for Holocaust denial under French law.

In his book, The Founding Myths of Modern Israel, Garaudy asserted that the allegation about “six million” Jews having perished through the Holocaust was a myth, prompting the French judicial system to ban any further publication of his book and fining him 240,000 French francs on February 27, 1998, Press TV reported.

Ayatollah Khamenei also criticized the Western countries’ claims of being advocates of freedom of speech by bringing up Garaudy’s case, who was also given a suspended prison term of several years for denying the Holocaust.

The Leader noted that in response to Garaudy’s academic criticism of the Holocaust, instead of giving convincing answers or allowing unbiased research, “the French govt. not only banned his book, but also brought Garaudy to trial.”

“These are the claimants of advocating #FreedomOfSpeech,” Ayatollah Khamenei added.

UN climate talks a 'lost opportunity', says Guterres

UN climate talks a 'lost opportunity', says Guterres

Madrid (AFP) - A major climate summit wrapped up in Madrid Sunday with a compromise deal that left little to show, prompting UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to lament a "lost opportunity" to act.

Almost a fortnight of COP25 talks just squeezed out hard-earned compromises from countries over a global warming battle plan that fell well short of what science says is needed to tackle the climate crisis.

"I am disappointed with the results of COP25," Guterres said. "The international community lost an important opportunity to show increased ambition on mitigation, adaptation and finance to tackle the climate crisis."

The summit's final declaration "expresses the urgent need" for new carbon cutting commitments to close the gap between current emissions and the Paris treaty goal of capping temperature at below two degrees, host country Spain said.

"Today, the citizens of the world are asking for us to move ahead faster and better," Carolina Schmidt, Chilean environment minister and President of COP25, told the closing plenary.

But Tina Eonemto Stege, climate envoy for the Marshall Islands, denounced the response as inadequate for facing an existential threat of rising sea levels.

"Unfortunately, the new text we adopted this morning does not reflect anything near what we would have wanted. It is the bare minimum and we regret that countries could not agree on a more ambitious text," Stege said.

Green youth activist Greta Thunberg -- named 2019 Person of the Year by Time magazine -- on Friday slammed world leaders for "still trying to run away from their responsibilities" while demanding a "year of action" in 2020.

Following a year of deadly extreme weather and weekly protests by millions of young people, Madrid negotiators were under pressure to send a clear signal that governments were willing to double down.

The summit -- moved at the last minute from Chile due to unrest -- at times teetered on the brink of collapse as rich polluters, emerging powerhouses and climate-vulnerable nations groped for common ground in the face of competing national interests.

"Based on the adopted text, there is a glimmer of hope that the heart of the Paris Agreement is still beating," Mohamed Adow, Director of Power Shift, said.


Madrid (AFP) - A major climate summit wrapped up in Madrid Sunday with a compromise deal that left little to show, prompting UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to lament a "lost opportunity" to act.

Almost a fortnight of COP25 talks just squeezed out hard-earned compromises from countries over a global warming battle plan that fell well short of what science says is needed to tackle the climate crisis.

"I am disappointed with the results of COP25," Guterres said. "The international community lost an important opportunity to show increased ambition on mitigation, adaptation and finance to tackle the climate crisis."

The summit's final declaration "expresses the urgent need" for new carbon cutting commitments to close the gap between current emissions and the Paris treaty goal of capping temperature at below two degrees, host country Spain said.

"Today, the citizens of the world are asking for us to move ahead faster and better," Carolina Schmidt, Chilean environment minister and President of COP25, told the closing plenary.

But Tina Eonemto Stege, climate envoy for the Marshall Islands, denounced the response as inadequate for facing an existential threat of rising sea levels.

"Unfortunately, the new text we adopted this morning does not reflect anything near what we would have wanted. It is the bare minimum and we regret that countries could not agree on a more ambitious text," Stege said.

Green youth activist Greta Thunberg -- named 2019 Person of the Year by Time magazine -- on Friday slammed world leaders for "still trying to run away from their responsibilities" while demanding a "year of action" in 2020.

Following a year of deadly extreme weather and weekly protests by millions of young people, Madrid negotiators were under pressure to send a clear signal that governments were willing to double down.

The summit -- moved at the last minute from Chile due to unrest -- at times teetered on the brink of collapse as rich polluters, emerging powerhouses and climate-vulnerable nations groped for common ground in the face of competing national interests.

"Based on the adopted text, there is a glimmer of hope that the heart of the Paris Agreement is still beating," Mohamed Adow, Director of Power Shift, said.


COP25 meet hammers through contested climate deal: official

COP25 meet hammers through contested climate deal: official

Madrid (AFP) – A marathon UN climate summit wrapped up Sunday with little to show, squeezing hard-earned compromises from countries over the global warming battle plan but falling well short of what science says is needed to tackle the emergency.

The COP25 deal “expresses the urgent need” for new carbon cutting commitments to close the gap between current emissions and the Paris treaty goals of capping global warming at below two degrees, host country Spain said in a statement.



Madrid (AFP) – A marathon UN climate summit wrapped up Sunday with little to show, squeezing hard-earned compromises from countries over the global warming battle plan but falling well short of what science says is needed to tackle the emergency.

The COP25 deal “expresses the urgent need” for new carbon cutting commitments to close the gap between current emissions and the Paris treaty goals of capping global warming at below two degrees, host country Spain said in a statement.



Boko Haram War: MNJTF Commander Visits Soldiers in Specialist Hospital, Assures of Best Medicare For Wounded Soldiers

Boko Haram War: MNJTF Commander Visits Soldiers in Specialist Hospital, Assures of Best Medicare For Wounded Soldiers

The Force Commander Multinational Joint Task Force Major General Ibrahim Manu Yusuf on December 12th visited soldiers of the Task Force, of Cameroonian,Chadian, Nigerien and Nigerian nationalities, who are recuperating from injuries sustained in the ongoing counterinsurgency operations in the Lake Chad Area.


Addressing the affected soldiers in a Specialist Hospital in N'Djamena, Major General Yusuf said they fought for a good cause for which they and their families should be very proud of.

Continuing, he said "The MNJTF is very proud of your sacrifices and is committed to ensuring that you have the best medicare that will guarantee your full recovery".

Colonel Timothy Antigha who is the Chief of Military Public Information, in a statement said the soldiers who were visibly inspired by the visit of the Force Commander and his principal staff officers expressed their willingness to quickly rejoin their colleagues in the various sectors of operation, once they have fully recovered.

Major General Yusuf thanked the hospital management for the expert care being given to the soldiers, noting that the MNJTF will continue to collaborate with the management for optimal healthcare delivery for the soldiers. He also commended the MNJTF Medical Team for their untiring efforts and professionalism in the efforts to ensure that MNJTF personnel remain healthy.

The Islamic State affiliated Jihadists have killed thousands and displace millions between 2009 and now.

This regime of Major General Muhammadu Buhari claimed that the Boko Haram Islamic terrorist have been technically defeated since his first term in office but the war against the deadly insurgent proved otherwise.
The Force Commander Multinational Joint Task Force Major General Ibrahim Manu Yusuf on December 12th visited soldiers of the Task Force, of Cameroonian,Chadian, Nigerien and Nigerian nationalities, who are recuperating from injuries sustained in the ongoing counterinsurgency operations in the Lake Chad Area.


Addressing the affected soldiers in a Specialist Hospital in N'Djamena, Major General Yusuf said they fought for a good cause for which they and their families should be very proud of.

Continuing, he said "The MNJTF is very proud of your sacrifices and is committed to ensuring that you have the best medicare that will guarantee your full recovery".

Colonel Timothy Antigha who is the Chief of Military Public Information, in a statement said the soldiers who were visibly inspired by the visit of the Force Commander and his principal staff officers expressed their willingness to quickly rejoin their colleagues in the various sectors of operation, once they have fully recovered.

Major General Yusuf thanked the hospital management for the expert care being given to the soldiers, noting that the MNJTF will continue to collaborate with the management for optimal healthcare delivery for the soldiers. He also commended the MNJTF Medical Team for their untiring efforts and professionalism in the efforts to ensure that MNJTF personnel remain healthy.

The Islamic State affiliated Jihadists have killed thousands and displace millions between 2009 and now.

This regime of Major General Muhammadu Buhari claimed that the Boko Haram Islamic terrorist have been technically defeated since his first term in office but the war against the deadly insurgent proved otherwise.

European Central Bank should do more to tackle climate emergency - Lagarde

European Central Bank should do more to tackle climate emergency - Lagarde

Christine Lagarde has said the European Central Bank should do more to help tackle the climate emergency, as she came under pressure from MEPs to step up action against global heating.


In a strong hint that as president she would move the ECB beyond its traditional remit of controlling inflation, Lagarde said the bank would incorporate the climate threat into both its economic forecasts and in its capacity as watchdog of the financial system.

The ECB, like all central banks, uses models to forecast how the eurozone economy will work. “These models need to incorporate the risk of climate change,” said Lagarde. “That’s the very least, I think, we should expect.”

The former managing director of the International Monetary Fund came under pressure at the EU committee on economic and monetary affairs over the ECB’s failure to support the greening of the eurozone economy through the purchase of bonds in environmentally friendly companies.

She said the ECB’s bond portfolio – bought under its quantitative easing programme – contained “multiple shades from green to brown” because the bank operated a policy of market neutrality that ruled out stimulating a particular sector.

Lagarde said the review of the ECB she had implemented after succeeding Mario Draghi as president last month would look at whether the policy should be changed.

It was also important that the rating agencies took climate change into account when assessing credit-worthiness.

“I would hope that the three big, well-known rating agencies (Moody’s, S&P and Fitch) move in that direction,” Lagarde said. “If they ask me my views, I will tell them.”


Christine Lagarde has said the European Central Bank should do more to help tackle the climate emergency, as she came under pressure from MEPs to step up action against global heating.


In a strong hint that as president she would move the ECB beyond its traditional remit of controlling inflation, Lagarde said the bank would incorporate the climate threat into both its economic forecasts and in its capacity as watchdog of the financial system.

The ECB, like all central banks, uses models to forecast how the eurozone economy will work. “These models need to incorporate the risk of climate change,” said Lagarde. “That’s the very least, I think, we should expect.”

The former managing director of the International Monetary Fund came under pressure at the EU committee on economic and monetary affairs over the ECB’s failure to support the greening of the eurozone economy through the purchase of bonds in environmentally friendly companies.

She said the ECB’s bond portfolio – bought under its quantitative easing programme – contained “multiple shades from green to brown” because the bank operated a policy of market neutrality that ruled out stimulating a particular sector.

Lagarde said the review of the ECB she had implemented after succeeding Mario Draghi as president last month would look at whether the policy should be changed.

It was also important that the rating agencies took climate change into account when assessing credit-worthiness.

“I would hope that the three big, well-known rating agencies (Moody’s, S&P and Fitch) move in that direction,” Lagarde said. “If they ask me my views, I will tell them.”


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