Washington (AFP) June 20, 2024 Most of the United States will experience hotter than normal weather throughout the summer, from July to September, a US government agency predicted Thursday, as a large part of the country sizzled in the first heat wave of the year. “What we’re predicting is generally that much of the US, excepting a few places, are forecast to be above normal,” … Continue reading Higher than normal temps all summer in US: govt

Vlora (AFP) June 20, 2024 Bright yellow, black, red and blue, Alexanor butterflies once fluttered abundantly on southwestern Albania’s flowery slopes. Now, like many related species, scientists say they are disappearing due to human impacts, including climate change. Increasingly absent from the picturesque district of Zvernec, the Alexanor is one of 58 of the Balkan country’s 207 butterfly species that researchers shttp://dlvr.it/T8XC1R Continue reading ‘Nature’s mirror’: Climate change batters Albania’s butterflies

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (AFP) June 19, 2024 Friends and family searched for missing hajj pilgrims on Wednesday as the death toll at the annual rituals, which were carried out in scorching heat, surged past 900. Relatives scoured hospitals and pleaded online for news, fearing the worst after temperatures hit 51.8 degrees Celsius (125 Fahrenheit) in Mecca, Islam’s holiest city, on Monday. About 1.8 million people … Continue reading Loved ones search for missing as hajj death toll passes 900

Athens (AFP) June 19, 2024 A fire near Athens fanned by strong winds and high temperatures has led to the evacuation of two villages, Greek authorities said Wednesday, pointing the finger at arsonists. The fire triggered the deployment of 145 firefighters, 45 vehicles, six aeroplanes and 11 helicopters to the site, some 30 kilometres (19 miles) southeast of the capital. Two villages and three private … Continue reading Greece fire sparks evacuations near Athens

London (AFP) June 20, 2024 Climate activists on Thursday gained access to a UK airport where Taylor Swift’s luxury plane is stationed and sprayed private jets with orange paint, a day after Stonehenge was attacked. The two activists made it on to the airfield at Stansted airport northeast of London, climate protest group Just Stop Oil said in a statement. Essex Police said they had … Continue reading UK climate protest targets Taylor Swift plane airfield

Lima (AFP) June 20, 2024 A Peruvian court on Wednesday sentenced 10 retired soldiers to up to 12 years in prison for having raped nine rural women and girls in the 1980s as the army fought Shining Path Maoist guerrillas. The sentencing ended five years of hearings in the first case in the South American country to address sexual crimes committed by soldiers. The guilty … Continue reading Retired Peruvian soldiers sentenced for raping rural women and girls in 1980s

Riyadh (AFP) June 18, 2024 Diplomats on Tuesday said at least 550 pilgrims died during the hajj, underscoring the gruelling nature of the pilgrimage which again unfolded in scorching temperatures this year. At least 323 of those who died were Egyptians, most of them succumbing to heat-related illnesses, two Arab diplomats coordinating their countries’ responses told AFP. “All of them (the Egyptians) died because ohttp://dlvr.it/T8Tg3P Continue reading Diplomats say at least 550 pilgrims died during hajj, mostly Egyptians

Riyadh (AFP) June 18, 2024 The death toll from extreme heat during the hajj pilgrimage rose Tuesday, with Jordan and Tunisia reporting more fatalities after temperatures hit 51.8 degrees Celsius (125 Fahrenheit) in Mecca. As of Tuesday evening, the total number of reported deaths this year stands at 235, compared with more than 240 last year. Most countries have not specified how many deaths were … Continue reading Jordan, Tunisia report additional hajj heat deaths

Beijing (AFP) June 18, 2024 At least four people were killed when record rains hit parts of southern China, state media reported Tuesday, while more than a dozen were missing even as the north baked under some of its highest temperatures this year. Downpours “exceeding historical daily maximums” in some areas of Fujian province caused the four deaths, state news agency Xinhua said, citing the … Continue reading Four dead, over a dozen missing as extreme weather hits China

Tehran (AFP) June 18, 2024 At least four people were killed and 120 injured Tuesday in a 4.9 magnitude earthquake that hit Iran’s northeastern city of Kashmar, state media reported. The quake struck at 1:24 pm (0954 GMT), Kashmar’s governor, Hajatollah Shariatmadari, who gave the casualty toll, said on state television. Thirty-five people were hospitalised, he said, adding the quake damaged mostly dilapidated builhttp://dlvr.it/T8TfzC Continue reading Quake kills four, injures 120 in northeastern Iran: state media