Mercury rising as September is warmest on record
Brussels: September was the warmest on record globally, according to the weather service Copernicus.
It was 0.05C hotter than September last year, which in turn set the previous record high for the month.
Scientists say it’s a clear sign of temperatures being driven up by emissions from human society.
Copernicus, which is the European Union’s Earth observation programme, said warmth in the Siberian Arctic continues way above average. It also confirmed Arctic sea ice is at its second lowest extent since satellite records began.
This year is also projected to become the warmest on record for Europe, even if temperatures cool somewhat from now on.
The elevated heat globally contributed to record wildfires in California and Australia.
Islamabad: A British-born Pakistani man on death row over the 2002 killing of American journalist Daniel Pearl will remain in jail for another three months despite his acquittal by a lower court earlier this year, according to a government order.
The development was announced by prosecutors during a brief hearing of the high-profile case at Pakistan’s Supreme Court in Islamabad, which is to decide whether the key suspect in Mr Pearl’s murder, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, should stay in jail following his acquittal.
The court convened for an appeal by Mr Pearl’s family, seeking to keep Sheikh on death row over the beheading of the Wall Street Journal reporter.
According to Faisal Siddiqi, the lawyer representing Mr Pearl’s family, government prosecutor Fiaz Shah told the judges he needed more time for paperwork in the case. The judges adjourned the hearing until October 21.
Sheikh was convicted of helping lure Mr Pearl to a meeting in Karachi where he was kidnapped.
Los Angeles:
Facebook will ban groups that openly support Qanon, the baseless conspiracy theory that paints US President Donald Trump as a secret warrior against a supposed child-trafficking ring.
The social media firm said it will remove Facebook pages, groups and Instagram accounts for “representing Qanon” – even if they do not promote violence.
It said it will consider a variety of factors to decide if a group meets its criteria for a ban, including its name, the biography or “about” section of the page, and discussions within the page, group or Instagram account.
Mentions of Qanon in a group focused on a different subject will not necessarily lead to a ban, Facebook said, and administrators of banned groups will have their personal accounts disabled as well.
Nairobi: A court in Kenya has found two men guilty of helping Islamist militants to attack an upmarket shopping mall in 2013.
At least 67 people died in the assault by al-shabab on the Westgate shopping complex in the capital, Nairobi.
The state said the four militants who carried out the attack were found dead in the shopping centre’s rubble.
The militants occupied the mall for four days, in one of the deadliest attacks by al-shabab in Kenya.
A third man was found not guilty on all counts of conspiracy to commit a terrorist act.