THE ARCTIC
Warmest summer recorded
The Arctic had its warmest ever summer this year, the result of accelerating climate change that is pushing ecosystems and the people that depend on them into uncharted territory, an official report said on Tuesday. The average summer surface air temperature from July to September was 6.4°C, the highest since records began in 1900. The Arctic is warming roughly four times faster than the rest of the planet, primarily as a result of a cycle of sea ice loss in a phenomenon called Arctic Amplification.
UNITED KINGDOM
Sunak wins Rwanda vote
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Tuesday faced down rebels in his ruling Conservative Party by winning a knife-edge parliamentary vote on his latest plans to send migrants to Rwanda. Sunak has staked his political future on cutting record levels of regular and irregular migration, and the issue is likely to feature prominently in the next election. In a tense vote after an afternoon of debate, he saw off a Conservative rebellion, winning the first substantive hearing of the so-called Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill by 313 votes to 269. Human Rights Watch UK director Yasmine Ahmed called the result “a defeat for human decency.”
POLAND
Legislator douses menorah
A far-right lawmaker in parliament on Tuesday grabbed a red fire extinguisher and put out candles on a menorah that were lit for the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, creating disruption and scandal as a new pro-EU government was beginning its work. All major political forces quickly denounced the unprecedented incident by Grzegorz Braun, one of the most controversial lawmakers in parliament, and said there would be no tolerance for anti-semitic and xenophobic behavior in the parliament. Braun, a pro-Russian member of the Confederation Liberty and Independence party, has in the past falsely claimed that there is a plot to turn Poland into a “Jewish state.”
UNITED STATES
Russian flies with no ticket
A Russian man who last month flew on a plane from Denmark to Los Angeles without a passport or ticket told US authorities he had not slept in three days and did not remember how he got through security in Europe, a federal complaint filed by the FBI said. Sergey Vladimirovich Ochigava arrived at Los Angeles International Airport on Nov. 4 via Scandinavian Airlines flight 931 from Copenhagen. A trial has been scheduled for Dec. 26. The flight crew told investigators that during the flight’s departure, Ochigava was in a seat that was supposed to be unoccupied. After departure, he kept wandering around the plane, switching seats and trying to talk to other passengers, who ignored him, the complaint said. He also ate “two meals during each meal service, and at one point attempted to eat the chocolate that belonged to members of the cabin crew,” the complaint said.
UNITED STATES
Andre Braugher dies at 61
Andre Braugher, the Emmy-winning actor who would master gritty drama for seven seasons on Homicide: Life on The Street and modern comedy for eight on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, died on Monday at the age of 61. Braugher died after a brief illness, his publicist Jennifer Allen said. No further details were given. “Can’t believe you’re gone so soon,” Braugher’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine costar Terry Crews wrote on Instagram. “I’m honored to have known you, laughed with you, worked with you and shared 8 glorious years watching your irreplaceable talent. ”
Seven people sustained mostly minor injuries in an airplane fire in South Korea, authorities said yesterday, with local media suggesting the blaze might have been caused by a portable battery stored in the overhead bin. The Air Busan plane, an Airbus A321, was set to fly to Hong Kong from Gimhae International Airport in southeastern Busan, but caught fire in the rear section on Tuesday night, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. A total of 169 passengers and seven flight attendants and staff were evacuated down inflatable slides, it said. Authorities initially reported three injuries, but revised the number
‘BALD-FACED LIE’: The woman is accused of administering non-prescribed drugs to the one-year-old and filmed the toddler’s distress to solicit donations online A social media influencer accused of filming the torture of her baby to gain money allegedly manufactured symptoms causing the toddler to have brain surgery, a magistrate has heard. The 34-year-old Queensland woman is charged with torturing an infant and posting videos of the little girl online to build a social media following and solicit donations. A decision on her bail application in a Brisbane court was yesterday postponed after the magistrate opted to take more time before making a decision in an effort “not to be overwhelmed” by the nature of allegations “so offensive to right-thinking people.” The Sunshine Coast woman —
BORDER SERVICES: With the US-funded International Rescue Committee telling clinics to shut by tomorrow, Burmese refugees face sudden discharge from Thai hospitals Healthcare centers serving tens of thousands of refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border have been ordered shut after US President Donald Trump froze most foreign aid last week, forcing Thai officials to transport the sickest patients to other facilities. The International Rescue Committee (IRC), which funds the clinics with US support, told the facilities to shut by tomorrow, a local official and two camp committee members said. The IRC did not respond to a request for comment. Trump last week paused development assistance from the US Agency for International Development for 90 days to assess compatibility with his “America First” policy. The freeze has thrown
TESTING BAN: Satellite photos show a facility in the Chinese city of Mianyang that could aid nuclear weapons design and power generation, a US researcher said China appears to be building a large laser-ignited fusion research center in the southwestern city of Mianyang, experts at two analytical organizations said, a development that could aid nuclear weapons design and work exploring power generation. Satellite photos show four outlying “arms” that would house laser bays, and a central experiment bay that would hold a target chamber containing hydrogen isotopes the powerful lasers would fuse together, producing energy, said Decker Eveleth, a researcher at US-based independent research organization CNA Corp. It is a similar layout to the US$3.5 billion US National Ignition Facility (NIF) in northern California, which in 2022 generated
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