Third-hottest June puts 2017 on track to make hat-trick of hottest years
June 2017 was beaten only by June in 2015 and 2016, leaving experts with little hope for limiting warming to 1.5C or even 2C
Last month was the third-hottest June on record globally, temperature data suggest, confirming 2017 will almost certainly make a hat-trick of annual climate records, with 2015, 2016 and 2017 being the three hottest years since records began.
The figures also cement estimations that warming is now at levels not seen for 115,000 years, and leave some experts with little hope for limiting warming to 1.5C or even 2C.
According to new figures from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa), June 2017 was the third-hottest June on record, beaten only by the two preceding Junes in 2015 and 2016.
Nobel winner Malala Yousafzai speaks out against Boko Haram in Nigeria
'I am here now because of the Nigerian girls. Fighting for them and speaking up for them'
Nobel Peace laureate Malala Yousafzai was greeted with cheers by dozens of young women in northeastern Nigeria, where she spoke out for the many girls abducted under Boko Haram's deadly insurgency.
The 20-year-old Pakistani activist told The Associated Press on Tuesday she was excited by the courage of the young women who are undaunted as they pursue an education amid one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.
"This is part of my girl power trip, visiting many parts of the world," said Yousafzai, who also met with the freed Chibok schoolgirls taken in a mass abduction by Boko Haram more than three years ago. "I am here now because of the Nigerian girls. Fighting for them and speaking up for them."
Judge: 'Poland's separation of powers being undermined'
New reforms to Poland's judiciary would put it under more political influence. Waldemar Zurek, the spokesman for Poland's National Council of the Judiciary, told DW that the rule of law is under threat.
Deutsche Welle: How does the new legislation change Poland's rule of law?
WZ: It is unconstitutional and paves the way for politicization of the judiciary. Until now, judges appointed by the Minister of Justice must be approved by the oversight body, the National Council of the Judiciary.
DW: What is the role of the National Council of the Judiciary?
WZ: The Council is there to ensure the courts' independence. There are many cases which the Council investigates. For example, if a state prosecutor puts pressure on certain judges to provide information regarding how a verdict is reached. That's confidential and judges are not allowed to share that. Recently, the Council has been dealing with a defamation claim against a MEP belonging to Poland's ruling Law and Justice Party (PiS), who called a judge an "idiot."
JULY 19 2017 - 12:19PM
North Korea: project to map locations of mass killings, graves
Anna Fifield
Seoul: North Korea carries out public executions on river banks and at school grounds and marketplaces for charges such as stealing copper from factory machines, distributing media from South Korea and prostitution, a report issued Wednesday said.
The report, by a Seoul-based non-government group, said the often extra-judicial decisions for public executions are frequently influenced by "bad" family background or a government campaign to discourage certain behaviour.
The report is part of an ambitious project by the Transitional Justice Working Group to map sites of mass killings and mass burials in North Korea so that - one day - evidence can be collected and the regime can be held accountable for what the group describes as crimes against humanity.
Court delivers verdicts in biggest trafficking trial
Many of the victims found in mass graves were Rohingya Muslims – a persecuted minority from Myanmar's Rakhine State.
Thailand is handing down verdicts in its biggest human trafficking trial, with more than 100 defendants accused of smuggling and trafficking refugees and migrants on the Thailand-Malaysia border.
By midday local time on Wednesday, a judge had announced 21 guilty verdicts from 103 defendants.
More judgements are expected later in the day.
A Thai army general, Myanmar nationals, Thai police officers and local politicians are among those accused.
French military head de Villiers quits over cuts
The head of the French armed forces has quit after a clash with President Emmanuel Macron over budget cuts.
Gen Pierre de Villiers said in a statement he could no longer "guarantee the durability of the army model" that he considered necessary to ensure France's protection.
France's government last week revealed major cuts to bring its budget deficit below the level of an EU cap.
Mr Macron had said he would not tolerate dissent from the military.
"If the military chief of staff and the president are opposed on something, the military chief of staff goes," Mr Macron, who as president is the commander-in-chief of the military, told Le Journal du Dimanche.
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