Tuesday, November 17, 2020

Six In The Morning Tuesday 17 November 2020

 

Facebook and Twitter's chiefs get grilled again

By Leo Kelion
Technology desk editor

The two have been summoned to answer questions about how their platforms had limited distribution of a controversial article about Joe Biden's son published ahead of the US election.

But they are also likely to be challenged over their handling of posts by President Trump and others who have contested the vote's result.

The tech firms face new regulations.

In particular, President-elect Biden has suggested that protections they currently enjoy under a law known as Section 230 should be "revoked".


1% of people cause half of global aviation emissions – study


Exclusive: Researchers say Covid-19 hiatus is moment to tackle elite ‘super emitters’



Frequent-flying “‘super emitters” who represent just 1% of the world’s population caused half of aviation’s carbon emissions in 2018, according to a study.

Airlines produced a billion tonnes of CO2 and benefited from a $100bn (£75bn) subsidy by not paying for the climate damage they caused, the researchers estimated. The analysis draws together data to give the clearest global picture of the impact of frequent fliers.

Only 11% of the world’s population took a flight in 2018 and 4% flew abroad. US air passengers have by far the biggest carbon footprint among rich countries. Its aviation emissions are bigger than the next 10 countries combined, including the UK, Japan, Germany and Australia, the study reports.

Iran and US on collision course in Trump’s final weeks


Tehran plays down reports that Trump wanted to attack Iran’s nuclear sites

Borzou Daragahi

International Correspondent

@borzou

News reports suggesting that Donald Trump had to be persuaded not to attack Iran’s nuclear sites have been downplayed by officials in Tehran, but nevertheless underscored the prospect of a dangerous few weeks ahead in the Middle East amid fears the US president may be planning a final push against Iran.

The report in The New York Times, which was confirmed by The Wall Street Journal, described a meeting late last week in which several senior advisers – including the vice-president, Mike Pence; the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo; the acting defence secretary, Christopher Miller; and General Mark Milley, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff – purportedly convinced Mr Trump that it would be too risky to launch airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, especially the uranium enrichment facility in the central Iranian city of Natanz, in the waning weeks of his presidency, which ends at noon on 20 January.


Greenland's largest glaciers likely to melt faster than feared: study


The three largest glaciers in Greenland -- which hold enough frozen water to lift global sea levels some 1.3 metres -- could melt faster than even the worst-case warming predictions, research published Tuesday showed.

Until 2000, the main driver of sea level rise was melting glaciers and the expansion of ocean water as it warms.

But over the last two decades, the world's ice sheets atop Greenland and Antarctica have become the single largest source of sea level rise.


US military buys location data of popular Muslim apps: Report


An investigation by the online magazine Motherboard found the US military was procuring location data from several popular apps, including Muslim Pro.

The US military is purchasing private information gathered from apps around the world, including several used by Muslims that have been downloaded nearly 100 million times, a news report says.

An investigation by the online magazine Motherboard published on Monday found the US Special Operations Command was procuring location data from several companies.

The most popular app among those targeted was a Muslim prayer and Quran app called Muslim Pro, with more than 98 million downloads worldwide. Others included a Muslim dating app.

A full-scale humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Ethiopia, the UN says

Updated 1432 GMT (2232 HKT) November 17, 2020

A full-scale humanitarian crisis is developing in the Horn of Africa as thousands of people flee ongoing violence in Ethiopia's Tigray region, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said Tuesday.

An average of 4,000 women, men and children have crossed the border into eastern Sudan every day since November 10, the agency said.
In total, more than 27,000 people have now traveled into Sudan at three border locations, UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch said at a news conference in Geneva.
















































































































































































































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