Tuesday, October 8, 2024

Six In The Morning Tuesday 8 October 2024

 

No safe place in Beirut, mayor tells BBC, as Israel says potential Hezbollah leader 'probably' dead

Why is Hezbollah targeting Haifa?

The Israeli port city of Haifa - which has suffered direct hits twice in the past two days - is a particular target for Hezbollah for a number of reasons.

Besides being Israel’s biggest port (and occasional dock for the US Navy), the city contains petrochemical plants and oil refineries.

The consequences of a missile strike on these sites could be severe. As well as potentially causing catastrophic explosions, a chemical leak could threaten Haifa’s population and beyond, as well as damage the environment.


  • Senior Hezbollah figure Hashem Safieddine - a likely successor to the group's recently killed leader Hassan Nasrallah - is also "probably" dead, Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant says


Earth’s ‘vital signs’ show humanity’s future in balance, say climate experts

Record emissions, temperatures and population mean more scientists are looking into possibility of societal collapse, report says

 Environment editor
Tue 8 Oct 2024 15.08 BST

Many of Earth’s “vital signs” have hit record extremes, indicating that “the future of humanity hangs in the balance”, a group of the world’s most senior climate experts have said.

More and more scientists are now looking into the possibility of societal collapse, says the report, which assessed 35 vital signs in 2023 and found that 25 were worse than ever recorded, including carbon dioxide levels and human population. This indicates a “critical and unpredictable new phase of the climate crisis”, it says.

EU to launch WTO challenge against China's brandy squeeze

Beijing's decision appeared to be a retaliatory move after the European slapped more import tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles. Trade relations between Brussels and Beijing have become increasingly strained.

The European Union said Tuesday it will launch a challenge at the World Trade Organization (WTO) against China's decision to put anti-dumping measures on brandy imported from the bloc.

"The European Commission will challenge, at the WTO, the announced imposition of provisional anti-dumping measures by China on imports of brandy from the EU," the European Commission's trade spokesperson Olof Gill said in a statement.

North Korean military officers 'highly likely' killed in Ukraine, Seoul says

Ukrainian media reports that six North Korean military officers were killed alongside Russian troops in a missile attack near occupied Donetsk are "highly likely" to be true, Seoul's defence minister said Tuesday. Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun told lawmakers that he expected North Korea to send more soldiers to support Russia's war effort.

North Korean soldiers are likely fighting in Ukraine alongside Russian troops, with some believed already killed and more expected to be deployed, Seoul's defence minister said Tuesday.

Ukrainian media have reported that six North Korean military officers were killed in a Ukrainian missile attack on Russian-occupied territory near Donetsk on October 3.

Seoul's defense minister, Kim Yong-hyun, told lawmakers Tuesday that it was "highly likely" that the report was true.

MI5 chief says Russia and Iran behind rise in assassination plots in UK

Ken McCallum said the number of state-threat investigations undertaken by MI5 has risen by 48 percent in the past year.

The United Kingdom is facing a “staggering rise” in assassination attempts on its soil by Russia and Iran as the hostile states recruit criminals to “do their dirty work” for them, the head of the UK’s domestic intelligence agency has said.

In a rare public speech on Tuesday setting out the major threats to the UK from both hostile states and terror groups, MI5 director Ken McCallum said the number of state-threat investigations undertaken by MI5 has risen by 48 percent in the past year, with Iran, Russia and, China the main perpetrators.

Climbing the world’s other highest mountain – no sherpas required


What is the highest mountain on Earth? Turns out the answer to that question is more debatable than you might think.
 
If you measure altitude above mean sea level, then the 29,032-foot (8,849-meter) Mount Everest, which straddles the border between Tibet and Nepal, is clearly the world’s highest.

Yet, if you measure a mountain from its base to its peak, then the 33,500-foot (10,211-meter) Mauna Kea, an inactive shield volcano on the island of Hawaii, would instead come out on top.


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