NEW DELHI: Temperatures in India’s capital soared to a record-high 49.9° Celsius on Tuesday, the government’s weather bureau said.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD), which reported “severe heat-wave conditions,” recorded the temperatures at two Delhi suburbs stations at Narela and Mungeshpur.
Forecasters predict similar temperatures on Wednesday.
In May 2022, parts of Delhi hit 49.2° Celsius, Indian media reported at the time.
India is no stranger to searing summer temperatures.
But years of scientific research have found climate change is causing heatwaves to become longer, more frequent and more intense.
New Delhi authorities have also warned of the risk of water shortages as the capital swelters in an intense heatwave — cutting supplies to some areas.
Water Minister Atishi Marlena has called for “collective responsibility” to stop wasteful water use, the Times of India newspaper reported Wednesday.
“To address the problem of water scarcity, we have taken a slew of measures such as reducing water supply from twice a day to once a day in many areas,” Atishi said, the Indian Express reported.
“The water thus saved will be rationed and supplied to the water-deficient areas where supply lasts only 15 to 20 minutes a day,” she added.
The IMD warned of the heat’s impact on health, especially for infants, the elderly and those with chronic diseases.
At the same time, West Bengal state and the northeastern state of Mizoram have been hit by gales and lashing rains from Cyclone Remal, which hit India and Bangladesh on Sunday, killing more than 38 people.
Bangladesh’s Meteorological Department said the cyclone was “one of longest in the country’s history,” blaming climate change for the shift.
Indian capital records highest-ever temperature at 49.9°Celsius: weather bureau
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Indian capital records highest-ever temperature at 49.9°Celsius: weather bureau
- New Delhi authorities have also warned of the risk of water shortages as the capital swelters in an intense heatwave
- Warnings on heat’s impact on health, especially for infants, the elderly and those with chronic diseases
US says giving $30 million to back controversial Gaza relief effort
- The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is backed by armed US contractors with the Israeli troops on the perimeter
- Nearly 550 Palestinians have been killed near the fountantion’s aid centers while seeking scarce supplies
WASHINGTON: The United States said Thursday it has approved its first direct funding for a controversial Israeli-supported relief effort in the Gaza Strip and urged other countries to follow suit.
"We have approved funding for $30 million to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. And we call on other countries to also support the GHF, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, and its critical work," State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott told reporters.
Israel starting in March blocked deliveries of food and other crucial supplies into Gaza for more than two months, leading to warnings of famine in the territory widely flattened by Israeli bombing since the massive October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, backed by armed US contractors with the Israeli troops on the perimeter, began operations at the end of May that have been marred by chaotic scenes, deaths and neutrality concerns.
The Gaza health ministry says that since late May, nearly 550 people have been killed near aid centers while seeking scarce supplies.
The GHF has denied that deadly incidents have occurred in the immediate vicinity of its aid points.
Major aid groups and the United Nations have refused to work with the officially private group, saying it violates basic humanitarian principles by coordinating delivery with troops.
Asked about the criticism of the operation, Pigott said that the 46 million meals the group says it has so far distributed are "absolutely incredible" and "should be applauded."
"From day one, we said we are open to creative solutions that securely provide aid to those in Gaza and protects Israel," Pigott said.
The financial support to the GHF is part of President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio's "pursuit of peace in the region," he said.
Members of UK Jewish group to appeal punishments for Gaza war criticisms
- Board of Deputies of British Jews suspended 5 members for 2 years and reprimanded 31 over a letter they signed criticizing Israel’s conduct during the conflict
- In a new statement, the disciplined members renewed their concerns about the ‘destruction being wrought on Gazan civilians’
LONDON: Dozens of representatives of the main organization representing Jews in the UK are appealing against disciplinary action taken against them after they criticized Israel’s war on Gaza.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews this week sanctioned 36 of its representatives after they signed a letter in April in which they said they could “no longer remain silent” over the loss of life in Gaza. The board suspended five of the deputies for two years and reprimanded the remaining 31 for breaching its code of conduct.
The reprimanded members said on Thursday they would appeal against the decision, and continued to voice concerns about the conflict, The Guardian newspaper reported.
In a group statement, they said they “remain deeply concerned about the remaining hostages, the appalling humanitarian crisis and ongoing war in Gaza and the further deteriorating situation in the West Bank.”
They added that they stand in solidarity with the majority of Israelis who want an immediate end to the war in Gaza, and there was “no justification for the continuing misery and destruction being wrought on Gazan civilians.”
When it announced the punishments on Tuesday, the Board of Deputies said the letter was “neither authorized by the board nor did the signatories share it with the organization before sending to the Financial Times.” It had received various complaints about the letter and the media coverage that followed, it added.
The five signatories suspended for two years were removed from any elected positions they held. They were handed more severe punishments than the others because they had “contributed to the misleading press release,” the board said, and made public statements relating to the letter.
The remaining 31 deputies who signed the letter but did not promote it received a “notice of criticism” and were warned they would face suspension if they were involved in any similar incidents.
One of the five suspended members, Harriett Goldenberg, was vice chair of the board’s international division.
She told The Guardian: “So many Jews in the UK agreed with our sadly groundbreaking letter. We were inundated with thanks from those who said we represented them, and that we were their voice. It is tragic that voice is still needed.”
The Board of Deputies is the largest representative body for Jews in the UK, with 300 deputies who are elected by synagogues and communal organizations.
Argentina to try 10 in absentia over 1994 bombing of Jewish center
- Argentina and Israel have long suspected Lebanon’s Shiite Hezbollah group of carrying it out at Iran’s request
- Judge Daniel Rafecas acknowledged the “exceptional” nature of the decision to send the case to court, over three decades after the bombing and with the suspects all still at large
BUENOS AIRES: Argentina will try in absentia ten Iranian and Lebanese nationals suspected of the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, which killed 85 people, a ruling seen by AFP on Thursday said.
The attack, which caused devastation in Latin America’s biggest Jewish community, has never been claimed or solved, but Argentina and Israel have long suspected Lebanon’s Shiite Hezbollah group of carrying it out at Iran’s request.
Judge Daniel Rafecas acknowledged the “exceptional” nature of the decision to send the case to court, over three decades after the bombing and with the suspects all still at large.
Trying them in absentia, he said, allowed to “at least try to uncover the truth and reconstruct what happened.”
On July 18, 1994, a truck laden with explosives was driven into the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) and detonated.
The deadliest attack in Argentina’s history injured more than 300 people
No-one has ever been arrested over the attack.
The ten suspects facing trial are former Iranian and Lebanese ministers and diplomats for whom Argentina has issued international arrest warrants.
Since 2006 Argentina had sought the arrest of eight Iranians, including then-president Ali Akbar Hashemi Bahramaie Rafsanjani, who died in 2017.
Iran has always denied any involvement and refused to arrest and hand over suspects.
Thursday’s ruling on trying them in absentia is the first of its kind in the South American country.
Until March this year, the country’s laws did not allow for suspects to be tried unless they were physically present.
It comes amid a new push in recent years for justice to be served over the attack, backed by President Javier Milei, a staunch ally of Israel.
Rafecas said a trial in absentia was justified given the “material impossibility of securing the presence of the defendants and the nature of the crime against humanity under investigation.”
In April 2024, an Argentine court blamed Hezbollah for the attack, which it called a “crime against humanity.”
It found that the attack and another on the Israeli embassy in 1992 that killed 29 people were likely triggered by the Argentine government under then-president Carlos Menem canceling three contracts with Iran for the supply of nuclear equipment and technology.
The court did not however manage to produce evidence of Iran’s involvement.
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights in San Jose, Costa Rica last year found the Argentine state responsible for not preventing, nor properly investigating, the attack.
It also blamed the state for efforts to “cover up and obstruct the investigation.”
Former president Cristina Kirchner has been ordered to stand trial over a memorandum she signed with Iran in 2013 to investigate the bombing.
The memorandum, which was later annulled, allowed for suspects to be interrogated in Iran rather than Argentina, leading Kirchner to be accused of conspiring with Tehran in a cover-up.
She has denied the allegations.
Germany scraps funding for sea rescues of migrants
- “I don’t think it’s the foreign office’s job to finance this kind of sea rescue,” Wadephul said
- “We need to be active where the need is greatest“
BERLIN: Germany is cutting financial support for charities that rescue migrants at risk of drowning in the Mediterranean, saying it will redirect resources to addressing conditions in source countries that spur people to leave.
For decades, migrants driven by war and poverty have made perilous crossings to reach Europe’s southern borders, with thousands estimated to die every year in their bid to reach a continent grown increasingly hostile to migration.
“Germany is committed to being humane and will help where people suffer but I don’t think it’s the foreign office’s job to finance this kind of sea rescue,” Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told a news conference.
“We need to be active where the need is greatest,” he added, mentioning the humanitarian emergency in war-shattered Sudan.
Under the previous left-leaning government, Germany began paying around 2 million euros ($2.34 million) annually to non-governmental organizations carrying out rescues of migrant-laden boats in trouble at sea.
For them, it has been a key source of funds: Germany’s Sea-Eye, which said rescue charities have saved 175,000 lives since 2015, received around 10 percent of its total income of around 3.2 million euros from the German government.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservatives won February’s national election after a campaign promising to curb irregular migration, which some voters in Europe’s largest economy see as being out of control.
Even though the overall numbers have been falling for several years, many Germans blame migration-related fears for the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), now the second largest party in parliament.
Many experts say that migration levels are mainly driven by economic and humanitarian emergencies in the source countries, with the official cold shoulder in destination countries having had little impact in deterring migrants.
Despite this, German officials suggest that sea rescues only incentivise people to risk the sometimes deadly crossings.
“The (government) support made possible extra missions and very concretely saved lives,” said Gorden Isler, Sea-Eye’s chairperson. “We might now have to stay in harbor despite emergencies.”
The opposition Greens, who controlled the foreign office when the subsidies were introduced, criticized the move.
“This will exacerbate the humanitarian crisis and deepen human suffering,” said joint floor leader Britta Hasselmann.
Mass shooting in gang-plagued Mexican state leaves 12 dead and more injured
- The attorney general’s office in Guanajuato said some 20 others were hospitalized
- Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said the victims included children
MEXICO CITY: At least 12 people were killed, including a teenager, and more wounded in a Tuesday night shooting in the central Mexican city of Irapuato, authorities said on Wednesday.
The attorney general’s office in Guanajuato, the violence-plagued state where Irapuato is located, said some 20 others were hospitalized with gunshot wounds.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said earlier on Wednesday that the victims included children, although the attorney general’s office later confirmed only one casualty was a minor, aged 17.
“It is very unfortunate what happened. An investigation is under way,” Sheinbaum said.
Local media reported the shooting happened during an evening party celebrating a Catholic holiday, the Nativity of John the Baptist.
A video circulating on social media showed people dancing in the patio of a housing complex while a band played in the background, before gunfire erupted. Reuters was not immediately able to verify the video.
Guanajuato has been for many years one of the most violent regions in the country.
On Tuesday, five other people were killed in other parts of the state, according to the attorney general’s office.
