Wednesday, 8 July 2020

Climate change: 'Rising chance' of exceeding 1.5C global target

The World Meteorological Organisation says there's a growing chance that global temperatures will rise by more than 1.5C over the next five years, compared to pre-industrial levels.

It assesses a 20% chance the threshold will be broken in one year before 2024 and a 70% chance it will be broken in one or more months in those five years.

Scientists say it shows the tough task of controlling climate change levels.

The 2015 Paris accord had tasked world leaders with certain goals.

It committed them to pursue efforts to try to keep the world from warming by more than 1.5C this century.

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Some parts of the world will feel this rising heat more than others, with the scientists saying that the Arctic will probably warm by twice the global average this year.

They also predict that over the coming five years there will be more storms over western Europe thanks to rising sea levels.

The assessment considers natural variability as well as the impact of carbon emissions from human activities - however the models don't take account of the fall-off in CO2 emissions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The WMO says this is unlikely to affect temperatures in the early 2020s.

National security law: Australia suspends Hong Kong extradition treaty

Australia has suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong in response to fears over a new national security law imposed by China.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the new law undermined "Hong Kong's own basic law" and the territory's current level of autonomy from Beijing.

Canada and the UK have also recently suspended extradition agreements.

Australia also offered to extend visas to five years for Hong Kong residents currently in the country.

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This would enable a pathway to permanent residency for about 10,000 Hong Kong residents currently working and studying in Australia, Mr Morrison said.

He said Australia had already formally notified Hong Kong and advised the Chinese authorities on the treaty change.

China pushed through the wide-ranging law last week which critics say makes it easier to punish protesters and critics of the Chinese government.

Hong Kong's government says the law is required to bring order to a city that saw mass pro-democracy protests last year that often turned violent.

As the extent of the law's reach is still uncertain, critics have said it could also lead to foreign nationals being arbitrarily detained in Hong Kong.

That has led to Australia, and other nations, upgrading their travel advice to citizens in Hong Kong.

Australia urged its 100,000 nationals in Hong Kong to reconsider their stay there in a message on Thursday.

"You may be at increased risk of detention on vaguely defined national security grounds. You could break the law without intending to. If you're concerned about the new law, reconsider your need to remain in Hong Kong," said the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Mr Morrison said his government, along with others "have been very consistent in expressing our concerns about the imposition of the national security law on Hong Kong."

Hong Kong is a former British colony and was handed back to China in 1997.

Under the arrangement, Hong Kong was allowed to have certain freedoms for 50 years, setting it apart from the Chinese mainland.

However the UK, and other Western nations say China's new law directly threatens those freedoms and rights.

Last week, the UK offered resettlement to up three million Hong Kong residents.

China has criticised the UK's offer, accusing it of "gross interference" in its domestic affairs.

George Floyd: Officer told dying man to 'stop yelling'

The US police officer accused of George Floyd's murder told him to stop talking as he repeatedly gasped under the man's knee, according to court documents.

The unarmed black man cried out for his late mother and children as he said the Minneapolis policeman would kill him, transcripts from body-cam footage show.

They were disclosed in court by lawyers for one of the four officers involved.

The documents offer the clearest picture yet of Mr Floyd's last moments. His death in May sparked global uproar.

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It led to a wave of anti-racism protests led by the Black Lives Matter movement, and stirred debate and reflection in the US over the country's history of slavery and segregation.

All four officers involved in taking Mr Floyd into custody were fired and arrested. Derek Chauvin, who knelt on his neck, faces several charges including second-degree murder, while the other three - Thomas Lane, J Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao - are charged with aiding and abetting murder.

The transcripts were made public on Thursday as Mr Lane's lawyers asked for the case against him to be dismissed.

Warning: Some readers may find the content below distressing.

What do the transcripts show?

Until now, eyewitness footage shared on social media revealed most of what was known about Mr Floyd's arrest and his final moments.

The new transcripts give a more detailed account, shedding light on significant parts of the encounter, from the time Mr Lane and Mr Kueng arrived at the scene, to the point where Mr Floyd was given CPR in an ambulance.

Transcripts of footage recorded by body cameras fitted to Mr Lane and Mr Kueng show Mr Floyd said more than 20 times he could not breathe as he was restrained by the officers in a Minneapolis street.

They confronted him outside a convenience store where he was suspected of having used a forged $20 note to buy cigarettes.

At one point, a handcuffed Mr Floyd, while pinned down on the road next to the police car, gasps that he cannot breathe, adding: "You're going to kill me, man."

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