Warmest month of September on record, Norwegian author wins Nobel Prize
| | | | | | | Hello. We have the latest on the Russian strike on a Ukrainian village that killed at least 51 people, according to authorities. Our climate team tells us more about the hottest month of September in global history. And scroll down for a surprising story of DNA and heritage. |
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| | | | Get up to speed | | • | US President Joe Biden's administration will build a section of border wall in southern Texas, a signature anti-immigration policy of his predecessor Donald Trump. See the outline of the barrier between the US and Mexico. | | • | The Norwegian author and playwright Jon Fosse has won this year’s Nobel Prize in Literature. Mr Fosse said he was "overwhelmed and somewhat frightened" by the news. | | • | Mauritius' highest court has decriminalised gay sex. The law banning homosexuality in the island country did not "reflect any indigenous Mauritian values but was inherited as part of our colonial history from Britain", judges said. |
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| | Expert insights | Eye on Ukraine | | Dozens killed in Russian strike | | | | Emergency workers are going through the rubble in Hroza. Credit: Reuters | | A Russian strike in the north-eastern Ukraine village of Hroza has killed at least 51 people, officials say. According to reports, villagers from Hroza had gathered in a local cafe for a wake following the death of a resident. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of "genocidal aggression". | | | | Paul Kirby, Europe digital editor |
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| Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the front line in the north-east only this week, because this region has been the focus of Russia's military offensive ever since the summer. Last month, Russia said it had captured strategic heights near Kupyansk, just 30km (18 miles) to the east of Hroza. There is no obvious reason why such a small village would come under attack, but it is within reach of that front line.
Ukraine recaptured Kupyansk and areas around it last autumn and Russian forces have spent the past few months trying to re-occupy it. Six weeks ago Ukraine ordered civilians to be evacuated from Kupyansk because of Russian shelling. Mr Zelensky said on Tuesday that the front line between Kupyansk and Lyman further south was "one of the hottest areas" of the war. The latest civilian deaths are an indication of that. |
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| | Questions Answered | | September global temperatures hit record | | | | The world's September temperatures were the warmest on record, breaking the previous high by a huge margin, according to the EU climate service. Some scientists said they were shocked by the scale of the increase. | | | | Matt McGrath and Mark Poynting, BBC News |
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| | What have we learned today? | | Data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service shows that September 2023 was 0.93C (1.67F) warmer than the average September temperature between 1991-2020, and 0.5C (0.9F) hotter than the previous record set in September 2020. This is the biggest jump from the long-term average in records dating back to 1940. It was worse in Europe, where temperatures beat the long term average by 2.51C (4.52F). | | What can explain this surge? | | On top of the long-term warming caused by humans, mainly from fossil fuel burning releasing planet-warming greenhouse gases, experts believe the El Niño weather event is playing a part in surging global temperatures. During El Niño events, warm water comes to the surface in the East Pacific, releasing additional heat into the atmosphere. | | How are scientists reacting? | | Some experts said they were "gobsmacked" by the data. One important measure for them is the difference between current temperatures and what they were before the widespread use of fossil fuels. Last month was around 1.75C (3.15F) above the temperatures during this so-called pre-industrial period. Scientists believe that this year as a whole will stay under the 1.5C limit agreed by political leaders, but 2023 is "on track" to become the warmest on record. | | | | | | |
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| | The big picture | | A shrinking Mont Blanc | | | | A team of measuring experts first used a drone to determine how high the summit was. Credit: Reuters |
| | The tallest summit in France is a little bit less tall this year. Mont Blanc's peak has been measured at 4,805.59m (15,766ft 4 in), which is 2.22m shorter than in 2021. The variation in height comes from the amount of snow and ice at the summit, which depends on the wind and weather. Researchers said that the shrink could have been caused by less rain this year. | | | | |
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| | | | For your downtime | | A life-changing test | | She just took a DNA test, it turned out she was 50% Jewish. | | |
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| | | | And finally... | | A new instalment of the Assassins’ Creed video game franchise is out this week. The series is well-known for taking place in historical locations and this time, players will be able to wander around 9th Century Baghdad. But for the first time, for a more authentic experience, dialogues will be available in Classical Arabic. Here’s our story behind the scenes. |
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