Last year was the planet’s hottest on record by a substantial margin and likely the world’s warmest in the last 1,00,000 years, the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said on January 9.
Scientists had widely expected the milestone after climate records were repeatedly broken. Since June, every month has been the world’s hottest on record compared with the corresponding month in previous years. “This has been a very exceptional year, climate-wise... in a league of its own, even when compared to other very warm years,” C3S Director Carlo Buontempo said.
C3S confirmed 2023 as the hottest year in global temperature records going back to 1850. When checked against paleoclimatic data records from sources such as tree rings and air bubbles in glaciers, Buontempo said it was “very likely” the warmest year in the last 1,00,000 years.
On average, in 2023 the planet was 1.48 degrees Celsius warmer than in the 1850-1900 pre-industrial period, when humans began burning fossil fuels on an industrial scale, pumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Countries agreed in the 2015 Paris Agreement to try to prevent global warming surpassing 1.5C, to avoid its most severe consequences.
The world has not breached that target, which refers to an average global temperature of 1.5C over decades, but C3S said that temperatures had exceeded the level on nearly half of the days of 2023 set “a dire precedent”.
Despite the proliferation of governments’ and companies’ climate targets, CO2 emissions remain stubbornly high. The world’s CO2 emissions from burning coal, oil and gas hit record levels in 2023.
Last year, the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere rose to the highest level recorded, of 419 parts per million, C3S said.
It was also the first year in which every day was more than 1C hotter than pre-industrial times. For the first time, two days - both of them were in November - were 2C warmer than in the pre-industrial period, C3S said.
Last year was 0.17C hotter than 2016, the previous hottest year - smashing the record by a “remarkable” margin, Buontempo said.
Alongside human-caused climate change, temperatures were boosted by the El Nino weather phenomenon, which warms the surface waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean and contributes to higher global temperatures, in 2023.
The economic consequences of climate change are also escalating. The U.S. suffered at least 25 climate and weather disasters with damages exceeding $1 billion, National Centers for Environmental Information data show. Prolonged droughts ravaged soybean crops in Argentina and wheat in Spain.
Railways land-for-jobs case | ED files chargesheet against Lalu Yadav’s family members, others
The Enforcement Directorate on January 9 filed its first chargesheet in the railways land-for-jobs linked money laundering case, naming as accused RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav’s wife and former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi and their MP daughter Misa Bharti among others, official sources said.
Yadav’s another daughter Hema Yadav (40), an alleged “close associate” of the Yadav family Amit Katyal (49), railway employee and alleged beneficiary Hridayanand Chaudhary, two firms A.K. Infosystems Pvt. Ltd. and A B Exports Pvt. Ltd., through their common director Shariqul Bari, have also been named in the chargesheet.
The complaint, with over 4,700 pages including annexures, has arrayed seven accused. It was filed before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act court in Delhi that has listed the matter for January 16, the sources said.
Special Judge Vishal Gogne directed the ED to file an e-copy of the chargesheet and documents today itself.
Katyal was arrested in this case by the ED in November last year while Lalu Prasad Yadav was summoned by the agency but is yet to depose. However, his son and Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav had deposed once before the agency. He has been asked to appear again before it.
The agency is expected to file supplementary chargesheets in the case.
Rabri Devi (68), RJD Rajya Sabha MP Misa Bharti (47), and two other daughters of Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi — Chanda Yadav and Ragini Yadav — have been questioned in this case by the ED.
The alleged scam pertains to the period when Lalu Prasad Yadav was the Railway Minister in the UPA-1 government.
The agency, in the chargesheet, has requested the court to prosecute the accused for the offence of money laundering and sought confiscation of assets attached by it in this case earlier.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh kickstarts U.K. tour with visit to Gandhi memorial
Singh’s visit comes after a gap of 22 years, with the last one by an Indian Defence Minister to the U.K. dating back to January 2002.
Accompanied by Indian High Commissioner to the U.K. Vikram Doraiswami and members of his delegation, Singh paid floral tributes to Gandhi at the memorial which dates back to the 20th century.
Singh then made his way to Whitehall to inspect a ceremonial Guard of Honour at the Horse Guards Parade before a bilateral meeting with his U.K. counterpart, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps.
The Minister is also scheduled to visit the Ambedkar Museum in north London to pay tributes to the Dalit rights activist and architect of the Indian Constitution, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, before offering prayers at the BAPS Swaminarayan Temple, known as Neasden Temple in London.
Besides a dialogue with Shapps, Singh is expected to call on British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and hold a meeting with Foreign Secretary David Cameron.
On January 10, the Defence Minister will interact with defence industry leaders at a roundtable event and later meet representatives of the Indian community at a reception organised by the High Commission of India in London.
Sena vs Sena | Ahead of verdict, Thackeray chastises Speaker Narwekar’s private visit to CM Shinde
Maharashtra Speaker Rahul Narwekar’s verdict on the disqualification proceedings against Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his Shiv Sena MLAs will determine whether democracy was alive or not in this country, said Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on January 9 while criticising Narwekar’s recent visit to Shinde.
Ahead of the much-anticipated verdict, Thackeray further cast aspersions on the ‘quality’ of Narwekar’s justice, remarking what hope was there “when the judge goes to visit the accused.” Narwekar is expected to read out the judgement in the Legislative Assembly after 4 p.m. on January 10.
“Since the SC’s direction to the Speaker to give a judgement on the disqualification case, Mr. Narwekar has twice met with CM Shinde in private. It is akin to the Judge meeting the accused. If he is doing that, then there is a serious question on what kind of justice can we expect,” Thackeray said, alluding to a meeting between Narwekar and CM Shinde on January 7.
Thackeray also accused the Speaker of procrastination and expressed apprehension that Narwekar could even drag the reading of the verdict on January 10 in a bid to seek a further extension in the case.
“The SC had directed the Speaker to give judgement within a reasonable time frame, Mr. Narwekar. It had given December 31 as the last date. But the manner in which the hearing has proceeded smacks of delaying tactics,” Thackeray said.
He informed that the Sena (UBT) had submitted an affidavit to the Supreme Court on the matter of the Speaker meeting with the CM.
Meanwhile, dismissing Thackeray’s allegations as “baseless,” Shinde said the Opposition had no other work else but to indulge in such accusations.
Stating that he expected the verdict to be based “on merit”, Shinde said that his government had been formed in “a perfectly legitimate manner” and that his party had the majority of the Shiv Sena MLAs and MPs right from the start.
BJP set to win Sikkim Rajya Sabha seat uncontested
Lepcha, the MLA of Gnathang Machong in Pakyong district, would have anyway won the election with the ruling SKM extending support to him. The BJP and the SKM together account for 31 of the assembly’s total 32 seats.
The stipulated time for the filing of nomination ended at 3 p.m., and only Lepcha’s papers were received by the office of the Returning Officer, the Assembly Secretariat said.
The scrutiny of the nomination papers will take place on January 10, it said.
Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang and BJP State unit president DR Thapa accompanied Lepcha when he filed his nomination papers at the Assembly.
Lepcha’s Rajya Sabha nomination is being considered as his reward for helping the BJP become a major player in the Himalayan State.
The lone Rajya Sabha seat in the State is at present held by two-term MP Hishey Lachungpa of the opposition SDF. His tenure will end on February 23. The polling for the election was scheduled on January 19.
Bengaluru start-up CEO allegedly murders 4-year-old son in Goa, arrested while fleeing to Karnataka with body in bag
A 39-year-old chief executive officer of a start-up company allegedly killed her four-year-old son in Goa and travelled with the body to neighbouring Karnataka, a police official said on January 9.
Goa police arrested the accused, Suchana Seth, at Chitradurga in Karnataka on January 8, he said, adding the motive behind the murder is not known.
According to Seth’s LinkedIn page, she is the CEO of a start-up, The Mindful AI Lab, and was among the top ‘100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics for 2021’.
She checked into a rented service apartment at Candolim in north Goa on January 6 along with her son, Calangute police station Inspector Paresh Naik said.
After staying there for two days, she informed the apartment staff that she wanted to go to Bengaluru for some work and asked them to arrange for a taxi.
“The staff suggested that she could take a flight to Bengaluru, which would be a cheaper option rather than hiring a taxi, which is an expensive proposition,” he said.
The accused insisted that she would travel by taxi. Accordingly, a taxi was arranged on January 8, in which she left early morning.
Later, when the apartment staff went to clean the room in which she stayed, they found blood stains on a towel, Naik said.
“The management of the apartment immediately informed the Calangute police, who then reached the spot,” he said.
The staff also informed that the woman’s four-year-old son was not seen with her when she left the apartment, and she was also carrying an unusually heavy bag, he said.
The police called Suchana Seth and enquired about the blood stains and her son.
“Suchana Seth told us that the blood stains were due to her monthly periods. She also told us that her son was with her friend in Margao [in south Goa], and provided the address,” the official said.
Naik immediately took the help of Fatorda police (near Margao) and got to know that the address given by Suchana Seth was fake.
The Inspector later spoke over phone to the taxi driver, who was on the way to Bengaluru and had reached Chitradurga district in Karnataka, and instructed him to take the accused to the nearest police station.
The Ayamangala Police in Hiriyur taluk of Chitradurga district detained her following a request by the Goa police on January 8 afternoon.
Dharmender Kumar Meena, Chitradurga SP, told The Hindu, that the taxi driver, following the instructions of the Goa police, drove to the police station at Ayamangala. “We detained her briefly. As per request by Goa police, we searched the vehicle and found the dead body of the child. We kept her in our custody, until the Goa police reached and took her,” he said.
A team of Calangute police rushed to Chitradurga, presented Suchana Seth before the magistrate in Hiriyur and obtained a transit remand. She was later taken to Goa.
The post-mortem of the body would be conducted at Hiriyur in Chitradurga, Naik said. A team of Goa police are in the taluk to complete the procedures.
Police have informed Venkat Raman, who is the husband of Suchana Seth and is currently in Jakarta (Indonesia), he said.
Court allows NewsClick HR head Amit Chakravarty to turn approver in UAPA case
A Delhi court has allowed NewsClick’s Human Resources department chief Amit Chakravarty to turn an approver in the case lodged against the news portal under anti-terror law UAPA over allegations that it received money to spread pro-China propaganda, court sources said on January 9.
Special Judge Hardeep Kaur pardoned Chakravarty, arrested in the case, on an application he moved recently seeking the court’s permission to turn an approver, a move that could spell trouble for NewsClick’s Editor-in-Chief and founder Prabir Purkayastha.
Chakravarty also claimed he was in possession of “material information” about the case which he was willing to disclose to the Delhi Police.
The Special Cell of Delhi Police had arrested Purkayastha and Chakravarty on October 3 and both of them are currently in judicial custody.
According to the FIR, a large amount of funds to the news portal came from China to “disrupt the sovereignty of India” and cause disaffection against the country.
It also alleged Purkayastha conspired with a group — People’s Alliance for Democracy and Secularism (PADS) — to sabotage the electoral process during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
In brief
France gets its youngest-ever Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal, as Macron shakes up government
Gabriel Attal was named on January 9 as France’s youngest-ever Prime Minister, as President Emmanuel Macron seeks a fresh start for the rest of his term amid growing political pressure from the far right. Macron’s office announced the appointment in a statement. Attal, 34, rose to prominence as the government spokesman and Education Minister. He is France’s first openly gay Prime Minister.
Imran Khan arrested in connection with attack on Pakistan Army headquarters last year
Jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan was on January 9 arrested in a case related to the attack on the Pakistan Army headquarters in Rawalpindi on May 9, 2023, soon after his release warrant was issued in the cipher case. An anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi had summoned Khan, who is already behind bars in cipher and graft cases, regarding the May 9 violence case on January 9. However, Khan attended the court’s proceedings via video link as he could not be produced in the court by Adiala jail authorities owing to security concerns.
Evening Wrap will return tomorrow.
