Patna: Police use water cannons, mild force to disperse BPSC protestersMumbai Consumer Commission Secures ₹2.15 Lakh Compensation From Defiant Travel Firms After Police InterventionEarth just experienced its second-warmest November on record — second only to 2023 — making it all but certain that 2024 will end as the hottest year ever measured, according to a report Monday by European climate service Copernicus. Last year was the hottest on record due to human-caused climate change coupled with the effects of an El Nino. But after this summer registered as the hottest on record — Phoenix sweltered through 113 consecutive days with a high temperature of at least 100 degrees Fahrenheit — scientists anticipated 2024 would set a new annual record as well. In November, global temperatures averaged 14.10C (57.38F). Last year's global average temperature was 14.98C (59F). FILE - People are silhouetted against the sky at sunset Nov. 12 as they run in a park in Shawnee, Kan. Jennifer Francis, a climate scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center in Cape Cod, who wasn't involved in the report, said the big story about November is that "like 2023, it beat out previous Novembers by a large margin." This also likely will be the first calendar year in which the average temperature was more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times, the report said. The 2015 Paris Agreement said human-caused warming should be limited to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), and ideally below 1.5. In the following years, the world's top scientist said limiting to 1.5 was crucial to stave off the worst impacts of climate change, such as increasing destructive and frequent extreme weather events. Scientists say the main cause of climate change is the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas. That "does not mean that the Paris Agreement has been breached, but it does mean ambitious climate action is more urgent than ever," said Copernicus Deputy Director Samantha Burgess. A young family visiting Washington cools off from the warm weather in a fountain Nov. 6 at the base of the Washington Monument. Francis said the new records are "terrible news for people and ecosystems." "The pace of warming is so fast that plants and animals cannot adapt as they always have during previous changes in the Earth's climate. More species will go extinct, which disrupts natural food webs they're a part of. Agriculture will suffer as pollinators decline and pests flourish," she said, also warning that coastal communities will be vulnerable to sea-level rise. Heat waves over the oceans and a loss of reflective sea ice and snow cover probably contributed to the temperature increase this year, experts said. Copernicus said the extent of Antarctic sea ice in November was 10% below average, a record. Oceans absorb about 90% of the heat trapped by greenhouse gases, later releasing heat and water vapor back into the atmosphere. Last year's record heat was caused partly by an El Nino — a temporary natural warming of parts of the central Pacific that alters weather worldwide. People walk Nov. 27 on an autumn-colored ginkgo tree-lined avenue in Tokyo. But that ended this year and a cooling effect that often follows, called La Nina, failed to materialize, leaving the scientific community "a little perplexed by what's going on here ... why temperatures are staying high," said Jonathan Overpeck, a climate scientist at the University of Michigan. One explanation is that an El Nino releases more heat to the atmosphere because of warmer ocean waters, then "we're not getting the cooling effect that often in decades gone by helps bring the temperature back down," Overpeck said. "So it does look like this could be contributing to the acceleration of global warming. But this year, he said, "is such a big jump following yet another jump, and that's a scary thing." It's no secret that a warming world will drive food prices higher, a phenomenon increasingly known as " heatflation ." What's less known, but a growing area of interest among economists and scientists alike, is the role individual extreme weather events — blistering temperatures in Texas , a destructive tornado in Iowa — may have on what U.S. consumers pay at the supermarket. At first glance, the answer might seem logical: A drought or flood that impacts agricultural production will, eventually, drive up prices. But it's not that simple, because what consumers pay for groceries isn't only reflective of crop yields or herd sizes, but the whole supply chain. As Grist reports, that's where it gets interesting: Economists are beginning to see a growing trend that suggests weather forecasts play a part in sticker shock. Sometimes the mere prediction of an extreme event — like the record-breaking temperatures, hurricanes, and wildfires forecasters are bracing for this summer — can prompt a spike in prices. It isn't the forecast itself to blame, but concerns about what the weather to come might mean for the entire supply chain, as food manufacturers manage their risks and the expected future value of their goods, said Seungki Lee, an agricultural economist at Ohio State University. "When it comes to the climate risk on food prices, people typically look at the production side. But over the last two years, we learned that extreme weather can raise food prices, [cause] transportation disruptions, as well as production disruptions," said Lee. How much we pay for the food we buy is determined by retailers, who consider the producer's price, labor costs, and other factors. Any increases in what producers charge is typically passed on to consumers because grocery stores operate on thin profit margins. And if manufacturers expect to pay more for commodities like beef or specialty crops like avocados in the future, they may boost prices now to cover those anticipated increases. "The whole discussion about the climate risks on the food supply chain is based on probabilities," Lee said. "It is possible that we do not see extreme temperatures this summer, or even later this year. We may realize there was no significant weather shock hitting the supply chain, but unfortunately that will not be the end of the story." Supply chain disruptions and labor shortages are among the reasons food prices have climbed 25 percent since 2020 . Climate change may be contributing as well. A study published earlier this year found " heatflation " could push them up by as much as 3 percentage points per year worldwide in just over a decade and by about 2 percentage points in North America. Simultaneous disasters in major crop and cattle producing regions around the world — known as multi-breadbasket failure — are among the primary forces driving these costs. Crop shortages in these regions may also squeeze prices, which can create volatility in the global market and bump up consumer costs. Historically, a single, localized heat wave or storm typically wouldn't disrupt the supply chain enough to prompt price hikes. But a warming world might be changing that dynamic as extreme weather events intensify and simultaneous occurrences of them become the norm. How much this adds to consumers' grocery bills will vary, and depends upon whether these climate-fueled disasters hit what Lee calls "supply chain chokepoints" like vital shipping channels during harvest seasons. "As the weather is getting more and more volatile because of climate change, we are seeing this issue more frequently," he said. "So what that means is the supply chain is getting more likely to be jeopardized by these types of risks that we have never seen before." An ongoing drought that plagued the Mississippi River system from the fall of 2022 until February provides an excellent example of this. The Mississippi River basin, which covers 31 states, is a linchpin of America's agricultural supply chain. It produces 92 percent of the nation's agricultural exports, 78 percent of the world's feed grains and soybeans , and most of the country's livestock. Vessels navigating its roughly 2,350 miles of channels carry 589 million tons of cargo annually . Transportation barriers created by low water, seen above, hampered the ability of crop-producing states in the Corn Belt to send commodities like corn and soybeans, primarily used for cattle feed, to livestock producers in the South. Thus emerged a high demand, low supply situation as shipping and commodity prices shot up , with economists expecting consumers to absorb those costs . Past research showing that retail prices increase alongside commodity prices suggests that the drought probably contributed to higher overall food costs last year — and because droughts have a lingering impact on production even after they end, it may be fueling stubbornly high grocery prices today. But although it seems clear that the drought contributed to higher prices, particularly for meat and dairy products, just how much remains to be gauged. One reason for that is a lack of research analyzing the relationship between this particular weather event and the consumer market. Another is it's often difficult to tease out which of several possible factors, including global trade, war, and export bans , influence specific examples of sticker shock. While droughts definitely prompt decreases in agricultural production, Metin Çakır, an economist at the University of Minnesota, says whether that is felt by consumers depends on myriad factors. "This would mean higher raw ingredient costs for foods sold in groceries, and part of those higher costs will be passed onto consumers via higher prices. However, will consumer prices actually increase? The answer depends on many other supply and demand factors that might be happening at the same time as the impact of the drought," said Çakır. In a forthcoming analysis previewed by Grist, Çakır examined the relationship between an enduring drought in California, which produces a third of the nation's vegetables and nearly two-thirds of its fruits and nuts , and costs of produce purchased at large grocery retailers nationwide. While the event raised consumer vegetable prices to a statistically significant degree, they didn't increase as much as Çakır expected. This capricious consumer cost effect is due largely to the resiliency of America's food system . Public safety nets like crop insurance and other federal programs have played a large part in mitigating the impacts of adverse weather and bolstering the food supply chain against climate change and other shocks. By ensuring farmers and producers don't bear the brunt of those losses, these programs reduce the costs passed on to consumers. Advanced agricultural technology, modern infrastructure, substantial storage, and efficient transport links also help ensure retail price stability. A 2024 study of the role climate change played on the U.S. wheat market from 1950 to 2018 found that although the impact of weather shocks on price variability has increased with the frequency of extreme weather, adaptive mechanisms, like a well-developed production and distribution infrastructure with sufficient storage capacity, have minimized the impact on consumers. Still, the paper warns that such systems may collapse when faced with "unprecedented levels of weather variability." Last year was the world's warmest on record , creating an onslaught of challenges for crop and livestock producers nationwide. And this year is primed to be even more brutal , with the transition from El Niño — an atmospheric phenomenon that warms ocean temperatures — to La Niña , its counterpart that cools them. This cyclical change in global weather patterns is another potential threat for crop yields and source of supply chain pressures that economists and scientists are keeping an eye on. They will be particularly focused on the Midwest and stretches of the Corn Belt, two regions prone to drought as an El Niño cycle gives way to a La Niña, according to Weston Anderson, an assistant research scientist at the University of Maryland and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Those growing regions for corn and soybeans are what he'll be watching closely as La Niña develops. It's something Jennifer Ifft, an agricultural economist at Kansas State University, is also thinking about. "If you have a very severe drought in the Corn Belt ... that's going to be the biggest deal, because that's gonna raise the cost of production for cattle, hogs, poultry," said Ifft. "So that would probably have the largest inflationary impacts." As of January , U.S. beef herd inventory was at its lowest in 73 years, which multiple reports noted is due to the persisting drought that began in 2020 . Americans, the majority of whom are already spending more on groceries than last year, are poised to soon see "record" beef prices at the supermarket. Food prices are also expected to rise another 2.2 percent in 2024 , according to the USDA's Economic Research Service. In a world enmeshed in extremes, our already-fragile food supply chain could be the next system teetering on the edge of collapse because of human-caused climate change. And costlier groceries linked to impending risk is the first of many warning signs that it is already splintering. This story was produced by Grist and reviewed and distributed by Stacker Media. Get the daily forecast and severe weather alerts in your inbox!
With a focus on human rights, US policy toward Latin America under Jimmy Carter briefly tempered a long tradition of interventionism in a key sphere of American influence, analysts say. Carter, who died Sunday at the age of 100, defied the furor of US conservatives to negotiate the handover of the Panama Canal to Panamanian control, suspended aid to multiple authoritarian governments in the region, and even attempted to normalize relations with Cuba. Carter's resolve to chart a course toward democracy and diplomacy, however, was severely tested in Central America and Cuba, where he was forced to balance his human rights priorities with pressure from adversaries to combat the spread of communism amid the Cold War standoff with the Soviet Union. "Latin America was fundamental and his global policy was oriented toward human rights, democratic values and multilateral cooperation," political analyst Michael Shifter of the Inter-American Dialogue, a think tank in Washington, told AFP. During his 1977-1981 administration, which was sandwiched between the Republican presidencies of Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan, the Democrat sought to take a step back from US alignment with right-wing dictatorships in Latin America. An important symbol of Carter's approach was the signing of two treaties in 1977 to officially turn over the Panama Canal in 1999. "Jimmy Carter understood that if he did not return the canal to Panama, the relationship between the United States and Panama could lead to a new crisis in a country where Washington could not afford the luxury of instability," said Luis Guillermo Solis, a political scientist and former president of Costa Rica. Carter called the decision, which was wildly unpopular back home, "the most difficult political challenge I ever had," as he accepted Panama's highest honor in 2016. He also hailed the move as "a notable achievement of moving toward democracy and freedom." On Sunday, Panamanian President Jose Mulino praised Carter for helping his country achieve "full sovereignty." During his term, Carter opted not to support Nicaraguan strongman Anastasio Somoza, who was subsequently overthrown by the leftist Sandinista Front in 1979. But in El Salvador, the American president had to "make a very uncomfortable pact with the government," said Shifter. To prevent communists from taking power, Carter resumed US military assistance for a junta which then became more radical, engaging in civilian massacres and plunging El Salvador into a long civil war. Carter took a critical approach to South American dictatorships in Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay, suspending arms deliveries and imposing sanctions in some cases. But his efforts "did not achieve any progress in terms of democratization," said Argentine political scientist Rosendo Fraga. The American president also tried to normalize relations with Cuba 15 years after the missile crisis. He relaxed sanctions that had been in force since 1962, supported secret talks and enabled limited diplomatic representation in both countries. "With him, for the first time, the possibility of dialogue rather than confrontation as a framework for political relations opened up," Jesus Arboleya, a former Cuban diplomat, told AFP. But in 1980, a mass exodus of 125,000 Cubans to the United States, with Fidel Castro's blessing, created an unexpected crisis. It "hurt Carter politically with the swarm of unexpected immigrants," said Jennifer McCoy, a professor of political science at Georgia State University. Castro continued to support Soviet-backed African governments and even deployed troops against Washington's wishes, finally putting an end to the normalization process. However, more than 20 years later, Carter made a historic visit to Havana as ex-president, at the time becoming the highest-profile American politician to set foot on Cuban soil since 1959. During the 2002 visit, "he made a bold call for the US to lift its embargo, but he also called on Castro to embrace democratic opening," said McCoy, who was part of the US delegation for the trip, during which Castro encouraged Carter to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at a Cuban All-Star baseball game. "Castro was sitting in the front row and we were afraid he would rise to give a long rebuttal to Carter's speech. But he didn't. He just said, 'Let's go to the ball game.'" Cubans "will remember with gratitude his efforts to improve relations," the island's current leader Miguel Diaz-Canel said on Sunday. In the years following Carter's presidency, Ronald Reagan (1981-1989) would go on to resume a full-frontal confrontation with Cuba. Decades later, Barack Obama (2009-2017) opened a new phase of measured normalization, which Donald Trump (2017-2021) brought to an end. US President Joe Biden promised to review US policy toward Cuba, but hardened his stance after Havana cracked down on anti-government protests in 2021. "Carter showed that engagement and diplomacy are more fruitful than isolation," McCoy said. bur-lp-rd-jb/lbc/mlr/bfm/sst/bbk/nro/acb
Trent Williams' wife, Sondra, says their son was stillborn
ANDREW NEIL: The schools minister is just getting started. Her naked class envy will wreck Britain even more than Reeves' taxesThe case is ongoing and its merits will be decided by the High Court, but it points to a development that will have significant consequences for Ireland. Elon Musk, the owner of X, is poised to have an outsized influence on the incoming Trump administration. Musk believes in minimal regulation of the technology sector, and in particular of the development of artificial intelligence. In this area Trump has signalled that his presidency will follow the Musk playbook. The EU is taking a different approach. It has a very comprehensive set of regulations for technology, social media and artificial intelligence. On a recent visit to Dublin , Nick Clegg, the president of global affairs at Meta – fined yesterday by the Data Protection Commission (DPC) for a 2018 data breach – said that the company’s future investment in Dublin was contingent on its ability to expand because of what he described as EU over-regulation. The former British deputy prime minister said that the EU was in danger of becoming a “museum continent” that was the “first to regulate and the last to innovate”. If Clegg is correct and the EU is becoming over-regulated this will have obvious implications for jobs and investment in Ireland in the years ahead. The EU’s competitiveness is coming under intense scrutiny as the region risks falling into recession. A series of major reports, the most recent by former ECB president Mario Draghi, have looked at ways to tackle this, but many of the issues are contentious. Regulation – including of social media – is one of them. Finding the correct balance, and – crucially – protecting users, is difficult and the companies themselves have failed at every turn to do enough. There have been tensions between Ireland and the EU on this issue and the State’s ability and willingness to regulate the sector. The Government has always denied accusations that it has gone easy on regulation to try to protect investment and jobs in Ireland. As the European home of some of the biggest players in the tech industry, Ireland is in the spotlight here. The DPC and Coimisiún na Meán will be at the coalface of growing regulatory divergence between the US and the EU in what could be a fraught period for international economic relations. It is essential that both agencies are sufficiently well resourced to discharge their duties. There is a lot riding on the outcome.
Here at the port of Nogales, on the southern edge of the United States, deadly drugs hide among the $22 billion in goods that enter annually. A high-stakes sorting game plays out every day: discerning what needs more inspection without grinding global commerce to a halt. Last fiscal year, the 12,000 pounds of fentanyl that customs officers seized in Arizona was more than at the rest of the country’s ports and border sectors combined. And within Arizona, the government says, the port of Nogales seized the most. “I think we’re doing a great job, but we can always use more people,” says Michael Humphries, the port director. But to conquer the epidemic, he says, “It’s going to take more than law enforcement.” Fentanyl, up to 50 times more potent than heroin, is what the Drug Enforcement Administration calls the country’s “greatest and most urgent drug threat.” It’s also an issue President-elect Donald Trump says he’ll tackle through tariffs, terrorist designations, and military might. Meanwhile, individuals tasked with tracking down the synthetic opioid are testing a range of solutions, from incorporating facial-scanning technology at ports of entry to investigating money laundering by criminal groups that traffic fentanyl in bulk. Beneath the blaze of the Arizona sun, a customs official unboxes flour tortillas. He bends them back and forth, and their soft middles give. Proof that the stack hasn’t been hollowed out to hide drugs. Across the border region in this state, powder and pills have been found inside the panels of cars. Stuffed in spare tires. Strapped to a teenager’s thighs with tape. Here at the port of Nogales, on the southern edge of the United States, the deadly drugs hide among the $22 billion in goods that enter annually. A high-stakes sorting game plays out every day: discerning what needs more inspection without grinding global commerce to a halt. Last fiscal year, the 12,000 pounds of fentanyl that customs officers seized in Arizona was more than at the rest of the country’s ports and border sectors combined. And within Arizona, the government says, the port of Nogales seized the most. “I think we’re doing a great job, but we can always use more people,” says Michael Humphries, the port director. But to conquer the epidemic, he says, “It’s going to take more than law enforcement.” He cites “the whole of government, along with the medical community, along with counseling – and really, everybody” as stakeholders. The synthetic opioid is so strong that the port stocks an overdose-reversing spray for its staff, the public, and its drug-detection dogs. It’s true: Arizona port authorities are catching prodigious amounts of fentanyl, making these ports responsible for more than half the seizures across the country by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. It’s also true: Fentanyl, and the chemicals that make it, gets in between the ports. Driven up interstates. Flown overhead on cargo flights. And still: No one knows how much illicit fentanyl enters the U.S. all told. But synthetic opioids are linked to tens of thousands of deaths each year, of people addicted and not. Some fentanyl isn’t found at all. Not until it appears in coroner reports. Fentanyl, up to 50 times more potent than heroin, is what the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) calls the country’s “greatest and most urgent drug threat.” It’s also an issue President-elect Donald Trump says he’ll tackle, through tariffs, terrorist designations, and military might. On Truth Social, he’s said he’ll work on a “large scale United States Advertising Campaign” on the dangers of the drug. Supporters say imposing new penalties on enablers of the supply is justified, given the unrelenting stakes. Despite recent progress, the U.S. tracks more deaths involving synthetic opioids each year than the country’s deaths from the Vietnam War. Critics say it’s unfair for Mr. Trump to link illegal migration at the southern border with drug smuggling, given the bulk of fentanyl that is seized is found at official ports. Plus, they point out, most sentenced fentanyl traffickers are U.S. citizens. Mr. Trump enters his second term at a time when Border Patrol encounters of unauthorized immigrants along the southern border are hovering around four-year lows, after historic highs under the Biden administration. Deaths involving fentanyl nationally also appear on the decline. Still, the ubiquity and lethality of the human-made drug remain a critical U.S. challenge. “There is no single solution to this problem,” says David Luckey, a Rand senior researcher. He led a team that drafted a 2022 commission report on combatting fentanyl trafficking. What’s required, he says, is a “concerted effort across all three dimensions: supply reduction, demand reduction, and harm reduction.” How did we get here? Some analysts trace the opioid crisis back decades. Back to a five-sentence note. The New England Journal of Medicine published a brief letter to the editor in January 1980. The authors wrote that, based on data they examined on painkiller use in hospitals, “The development of addiction is rare in medical patients with no history of addiction.” Experience taught Americans that isn’t true. Researchers have found that the letter, a single paragraph, was “widely invoked” and “uncritically cited” as evidence that minimized risk of opioid addiction. An oversupply of prescription opioid pain medication followed in the mid-1990s, exposing millions of Americans to the drugs. Strong synthetic opioids, mostly illicit fentanyl, began to flood U.S. drug markets by around 2014, notes the commission report from Mr. Luckey’s team. As American demand for opioids spread, international actors cashed in. Fentanyl used to come primarily from China, authorities say, but a 2019 crackdown there led producers to pivot. Now, they say, precursor chemicals shipped from China are used to make fentanyl in Mexico, which is then brought into the U.S. The DEA says two Mexican criminal networks are largely responsible for funneling in fentanyl – the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels. Part of the problem: Production is cheap. Fentanyl, which is synthetic, doesn’t require growing seasons like poppy-based heroin does. And its potency allows small quantities to yield high returns for criminal groups. Drug overdose deaths peaked in the U.S. in 2022 with over 111,000, a figure higher than the deaths that year from car crashes and guns combined. Modest progress, based on provisional data, was announced this spring. The federal government estimates that 2023 saw 107,543 drug overdose deaths – a 3% decline from the year prior. Though 7 in 10 of those deaths still involve synthetic opioids, last year’s decrease in overdose deaths was the first since 2018. Additional data through part of 2024 seems to support this downward trend. Expanded access to naloxone, an opioid overdose-reversing drug, is credited with helping lower deaths. The DEA has touted arrests of Mexican criminal leaders and a dip in the potency of fentanyl-laced pills. Despite growing social awareness of fentanyl’s risks, stigma persists. Some people who’ve lost loved ones prefer the term “poisoning” to “overdose,” to shift blame off victims who may have assumed a pill was safe. That was the case for Weston, says Anne Fundner. In 2022, the California mother lost her high schooler son to a drug poisoning involving fentanyl, following what she says was peer pressure. Ms. Fundner repurposed her grief to speak at the Republican National Convention in support of Mr. Trump. She has amplified his call for heightened border security and urged families to be on alert. Without sufficient action from the government, she says, it’s fallen on parents to do what they can. “I was very angry for a while,” she says. Now, through her activism, she points to a feeling of peace. “My son’s life is saving other lives.” At the port of Nogales, the search for the hidden drugs churns on. Mr. Humphries watches trucks heave to a halt at checkpoints, and then growl past. He ambles by towers of avocado crates pulled aside for more inspection – if not for drugs, then for pests and disease. At the port of Nogales, tens of millions of pounds of produce enter every day. Customs and Border Protection employs what it calls “layered enforcement,” a series of possible points of inspection. That includes license plate scans, X-rays, sniffing canines, and undercarriage mirrors. The agency, along with the wider Department of Homeland Security, has also explored uses of artificial intelligence, including a pilot of face-scan technology at the port of Nogales. A government watchdog has raised potential privacy concerns around the agency’s use of tech. Still, old-school observation plays a role. Mr. Humphries’ staff looks for drivers who appear nervous or maintain a “death grip” on the steering wheel. Court records detailing cases of alleged drug “mules” – people who transport drugs through the border – underscore the signs officials seek. One American “would not make eye contact” with a customs officer at inspection, reads a criminal complaint. U.S. citizens like her make up the vast majority of people sentenced for fentanyl trafficking – 86.4% in fiscal year 2023, reports the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Traffickers take advantage of low-income, struggling Americans whose passports might help them pass through a port easier, experts say. But some contraband is coming through the air. A Reuters investigation found that fentanyl precursor chemicals – the substances used to make the drug – often arrive to the U.S. as air cargo in packages small enough to evade a certain threshold of inspection. From the U.S., the precursor chemicals are often sent into Mexico, and then reenter the U.S. ready for consumption. When fentanyl first came on the radar of the federal postal service, a decade ago, it was mostly seized in international mail. That trend shifted in 2019, when China banned production of the drug. As of fiscal year 2024, nearly all of the 3,844 pounds of suspected synthetic opioids seized by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service came in domestic mail. Postal inspectors partner with other federal agencies in southwest border states to stave off the drug’s journey into the interior. “We don’t want to be the unwitting accomplice to narcotics being delivered to anywhere in this country,” says Daniel Adame, inspector in charge at the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. State and local law enforcement are another line of defense. In Cochise County, Arizona, Sheriff Mark Dannels says his team finds fentanyl two ways. The first is through “proactive policing,” such as at traffic stops, says the sheriff. “The second part is when we respond to a death.” The head of the Border Patrol, which operates between official ports of entry, said this month that fentanyl is a top priority. (That along with the southern border arrival of a Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua, which officials across the country say is committing violent crime.) Jim Chilton tracks a fraction of all border crossers evading the Border Patrol. The Arizona rancher has seen a surge under the Biden administration – at least 3,700 people, by his count – through his motion-activated trail cameras. They enter through a gap in the border wall, often in matching camouflage, and pass through saguaros and mesquite trees on his land. He says he’s learned from the Border Patrol that some pack drugs; an agency spokesperson says they can’t confirm. “You really don’t know who all’s coming across the border, including the possibility of terrorists,” says Mr. Chilton. Along with the installation of more patrols and surveillance, he says, “I hope that Trump finishes the wall.” Beyond more border wall, Mr. Trump has signaled what else may come. He’s called for designating major drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. He’s also threatened new tariffs against China (10%) along with Mexico and Canada (25% each) unless those countries do more to stop outflows of fentanyl – and migrants, from the latter two. Faced with claims of enabling fentanyl supply, officials from both China and Mexico have reprimanded the U.S. for enabling the drug’s demand. “No one will win a trade war or a tariff war,” said a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington. In an emailed statement, they pointed to resumed communication between the countries’ counternarcotics authorities since a presidential summit in 2023 . Addressing fentanyl trafficking requires bilateral cooperation that is “respectful of the sovereignties of Mexico and the United States,” a spokesperson for the Mexican Embassy in Washington said in an emailed statement. They also noted the creation of a new national intelligence system in Mexico to enhance targeting of clandestine labs and supervision at ports. Mr. Trump’s supporters have endorsed his approach ahead of inauguration and say it’s already having an effect. Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau flew to Mar-a-Lago. A Trump call with Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo was followed by what Mexican officials said was the largest fentanyl seizure in their history. The Mexican Embassy spokesperson, however, says the operation was not a direct response to the tariff threat, but rather part of a domestic security effort. At The Heritage Foundation, Steve Yates, a senior research fellow, says funds from tariffs could be put toward expanded interdiction or families who’ve lost ones to the drug. The epidemic is personal for him; in 2023, his daughter died from a drug poisoning involving fentanyl. Regarding China, “The surest way to fail is to fall short of taking heavy action against what we know they’re doing now, without stopping,” says Mr. Yates, an informal adviser to the Trump campaign and transition team. He points to a bipartisan report released in April from the House of Representatives’ select committee on China. The report concludes that, by subsidizing fentanyl chemical exports, China is fueling the fentanyl crisis in the U.S. Such claims run “completely counter to facts and reality,” said the Chinese Embassy spokesperson. Mr. Yates says domestic drug demand needs attention, too. But he says the U.S. is playing defense “unless you can do something significant about the supply chain.” Trump critics, including several economists, argue retaliatory tariffs could harm U.S. consumers. Peter Andreas, a political scientist at Brown University, chalks Mr. Trump’s tariff talk up to “recklessly irresponsible diplomacy,” especially regarding Mexico, whose economy is dependent on the U.S. “Nothing would actually put more pressure on the border and stimulate migration more than if Mexico’s economy went south,” says Professor Andreas, author of “Smuggler Nation: How Illicit Trade Made America.” At various points in history, U.S. administrations have alternately prioritized drug enforcement or migration control, says Professor Andreas. That may soon change, as the next president signals both are front-burner issues, he adds. The catch: The prior Trump and Biden administrations put drug trafficking “on the back burner,” he says, “because they needed Mexican cooperation on stopping migration.” Analysts credit Mexico’s increased immigration enforcement with helping lower illegal border crossings over the past year. At his office, Mr. Humphries displays a symbol of one of Mexico’s challenges: ammunition for a .50-caliber gun. His officers regularly seize the military-grade weaponry heading south, for presumed use by cartels. Mexico has sued U.S. gun companies with accusations that they’ve fueled illegal arms trafficking to violent criminal groups. It’s a case the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear. Mr. Humphries holds the bullet up, half the length of his face. “If we’re tasked with going after the cartels, we have to work both inbound and outbound,” he says. Beyond shifts in diplomacy, though, the military may come into play. Mr. Trump’s campaign website says he “will impose a total naval embargo on cartels.” The Republican Party platform , meanwhile, calls for “the U.S. Navy to impose a full Fentanyl Blockade on the waters of our Region – boarding and inspecting ships to look for fentanyl and fentanyl precursors.” The Trump transition team did not directly address clarifying questions about his fentanyl plans, including the use of the Navy. In response to an interview request, the Navy referred the Monitor to the U.S. Coast Guard. Essentially, the Coast Guard – not the Navy – has law enforcement authority for drug interdiction at sea, like apprehensions of suspects or vessels, says Comdr. Cory Riesterer at the Coast Guard’s Maritime Law Enforcement program. (The Navy, as part of the Defense Department, can support the law enforcement activities of the Coast Guard, which falls under the Department of Homeland Security.) However, says the commander, “We don’t see fentanyl or precursors being smuggled much in the maritime environment.” In fact, Coast Guard data reviewed by the Monitor shows zero fentanyl seizures in fiscal year 2024. And only one seizure of fentanyl – roughly a quarter of a pound – was reported since fiscal year 2017. Throughout that span of years, the agency says, it administered naloxone during its operations six times. Though the numbers are small, that means the Coast Guard responds to suspected opioid overdoses more often than it seizes fentanyl. When batches of fentanyl manage to get past the port of Nogales – or come through other routes – the enforcement efforts shift into interior states. Some corners of the country have not yet seen a reduction in overdose deaths involving fentanyl. That includes Colorado, whose health department reports a record 1,097 such overdose deaths in 2023, though initial 2024 data shows signs of a downward trend. As of early December, Denver police say they’ve seized more than 170 pounds of fentanyl in 2024. At the state level, meanwhile, the Colorado State Patrol reports seizing more than 300 pounds of fentanyl – largely along two interstates that crisscross the state. Regionally, the DEA Rocky Mountain Field Division, which covers Montana, Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado, says it has seized a record of around 2.7 million fentanyl pills in 2024. Put another way, that’s more than three per every Denver resident. Again, the profit margins are steep. The regional DEA office says fentanyl pills produced for 2 cents to 4 cents in Mexico can sell for $1 to $5 in Colorado. In northern Montana, the price can ratchet up to $60 a pill. Sellers have even sold to minors, sometimes through social media apps, after marketing pills cut with fentanyl as legitimate prescription drugs. Cartels “don’t care,” says Jonathan Pullen, special agent in charge. “It’s about greed.” Some in the state are trying to chase criminal drug money. In a high-rise office in downtown Denver, a poster above the printer reads as a morale boost. “Only an Accountant Could Catch Al Capone.” This is the Internal Revenue Service unit focused on investigating crimes. And officials here see themselves as on the front lines of deterring illicit drug flows. They are keen to tout how the IRS brought down the Chicago gangster on tax evasion nearly a century ago. Their work today has direct parallels, as they investigate activity such as money laundering by drug criminals. The idea is to target what they care about most. “There is no one peddling fentanyl without the motivation of money,” says Johnathan Towle, assistant special agent in charge for the IRS Criminal Investigation Denver Field Office. The agency has partnered here with the DEA on an outreach campaign to money-services businesses for help investigating drug proceeds. The IRS is part of a broader initiative with the Treasury Department to educate regional and local banks on the digital fingerprints that fentanyl trafficking can leave on accounts. Another complication comes from the use of common phone apps and cryptocurrency to buy and sell drugs like fentanyl. That said, the IRS has special expertise to “decode the funding,” says Mr. Towle. The belief that cryptocurrency is anonymous – and can’t be tracked by the government? “That’s wrong,” he says. “We can.”
Article content In Canada, truly cheap cars are officially a relic of the past. Just seven short years ago, it was possible to buy a brand-new car in Canada for less than $10,000 before fees. Now, going into 2025, the cheapest new car in Canada is priced just over $20,000. And this comes right as affordability is hitting a tipping point for Canadian households. How did we get here? There are three major factors involved. Here, we’ll walk through what’s driving vehicle prices up in Canada; and what you can do as a car buyer to keep your own vehicle costs as low as possible. Where have all the cheap cars gone? One major factor driving up vehicle prices in Canada is that our subcompact car segment is all but dead. This happened for one very simple reason: we weren’t buying them. RIP to the Chevrolet Sonic (2018); Ford Fiesta (2019); Nissan Micra (2019); Honda Fit (2020); Toyota Yaris (2020); Chevrolet Spark (2022); Hyundai Accent (2022); Kia Rio (2023); and the penultimate nail in the coffin, the Mitsubishi Mirage (2024). The Mirage was the final car left in Canada with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of less than $20,000 before fees: $16,998, to be exact. Dan Dakin, Manager of Communications Strategy and Public Relations for Mitsubishi Motors Canada, tells Driving.ca there’s enough inventory on dealer lots to last a few months into 2025. But the 2024 model year will be the Mirage’s last , and once those final units are gone, they’ll take the final sub-$20,000 MSRP with them. “In Canada, the Mirage was the lowest-selling vehicle in the Mitsubishi Motors lineup,” Dakin explains. “[This decision] allows Mitsubishi to shift its focus and resources on growing the SUV lineup.” You’ll find that same sentiment echoed by every automaker that’s cut its cheapest cars. Manufacturers can only sell what people will buy. This leaves exactly one subcompact car on Canada’s new-vehicle market, the 2025 Nissan Versa, which has a starting MSRP of $20,798 before fees. (Including destination charges and dealer fees, the 2025 Nissan Versa S is priced at $23,406.) This makes the 2025 Versa the most affordable new car in Canada . Cars are more expensive to build The second thing driving up prices is that cars are more expensive to build today than they were a decade ago. Crash safety standards are more stringent. Built-in infotainment screens were once a premium feature, but mandatory back-up cameras have made them a given. Radar-based safety systems require more sensors and on-board computing. And that’s before factoring in features Canadians have come to expect as standard, such as heated front seats and smartphone integration. “We can’t build Chevy Cavaliers from the ‘90s because they would never pass regulation,” says Robert Karwel, Director of Customer Success in the Data and Analytics Division for J.D. Power & Associates in Canada. “They have to be safer, cleaner, and increasingly not combustion-powered. Don’t look for vehicles as a whole in our marketplace to be getting cheaper any time soon.” Inflation is driving car prices up The third thing affecting vehicle prices in Canada is influencing prices on just about everything else: inflation. “The COVID craziness happened, massive inflation like we haven’t seen for a generation in Canada, and everything got really expensive,” Karwel explains. And when the costs of doing business go up for automakers, those costs inevitably gets passed on to you, the customer. “The automotive industry has seen some price increases in recent years, driven by a number of factors which rise from supply-chain disruptions, transportation costs, to the cost of raw materials, and the overall inflation,” Douâa Jazouli, Manager of Product and Technology Communications for Nissan Canada, told Driving.ca. “Let’s not forget,” Karwel adds, “the [Canadian auto workers union], Unifor; and the [U.S. United Auto Workers union], their wages went up 25% to 30% in the last round [of collective bargaining agreement negotiations]. Where do we think that’s going to come [from]? I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that. This is how the economy works.” Young people are being priced out of Canada’s new-vehicle market What’s the inevitable end result of the death of cheap cars and the subsequent rise in entry-level new vehicle prices? Canadians with lower budgets are being priced out of the new-vehicle market. Karwel says his statistics show young people are taking the biggest hit. “Roughly 25% of the [new-car] market was under 35 years of age [prior to 2020],” Karwel says. “Post-COVID, it dropped to about 20% to 21%. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but that’s a number that doesn’t [typically] change very quickly.” Karwel points out that young people who live in urban environments may opt out of vehicle ownership because they have access to public transit and ride-hailing. But he also sees rising vehicle prices pushing young buyers into the used-car market. And since interest rates on used cars are consistently higher than on new cars, that’s not a great place for cash-strapped young Canadians to be. “The average [Canadian monthly] financing payment is still about $850,” says Karwel. “We were hitting close to $900 last year. It’s [roughly] $200 per month more than pre-COVID. So, we pushed those buyers away. We’re not really doing ourselves any favours with younger folk if payments are high by immediately historical norms.” Even as new cars get more expensive, there are good reasons to choose them over used cars. New cars can usually be financed with lower interest rates, and they often have better average fuel economy ratings than older ones. They also come with manufacturer warranties that help mitigate unexpected expenses, which helps keep costs stable for the first few years of ownership. If you’d still like to buy a new car but aren’t sure where to start as vehicle prices trend upward, here are a few points to consider. Choose the smallest vehicle you can live with With subcompact cars all but gone, subcompact SUVs are now the de facto entry point for most brands in Canada. And Canadians are increasingly choosing them as a relatively affordable option. This is not only true of the people who would formerly have chosen a cheap car: some of us are downsizing from larger SUVs and even trucks to save money. In fact, Karwel says subcompact SUV has overtaken midsize SUV over the past 12 months to become the third-largest sales segment in Canada. As you dive into shopping for subcompact SUVs, it’s important to know how this segment is structured. Some of these vehicles come with the features Canadians expect from SUVs, such as available all-wheel-drive (AWD), a high seating position, and plenty of ground clearance. Examples include the Hyundai Kona , Kia Seltos , Nissan Kicks , Toyota Corolla Cross , and Subaru Crosstrek . If you want an affordable small vehicle with SUV capability, these are good options. However, there’s another, more budget-oriented sub-segment of subcompact SUVs. Many of these are closer to hatchbacks than SUVs, but come with the “SUV” label to make them more appealing. The Hyundai Venue , Kia Soul , and Nissan Kicks Play are examples. These are all more car-like than the options above, and come exclusively with front-wheel-drive (FWD). If your budget is pushing you toward these vehicles, you should know that, apart from some interior height, they’re not giving you much more capability than a subcompact or compact car would. While the sub-$20,000 car is dead, more affordable cars like the subcompact Nissan Versa or compacts such as the Nissan Sentra , Toyota Corolla , Hyundai Elantra , and the new Kia K4 are still out there. If you’re looking at price above all else, consider these before you look at the cheapest subcompact SUVs. Incentives are back, so shop around more aggressively At the height of the semiconductor shortage, dealers were selling every single vehicle they could get their hands on. This left zero room for negotiation: you paid the price they asked, or they sold the car to someone else. Those days are now behind us, and incentives are starting to resurface . This can take the form of up-front cash discounts and lower interest rates. Some brands also offer incentives for returning customers and discounts for students or active military personnel. Don’t get your hopes up if you’re shopping within a very popular segment, though. Karwel says compact SUVs, and especially hybrids, are still selling as fast as dealers can get them, so you’re unlikely to see price drops there. But if you’re willing to buy a lower-trim vehicle or within a less popular segment — again, at the budget end, we’re thinking small cars, here — you’ve got more power as a buyer than you did a couple of years ago. It’s worth doing some cross-shopping and putting pressure on salespeople to score yourself a better deal. Get clear on how financing and leasing work Most people walk into a dealership focused solely on the monthly payment they can afford. Taking the time to learn more about how buying a new car works is very important . It’s not a one-size-fits-all process, and being informed will help you make an arrangement that works for you. For example, Karwel says most new car buyers in Canada today choose to finance for 84 months (or seven years). This gives you a lower monthly payment than a 60-month/five-year term, but that doesn’t mean it’s automatically the best choice for you. What if your household needs change in seven years? What if you move and can’t take the car with you? If you need to sell your car well before its financing term is up, you could find yourself in a situation called “negative equity.” This happens when you owe more on your car than what it’s worth on the used-car market. In this situation, you’ll need to carry the remaining balance over into your next car loan, and it will take you longer to get that car into the black. It can be a dangerous spiral into increasing unaffordability. Karwel says we’re seeing negative equity trending back upward in Canada after a brief reprieve during the pandemic. He says it’s not yet approaching record levels, and he’s not worried yet, but it’s something he’s monitoring. A trend he’s more concerned about is the increase in used-vehicle buyers choosing 84-month financing. Depending on the age of the used vehicle when you buy it, a seven-year term means it could reach the end of its life before you’ve finished your payments, leaving you paying for a car you can no longer use. Depending on your answers to these questions, you may be better off getting a less expensive vehicle that you can pay off faster if your budget allows it. Consider a lease or a Certified Pre-owned vehicle Leasing is another option for buyers on a budget. It tends to be more affordable than financing, but it comes with its own set of challenges. For one, you don’t own the vehicle at the end of the lease, so the money you spend benefits the dealership instead of you. There are also strict limits on how you can drive the vehicle and financial penalties if you surpass those limits. And if your situation changes, breaking a lease is very complicated, time-consuming, and costly. But if it’s the only way to get a monthly payment you can afford, then leasing may be your best choice. For some buyers, Certified Pre-Owned vehicles (CPO) can be a good alternative. CPO vehicles are newer used vehicles that are inspected by automaker-certified mechanics to ensure they’re in good shape. They typically come with some amount of warranty coverage and lower interest rates than uncertified used cars. CPO vehicles are more expensive than equivalent non-CPO used vehicles because of this, but they’re more affordable than new vehicles. “Financial solutions such as leasing and certified pre-owned financing are useful tools to address affordability in the marketplace,” says Mark Di Donato, President and Chief Executive Officer for Hyundai Capital Canada Inc. Di Donato points out you can also lower your vehicles payments by making a larger down payment up front and choosing to make more frequent payments, such as bi-weekly instead of monthly. “The ability to customize an automotive lease or loan through security deposits, down payments, contract term, payment frequency and loyalty incentives, are other ways that OEMs, dealers, and lenders help to match a vehicle payment to a specific customer budget,” Di Donato says. Put off your next vehicle purchase if you can One of the best things you can do to keep your car payments affordable is to not have one at all. If you’re shopping for a new car because your current one is older but it’s paid off and in good shape, you’ll benefit greatly from keeping it on the road and putting some money away every month instead. This will allow you to save up for a larger down payment on a future purchase, which will ultimately save you money. In short, when you’re buying a new car, you have more levers to pull than you might think. Even as new vehicle prices go up, there are a variety of tools at your disposal to keep your car costs manageable. With this information at hand, you’ll find it easier to work through your options and make a decision that’s right for you. Sign up for our newsletter Blind-Spot Monitor and follow our social channels on X , Tiktok and LinkedIn to stay up to date on the latest automotive news, reviews, car culture, and vehicle shopping advice.Jimmy Carter, the 39th US president, has died at 100
Chicago Bears CB Jaylon Johnson turns the page on untimely fall to focus on rare meeting with Justin JeffersonSteep price hikes could be on the way if President-elect Donald Trump follows through on his pledge to impose sweeping new tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada and China. He threatened to implement the tariffs on the country’s top three trading partners on his first day back in office, including a 10% tariff on products from China. In a pair of social media posts, he explained the decision as a way to crack down on illegal immigration and drugs. “On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States,” he said. “It is time for them to pay a very big price!” Ultimately, consumers could end up absorbing the brunt of those costs. When tariffs are levied on imports, American companies have to pay taxes to the U.S. government on their purchases from other countries; the companies often pass on those extra costs to customers. “This is a bully effort to put everybody on notice,” said economist Chris Thornberg, founding partner of Beacon Economics in Los Angeles. “One of the reasons he uses tariffs is because it’s one of the few places that he actually has some leverage.” Though Thornberg noted it’s still a “giant remains-to-be seen” whether and how Trump’s proposed tariffs are implemented, consumer goods across the board could be dramatically affected. Here are a few top categories: Mexico was the U.S.’s top goods trading partner last year, surpassing China. Mexico is a major manufacturer of passenger vehicles, light vehicles, trucks, auto parts, supplies and electric-vehicle technologies. Eighty-eight percent of vehicles produced there are exported, with 76% headed for the U.S., the International Trade Administration says. Automakers with manufacturing operations in Mexico include General Motors, Ford, Tesla, Audi, BMW, Honda, Kia, Mercedes Benz, Nissan, Toyota and Volkswagen. “If we get tariffs, we will pass those tariff costs back to the consumer,” Phil Daniele, chief executive of AutoZone, said in the company’s most recent earnings call. “We’ll generally raise prices ahead of ... what the tariffs will be.” Last year, China accounted for 77% of toy imports — about 25 times greater than the total value of toy imports from Mexico, the next largest foreign source of supply, according to the National Retail Federation. U.S. producers account for less than 1% of the toy market. The federation recently released a study that found the tariffs Trump proposed during his campaign — a universal 10% to 20% tariff on imports from all foreign countries and an additional 60% to 100% tariff on imports specifically from China — would apply to a wide range of toys imported into the U.S., including dolls, games and tricycles. “Prices of toys would increase by 36% to 56%,” the study concluded. The National Retail Federation study also analyzed more than 500 items of clothing and found prices “would rise significantly” — as much as 20.6%. That would force consumers to pare spending on apparel. Low-income households would be hit especially hard, the group said, because they spend three times as much of their after-tax income on apparel compared with high-income households. “U.S. apparel manufacturers would benefit from the tariffs, but at a high cost to families,” the study said. “Even after accounting for domestic manufacturing gains and new tariff revenue, the result is a net $16 billion to $18 billion loss for the U.S. economy, with the burden carried by U.S. consumers.” Imported footwear products already face high U.S. duties, particularly those made in China. The Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America expressed concern that new tariffs would make it more difficult for consumers to afford shoes and other everyday essentials. Trump’s proposed tariffs would increase the costs of several imported fruits and vegetables, said Jerry Nickelsburg, faculty director of UCLA Anderson Forecast, an economic forecasting organization. The vast majority of U.S. produce imports come from Mexico and Canada, including avocados, cucumbers, potatoes and mushrooms. The U.S. spent $88 billion on agricultural imports from the two countries in fiscal year 2024. Big-ticket electronic products such as televisions, laptops, smartphones, dishwashers and washing machines — many of which are manufactured in Mexico and China, or made with parts imported from those countries — likely would become more expensive. The U.S. imported $76 billion worth of computers and other electronics from Mexico in 2023, and more than a quarter of U.S. imports from China consist of electronic equipment. Get local news delivered to your inbox!'Democracy and freedom': Jimmy Carter's human rights efforts in Latin America
A new study has named Wolverhampton the most polluted city in the UK with the highest level of air pollution and absolute absence of cleanliness. Britain’s capital and the largest city, London rounds out the top 5 with significant air quality challenges and high water pollution levels. The firm Waste Direct constructed the list of the most polluted cities in the UK through a survey-based approach. Key metrics included air pollution with the highest given weight, drinking water pollution and inaccessibility data, and the percentage of dissatisfaction with garbage disposal, as well as the level of dirtiness and tidiness. Additional metrics such as noise and light pollution, water pollution, and dissatisfaction level of green spaces and parks were also considered contributing to composite score calculation. The data was taken from Numbeo and World Population Review to create a deep analysis of urban environmental challenges. The detailed data was provided to Digital Journal for review . The outcomes were, in terms of the top ten worst urban offenders : As indicated above, Wolverhampton tops the list as the UK’s most polluted city with a composite score of 80. The city reports maximum dirtiness and untidiness levels with an absolute score of 100 and significant air pollution, and high garbage disposal dissatisfaction rates. Wolverhampton’s high noise pollution at 83 and poor green space accessibility ensure its position as the UK’s dirtiest city. Coventry ranks second among the least clean UK cities, scoring 69. The city shows concerning levels across all metrics, particularly with notable dirtiness ratings at 61. Its high noise pollution level and growing dissatisfaction over garbage disposal services highlight the city’s problems with urban environmental quality. Portsmouth holds third place with a composite score of 68. The city faces issues with urban cleanliness, scoring high in dirtiness and untidiness. Portsmouth’s garbage disposal dissatisfaction rate of 55 and moderate air quality issues contribute to its high ranking among the most polluted cities. Manchester secures fourth position with a score of 67. The city has high dirtiness ratings at 61 and troubling air quality metrics at 51. With a population of over 395,000, Manchester’s dense urban environment leads to regular challenges, mainly seen in its poor waste management satisfaction scores. London ranks fifth with a composite score of 63. Being the largest city with over 7.5 million residents, London’s position is ensured due to its high air pollution level at 63, significant noise and light pollution, and moderate water quality issues. Bath takes sixth place with a score of 63 and Birmingham, England’s second-largest city, ranks seventh with a score of 62. Southampton holds the eighth position with a score of 61. The city’s cleanliness issues are mostly connected with its water pollution levels at 50 and lack of proper air quality. Sunderland comes ninth place, scoring 59. The city’s biggest problems are its poor water quality and high cleanliness issues at 75. Luton completes the top 10 polluted cities list with a score of 58. The city’s environmental problems result from its poor urban cleanliness and concerning noise pollution levels. Luton faces challenges with garbage management and water quality while having relatively better air quality compared to other cities in the ranking. Dr. Tim Sandle is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for science news.Tim specializes in science, technology, environmental, business, and health journalism. He is additionally a practising microbiologist; and an author. He is also interested in history, politics and current affairs.ASX to drop after tech giants slide in the USKYIV (AP): NATO and Ukraine will hold emergency talks Tuesday after Russia attacked a central city with an experimental, hypersonic ballistic missile that escalated the nearly 33-month-old war. The conflict is “entering a decisive phase,” Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Friday, and “taking on very dramatic dimensions.” Ukraine’s parliament canceled a session as security was tightened following Thursday’s Russian strike on a military facility in the city of Dnipro. In a stark warning to the West, President Vladimir Putin said in a nationally televised speech that the attack with the intermediate-range Oreshnik missile was in retaliation for Kyiv’s use of U.S. and British longer-range missiles capable of striking deeper into Russian territory. Putin said Western air defense systems would be powerless to stop the new missile. Ukrainian military officials said the missile that hit Dnipro had reached a speed of Mach 11 and carried six nonnuclear warheads each releasing six submunitions. Speaking Friday to military and weapons industries officials, Putin said Russia is launching production of the Oreshnik. “No one in the world has such weapons,” he said with a thin smile. “Sooner or later other leading countries will also get them. We are aware that they are under development.” But he added, “we have this system now. And this is important.” Testing the missile will continue, “including in combat, depending on the situation and the character of security threats created for Russia,” Putin said, noting there is ”a stockpile of such systems ready for use.” Putin said that while it isn’t an intercontinental missile, it’s so powerful that the use of several of them fitted with conventional warheads in one attack could be as devastating as a strike with strategic — or nuclear — weapons. Gen. Sergei Karakayev, head of Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces, said the Oreshnik could reach targets across Europe and be fitted with nuclear or conventional warheads, echoing Putin’s claim that even with conventional warheads, “the massive use of the weapon would be comparable in effect to the use of nuclear weapons.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov kept up Russia’s bellicose tone on Friday, blaming “the reckless decisions and actions of Western countries” in supplying weapons to Ukraine to strike Russia. “The Russian side has clearly demonstrated its capabilities, and the contours of further retaliatory actions in the event that our concerns were not taken into account have also been quite clearly outlined,” he said. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, widely seen as having the warmest relations with the Kremlin in the European Union, echoed Moscow’s talking points, suggesting the use of U.S.-supplied weapons in Ukraine likely requires direct American involvement. “These are rockets that are fired and then guided to a target via an electronic system, which requires the world’s most advanced technology and satellite communications capability,” Orbán said on state radio. “There is a strong assumption ... that these missiles cannot be guided without the assistance of American personnel.” Orbán cautioned against underestimating Russia’s responses, emphasizing that the country’s recent modifications to its nuclear deployment doctrine should not be dismissed as a “bluff.” “It’s not a trick... there will be consequences,” he said. Separately in Kyiv, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský called Thursday’s missile strike an “escalatory step and an attempt of the Russian dictator to scare the population of Ukraine and to scare the population of Europe.” At a news conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, Lipavský also expressed his full support for delivering the necessary additional air defense systems to protect Ukrainian civilians from the “heinous attacks.” He underlined that the Czech Republic will impose no limits on the use of its weapons and equipment given to Ukraine. Three lawmakers from Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, confirmed that Friday’s previously scheduled session was called off due to the ongoing threat of Russian missiles targeting government buildings in central Kyiv. In addition, there also was a recommendation to limit the work of all commercial offices and nongovernmental organizations “in that perimeter, and local residents were warned of the increased threat,” said lawmaker Mykyta Poturaiev, who added this is not the first time such a threat has been received. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office continued to work in compliance with standard security measures, a spokesperson said. Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate said the Oreshnik missile, whose name in Russian means “hazelnut tree,” was fired from the Kapustin Yar 4th Missile Test Range in Russia’s Astrakhan region, and flew 15 minutes before striking Dnipro. Test launches of a similar missile were conducted in October 2023 and June 2024, the directorate said. The Pentagon confirmed the missile was a new, experimental type of intermediate-range missile based on its RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile. Thursday’s attack struck the Pivdenmash plant that built ICBMs when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union. The military facility is located about 4 miles (6 1/2 kilometers) southwest of the center of Dnipro, a city of about 1 million that is Ukraine’s fourth-largest and a key hub for military supplies and humanitarian aid, and is home to one of the country’s largest hospitals for treating wounded soldiers from the front before their transfer to Kyiv or abroad. The stricken area was cordoned off and out of public view. With no fatalities reported from the attack, Dnipro residents resorted to dark humor on social media, mostly focused on the missile’s name, Oreshnik. Elsewhere in Ukraine, Russia struck a residential district of Sumy overnight with Iranian-designed Shahed drones, killing two people and injuring 13, the regional administration said.. Ukraine’s Suspilne media, quoting Sumy regional head Volodymyr Artiukh, said the drones were stuffed with shrapnel elements. “These weapons are used to destroy people, not to destroy objects,” said Artiukh, according to Suspilne.
Surrey City Hall's AI chatbot fully operationalUnlike scores of people who scrambled for the blockbuster drugs Ozempic and Wegovy to lose weight in recent years, Danielle Griffin had no trouble getting them. The 38-year-old information technology worker from New Mexico had a prescription. Her pharmacy had the drugs in stock. And her health insurance covered all but $25 to $50 of the monthly cost.
Piers Morgan unleashed a blistering tirade on social media after Madonna caused an uproar with a provocative AI-generated photo depicting her alongside Pope Francis. On Monday, the famed "Material Girl" singer turned heads by sharing two images on Instagram. In the opening image, she is shown cozied up next to the Pontiff in a dark lace ensemble. Madonna posts 'unethical' AI-generated photos with the pope as fans rage Madonna tucks into explicit Donald Trump cake after his triumphant election win The controversial shot shows Pope Francis apparently about to clasp her arm, his nose nearly touching her cheek, with the caption: "Going into the weekend like... ... ..." "Feels good to be seen," Madonna declared on the subsequent slide, posting another picture where she's dressed in a black bustier, and the Pope, seemingly in a manipulated pose, appears engaged in conversation with his arm encircling her. The pop icon credited the meme-maker @rickdick_ beneath the caption in scarlet letters. The shock value of the photos prompted a swift response from many, including broadcaster Piers Morgan who recirculated them on X, delivering a scathing reproach of the songstress. He thundered: "Even by her pathetically embarrassing attention-seeking standards, this is truly dreadful. Grow up @Madonna - you ludicrous imbecile." DON'T MISS... Piers Morgan reacts to 'hate speech' post about Donald Trump winning election [COMMENT] Liam Payne fans march for justice in Buenos Aires two months after his death [PICTURES] Kim Kardashian looks unrecognizable in new campaign as she changes hair again [LATEST] Social media users joined the fray, with commenters like @CoolbeachM asserting: "Disrespecting spiritual leaders is unacceptable. Such actions can cause harm and offense to many." Similarly, @stephaniellen reflected on the potential difficulties technology may bring: "The fact that we can now generate these images is going to cause a lot of problems." Meanwhile, some came to Madonna's defense in light of the AI-generated imagery controversy, such as @CmookieB who urged: "Lighten up, Piers". As @MarkXartWork pointed out on social media: "She has always been that way. Do y'all know what Like a Prayer is about? ".Nov 4, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) on field against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images/ File Photo FILE PHOTO: The Federal Bureau of Investigation seal is seen at FBI headquarters in Washington, U.S. June 14, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File Photo Nov 17, 2024; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) runs looking to throw the ball against the Buffalo Bills during the second half at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images/ File Photo NEW YORK - The FBI has warned the NBA that many recent home burglaries targeting professional athletes and high net worth individuals may be connected to sophisticated, transnational theft rings, the league said in a memo obtained by Reuters on Friday. Two players in the NBA had their homes broken into in recent weeks, according to media reports, along with the NFL's twice MVP Patrick Mahomes and his Kansas City Chiefs teammate Travis Kelce, who is dating pop superstar Taylor Swift. The memo, which the NBA directed to teams across the league, advised that players should install updated security systems and utilize protective guard services when they are away from home for extended periods of time. "NBA Security received a briefing from the Federal Bureau of Investigation ('FBI') that connected many of the home burglaries to transnational South American Theft Groups ('SATGs')," the memo read. "These SATGs are reportedly well-organized, sophisticated rings that incorporate advanced techniques and technologies, including pre-surveillance, drones, and signal jamming devices." The FBI said that the homes that were broken into were all unoccupied and, in most cases, were equipped with alarm systems that had not been activated, according to the memo. The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The memo is similar in nature to a document that the NFL sent this week, in which the league advised players to ramp up home security. Around-the-clock media reports and team schedules make it easy to know when players are on the road for extended periods of time and the NFL urged players to exercise caution in what they post to social media. The NFL said that surveillance tactics included attempted home deliveries and individuals posing as joggers or home maintenance workers. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you. Read 3 articles and stand to win rewards Spin the wheel nowIsraeli strikes killed at least six people in the central Gaza Strip, Palestinian medical officials said Monday, while also hitting suspected chemical and long-range weapons sites in Syria to keep them from rebels who seized Damascus. The U.N. Security Council is holding an emergency closed consultations on Syria Monday at the request of Russia, which said it granted asylum to its longtime ally Syrian leader Bashar Assad. Russian President Vladimir Putin personally made the decision to offer asylum to Assad, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Peskov wouldn’t comment on Assad’s specific whereabouts and said that Putin wasn’t planning to meet with him. Israel’s offensive has killed over 44,500 Palestinians in the Gaza since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, according to local health authorities. They say most of the dead are women and children but do not distinguish between fighters and civilians. The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250, including older adults and children. Around 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead. Here's the Latest: UNITED NATIONS – Syria’s U.N. ambassador says the country’s embassies and missions have received instructions to continue doing their job during the current transitional period. “We are with the Syrian people,” Koussay Aldahhak told a group of journalists including The Associated Press on Monday outside the U.N. Security Council where members were holding emergency closed consultations on the rebel overthrow of President Bashar Assad. “Syria now is witnessing a new era of change, a new historical phase of its history and Syrians are looking forward for establishing a state of freedom, equality, rule of law, democracy,” the Syrian envoy said. “We will join efforts to rebuild our country, to rebuild what was destroyed, and to rebuild the future, a better future of Syria for all Syrians,” Syria’s U.N. mission follows instructions from the leaders who draw up the country’s foreign policy, he said, adding that while they await a new government "we are continuing with the current one and the leadership.” On instructions from the current leaders, Aldahhak said he sent letters to the Security Council and Secretary-General Antonio Guterres Monday condemning and demanding an end to Israeli attacks on Syria on Sunday and Monday, and demanding “to not allow Israel to benefit from the transition that the Syrians are doing now.” Aldahhak said like everyone he was surprised at the sudden transformation in the country. Asked whether he was happy about it, he said that even though the U.N. mission is thousands of miles from Syria, “When Syrians are happy, we are happy. When Syrians are suffering, we are suffering.” “We want to live in stability and security. Syrians suffered for a long time," he said. WASHINGTON — The State Department says it is not actively reviewing the “foreign terrorist organization” designation of the main Syrian rebel group that overthrew of President Bashar Assad’s government this weekend. But, it says such designations are constantly under review and that even while it is in place, the designation does not bar U.S. officials speaking with members or leaders of the group. “There is no specific review related to what happened” over the weekend, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters on Monday. “That said, we are always reviewing. Based on their actions there could be a change in our sanctions posture, but we have nothing today.” He said a review could be initiated if HTS takes steps to reverse the reasons for its designation. That would be based entirely on their actions, he said. The so-called FTO designation imposes numerous sanctions against those targeted, including a ban on the provision of “material support” to such groups, although Miller said that would not necessarily prevent discussions between its members and U.S. officials. He cited the case of the Trump administration negotiating with the Taliban over the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan but later conceded that the Taliban has never been designated an FTO. Instead, the Taliban was listed as a “specially designated terrorist organization” a label that comes with less stringent sanctions. Nevertheless, Miller said that U.S. officials “do have the ability, when it is in our interest legally to communicate with a designated terrorist organization.” In an unrelated move, Miller said the U.S. had arranged with local groups to secure the shuttered U.S. embassy compound in Damascus, which suspended operations in 2012 and had been until recently under the protection of the Czech embassy. The Czechs, however, closed their own embassy in Damascus as the situation in the capital grew more uncertain. Miller would not say with what groups the U.S. made the arrangements with. President Joe Biden and Jordan’s King Abdullah II spoke by phone on Monday about the rapidly evolving situation in Syria and joint efforts to keep the terror group ISIS from exploiting the situation, according to the White House. The leaders also discussed the dozens of U.S airstrikes conducted on Sunday targeting IS leaders and fighters in the Syrian desert as well as ongoing efforts to reach a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza. The call between the leaders comes with Undersecretary of state for Political Affairs John Bass and Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf in the region now holding consultations with key partners. They are in Amman, Jordan, on Monday and were in Doha, Qatar, over the weekend. More than a million Syrian refugees have flooded into neighboring Jordan since the civil war ignited in 2011, and officials in Amman are hoping to avoid another refugee crisis following the fall of Basher al-Assad’s regime. “The President emphasized the support of the United States for the stability of Jordan and Jordan’s central role in maintaining stability and de-escalating tensions throughout the Middle East region,” the White House said in a statement. DAMASCUS—The Israeli air force launched more than 100 airstrikes targeting military sites in four Syrian cities, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Associated Press reporters. The strikes killed two people and caused extensive damage to key military facilities. The targeted military sites included research centers, weapons warehouses, airports and aircraft squadrons, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The attacks also disabled air defense systems and rendered multiple sites inoperable. Among the targets were research centers in Hama and Damascus, including the Barzeh Scientific Research Center. The facility has previously been targeted, most notably during a 2018 U.S.-led coalition strike in response to Syria’s alleged chemical weapons program. In Damascus, an Associated Press reporter described plumes of smoke rising from the Barzeh research facility as weapon warehouses were also struck. Heavy explosions were heard across the capital. In the port city of Latakia, airstrikes hit an air defense facility near the coastal port, damaging Syrian naval ships and warehouses previously controlled by the former Syrian regime, the Syrian Observatory said. In Daraa, a city in southwestern Syria, strikes targeted military positions and warehouses in the western countryside and northern areas, killing two people, the observatory said. The Israeli military declined to comment on the strikes in Syria. Earlier on Monday, Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said it had struck suspected chemical weapons sites and long-range rockets in Syria to prevent them from falling into the hands of hostile actors. The U.S. has sent its special envoy for hostage affairs to Beirut to seek information about the whereabouts of Austin Tice, a journalist who vanished in Syria 12 years ago, following the overthrow of Bashar Assad’s government. Roger Carstens is talking to officials in the region to find out where Tice is and “get him home as soon as possible,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters Monday. President Joe Biden said Sunday that his administration believed Tice was alive and was committed to bringing him home. Tice, who has had his work published by The Washington Post, McClatchy newspapers and other outlets, disappeared in August 2012 at a checkpoint in a contested area west of Damascus. A video released weeks after Tice went missing showed him blindfolded and held by armed men and saying, “Oh, Jesus.” He has not been heard from since. Syria has publicly denied that it was holding him. Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon sent an urgent letter to the U.N. Security Council Monday calling the recent developments in Syria “a security threat” and saying it has taken “limited and temporary measures to counter any further threat to its citizens.” He said Israel is committed to the framework of the 1974 disengagement agreement and “does not intervene in the ongoing conflict between Syrian armed groups.” The Security Council is scheduled to meet shortly for closed consultations called by Russia which said it wanted the buffer zone issue discussed. UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations says Israeli forces are occupying a demilitarized buffer zone between Israel and Syria in violation of a 1974 ceasefire agreement following the 1973 Mideast war. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Monday U.N. peacekeepers confirmed that “Israeli Defense Forces have entered the area of separation and have been moving within that area where they remain in at least three locations.” The Israeli military informed the peacekeeping force, known as UNDOF, that it would enter the area as “a temporary defensive measure” to prevent it from being occupied “by non-state armed groups” and reserved the right to take action against any threat against Israel, Dujarric said. “For our part, the peacekeepers at UNDOF informed the Israeli counterparts that these actions would constitute a violation of the 1974 disengagement agreement, that there should be no military forces or activities in the area of separation, and Israel and Syria must continue to uphold the terms of that 1974 agreement,” the U.N. spokesman said. Dujarric underscored that following the rebel overthrow of president Bashar Assad “the U.N. remains committed to helping Syrians build a country where reconciliation, where justice, and where freedom and prosperity are shared realities for all.” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke to Turkey’s foreign minister and Qatar’s prime minister Monday morning about rebuilding Syria’s institutions so that they are inclusive, protect minority rights, and restore Syria’s territorial integrity, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. Guterres and his senior advisors, including U.N. special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen, will continue to press this issue with other key leaders and parties, he said. On the humanitarian front, Dujarric said more than 16 million Syrians need assistance and there is an urgent need for more shelter materials, food and sanitation facilities. According to the U.N.’s partners, he said, some one million people, mostly women and children, were displaced between Nov. 28 and Sunday, particularly from Aleppo, Hama, Homs and Idlib governorates. Hundreds of Syrian refugees gathered at two border crossings in southern Turkey on Monday, eagerly anticipating their return home following the fall of President Bashar Assad’s government. Many arrived at the Cilvegozu and Oncupinar border gates at daybreak, draped in blankets and coats. Some camped by the barriers of the border crossing, warming themselves with makeshift fires or resting on the cold ground. The crossings correspond to the Bab al-Hawa and Bab al-Salameh gates on the Syrian side of the border. Hundreds of displaced Syrians are also returning from Lebanon, with dozens of cars lining up to enter. Turkish officials have not said how many Syrians have returned since Assad’s downfall. The country hosts 3 million refugees. ANKARA, Turkey - Turkey’s president on Monday welcomed the capture of two Kurdish-held cities in northern Syria by a Turkey-backed opposition force and said Turkey would not allow militant groups to threaten its security from across its borders. The Turkish proxy force, known as the Syrian National Army, took control of the city of Manbij on Monday days after it also took over the city of Tal Rifaat, expelling Syrian Kurdish militias. In a televised address, Recep Tayyip Erdogan maintained that Kurdish groups in Syria were attempting to “turn the chaos into an opportunity.” “We will not tolerate the emergence of new terrorist outbreaks beyond our borders,” Erdogan said. The Turkish leader again hailed the fall of Syrian President Bashir Assad and vowed to stand by the Syrian people. “As of yesterday, dark era has ended in Syria, bright days have begun,” Erdogan said. “While Aleppo, Hama, Homs and finally Damascus passed under the control of (Syria’s) real owners, the Baath dictatorship which had survived through blood, cruelty, oppression and tyranny for 61 years, has completely collapsed." Erdogan added that Turkey wanted all of Syria's ethnic and religious groups to live in peace. As hundreds of refugees began to return to Syria, Erdogan announced plans to reopen a third border crossing to prevent “congestions and ease the (refugee) flows.” BEIRUT — The leader of Syria’s opposition met for the first time with the country’s prime minister to discuss Syria’s political transition following the fall of the Syrian regime. He emphasized that the new leadership cannot entirely abandon the practices of the previous government. In a video of the meeting shared on the rebels’ “Military Operations” Telegram channel, opposition leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, widely known as Abu Mohammad al-Golani, told Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi Jalali, “The men have a high level of experience,” referring to the rebels. “They started the work from nothing. Idlib is small and has few resources, but thank God, we were able to achieve something big through it,” he added. “You will see there are skills, and despite this, we cannot dispense of the old practices.” Earlier today, Jalali said most cabinet members who are in Damascus are performing their duties from their offices to guarantee security in the country. LONDON — Britain has followed Germany and several other European countries by suspending decisions about whether to accept Syrian refugees in the wake of the Assad government’s fall. The Home Office said in a statement on Monday that it “has paused decisions on Syrian asylum claims whilst we assess the current situation.” LONDON — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says the U.K. will not soon remove Syrian militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham from its list of terror groups, after one of his Cabinet ministers said it would be considered “quite quickly.” Speaking on a visit to Saudi Arabia, Starmer said “no decision is pending at all on this.” Starmer said “it is far too early” to make that decision, and “at the moment the focus has to be on talking to our allies, making sure that this is an opportunity for Syria and therefore we have to work to make sure that this is a peaceful opportunity.” Foreign Secretary David Lammy said HTS’ past links with al-Qaida “should rightly make us cautious” and “we will judge HTS by their actions.” Cabinet Minister Pat McFadden said earlier that the group’s removal from the terrorist list “will have to be considered quite quickly.” UNITED NATIONS – The United States has three primary interests in Syria: protecting U.S. soldiers and personnel, ensuring U.S. allies are safe, and preventing a humanitarian catastrophe, the U.S. deputy ambassador said ahead of an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting on the fast-evolving events in the country. The United States will work to try and ensure that “all of those things happen,” Robert Wood told reporters ahead of Monday afternoon’s closed council meeting called by Russia. He said another “high, high priority” for the U.S. is to locate and free missing American journalist Austin Tice, who disappeared 12 years ago near the Syrian capital. “We have reasons to believe that he still is (alive), but we have to see,” he said. Wood called the situation in Syria “dynamic” following the rebel overthrow of President Bashar Assad. The U.S. will judge the insurgent force now in control of Syria, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS on “what actions they take.” HTS is a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, which impacts U.S. efforts to communicate directly with the rebels. But he said there are various channels to talk to different factions “and we’re going to do that in order to try to best protect our interests in Syria right now.” As for Iran’s so-called Axis of Resistance, Wood said Tehran and its allies Hezbollah and Hamas are clearly weakened while Israel has been strengthened. “We just want to make sure that nefarious players are not going to be able to take advantage of the situation in Syria right now, because everything is fragile and fast-moving,” Wood said. BEIRUT— Rebel forces in Syria announced Monday a general amnesty for all conscripted soldiers serving under mandatory service in the now-ousted Syrian regime. “The Military Operations Directorate announces a general amnesty for all conscripted soldiers serving under mandatory service. Their safety is guaranteed, and any harm or assault against them is strictly prohibited,” the opposition said in a message on their Telegram channel. The announcement followed the ousting of Bashar Assad and the fall of his regime, which had ruled Syria for over 50 years. The opposition faced little resistance from the Syrian army as it moved south, swiftly capturing one city after another. THE HAGUE — The global chemical weapons watchdog on Monday reminded Syria of its obligations to comply with rules to safeguard certain toxic chemicals, after rebels entered the capital Damascus over the weekend and overthrew President Bashar Assad . The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said in a statement it has been “monitoring closely the recent developments in Syria, with special attention to the status of its chemical weapons related sites and other locations of interest.” Syria’s Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi Jalali said Monday that most cabinet ministers are still working from offices in Damascus but the status of a stockpile of chemical weapons that Assad has been accused of using against civilians is unclear . Assad’s government has denied using chemical weapons but the OPCW has found evidence indicating their repeated use by Syria in the country’s grinding civil war. BEIRUT — Representatives from a five-member committee tasked with enforcing a ceasefire that stopped the war between Hezbollah and Israel on Monday held their first meeting in Naqoura, southern Lebanon. The group, comprising the United States, France, the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Lebanon known as UNIFIL, the Lebanese army and the Israeli army met to coordinate efforts supporting the Nov. 27 ceasefire, the U.S. Embassy in Beirut said. Hosted by UNIFIL and chaired by the U.S. with France assisting, the meeting focused on advancing the implementation of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire and U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which aims to maintain stability along the Lebanon-Israel border, the embassy said. “This mechanism will meet regularly and coordinate closely to advance implementation of the ceasefire agreement and UNSCR 1701,” the U.S. Embassy said. The U.S. military announced in late November that Maj. Gen. Jasper Jeffers and envoy Amos Hochstein would co-chair the committee temporarily, with Hochstein serving until a permanent civilian co-chair is appointed. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.