March 7, 2024

Police conducted search operation around Adiala Jail, where Imran Khan is also imprisoned  The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of police Thursday said three alleged terrorists were collared and an Adiala Jail’s map, explosive devices and weapons were recovered from them. Rawalpindi City Police Officer (CPO) Khalid Hamdani said police recovered weapons, ammunition and explosive devices including automatic weapons, a hand grenade and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) from the terrorists’ possession. Following the arrest, police and other law enforcement agencies conducted a search operation around Adiala Jail, where former prime minister Imran Khan is also imprisoned. The CPO said the terrorists hailed from Afghanistan and further investigation from them was underway. Earlier on November 7, 2023, police found a suspicious bag laden with an explosive device near Adiala Road in Gorakhpur, Rawalpindi, just one kilometre away from the Adiala jail ahead of the hearing of the cipher case against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder. Law enforcement agencies have already expressed concern about the security of Khan as all of the case hearings are held under tight security inside the prisons. He was shifted to Adiala from Attock on September 26 amid tight security, a day after the Islamabad High Court’s order in this regard. An 18-vehicle convoy — including 15 vehicles of Islamabad police — two armoured vehicles and an ambulance had escorted Khan via motorway. Source: https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1165492-ctd-rawalpindi-catches-three-terrorists-carrying-adiala-jail-map-weapons

Ocean temperatures hit a record high last month, which was also the warmest February on record globally, scientists in the European Union have said. The average global sea surface temperature stood at 21.06 degrees Celsius (69.91 degrees Fahrenheit) in February, surpassing the previous record of 20.98C (69.77F) set in August 2023, in a dataset that goes back to 1979, the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said on Thursday. Meanwhile, the average air temperature in February was 13.54C (56.4F), 1.77C (3.18F) warmer than the pre-industrial average for the month. It marked the ninth consecutive month that was the warmest on record for the respective month of the year. Earlier, January had also been recorded as the warmest first month of the year, surpassing the previous warmest January in 2020, as per C3S’s records going back to 1950. Last month, after scientists warned of the hottest January on record as the world continued a run of exceptional heat fuelled by climate change, C3S Deputy Director Samantha Burgess said, “Rapid reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are the only way to stop global temperatures increasing.” The C3S scientists said while the El Nino climate pattern continued to weaken in the equatorial Pacific in February, marine air temperatures remained at an unusually high level. Marine scientists warned this week that a fourth global mass coral bleaching event is likely unfolding in the Southern Hemisphere, driven by warming waters and possibly the worst in the planet’s history. Si Corals bleach under heat stress, expelling the colourful, helpful algae that live in their tissues, leaving behind a pale skeleton. This makes them vulnerable to starvation and disease, and many die. This can lead to the collapse of fragile reef ecosystems, with coastlines left unprotected from erosion and storms and fisheries falling short. El Nino, borne out of warmer than usual surface waters in the Eastern Pacific, alongside human-caused climate change, is fuelling the extra heat. “What is more surprising is that sea surface temperatures are at record levels over regions far away from the centre of the El Nino action, such as the tropical Atlantic and Indian Ocean,” said climate scientist Richard Allan of the University of Reading. This, he said, pointed to the strong influence of rising greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere. While the global average sea surface temperature record excludes the polar oceans, things are in bad shape there, too. Antarctic sea ice reached its annual minimum extent in February, registering its third-lowest extent on record at 28 percent below average. Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/7/oceans-break-high-temperature-record-on-warmest-february-marked-globally

White House seeks list of all upcoming Israel arms shipmentsThe White House has tasked the State Department and the Pentagon with compiling a roster of pending arms transfers to Israel, reports Axios, citing four US officials.The officials said the request was not an indication that Biden is considering suspending or conditioning Israeli weapons shipments in the near future. However, it does come as Biden faces growing scrutiny for his staunch backing of Israel — and amid US fears that Netanyahu cannot be deterred from a likely bloody invasion into Rafah.Earlier this week, over 30 Democrats in the House of Representatives penned a letter to Biden stating that Israel’s expected invasion of Rafah would likely disqualify it from US aid because Israel has not provided “credible assurances” it would respect international humanitarian law.Former US Ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk, in comments to the Washington Post today, said: “If Israel launches an offensive in Rafah without adequately protecting the displaced civilian population, it may precipitate an unprecedented crisis in US-Israel relations, even involving arms supplies.”Click here to share on social media Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/7/israels-war-on-gaza-live-20-starve-to-death-in-gaza-more-feared-dead