Latest news

Climate Threat • Global Challenges
2024 the Warmest Year in India in Over 120 Years

Last year was the warmest year in India since 1901, the head of the country's meteorological institute said, according to AFP. The average temperature for 2024 was also 0.65 degrees above the average for the years 1991–2020.

This is partly driven by a severe heat wave this summer – the longest ever – with temperatures exceeding 45 degrees.

The development in India follows an international trend of rising temperatures, as a result of global warming. At the same time, the news agency notes that the populous country is one of the world's largest emitters of greenhouse gases.

Global Public Health
Study: A cigarette costs 20 minutes of your life

A cigarette shortens life by a full 20 minutes. This is shown by a new British study from University College London, reports The Guardian.

According to researchers, it is not only at the end of life that the negative effects of smoking become apparent. It mainly affects the relatively healthy years of middle age and brings on the onset of ill health.

– This means that a 60-year-old smoker will have a health status equivalent to that of a 70-year-old non-smoker, says researcher Sarah Jackson.

Anyone who has a New Year's resolution to quit smoking – and who usually smokes ten cigarettes a day – can extend their life by 50 days during their first year as a smoke-free person, according to the study.

The election in the US Trump's team
"Trump is a little guy and Musk is a big guy"

Historian and author Timothy Snyder warns that many people seem to overestimate Donald Trump's power and underestimate his advisor Elon Musk, according to The Guardian.

Not least because Elon Musk is the world's richest person, while Donald Trump could never have afforded to pay for his presidential campaign himself.

- Trump is a little guy and Musk is a big guy when it comes to actually having money. And if you're a friend of Trump, I think you should be worried, says Snyder.

Attack on pro-Israel lobby group in the US stopped

The FBI has stopped plans for an attack on a pro-Israel organization in Florida in the US, according to legal documents obtained by CBS News. The target was the group AIPAC, which advocates on Israeli issues for the White House and the US Congress.

A man accused of the plans allegedly tried to travel to the organization's address in the state to "spy", with the plan to return there with the aim of "killing, injuring and harassing" people who are part of the organization.

The man was stopped by police on December 25. He was carrying three different firearms.

Syria War New regime
Syria's new regime promises freedom of speech and press

Syria will have a free press and freedom of expression under the new regime, promises the country's new Information Minister Mohamed al-Omar, according to AFP.

- We are working to consolidate freedom of the press and expression, which has been severely restricted.

Under Syria's former leader Bashar al-Assad, regime critics were imprisoned arbitrarily and there was no free press. The country is second to last on Reporters Without Borders' press freedom index.

After the overthrow of the al-Assad regime, Syria is now effectively ruled by the former jihadist movement HTS.

Musk changes username on X - cryptocurrency is booming

Elon Musk has changed the name of X to "Kekius Maximus", which has led to speculation that he is trying to use his influence to influence the price of cryptocurrencies. The BBC writes.

A cryptocurrency with the same name is said to have surged several hundred percent after the name change.

“Kek” is an update of the slightly older abbreviation “lol” – which stands for laughing out loud. Some have speculated that “Maximus” refers to the main character in Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator”. It is also Latin for “greatest”.

In connection with the name change, Musk also changed his profile picture to one depicting the meme character “Pepe the frog” – a symbol previously linked to far-right groups.