News in Brief-(2024-04-09)

FE Team | Published: April 08, 2024 23:15:33

Climate-warming gases 'being
smuggled into Europe'
PARIS, Apr 08: Large amounts of climate-warming refrigerant gases from China and Turkey are being smuggled illegally into Europe, undermining a global pact to phase them out, a report by the London-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) said on Monday. The gases are hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), a range of chemicals used mostly for cooling in industry and retail, which do not damage the ozone layer like other banned refrigerants, but as greenhouse gases can be several thousand times more potent than carbon dioxide. — Reuters
S Korea launches 2nd spy satellite
SEOUL, Apr 08: South Korea has launched its second military spy satellite into space, days after North Korea reaffirmed its plan to launch multiple reconnaissance satellites this year. The Koreas each launched their first spy satellites last year - North Korea in November and South Korea in December - amid heightened animosities. They said their satellites would boost their abilities to monitor each other and enhance their own missile attack capabilities. South Korea's second spy satellite was launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sunday evening local time, which was Monday morning in Seoul. — AP
West Siberia braces for worst flood
MOSCOW, Apr 08: The Russian city of Orenburg, near the Kazakh border, braced on Monday for flooding not seen in decades, as officials evacuated locals to escape rising rivers in the Urals and western Siberia. Moscow declared a federal emergency on Sunday over floods in the Orenburg region, where the Ural river left much of the city of Orsk covered in water, forcing thousands to leave their homes. The Kremlin has also warned of "inevitable" floods in western Siberia's Kurgan and Tyumen regions. Thousands of people have already been evacuated from flooded areas. — AFP
Trump rejects national abortion ban
WASHINGTON, Apr 08: Abortion rights should be left up to US states to decide, Republican Donald Trump said Monday, rejecting a national abortion ban after months of mixed signals on one of the most contentious issues of the November election. "My view is now that we have abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint, states will determine by vote or legislation or perhaps both. Whatever they decide must be the law of the land, in this case, law of the state," the likely Republican presidential nominee said in a video posted on his Truth Social network. — AFP
EU Red Sea mission repels 11 Huthi attacks
BRUSSELS, Apr 08: The European Union's naval mission in the Red Sea has repelled attacks on 11 civilian ships since it was launched in late February, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Monday. The Iran-backed Huthis, who control much of war-torn Yemen, have been targeting the vital shipping lane since November in a campaign they say is in solidarity with Palestinians during the Gaza war. The Huthi attacks have roiled shipping in the Red Sea, forcing some companies to take alternative routes, including a two-week detour around the tip of southern Africa. — AFP