Record-high greenhouse gas concentration in Northern Hemisphere
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the United Nations’ weather agency, reported that greenhouse gas concentrations in the Northern Hemisphere peaked yet again in 2014. Greenhouse gases are a group of gases, such as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane, that collect and trap heat in Earth’s atmosphere, triggering climate change. The WMO reported that carbon dioxide, which stays in the atmosphere for at least a century, reached 397.7 parts per million in spring 2014. A 2009 report in Natural Geoscience, a peer-reviewed scientific journal, showed evidence that the last time the atmosphere contained levels of this magnitude was 4.5 million years ago when the concentration was between 365 ppm and 415 ppm. The U.S. and China are the largest contributors to the Northern Hemisphere’s greenhouse gas concentration.
Taliban sub-group claims it supports peace, women’s rights
Abdul Manan Niazi, the deputy head of the breakaway faction, told BBC’s Persian broadcasting service, “We have realized this now, that under an Islamic system all rights of human beings — both men and women — need to be implemented 100 percent.” Mohammad Rasool, former Taliban governor, was appointed leader of the newly-formed group, which announced that it was willing to participate in peace talks and will permit women to work and go to school. The new open-minded group is said to be the Taliban’s first formal division since its establishment in 1994.
General Electric to build new trains in India
The Indian government awarded GE a $2.6 billion contract to renovate the country’s outdated and overcrowded train system. GE pledged 1,000 new diesel trains by 2026 and, as part of the plan, contributed $200 million to build new plants and warehouses. India plans to spend $137 billion by 2020 to revamp its train system as part of the “Make in India” plan to attract foreign investment and bolster manufacturing output.
Two dams collapse, Brazil mining company suspended
Three people were killed, and two dozen others are missing and presumed dead after two dams collapsed and sent red mud, a hazardous byproduct of mining, to the village of Bento Rodrigues. Samarco, a Brazilian mining company, had its mining license suspended after the dams, which were used to collect wastewater, collapsed. Authorities will allow the company to resume as usual once it deems that it meets certain safety requirements. Prosecutors ordered the company to compensate the families of the victims; they will receive a temporary monthly payment of 788 reais or $207.
Catalonia declares plan for independence from Spain
The regional parliament in Catalonia, a northeastern coastal region in Spain, passed a plan 72-63 that would allow it to secede from Spain by 2017. The plan was proposed by legislators from the “Together for Yes” alliance, a secessionist group, and the left-wing Popular Unity Candidacy, both of which combined form the majority in parliament. The plan proposes “the start of a process toward the creation of an independent Catalan state in the form of a republic” and a “process of democratic disconnection not subject to the decisions by the institutions of the Spanish state.” Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy addressed the nation soon after the motion passed and said the government will appeal the plan in the Constitutional Court, which has blocked secession in the past.
Myanmar president and military to accept historic election results
Myanma President Thein Sein announced on Nov. 11 the government’s commitment to respect the results of the Nov. 8 general election and to hand over power as scheduled. Both the president of the quasi-civilian state and the military expressed their congratulations on the National League for Democracy’s electoral victory. It was the first free election since that of 1990, in which the NLD similarly won by a landslide. Rather than respect the results and cede power then, the military junta annulled the results, banned the party and placed opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest. Suu Kyi, leader and Chairwoman of the NLD, is constitutionally barred from serving as president because her children are foreign nationals, but has expressed that she will be in charge and will select a president to serve nominally.
