Day: August 27, 2022

The Horn of Africa, where the risk of famine is growing due to a historic drought, is bracing itself for a fifth consecutive failed rainy season, the UN agency World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said on Friday.

“You have heard a lot from humanitarian agencies about the terrible drought in the Horn of Africa. Unfortunately, you are going to hear even more about it in the coming weeks and months as the drought continues,” said a WMO spokeswoman, Clare Nullis, at a regular press briefing in Geneva.

Source: Jordan News Agency

More than 100,000 postal workers are to strike from Friday in what the leader of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) declared as “the biggest strike in the UK since 2009”.

Around 115,000 members of the CWU – which represents Royal Mail Group workers – are beginning industrial action on Friday as they demand a “dignified, proper pay rise”.

This will be followed by further strike action on Wednesday August 31, Thursday September 8, and Friday September 9.

The decision follows the union’s recent ballot for strike action over pay, which saw members vote by 97.6 percent on a 77 percent turnout to take action.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Instagram said viral claims suggesting location tags on content can reveal users’ exact locations are false.

Viral posts and videos have said a “precise location” toggle in app location settings on iOS and Android devices could share someone’s exact location with other Instagram users, the BBC reported.

Some viral posts suggested this was the result of an Instagram or iOS update.

But Instagram said this is not the case and the feature does not share locations with other users.

Source: Jordan News Agency

In the United States, California the country’s most populous state and the center of U.S. car culture, is banning the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles starting in 2035, marking a historic step in the state’s battle against climate change.

The rule, issued by the California Air Resources Board on Thursday, will force automakers to speed up production of cleaner vehicles beginning in 2026 until sales of only zero-emission cars, pickup trucks and SUVs are allowed in the state.

Source: Jordan News Agency

A submarine in Lebanon has found the remains of at least seven people who died when their boat sank off the Lebanese coast earlier this year as they sought to migrate to Italy, the naval officials said.

The boat, carrying around 80 Lebanese, Syrians and Palestinians, went down more than five kilometers from the northern port of Tripoli.

Seven bodies were recovered the night of the incident including a child, while 48 survivors were pulled from the Mediterranean.

According to Lebanese Navy estimates, 30 people died.

Source: Jordan News Agency