Climate change is "a myth," sea levels are not rising and Britain's chief scientist is "an embarrassment" for believing catastrophe is inevitable. These are the controversial views of a new London-based think-tank that will publish a report today attacking the apocalyptic view that man-made greenhouse gases will destroy the planet. \nThe International Policy Network will publish its long-awaited study, claiming that the science warning of an environmental disaster caused by climate change is "fatally flawed." It will state that previous predictions of changes in sea level of a meter over the next 100 years were overestimates. \nInstead, the report will say that sea level rises will reach a maximum of just 20cm during the next century, adding that global warming could, in fact, benefit mankind by increasing fish stocks. \nThe report's views closely mirror those held by many of US President George Bush's senior advisers, who have been accused of derailing attempts to reach international agreement over how to prevent climate change. \nThe report is set to cause controversy. The network, which has links with some of the President's advisers, has received cash donations from the US oil giant ExxonMobil, which has long lobbied against the climate change agenda. Exxon lists the donation as part of its "climate change outreach" program. Environmentalists on Saturday said the network report was an attempt by US neoconservatives to sabotage Prime Minister Tony Blair's attempts to lead the world in tackling climate change. \nIt has close links to the Washington-based organization, the Competitive Enterprise Institute which is run by Bush's top climate adviser Myron Ebell. It was Ebell who recently launched an astonishing personal attack on Britain's chief scientist Sir David King after he described climate change as a greater threat than terrorism.
URGENT CALL: The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency pleaded to gain access to the plant, saying ‘every principle of nuclear safety has been violated The UN’s nuclear chief on Tuesday warned that Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine “is completely out of control,” and issued an urgent plea to Russia and Ukraine to quickly allow experts to visit the sprawling complex to stabilize the situation and avoid a nuclear accident. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi said in an interview that the situation is getting more perilous every day at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant in the southeastern city of Enerhodar, which Russian troops seized in early March, soon after their Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine. “Every principle of nuclear safety has been
On a beach in the Chinese coastal city of Xiamen, just a few kilometers from Taiwan’s Kinmen, life is carefree, despite some of the worst cross-strait tensions in decades. Ignoring warnings from Beijing, US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday — the highest-ranking elected US official to visit the nation in 25 years — sparking a diplomatic firestorm. China yesterday launched some of its largest-ever military drills — exercises set to disrupt one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. However, on Xiamen’s palm-fringed beach, there was little concern. “A war? No, I don’t care,” a young IT worker surnamed
According to Forrest Gump, life is like a box of chocolates because “you never know what you’re going to get.” Now, an Indian remake of the movie has been hit by boycott calls over years-old comments by its Muslim star, Aamir Khan. It is the latest example of how Bollywood actors, particularly minority Muslims such as Khan, are feeling increased pressure under Hindu nationalist Indian Prime Minister Modi. Laal Singh Chaddha, an Indian spin on the 1994 Hollywood hit with Tom Hanks, is expected to be one of India’s biggest films of the year. This is due in large part to its
ACROPORA REVIVAL: A marine science official said that the results of recent studies showed that the reef can still recover in periods that are free of intense disturbances Parts of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef now have the highest levels of coral cover in decades, an Australian government report said yesterday. Portions of the UNESCO heritage site showed a marked increase in coral cover in the past year, reaching levels not seen in 36 years of monitoring, the Australian Institute of Marine Science said. Scientists surveying 87 sites said that northern and central parts of the reef had bounced back from damage more quickly than some had expected, thanks mainly to fast-growing Acropora — a branching coral that supports thousands of marine species. “These latest results demonstrate the reef can still recover
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