Last four years hottest on record, UN confirms

Paris: The last four years were the hottest since global temperature records began, the UN has confirmed in an analysis that it said was a “clear sign of continuing long-term climate change.” The UN’s World Meterological Organisation said in November that 2018 was set to be the fourth warmest year in recorded history. On Wednesday it incorporated the final weeks of last year into its climate models and concluded that average global surface temperature in 2018 was 1° Celsius above pre-industrial baseline levels. The 20 warmest years in history all occurred within the last 22 years. AFP

Syrian Prez Assad not enemy of US: Tulsi

Washington: Democratic presidential aspirant and the first Hindu lawmaker in the Congress Tulsi Gabbard has said that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is “not the enemy” of the US and the war-torn country does not pose a “direct threat” to America. Gabbard, 37, who recently announced her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, has previously been criticised for meeting with Assad in 2017. “Assad is not the enemy of the United States because Syria does not pose a direct threat to the United States,” Gabbard, elected to the House of Representatives from Hawaii, said on Wednesday. PTI