World
California receives first tropical storm watch as Hurricane Hilary nears
The Category 4 hurricane is anticipated to make landfall in the Mexican state of Baja California before moving north.
The National Hurricane Center in the United States has issued its first-ever tropical storm watch for the southern tip of California as Hurricane Hilary approaches.
The watch, issued on Friday, indicates that tropical storm conditions — including rough seas, heavy rains and winds up to 117 kilometres per hour (73 miles per hour) — are possible within the next two days.
But the designation also makes history in California, a state which, despite its long coastline, has not seen a tropical storm strike in nearly 84 years.
“It is rare — indeed nearly unprecedented in the modern record — to have a tropical system like this move through Southern California,” Weather Channel specialist Greg Postel told CBS News.
Hurricane set to hit Mexico
Currently a powerful Category 4 storm, Hilary has also prompted a hurricane warning along the Baja California peninsula in Mexico, where it is expected to make landfall on Saturday night into Sunday morning.
The cyclone strengthened rapidly on Thursday, reaching the second-highest category on the five-tier Saffir-Simpson scale by Friday. Meteorologists recorded sustained winds of 230km/h (145mph), some gusts going even higher.
In response to the approaching storm, the government of Baja California suspended classes, postponed sporting events and closed ports to small-vessel traffic along the affected area, as coastal waves reached heights of up to 7 metres (23ft).
Marina del Pilar, the state governor of Baja California, also called for residents in vulnerable areas to seek shelter elsewhere.
The hurricane warning extended from Punta Abreojos to Punta Eugenia, an area known for its wildlife refuge and fishing towns which juts into the Pacific Ocean around the midsection of the Baja California peninsula.
But the hurricane is projected to continue northwards to more densely populated areas. The US National Hurricane Center warned of possible flash flooding, along with other hazards.
“A dangerous storm surge is likely to produce coastal flooding along the western Baja California peninsula,” the centre explained. “The surge will be accompanied by large and destructive waves.”
A California rarity
By Sunday, Hurricane Hilary is projected to weaken to tropical-storm strength as it approaches the US-Mexico border. It is not yet clear whether the storm will make landfall.
Nevertheless, California cities like San Diego and Los Angeles are bracing for heavy rains and winds, with isolated areas expected to receive up to 25cm (10 inches).
“Rare and dangerous flooding will be possible,” the National Hurricane Center said on Friday.
California has a relatively sparse history with tropical storm systems. Cold currents travel south along its coast, making conditions unfavourable for tropical storms, and winds tend to push them westward.
“It has been a very long time since an actual intact tropical-storm-level tropical cyclone has made landfall anywhere in California,” climate scientist Daniel Swain said in a presentation on Wednesday, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle.
The last time a tropical storm made landfall was in September 1939, when a tropical system called El Cordonazo struck near Long Beach, California, as part of a string of storms.
Newspapers put the death toll as high as 93 people as the storm caught many residents unaware. Some drowned in the Pacific. Others died as a result of the flooding, as El Cordonazo brought record rainfall.
More recently, California has experienced the remnants of cyclones, including 2022’s Hurricane Kay, which sent bands of rain into the state after weakening to a tropical storm.
But a direct hit remains a rarity in California, which recently emerged from a years-long drought as a series of atmospheric rivers walloped the state from late December through March.
World
John Stamos Shares Full House Reunion Photo With Olsen Twins in Honor of Bob Saget’s Birthday
ad
World
Climate activists glue themselves to Munich airport runway, pausing traffic
A group of climate protesters have been arrested in Germany after breaking into an airport and gluing themselves to the runway.
Six activists broke through security fencing at Munich airport in the German state of Bavaria on Saturday, according to the news outlet dpa.
Approximately sixty flights were canceled after the half-dozen protesters glued themselves to the tarmac, forcing officials to temporarily close the airport.
CLIMATE ACTIVISTS ARRESTED FOR BLOCKING AIRSTRIP IN MASSACHUSETTS
An additional fourteen flights into Munich were forced to divert to other nearby airports to avoid the disruption.
Climate protest coalition Last Generation took credit for the stunt, claiming it was intended to draw attention to the German government’s inaction on the airline industry’s environmental impact.
CLIMATE GROUP TAKES RESPONSIBILITY FOR US OPEN CHAOS, OFFERS WARNING: ‘NO TENNIS ON A DEAD PLANET’
All six protesters were arrested and charged by law enforcement.
“Trespassing in the aviation security area is no trivial offense. Over hundreds of thousands of passengers were prevented from a relaxed and punctual start to their Pentecost holiday,” German Airports Association General Manager Ralph Beisel told dpa.
“Such criminal actions threaten air traffic and harm climate protection because they only cause lack of understanding and anger,” German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser wrote about the protests on social media platform X.
The Munich incident was just one of many similar protests around the world against air transportation. Last Generation has performed at least two similar airport disruptions in Germany since last year.
World
Russian court seizes two European banks’ assets amid Western sanctions
Freezing hundreds of billions of dollars in lenders’ assets was part of dispute over gas project halted by sanctions.
A Russian court has ordered the seizure of the assets, accounts, property and shares of Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank in the country as part of a lawsuit involving the German banks, court documents showed.
The banks are among the guarantor lenders under a contract for the construction of a gas processing plant in Russia with the German company Linde. The project was terminated due to Western sanctions.
European banks have largely exited Russia after Moscow launched its offensive on Ukraine in 2022.
A court in St Petersburg ruled in favour of seizing 239 million euros ($260m) from Deutsche Bank, documents dated May 16 showed.
Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt said it had already provisioned about 260 million euros ($283m) for the case.
“We will need to see how this claim is implemented by the Russian courts and assess the immediate operational impact in Russia,” the bank added in a statement.
The court also seized the assets of Commerzbank, another German financial institution, worth 93.7 million euros ($101.85m) as well as securities and the bank’s building in central Moscow.
The bank is yet to comment on the case.
In a parallel lawsuit on Friday, the Russian court also ordered UniCredit’s assets, accounts and property, as well as shares in two subsidiaries, to be seized. The ruling covered 462.7 million euros ($503m) in assets.
UniCredit said it “has been made aware” of the decision and was “reviewing” the situation in detail. The bank was one of the most exposed European banks when Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine, with a large local subsidiary operating in Russia.
It began preliminary discussions on a sale last year, but the talks have not advanced. Chief executive Andrea Orcel said UniCredit wants to leave Russia, but added that gifting an operation worth three billion euros ($3.3bn) was not a good way to respect the spirit of Western sanctions on Moscow over the conflict.
Russia has faced heavy Western sanctions, including on its banking sector, since the start of the war in Ukraine. Dozens of US and European companies have also stopped doing business in the country.
-
Education1 week ago
Video: Police Use Pepper Spray on Protesters on G.W.U.’s Campus
-
Politics1 week ago
Ohio AG defends letter warning 'woke' masked anti-Israel protesters they face prison time: 'We have a society'
-
Politics1 week ago
Biden’s decision to pull Israel weapons shipment kept quiet until after Holocaust remembrance address: report
-
World7 days ago
India Lok Sabha election 2024 Phase 4: Who votes and what’s at stake?
-
Finance1 week ago
Spring Finance Forum 2024: CRE Financiers Eye Signs of Recovery
-
World1 week ago
A look at Chinese investment within Hungary
-
News1 week ago
The Major Supreme Court Cases of 2024
-
News1 week ago
Tornadoes tear through the southeastern U.S. as storms leave 3 dead