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Bizarro Earth

Cold Weather Kills 27 in Ukraine

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© Xinhua/Reuters PhotoPeople walk under heavy snowfall in central Kiev.
A five-day-long heavy snowfall caused 27 weather-related deaths, the Ukrainian Health Ministry's press service said in a statement on Monday.

"Eleven people froze to death in Donetsk region, three each in Luhansk and Volyn regions, two each in Sumy, Kherson and Cherkasy regions, and one each in Ivano-Frankivsk, Kirovohrad, Rivne and Chernivtsi regions. Seven of them died at home in Donetsk region and one in Ivano-Frankivsk region," said the statement.

"A total of 671 people asked for medical aid due to frostbite, and 465 of them have been hospitalized," added the statement.

Severe winter weather slammed Ukraine last Thursday, heavy snowstorms and freezing temperature caused electricity blackouts in 158 cities and villages, blocked more than 7,000 people in traffic jams and forced airlines to delay flights.

Magnify

Climate summit ends with major questions: 'Breakthrough' or 'cop-out'?

The Copenhagen Accord sets emission limits but isn't legally binding. It's vague on details and has infuriated smaller nations and environmentalists. The U.N. chief calls it 'an essential beginning.'

An international climate summit officially ended here today with an agreement among the world's largest economies to take steps to curb greenhouse gas emissions, no formal consensus from the 193 nations present, and major questions over what comes next in the global negotiating process.

Conference attendees merely acknowledged -- and did not vote to adopt -- the so-called Copenhagen Accord, which stemmed from an eleventh-hour deal cut Friday evening between President Obama and leaders of four fast-growing nations.

Obama had hailed the deal as an "unprecedented breakthrough" in climate talks, but it was denounced by critics as too weak to avert the harshest effects of global warming.

Hourglass

Copenhagen closes with weak deal that poor threaten to reject

The UN climate summit in Copenhagen has formally closed with a deal many countries admit falls far short of the action needed to tackle global warming.

The non-binding accord, which the US reached with key nations including China and Brazil, "recognises" the scientific case for keeping temperature rises to no more than 2C but does not contain commitments to emissions reductions to achieve that goal.

US officials spun the deal as a "meaningful agreement" but even Barack Obama said: "This progress is not enough.

"We have come a long way, but we have much further to go."

It is up to national parliaments to adopt the accord, after which signatories will be obliged to take measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and start preparing to help poor countries adapt to climate change. The intention is for a full legal agreement to be signed within a year.


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Palin blasts 'arrogance of man' in Copenhagen

The now-finished climate change summit in Copenhagen marks the "arrogance of man," former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) said this weekend.

Palin, who had urged President Barack Obama not to attend the conference in Denmark, blasted the agreement world leaders made late on Friday to begin stemming emissions that contribute to climate change.

Palin tweeted early Saturday morning:
Copenhgen=arrogance of man2think we can change nature's ways.MUST b good stewards of God's earth,but arrogant&naive2say man overpwers nature

Earth saw clmate chnge4 ions;will cont 2 c chnges.R duty2responsbly devlop resorces4humankind/not pollute&destroy;but cant alter naturl chng

Igloo

Valdez socked in

snow Alaska 1
© Chris MoultonValdez city hall
All the experts say the effects of climate change will be felt most in Alaska, home of the ex-governor who contends climate change is no big deal.

Good thing she wasn't in Valdez this week when the citizenry got buried under a record snowfall. We're not talking about your ordinary little dump here. That was in Copenhagen, where world leaders were meeting to discuss what to do about global warming and the Bloomberg news service was warning that Barack Obama and the rest would "face freezing weather as a blizzard dumped 10 centimeters (4 inches) of snow on the Danish capital overnight.''

Four inches overnight? Valdez got more than four inches per hour at the height of the snowstorm that began there Monday and ran through the week. By the time the citizens of Alaska's only oil port finally caught a break, the snow was piled 5 feet, 8 inches deep.

Cloud Lightning

Europe cold snap kills dozens across continent

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© AFPTemperatures dropped as low as -33C in parts of northern Europe
Dozens of people have died across Europe as days of snow storms and sub-zero temperatures swept the continent, causing traffic chaos for millions.

At least 29 people froze to death in Poland as temperatures fell far below freezing, while in southern Germany a figure of -33C (-27F) was recorded.

Moscow said it was deploying 9,000 snow ploughs to clear the city's streets.

Air, rail and road transport links were disrupted across northern Europe where more snow was expected in coming days.

Eurostar services between the UK and the continent were suspended on Monday for a third day, as the company launched an immediate review into train breakdowns which have stranded and delayed tens of thousands of passengers since Friday.

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© APTemperatures in Ukraine are expected to improve by Wednesday

Bizarro Earth

4.7 Earthquake Hits Northeast China

An earthquake measuring 4.7 on the Richter scale rocked northeast China early Monday morning, the national seismological network said.

The tremor occurred at 5:31 a.m. at the border area between Tongyu and Changling counties in Jilin Province and Horqin Left Wing Middle Banner in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

The epicenter, with a depth of eight kilometers, was located at 44.5 degrees north latitude and 123.0 degrees east longitude.

Bizarro Earth

3 Dead in Austrian Cold Wave This Winter

Three Austrian citizens froze to death on their way home from local bars this weekend nights in Steiermark and Salzburg, states of Austria, the first death victims dying of cold in the country this winter, Austrian press Agency (APA) reported on Sunday.

One pensioner from Salzburg seriously hurt himself after falling down a slope. He was frozen to death when a hunter found him on Sunday.

Two men at the ages of 19 and 43 from Steiermark had the same cause of death. They were on their way home from bars and fell down.

The youngest one was lightly dressed, only a pullover and jeans covered his body when he fell.

Bizarro Earth

Nineteen Perish as Europe Braces for More Snow

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© UnknownLuggage piles up at Saint Pancras station, as Passengers wait amid further disruption to the Eurostar service in London.
Aside from disrupting train and air transport, snowstorms and freezing temperatures have killed at least 19 people across Europe.

Most of the deaths occurred overnight in Poland, where 15 people perished in icy temperatures.

In Germany, some areas recorded -33C temperatures and the country's third busiest airport, Duesseldorf International, was forced to close on Sunday due to relentless snowfall.

Meanwhile, Eurostar, the operator of high-speed passenger trains between London, Paris and Brussels, canceled services for a second day following electrical failures due to extreme condensations.

While weather is expected to have slightly improved by Christmas Day on Friday, forecasts across the continent predicted more snow and freezing rain over the next couple of days.

Bizarro Earth

Six Killed as Heavy Storms Rip Through Turkey

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© HurriyetFour Turkish men died on Friday when a minaret collapsed in the village of Yukariyagcilar, Balikesir province
Six people have died, including four who were crushed by a toppled minaret, as a result of heavy storms coupled with a tornado that hit Turkey.

Four men waiting to enter a mosque for evening prayers lost their lives in Yukariyagcilar village in the western province of Balikesir late on Friday when a minaret collapsed under strong winds, the daily Hurriyet reported.

Two injured men were rescued from the rubble.

A twister in the western Turkish town of Menemen, in Izmir province uprooted a security booth at a residential complex, injuring the guard inside. Nearby, officials later found the body of a shepherd believed to have died when the booth struck him.

And heavy rain in the southern town of Antakya in Hatay province caused a wall to collapse on Saturday, killing a man.