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Thailand gets third leader this week as new cabinet sworn in
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US House sets make-or-break final vote on Trump tax bill
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Top China official says US defence chief 'inciting conflict'
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Wales look to end 17-game losing streak with 'massive' Japan win
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Chinese carrier Shandong moors in Hong Kong on 'great power' visit
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Wounded Wales looking for 'massive' win over Japan
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Japan PM sweats for majority in upper house election
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'Happy suffering': the Brazilian gold rush that spawned iconic pictures
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Australian man dies from 'extremely rare' bat bite virus
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Free-scoring Lions can be beaten insists Waratahs coach McKellar
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4 dead, 30 missing after ferry sinks on way to Indonesia's Bali
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Facing climate change, Swiss trees get mist before they're missed
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Australian man dies from bat bite
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US-Vietnam trade deal sows new China uncertainty
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India Hindu pilgrimage begins in contested Kashmir
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Jones places faith in Japan youth movement to sink Wales
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All Black wing Ioane warns 'dangerous' France are no B-team
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'Significant declines' in some species after deep-sea mining: research
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Indonesia free meal plan stunted by delays, protests, poisonings
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Russell heads into home British GP haunted by Verstappen rumours
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Djokovic wary of Evans threat, Krejcikova worships at 'temple of tennis'
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Drought-hit Morocco turns to desalination to save vegetable bounty
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Steve Smith back for second West Indies Test after dislocated finger
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Asian stocks mixed as traders shrug at US-Vietnam trade deal
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Holland completes All Blacks 'great story' to debut against France
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China, EU should not 'seek confrontation': FM Wang
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'Big Comrade': Former defence chief takes reins as Thai PM
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4 dead, 38 missing after ferry sinks on way to Indonesia's Bali
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Thailand set for another acting PM after cabinet reshuffle
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In US capital, Trump tariffs bite into restaurant profits
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Sean Combs: music pioneer, entrepreneur -- and convicted felon
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In California, fear of racial profiling grips Latino communities
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Home-grown players delight Wimbledon fans on hunt for 'new Andy Murray'
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Third-ever confirmed interstellar object blazing through Solar System
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Joao Pedro arrival boosts Chelsea ahead of Palmeiras Club World Cup test
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Lions start to roar in ominous Wallabies warning
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Kellaway, Tupou headline Waratahs team to face Lions
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Four All Blacks debutants to face France in first Test
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Helium One Global Ltd Announces Appointment of New Non-Executive Director
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Ukraine scrambling for clarity as US downplays halt to arms shipments
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Peru clinic that leaked Shakira medical record given hefty fine
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UK's Starmer backs finance minister after tears in parliament
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Trump tax bill stalled by Republican rebellion in Congress
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US stocks back at records as oil prices rally
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Norway battle back to beat Swiss hosts in Euro 2025 opener
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Netanyahu vows to uproot Hamas as ceasefire proposals are discussed
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Tarvet won't turn pro yet, despite pushing Alcaraz at Wimbledon
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Ukraine left scrambling after US says halting some arms shipments
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India captain Gill's hundred repels England in second Test
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Possible interstellar object spotted zooming through Solar System

World's oceans set new surface temperature record: EU monitor
The world's oceans set a new temperature record this week, raising concerns about knock-on effects on the planet's climate, marine life and coastal communities.
The temperature of the oceans' surface rose to 20.96 degrees Celsius (69.7 Fahrenheit) on Friday, according to European Union climate observatory data.
The previous record was 20.95C in March 2016, a spokeswoman for the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service told AFP.
The samples tested excluded polar regions.
Oceans have absorbed 90 percent of the excess heat produced by human activity since the dawn of the industrial age, according to scientists.
This excess heat continues to accumulate as greenhouse gases -- mainly from burning oil, gas and coal -- continue to accumulate in the Earth's atmosphere.
Globally, the average ocean temperature has been besting seasonal heat records on a regular basis since April.
"The ocean heatwave is an immediate threat to some marine life," said Piers Forster of the International Centre for Climate at the University of Leeds.
"We are already seeing coral bleaching in Florida as a direct result and I expect more impacts will surface."
The overheating of the oceans is predicted to have other effects on marine plant and animal life too, including on the migration of certain species and the spread of invasive species.
This could threaten fish stocks and thus undermine food security in certain parts of the globe.
Warmer oceans are also less capable of absorbing carbon dioxide (CO2), reinforcing the vicious cycle of global warming.
And higher temperatures are likely to come, since the El Nino phenomenon, which tends to warm waters up, has only just begun.
Scientists expect the worst effects of the current El Nino to be felt at the end of 2023 and continue into subsequent years.
- Like bath water -
"While there are certainly short-term factors, the main long-term cause is without a doubt the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere caused by human activity, primarily by the burning of fossil fuels," said Rowan Sutton, director of climate research at the University of Reading.
The latest figures follow a string of record highs around the world.
On Monday, temperatures of 38.3C -- as hot as a jacuzzi -- were recorded off the Florida coast, which could be a world record high for a point measurement if the figure is confirmed.
Last week, the surface waters of the North Atlantic rose to a record-high average temperature of 24.9C, according to provisional data from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The North Atlantic usually only reaches its peak temperature in September
Since March, the month when the North Atlantic begins to warm up after winter, temperatures have been higher than in previous years and the gap with past records has continued to widen in recent weeks.
The region has become a key point for observing the heating of the world's oceans.
Earlier in July, the Mediterranean Sea broke its daily heat record, with a median temperature of 28.71C, according to Spain's leading maritime research centre.
Marine heatwaves have become twice as frequent since 1982, according to a 2019 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
By 2100, they could be 10 times more intense than they were at the beginning of the 20th century if pollutant emissions are not reduced.
The use of coal, oil and gas is expected to be at the centre of debates in the upcoming United Nations climate talks, dubbed COP28, scheduled to take place at the end of the year in Dubai.
D.Moore--AMWN