UK infected blood scandal victims to start receiving final compensation
Britain’s government said Tuesday that thousands of victims of the U.K.’s decades-long infected blood scandal will start receiving final compensation payments this year. The scandal, which lasted between the 1970s and the early 1990s, is seen as the deadliest episode…
Biden releasing 1 million barrels of gasoline from Northeast reserve in bid to lower prices at pump
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration said Tuesday that it is releasing 1 million barrels of gasoline from a Northeast reserve established after Superstorm Sandy in a bid to lower prices at the pump this summer. The sale, from storage sites…
Humanitarian needs spike as Russia escalates offensive in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region
Geneva — U.N. agencies report Russia’s escalating military offensive in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region over the past two weeks is causing an alarming spike in humanitarian needs as deaths and injuries grow and thousands flee in the wake of relentless aerial…
US looks to work with EU to address Chinese industrial policy
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Tuesday that U.S. and European leaders must address China’s industrial policies that pose a threat to clean energy industries worldwide. “Chinese industrial capacity is currently leading to production that significantly exceeds global demand…
How Kremlin uses false fact checks to spread disinformation
Just a few weeks after Russia’s full invasion of Ukraine, Moscow started to promote a website that claims to tell the truth about the war. “War On Fakes” was presented as a fact-checking resource where experts and journalists debunk the…
Fearing rising tides, small island nations gain key win at UN ocean court
The U.N. maritime court has ruled in favor of greater protection of the oceans in the face of climate change in a case brought by small island countries. The countries brought the case in September after seeing disproportionate effects from…
Global carbon emissions pricing raised record $104 bln in 2023
LONDON — Countries raised a record $104 billion last year by charging firms for emitting carbon dioxide, but prices remain too low to drive changes needed to meet Paris climate accord targets, the World Bank said in a report on…
Brazil floods leave trail of unprecedented devastation
Historic floods swept through southern Brazil early this month, destroying everything in their path. The floods claimed over 150 lives and left more than 500,000 Brazilians displaced. Scientists attribute this unprecedented destruction to a confluence of weather conditions, all influenced…
Climate crisis fuels deadly floods, worsening hunger in Afghanistan
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said that as erratic weather on the back of the worsening climate crisis “becomes the norm”, things will only get worse. This month’s unusually high rainfall followed a dry winter, rendering the ground too…
Ukraine: humanitarian, health needs soar as Kharkiv hostilities intensify
“Relentless aerial attacks continue, prolonging and exacerbating an already dire situation,” said UN refugee agency (UNHCR), spokesperson Shabia Mantoo. “More than two years since Russia’s full-scale invasion, regular shelling and attacks continue to claim lives and destroy homes and critical…