Lahore air pollution hits historic high, forcing school closures
KARACHI — Unprecedented air pollution levels in Pakistan’s second-largest city of Lahore prompted authorities to take emergency measures on Sunday, including issuing work-from-home mandates and closing primary schools. The city held the top spot on a real-time list of the…
Middle East crisis: Gaza polio vaccine campaign under fire
Gaza: Health teams under attack The northern Gaza polio vaccine campaign began Saturday and is scheduled to continue through Monday, with UN agencies and partners fanning out across the ravaged north during agreed upon humanitarian pauses to ensure safety for…
COP16: Landmark biodiversity agreements adopted
“This is an unprecedented occasion in the history of multilateral environmental agreements,” Camila Paz Romero, spokesperson for Indigenous Peoples at the summit, told UN News. “Indigenous peoples and local communities of the world – connected from our knowledge systems in…
Ethiopia bans imports of gas-powered private vehicles, but switch to electric is bumpy ride
ADDIS ABABA — As the price of fuel soared in Ethiopia earlier this year, Awgachew Seleshi decided to buy an electric car. That aligned with the government’s new efforts to phase out gas-powered vehicles. But months later, he’s questioning whether…
Will people leave Florida after devastating hurricanes? History suggests not
orlando, florida — The news rippled through Treasure Island, Florida, almost like a third storm: The mayor planned to move off the barrier island a month after Hurricane Helene flooded tens of thousands of homes along the Gulf Coast and…
Ukrainian front-line school system goes underground to protect against bombs, radiation
ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine — To be a parent in the Ukrainian front-line city of Zaporizhzhia means weighing your child’s life against the Russian weapons within striking distance. Most rain death in an instant: the drones, the ballistic missiles, the glide bombs,…
Nevada lithium mine will crush rare plant habitat US said is critical to its survival, lawsuit says
RENO, Nevada — Conservationists and a Native American tribe are suing the U.S. to try to block a Nevada lithium mine they say will drive an endangered desert wildflower to extinction, disrupt groundwater flows and threaten cultural resources. The Center…
Russia, Ukraine accuse each other of obstructing prisoner swaps
MOSCOW — Kyiv called on Moscow on Sunday to provide a list of Ukrainian prisoners of war ready for a swap after Russia accused Ukraine of sabotaging the exchange process. In requesting the list of Ukrainians from his Russian counterpart,…
Time to ‘fall back’ an hour as daylight saving time ends
The good news: You will get a glorious extra hour of sleep. The bad: It’ll be dark by late afternoon for the next few months in the United States. Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. local time Sunday, which…
Agreement signed at UN summit gives Indigenous groups voice
CALI, Colombia — After two weeks of negotiations, delegates on Saturday agreed at the United Nations conference on biodiversity to establish a subsidiary body that will include Indigenous peoples in future decisions on nature conservation, a development that builds on…