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…
Gaza: WHO chief calls for end to latest hospital siege
“Medical staff inside the hospital reported an attack on 20 May, with snipers aiming at the building and an artillery rocket hitting the fifth floor,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X. Some 148 staff and 22 patients and their companions…
Britain, South Korea co-host two-day AI summit in South Korea
The world’s most prominent artificial intelligence companies promised to develop technology safely at the start of the two-day AI summit in South Korea. Companies also agreed to stop developing their technology if the most threatening risks cannot be avoided. The…
Zelenskyy’s plea to allies: ‘Means of destruction … needed at the front right now’
In his nightly video address on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy again made a plea for the immediate arrival of weapons as his country continues its battle to beat back Russia. While some countries, including the U.S., have promised weapons…
Dark web drug site founder to appear in New York court
A 23-year-old man from Taiwan is set to appear in a New York court Monday on charges of allowing the sale of more than $100 million worth of illegal drugs on a dark web website he allegedly founded. Rui-Siang Lin…
US pediatricians end decades-old advice against breastfeeding by HIV-positive mothers
People with HIV can breastfeed their babies, if they are taking medications that effectively suppress the virus that causes AIDS, a top U.S. pediatricians group said Monday in a sharp policy change. The new report from the American Academy of…