Authorities in New Delhi are considering a first-of-its-kind lockdown to combat worsening air pollution. Schools have already been closed indefinitely as severe smog choked people living in the Indian capital and neighbouring states on Wednesday. The number of dangerous pollution particles in New Delhi’s air was measured at seven times the safe level on Wednesday,
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Ireland is introducing new COVID-19 restrictions including a midnight closing time for pubs, nightclubs and restaurants as the country battles a fourth wave of infections. The measures, which come into effect from Friday, will also see household contacts of those with COVID required to restrict their movements for five days, even if they have been
A family of four, who were left stranded in the Australian outback when their campervan got bogged down following heavy rain, have been rescued. Perth couple Orios and Lindsey Zavros, and their two young children Zane and Zoe, were trapped in the Simpson Desert for four days, facing searing temperatures before police were able to
A “reckless and irresponsible” Russian weapons test has created more than 1,500 pieces of debris now endangering the seven crew aboard the International Space Station, US officials have said. Crew members were forced to take emergency measures on Monday after debris floated dangerously close by – and took cover in their docked capsules amid fears
Swedish police have arrested a man and a woman on suspicion of murder after two children fell “from a great height” and one of them died. One of those detained was reportedly injured and is being treated in hospital before they are questioned. The children, who were reportedly siblings and both under the age of
Austria is placing millions of people not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in lockdown as of today as Europe becomes the epicentre of the pandemic once again. Anyone over the age of 12 who has not been double-jabbed is now only allowed to leave their homes for work, school, exercise and buying essential supplies – with
Austria is putting all unvaccinated residents into lockdown from midnight on Sunday, the government has said. Anyone over the age of 12 who has not been double-jabbed will only be allowed to leave their homes for work, school, exercise and buying essential supplies. The lockdown will affect around two million of Austria’s 8.9 million population.
World leaders have reached the most significant climate change pact since the landmark Paris Agreement, following a turbulent two weeks of fraught negotiations in Glasgow. With a stroke of the gavel, COP26 President Alok Sharma has brought the talks to a close after almost 200 nations finally reached consensus on how to navigate the climate
A new draft climate deal has been published in Glasgow this morning as COP26 talks spill over and could last well into Saturday after passing the original deadline. Negotiators were given a new draft of the final agreement early on Saturday, which kept controversial phrasing on fossil fuel commitments. It calls on countries to accelerate
More than half of Afghanistan’s population is predicted to face acute hunger this winter as drought and a crumbling economy are causing an unfolding crisis. Humanitarian organisations have told Sky News that the suspension of development aid is contributing to seed going to waste in warehouses while people in the country are starving. The UN
A key commitment on fossil fuels has been watered down in a draft of the final agreement between nearly 200 nations at the COP26 climate summit – and the latest text has sparked a backlash from campaigners. An earlier draft text had stated that nations should pledge “to accelerate the phase-out of coal and subsidies
Outside a detention centre in the Polish city of Bialystok, where we know asylum seekers who crossed the border from Belarus are being held, we meet a local mother and son. They have arrived as visitors. The mother, who only wants to be known as Zofia, is carrying a bag of clothes. She plans to
The president of the COP26 climate talks has sounded the alarm on a “number of issues” outstanding on funding for poor nations, urging progress on all topics before we are “literally out of time”. In an address in Glasgow, Alok Sharma urged countries to “step up” when it comes to climate finance, an issue that
Scientists have warned that some countries in eastern Europe risk facing repeated COVID-19 restrictions until vaccination rates improve. Coronavirus infections have risen across the continent as restrictions were relaxed over the summer. But a recent surge in cases has led to the continent experiencing two very different pandemics. In eastern Europe, Romania and Bulgaria have
Two groups of migrants have reportedly managed to cross the border from Belarus into Poland, amid accusations that Belarusian forces have fired shots into the air near a makeshift camp. Poland’s Defense Ministry posted a video on Twitter with noises of what sounded like shots in a border area. The footage cannot be independently verified
At least 16 UN workers have been “detained against their will” in war-torn Ethiopia, while British nationals have been told to leave the African nation immediately. Since Ethiopia declared a state of emergency last week, the government has been able to arrest anyone suspected of being involved with a terrorist group without needing a court