A United Arab Emirates firm signed a contract with Afghanistan on Thursday to manage air traffic across the country as the Taliban authorities seek to expand international flights.. On Thursday, Abu Dhabi-based GAAC signed an agreement that it expects will help bring back major international airlines.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has tapped the Austrian diplomat Volker Turk to be the next High Commissioner for Human Rights, according to a document sent Thursday to the General Assembly, which must approve the choice.. "The secretary-general proposes to appoint Mr. Volker Turk (Austria) as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights," Guterres wrote, in a letter seen by AFP. "The secretary-general trusts that the General Assembly will approve this appointment."
Fears grew on Thursday for Queen Elizabeth II after Buckingham Palace said her doctors were "concerned" for her health and recommended that she remain under medical supervision.. "Following further evaluation this morning, the Queen's doctors are concerned for Her Majesty's health and have recommended she remain under medical supervision," Buckingham Palace said in a statement.
Sri Lanka added 37 new senior posts to its government on Thursday, sparking a social media backlash over "useless" public spending in the middle of its worst economic crisis on record.. On social media, some Sri Lankans vented frustration over the use of public funds.
The summer of 2022 was the hottest in Europe's recorded history, with the continent suffering blistering heatwaves and the worst drought in centuries, the European Commission's satellite monitor said on Thursday.. The European Commission's Global Drought Observatory latest bulletin said 47 percent of the continent is currently covered by drought warnings -- meaning the soil is drying out.
A United Nations report published Thursday argues that an unprecedented array of crises, chiefly among them Covid-19, has set human progress back five years and fueled a global wave of uncertainty.. Titled "Uncertain times, unsettled lives," the report points to the Covid-19 pandemic as a major driver of the global reversion, but also says that a compounding number of crises -- political, financial and climate-related -- have not allowed time for populations to recover.
The 400 residents of Basti Ahmad Din, a tiny Pakistani village left surrounded by floodwater after torrential monsoon rains, are facing starvation and disease.. Catastrophic monsoon rains blamed on climate change have left vast swathes of Pakistan under water this summer, with villagers such as those in Basti Ahmad Din grappling with the destruction of their homes and livelihoods.
In a city known for monstrous traffic, "zombies" are rising up in a scary bid to get more people to use public transport.. "We want to tell young people that taking public transportation can be something cool too," Billy Junior, CEO of Pandora Box, told AFP. Home to more than 30 million people, heavily polluted Jakarta has some of the world's worst traffic congestion, and its uneven pavements mean it is not conducive to walking.
The United Nations cited "credible accusations" Wednesday that Moscow's forces have forcibly taken Ukrainian children to Russia, while Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the West of benefitting from the eased grain blockade.. The US State Department said Russian President Vladimir Putin's office is directly managing the relocation of Ukrainians into Russia, and doing it as part of a plan to annex occupied territory.
Blistering crop-withering temperatures that also risk the health of agricultural workers could threaten swathes of global food production by 2045 as the world warms, an industry analysis warned Thursday.. However, the authors stress that in projections to mid-century, even scenarios that assume higher levels of carbon-cutting action could still result in temperatures nearing 2C. India -- responsible for 12 percent of global food production in 2020 and heavily reliant on outdoor labour productivity -- is already rated as at extreme risk, the only major agricultural nation in that category at current temperatures.
