live Iran, U.S. make competing claims over control of Strait of Hormuz
Iran says the Strait of Hormuz remains under its control, rejecting U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim of “total control” over t...
The World Bank reported that air pollution leads to approximately 5.7 million deaths each year, with 95% of fatalities occurring in low- and middle-income nations. It also causes economic losses amounting to 5% of global GDP due to health impacts, productivity decline, and reduced life expectancy.
According to the World Bank’s report Accelerating Access to Clean Air on a Livable Planet, air pollution significantly harms public health and the economy, leading to a loss of around 5% of the global gross domestic product (GDP).
The report highlights that human activities are the primary source of outdoor air pollution. Key contributors include agriculture, urbanization, transportation, industry, and household activities like cooking and heating. Implementing policies in these sectors can help lower harmful particulate matter levels.
An integrated strategy combining energy independence, emission reduction, and air pollution control could reduce the number of people exposed to unhealthy air by half by 2040. Reliable and transparent air quality monitoring is essential for assessing policy effectiveness.
Policies that address multiple challenges simultaneously—such as reducing emissions while enhancing energy security—are both cost-effective and beneficial. The economic advantages of such strategies could amount to $2.4 trillion by 2040.
Disruption in the Strait of Hormuz has increased the strategic importance of Bab al-Mandab, raising fears that instability in both waterways could trigger a wider global energy and trade crisis.
Flights at Catania airport in Sicily will remain suspended until early Friday as ash from Mount Etna continues to disrupt air travel, following hundreds of cancellations and diversions over the past week.
Iran and the United States remain at loggerheads over efforts to agree a permanent end to the war in the Gulf, according to a senior Iranian source who said there had been no progress in talks to revive the interim deal agreed in June and define a timeframe to implement it.
Iran says the Strait of Hormuz remains under its control, rejecting U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim of “total control” over the strategic waterway and insisting it will not reopen until Washington fulfils its commitments under an interim deal.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 12th of August, covering the latest developments.
Rhossi, a rare Kemp’s ridley sea turtle that washed up near death on a Welsh beach in 2023, has returned to Texas after more than two years of rehabilitation in the UK.
Glacier coverage in Kyrgyzstan’s Issyk-Kul Basin has shrunk by 33.7 per cent over the past 70–90 years, according to an updated glacier inventory by Kyrgyzhydromet. The agency says the pace of glacier retreat has accelerated sharply in recent years.
Extreme heat and historically low river levels are forcing nuclear power plants across Southeast Europe to reduce production, increasing pressure on already stretched electricity supplies and prompting governments to call for lower consumption.
Flash floods in Gansu Province in China's northwest last week killed 25 people and injured 23 more, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday, raising earlier death tolls.
Three firefighters have died as wildfires continue to burn across Greece, with Crete facing a second day of intense blazes driven by strong winds. The fires come as Europe battles destructive wildfires fuelled by extreme heat and drought.
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