Iran, EU tensions escalate as Tehran orders explusion of Swedish diplomat
Iran has ordered a Swedish diplomat to leave the country, after Stockholm expelled an Iranian embassy staffer, as diplomatic tensions between Tehra...
A surge of over 200 wildfires across Canada has forced tens of thousands to evacuate, with smoke drifting into the U.S. Midwest, triggering health alerts and affecting daily life on both sides of the border.
Canada is in the grip of a severe wildfire emergency, with more than 200 active fires raging across the provinces of Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Alberta. Of these, 106 have been declared out of control, prompting the evacuation of over 27,000 people.
In Saskatchewan, the situation is particularly critical. Fires have spread over hundreds of thousands of hectares and have breached infrastructure such as the La Ronge airport, disrupting daily life for thousands. “It has impacted like my children, not being able to go to sports practices, events getting cancelled and things like that. We haven’t seen it yet, with these wildfires but I think it’s coming, even today,” said local resident Jered Granley.
The effects of the wildfires extend far beyond Canada’s borders. Smoke from the fires has travelled southward into the United States, severely affecting air quality in the Midwest. Minnesota issued its first-ever maroon air quality alert, denoting “very unhealthy” conditions. The smoke has been detected as far away as Cincinnati, Ohio, and parts of Europe.
Health authorities have urged people in affected areas to stay indoors when possible, reduce outdoor physical activity, and use high-quality masks to protect against fine particulate matter in the air.
To date, more than 1.9 million hectares have burned across the three provinces, a figure experts say is driven by prolonged drought and elevated temperatures — both symptoms of worsening climate change. Environmental scientists caution that such large-scale fire events are likely to become more common, pressing for more robust wildfire response systems and long-term climate resilience plans.
Saudi Arabia said its air defences destroyed a Houthi drone south of Mecca before it could enter prohibited airspace over the holy city, as attacks by the Iran-aligned group deepen regional tensions.
Russian air strikes injured 13 and damaged buildings in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and in the Black Sea port city of Odesa in the early hours of Thursday, officials said on the Telegram messaging app.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he hoped the war against Iran was nearing its end and that Tehran wanted to reach a deal, but Iran dismissed his comments as “mixed signals” as the conflict approaches its seventh month.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards Navy said a Togo-flagged oil tanker was struck while attempting to make an “illegal passage” through the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state media said early on Friday.
The European Union will disburse €3.3 billion ($3.8 billion) to Ukraine for missiles and drones, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said after a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Greenland and Antarctica have shed a combined 11.3 trillion tonnes of ice since 1979, according to the most comprehensive satellite study of the planet's ice sheets to date, with researchers warning the pace of loss has accelerated sharply in recent decades.
The European Union will continue allowing large-scale plastic waste exports to Türkiye despite concerns over recycling rates, environmental damage and the risk of illegal waste trafficking.
Hundreds of thousands of deep-diving turtles, known as olive ridley sea turtles, have arrived on Mexico’s southern coast for one of nature’s most striking nesting events. But conservation officials warn that climate change is making it increasingly difficult for their eggs to hatch.
August 2026 tied as the hottest month ever recorded globally, pushing average temperatures above the critical 1.5°C threshold as extreme weather swept across several regions, the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service said.
Increasingly intense wildfires and heat waves are threatening global efforts to improve air quality and protect public health, the United Nations’ weather agency has warned.
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