S. Korea orders air-conditioned buses for heat-struck scouts

Seoul, Aug 4 (AFP/APP): South Korea’s presidential office on Friday called an emergency cabinet meeting and ordered the deployment of air-conditioned buses and freezer trucks after hundreds of scouts at a massive jamboree suffered heat-related illnesses. The Korean peninsula is currently in the midst of […]

Battle against Greece wildfires ‘improving’: fire service

Athens, July 28 (AFP/APP): The fight against deadly wildfires raging in Greece for more than a week is improving, the fire service said on Friday, warning it remained on alert as fierce winds were forecast that could rekindle blazes. “For now we have no spreading […]

French leader goes green to woo Pacific islands

Varirata National Park, Papua New Guinea, July 28 (AFP/APP): France’s President Emmanuel Macron stripped off his suit jacket Friday to wander the wild forests of Papua New Guinea on a green-tinted charm offensive in the South Pacific. Macron is telling Pacific leaders that France understands […]

Court permits expanding London road pollution charge

London, July 28 (AFP/APP): The High Court in London ruled Friday that contentious plans by the city’s mayor to extend a scheme requiring more polluting vehicles to pay a daily charge when driven can go ahead next month. The court rejected a challenge by five […]

New fires in heat-hit Greece force evacuations

Rhodes, Greece, July 26 (AFP/APP): Greece ordered evacuations on Wednesday for areas near two central cities after new blazes broke out during a punishing heatwave and as deadly fires hit the Mediterranean. Thousands of people have evacuated in the region this week as fires also […]

Mediterranean nations fight heat and deadly fires

ISLAMABAD July 26 (Online): Greece was expecting scorching heat on Wednesday as crews scrambled to douse deadly wildfires that have also struck nations around the Mediterranean. Thousands of people have evacuated as Greek authorities struggle against flames on three major fronts, including the tourist islands […]

Mediterranean Sea broke daily temperature record Monday: Spanish researchers

Paris, July 25 (AFP/APP): The Mediterranean Sea reached its highest temperature on record Monday during an exceptional heatwave, Spanish researchers told AFP on Tuesday. “We attained a new record… in the daily median sea surface temperature of the Mediterranean: 28.71C,” Spain’s Institute of Marine Sciences […]

Storms to overtake intense heatwave in northern Italy

ROME, July 25 (Xinhua/APP): The intense heatwave that has been gripping Italy began to break up in the northern part of the country on Monday. However, it has been replaced by thunderstorms and hail, complete with flood warnings, according to weather monitoring services. According to […]