- Sunday, 24 August 2025
BBC
Deadly India train crash kills 13
At least 13 people have died and about 50 are injured after two passenger trains collided in India's southern Andhra Pradesh state on Sunday. A rescue operation was launched and hundreds of emergency workers were at the site to clear the wreckage.
Gaza residents break into aid warehouses and take supplies - UNRWA
Thousands of Gaza residents have broken into warehouses and distribution centres in the south and middle of the strip, taking flour and other basic supplies, the UN Relief Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) says.
Kazakhstan mine fire leaves at least 21 dead
At least 21 people have died in a fire at a mine in Kazakhstan, owned by steel giant ArcelorMittal. The blaze came on the same day Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev ordered investment in the company to be halted as he wants it to be nationalised.
At least 16 feared dead in Maine mass shooting
At least 16 people have reportedly been killed in the US city of Lewiston, Maine and a search is under way for the gunman.
West Antarctic ice shelf melt 'unavoidable'
Increased melting of West Antarctica's ice shelves is "unavoidable" in the coming decades, a new study has warned.
Goods train collision with passenger train kills 17 in Bangladesh
At least 17 people have died with many others injured after two trains collided in eastern Bangladesh, authorities say.
Nokia to axe up to 14,000 jobs to cut costs
Finnish telecoms giant Nokia is to axe between 9,000 and 14,000 jobs by the end of 2026 to cut costs. The announcement was made as the company reported a 20% drop in sales between July and September.
India aims to send astronaut to the Moon by 2040
India aims to send an astronaut to the Moon by 2040, the government has said. The country's space goals also include plans for a space station by 2035.
Third earthquake hits Afghanistan in a week
A new earthquake has hit western Afghanistan - several days after two large tremors in the region killed more than 1,000 people. The US Geological Survey (USGS) says the magnitude 6.3 quake struck near the city of Herat. It was at a depth of 6.3km (four miles).
123,000 displaced in Gaza due to fear and destroyed homes - UN
The United Nations says 123,538 people in Gaza have been internally displaced, mostly "due to fear, protection concerns and the destruction of their homes". The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) added that 73,000 people are sheltering in schools.
Warmest September in history as 'gobsmacking' data shocks scientists
By Matt McGrath & Mark Poynting, Oct 5: The world's September temperatures were the warmest on record, breaking the previous high by a huge margin, according to the EU Climate Service.Last month was 0.93C warmer than the average September temperature between 1991-2020, and 0.5C hotter than the previous record set in 2020.Ongoing emissions of warming gases in addition to the El Niño weather event are driving the heat, experts believe.Some scientists said they were shocked by the scale of the increase.They say 2023 is now "on track" to be the warmest on record.September's high mark comes in the wake of the hottest summer on record in the northern hemisphere as soaring temperatures show no signs of relenting.The data, from the Copernicus Climate Change Service, shows that the month had the biggest jump from the long-term average in records dating back to 1940.Scientists have been quite shocked by some of the details in the data."This month was, in my professional opinion as a climate scientist - absolutely gobsmackingly bananas," Zeke Hausfather, an experienced researcher, wrote on X formerly known as Twitter.Beating a long-term recent average by almost a degree is bad enough, but this masks even greater differences in some parts of the globe. In Europe, for example, the scale of heating was remarkable, beating the long-term average by 2.51C."The unprecedented temperatures for the time of year observed in September - following a record summer - have broken records by an extraordinary amount," said Dr Samantha Burgess, Deputy Director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).One important measure that climate researchers look to is the difference between current temperatures and what they were before the widespread use of fossil fuels.Last month was around 1.75C above the temperatures during this so-called pre-industrial period - the highest figure for a single month ever recorded.This will cause a good deal of unease among researchers.Political leaders meeting in Paris in 2015 agreed to try and hold the rise in global temperatures under 1.5C this century.September's figure isn't a breach of that agreement, because the Paris target refers to decades not months. But it is undoubtedly a worrying direction of travel.Scientists believe that this year as a whole will stay under that 1.5C limit, but 2023 is "on track" to become the warmest on record, according to Copernicus. The year to the end of September shaded the current warmest year, 2016, by 0.05C as the hottest ever.Extreme heat has continued into October, smashing monthly high records in many locations including in Spain.Global temperatures may surge even further above normal as the El Niño weather event is yet to peak.El Niño forms part of the El Niño Southern Oscillation - the dominant natural mode of global climate variability on Earth on seasonal or year-to-year timescales. During El Niño events, warm water comes to the surface in the East Pacific, releasing additional heat into the atmosphere.This is one of the reasons for surging global temperatures - when added to the long-term warming caused by humans, mainly from fossil fuel burning releasing planet-warming greenhouse gases.Experts believe the scale of heating puts new pressure on politicians to act, as they prepare to gather for the COP28 climate summit at the end of November."Two months out from COP28, the sense of urgency for ambitious climate action has never been more critical," Dr Burgess said.
Race against time to save 102 missing in India floods
Indian authorities are racing against time to rescue people after flash floods in the northeastern state of Sikkim left 102 missing, including 22 army personnel. The state government said 14 people also died after a cloudburst over a lake triggered massive floods.
2030 World Cup: Tournament to be held across six countries in three continents
Spain, Portugal and Morocco have been named as the co-hosts, with the opening three matches taking place in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay.
Pakistan orders 1.7 million Afghans out of country
Pakistan's government has ordered all unauthorised Afghan asylum seekers - an estimated 1.7 million people - to leave the country by November. A spike in militant attacks along the two countries' border this year has escalated tensions.
At least 21 dead as Venice bus plunges from bridge
At least 21 people including four children have died after a bus crashed off a flyover near Venice and caught fire, officials say. The bus broke through a barrier and plunged near railway tracks in the district of Mestre, which is connected to Venice by a bridge.
