Iraq’s ghost villages: Islamic State drove people away – now a new enemy is preventing their return

The PM’s net zero pragmatism may please some voters, but as parts of the country go up in flames, it’s an increasingly hard sell When the siren sounded on Friday night, my first thought was fire. Weeks of unrelenting sun in the normally soggy Peak District, where I was visiting my mum, have bleached green valleys a dangerously dry, crispy blond. One of her neighbours had earlier pointed out an ominous cloud of smoke on the horizon, coming from one of the wildfires raging all summer on the moor. When that harsh, discordant shriek blared from every mobile phone in the house, I was half-braced for an evacuation order, not what turned out to be a faintly melodramatic warning to the nation to lay off the barbecues. A false alarm, of sorts, but one that felt uneasily like a wake-up call...

A historic drought may have helped yellow fever spread in Brazil. A new study shows how understanding the connection could help prepare for future outbreaks.

Levels in Lakes Mead and Powell have not been so low since 1957, underscoring a water crisis that plagues seven states that rely on the Colorado River.