Global energy sector carbon dioxide emissions hit a record peak last year counter to Paris commitments, a key study warned Monday, and highlighted the "worst...

Climate change is driving warmer winters, and several cities in the U.S. South, including Tupelo, Atlanta and Houston, experienced one of their top five warmest meteorological winters this year

Ukraine said on Sunday that Russian troops were advancing in four areas in the east of the country amid "fierce fighting", but reported its forces...

Prague’s High Court has cancelled a lower court ruling that acquitted former Prime Minister Andrej Babis of fraud charges in a $2 million case involving European Union subsidies

WASHINGTON U.S. consumer confidence increased to a two-year high in July amid continued optimism about the labor market,

At least 13 people have been killed in severe storms lashing parts of Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria. Two people have been confirmed dead and four people are missing in central Greece after torrential rain flooded homes and businesses. The body of an elderly woman was recovered close to a seaside community in the southern Pelion region near the port city of Volos on Wednesday, while 10 people were trapped in the area, Michalis Mitzikos, a local mayor, told Skai television. One man had died on Tuesday after a wall collapsed. Greece has said the weather was the most extreme, in terms of rainfall, since records have been kept. “Yesterday the rainfall was very intense, unprecedented,” said Vasilis Batsios, 44, in Volos. “For 24 hours it was non-stop and there was a lot of water; the amount of water was unbelievable.” Police issued traffic warnings for the cities of Trikala and Karditsa as the rainstorm was not expected to weaken before Thursday. Skiathos, a popular holiday island in the northwest Aegean Sea, has also been hammered by rain, leaving hundreds of British holidaymakers stranded after their flights were cancelled. Jet2, which normally operates many flights between the UK and Skiathos, has cancelled all its Tuesday and Wednesday services. Holidaymakers on the island have been left with “no way to get food” with many currently unable to get to the airport. One stranded tourist said the centre of Skiathos was “underwater” and described the situation as “horrendously scary”. Police have ordered all residents and tourists to stay off the streets and the island’s mayor has put in a request to declare a state of emergency. The Foreign Office has updated its travel advice for Greece, telling British tourists on the island to check the local emergency communication services for updates as the “situation can change quickly”. It comes as the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said that the northern hemisphere experienced its hottest summer on record, fuelled by the climate crisis A flash flood at a campsite in northwest Turkey, near the border with Bulgaria, killed at least five people and and carried away bungalow homes, with three people found dead on Wednesday. Rescuers were still searching for one person reported missing at the campsite. Another two people died in Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city, where Tuesday’s storms inundated hundreds of homes and workplaces in several neighbourhoods. The dead in Istanbul included a 32-year-old Guinean citizen who was trapped inside his basement apartment in the Kucukcekmece district, Turkish broadcaster Haberturk TV reported. The other was a 57-year-old woman who died after being swept away by the floods, the DHA news agency reported. Around a dozen people were rescued after being stranded inside a library, while some subway stations were shut down. Istanbul governor Davut Gul urged motorcyclists to stay at home. In Bulgaria, a storm caused floods on the country’s southern Black Sea coast. The body of a missing tourist was recovered from the sea on Wednesday, raising the overall death toll to three. Border police vessels and drones were assisting efforts to locate another two people still listed as missing. TV footage showed cars and camper vans being swept out to sea in the southern resort town of Tsarevo, where authorities declared a state of emergency. The Met Office said “slow-moving” Storm Daniel crossing would bring further rain to the central Mediterranean region. “Much of the area will see between 50 and 150mm of rain over the next two days from Daniel, as it’s a slow-moving system,” Stephen Dixon, a Met Office spokesperson told The Independent. “There are also strong winds and rough seas throughout the period. Daniel will gradually weaken in a few days’ time.” Greece’s weather service said a village in Pelion received 75.4cm (nearly 30in) of rain late Tuesday, by far the highest level recorded since at least 2006. It noted that the average annual rainfall in the Athens region is around 40cm (15.75in). “There is clear evidence that extreme weather events, such as floods, droughts, and wildfires, are becoming more frequent and more intense with climate change,” Aleksandra Kazmierczak, a climate expert with the European Environment Agency (EEA), told The Independent. “We have seen this across Europe this summer and now unfortunately also in Greece. We need to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions to avoid the worst consequences of climate change, but it is equally important that we prepare our societies for its current and future impacts.” The WMO and the European Union’s climate change service Copernicus also announced that last month was the hottest August ever recorded. The month was about 1.5C warmer than pre-industrial averages. “The dog days of summer are not just barking, they are biting,” United Nations secretary-general, Antonio Guterres, said in a statement. “Climate breakdown has begun.” Read More Hundreds of Brits stranded in Greece as Skiathos flights are cancelled amid storms Moment Greece flooding sweeps cars into sea as roads turn into fast-flowing rivers Flights back to UK cancelled amid severe Greek island floods US lawmakers visiting The Hague say Russian President Putin is committing genocide in Ukraine ‘Sleaze buster’ Sir Chris Bryant joins Labour frontbench ‘Labour cannot be allowed to bankrupt Britain’, claims Sunak

Spain’s elections Sunday will be a battle between two leftist and two rightist parties that are teaming up to form potential coalitions

Morocco authorities searched for survivors as aid offers poured in from around the world following a powerful earthquake

Rapper and entrepreneur Sean “Diddy” Combs is suing Diageo, saying the company didn’t make promised investments in his vodka and tequila brands and treated them as inferior “urban” products

Already feel like you’ve had your fill of sore throats, coughs and stuffy heads this winter? Colds may be common and minor – but they can still leave you feeling rotten, not to mention being a major inconvenience. They aren’t really something you want to be traipsing to the GP surgery with either – but wouldn’t it be helpful to know what your doctor really thinks about managing winter ailments? We asked them… Getting ill is not always terrible Nobody enjoys having a cold, of course. But GP and TV medic Dr Hilary Jones – known for regular appearances on Good Morning Britain – says we can’t always “prevent exposure to viruses, especially in winter when people flock together for warmth indoors”. And if symptoms are mild, we probably don’t need to worry too much. “Let your own immune system deal with it,” says Jones. “That’s what your immune system is for – and looking on the positive side, the more you tickle up your immune system, the healthier it is. In a way, you’re stimulating your immune system to be healthy.” Antibiotics can be harmful if you don’t actually need them If symptoms are proving tougher to tolerate, it can be tempting to try antibiotics. But while there are certainly times when antibiotics are vital, they only work for bacterial infections, so taking them when you have a viral infection (such as a cold) is not only futile, but could cause harm. “Often, both clinicians and patients will be tempted to try antibiotics, even when there is little-to-no chance of them helping – ‘just in case’ and often accompanied with the reasoning of ‘what harm can it do?’,” says Dr Tom Jenkins, GP and developer of Centoreze Pelargonium. “We are now beginning to appreciate that there is potential harm at an individual level,” Jenkins adds. “There are more bacterial cells in the human body than human cells, and most of those bacterial cells are helpful and essential for healthy functioning. Because antibiotics are not selective and do not single out just bad bacteria, taking them upsets our bacterial microbiome, and we are now starting to learn about the subtle and sometimes lasting consequences of this.” Another major concern is bacteria becoming resistant to antibiotics – which the World Health Organisation (WHO) describes as one of the biggest threats to global health today. Tackling this is complex, but on an individual level, WHO guidelines suggest people only use antibiotics when suitable. Soothing home remedies are worth it Jones, who is working with Manuka Doctor, also points out: “If you do get sick, comforting symptomatic relief is really important, starting with the simple things. I’m an advocate of manuka honey – the genuine manuka honey from New Zealand, which carries a number for the antibacterial activity, the MGO methylglyoxal.” As well as its antibacterial properties, Jones says it’s “soothing for throats” and can provide an “energy boost” – plus his 97-year-old mother is a fan. “Not only does she put it in her porridge, she put it on her skin for a few lesions that she has – perfectly well-endorsed by the district nurse who comes to visit her as well. “You can also put honey in a grog, in hot water, with a bit of lemon, a bit of cinnamon – that’s something our grandmothers used to use, and to good effect.” The herbal remedy that’s doctor-approved There are so many natural remedies out there promising to fight off symptoms, and deciding between them can be overwhelming. But did you know there’s one herbal remedy that is recommended by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) for managing certain upper respiratory tract symptoms? Pelargonium, licenced as a Traditional Herbal Remedy, is recommended by GPs to consider as one of four self-care treatment options for adults and children aged 12 and above. It’s mentioned on the NHS website’s page for coughs, too – along with getting plenty of rest, staying hydrated, Paracetamol and Ibuprofen where suitable for pain relief, and honey and lemon. Derived from plants found in South Africa and Lesotho, Pelargonium was widely used to help treat infections before antibiotics boomed. But “over the last quarter of a century”, Jenkins says , “clinical research has begun to revisit this forgotten treatment, especially in Germany, and now more recently here in the UK too.” This has “resulted in the publication of over 70 peer reviewed pre-clinical and clinical studies supporting its effect”, says Jenkins. He explains it contains “a large number of biological molecules” that work in a number of ways to “stimulate the body’s immune system to fight infections”. Diet and lifestyle do play a part “Diet is always important,” says Jones. “A healthy lifestyle does protect us and helps our immune system. Clearly there are obvious things not to do – smoking and excess alcohol – as well as poor nutrition. “We know vitamin D is important for good immune health, and there are many people who are deficient in vitamin D, who should be taking a supplement as recommended by the WHO and NHS, particularly through winter,” Jones adds (when there isn’t enough sunlight in this part of the world for our bodies to make sufficient amounts). “So vitamin D, adequate vitamin C, zinc, and sometimes things like garlic and echinacea can be helpful in making sure your immune system is healthy.” While a balanced diet comes first, Jones believes “it’s always worth considering a multivitamin, which gives you a little bit of everything, particularly if your diet is restricted or selective in any way or if you’ve got extra needs”, he adds. “But healthy eating, plenty of fruit and vegetables, adequate protein, exercising moderately and avoiding pollutants and cigarettes – those are the main things.” Check in with your doctor if you’re constantly rundown Still feel like nothing seems to help? Then it may be time to check in with your doctor. “If you’re concerned that you have any possible underlying medical problem, I would always advise discussing matters with your GP,” says Jenkins.“Sometimes recurrent infections can be a sign of an underlying infection, but sometimes they can be because you are rundown. Your GP is ideally placed here because they have your medical record, are able to look into things in more detail, and can follow you up.”

WASHINGTON The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) said Friday it taking a series of steps to crack down on

The French finance minister says he pressed Chinese leaders to open their markets wider to foreign companies