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According to a report by IQAir, a Swiss air quality monitoring firm, Pakistan was the world's smoggiest country in 2025 with concentrations of hazardous fine particles known as PM2.5 up to 13 times higher than the World Health Organization's (WHO's) recommended level.The report, which sourced data from 9,446 cities in 143 countries, regions and territories, found that only 13 countries and territories managed to keep their average fine particulate levels below the WHO guideline, an increase from seven in 2024.Pakistan's PM2.5 level was 67.3 microgrammes per cubic metre, significantly exceeding the WHO standard of 5 microgrammes per cubic metre. In comparison, Pakistan's average PM2.5 concentration in 2024 was 73.7 microgrammes.Prolonged exposure to PM2.5 has been linked to higher likelihoods of neurodegenerative conditions, including dementia, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease.Bangladesh and Tajikistan ranked second and third on IQAir's list of the most polluted countries while Chad, statistically the smoggiest country in 2024, was in fourth place in 2025.The report also noted that Loni, a city in northern India, was identified as the world's most polluted city in 2025 with average PM2.5 levels of 112.5 microgrammes per cubic metre.Globally, only 14 percent of cities met the WHO air quality standard in 2025, down from 17 percent a year earlier. The report highlighted that wildfires, driven by climate change, were a key factor behind worsening global air quality in 2025 as record levels of biomass burning in Europe and Canada released about 1,380 megatonnes of carbon.

Australia and the European Union have sealed a landmark trade agreement, eliminating tariffs on almost all Australian critical mineral exports. This move is part of a broader strategy to mitigate concerns over China's dominant position in the global rare earths market. The deal, which took eight years to finalize, signifies a significant step towards strengthening economic ties between the EU and Australia. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen emphasized that the agreement would help reduce dependency on any single supplier for crucial minerals, highlighting the strategic importance of this partnership. The agreement will not only facilitate the export of critical minerals from Australia to the EU but also remove over 99 percent of tariffs on EU goods exports to Australia. This is expected to result in a substantial reduction of approximately 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) in annual duties for EU companies. Consequently, EU exports to Australia are projected to grow by up to 33 percent over the next decade. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese noted that the deal is worth approximately 10 billion Australian dollars ($7 billion) annually to the Australian economy. The agreement underscores the importance of diversifying supply chains and reducing reliance on China, which currently controls about 90 percent of the global processing for rare earths. These minerals are vital for producing technological equipment such as electric cars, lithium-ion batteries, and LED televisions. The trade relationship between the EU and Australia is substantial, with EU firms exporting 37 billion euros ($43 billion) worth of goods to Australia in 2025 and 28 billion euros ($33 billion) in services in 2023. The EU was Australia's third-largest two-way trading partner and second-largest source of foreign investment in 2024.

Amazon's cloud computing unit, Amazon Web Services (AWS), has confirmed that its region in Bahrain was disrupted due to drone activity. This incident marks the second time in a month that the company's operations have been affected by the war in the Middle East.An Amazon spokesperson confirmed the disruption, stating that the company is helping customers migrate to alternate AWS regions while it recovers from the incident. However, the company did not provide additional details on the extent of the damage or the expected duration of the disruption.The disruption comes after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) threatened to attack 'economic centres and banks' related to US and Israeli entities in the region. The IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency released a list of offices and infrastructure run by top US companies with Israeli links, including Google, Microsoft, and Oracle, which have branches in multiple Israeli cities and Gulf countries.AWS is critical for the operation of many well-known websites and government operations and is Amazon's main driver of profits. Earlier this month, AWS reported that facilities in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates had lost power, and the company was working to transfer computing workloads to other regions.These attacks come after Iran claimed it is targeting US assets across the Gulf Arab states in retaliation for the joint attack on Iran by the US and Israel that began on February 28. Gulf states have accused Tehran of targeting civilian infrastructure, such as airports and energy facilities.

Hong Kong police have been granted the authority to require individuals suspected of violating the city's national security law to provide passwords to their mobile phones or computers. This measure, which took effect on Monday, is part of the national security law imposed by Beijing in 2020. The new provisions empower police to require a person under investigation suspected of endangering national security to provide any password or decryption method for electronic devices and to provide the police “any reasonable and necessary information or assistance”. Refusing to comply could lead to up to one year’s imprisonment and a fine of up to 100,000 Hong Kong dollars ($12,768), while providing false or misleading information could bring up to three years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to 500,000 Hong Kong dollars ($63,840). The imposition of the 2020 national security law, supplemented by a second component in 2024, has led to a marked decline in civil liberties in the former British colony returned to China in 1997, according to human rights advocates. The new amendments have sparked concerns over the erosion of Hong Kong's autonomy and its status as an international financial and business centre. Urania Chiu, a law lecturer in the UK researching Hong Kong, said the new provisions interfered with fundamental liberties, including the privacy of communication and the right to a fair trial. “The sweeping powers given to law enforcement officers without any need for judicial authorisation are grossly disproportionate to any legitimate aim the bylaw purports to achieve,” Chiu told the Reuters news agency. A Hong Kong government spokesperson said the amended rules conform to the city’s mini-constitution, the Basic Law, and its human rights provisions, and “will not affect the lives of the general public or the normal operation of institutions and organisations”. According to the Security Bureau, a total of 386 people have been arrested for national security crimes so far, with 176 people and four companies convicted.

Eritrea's national football team, popularly known as the Red Sea Camels, will host Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, in the Moroccan city of Meknes on Wednesday in the first leg of their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier. This marks the end of an 18-year absence from the premier African national team competition.The match at the 20,000-seat Stade d’Honneur was moved from East to North Africa due to Eritrea's lack of an international-standard venue. Eswatini will stage the return match on March 31, with the aggregate winners advancing to the group stage.Eritrea has not played in the Cup of Nations since a 2008 qualifier against Swaziland. The reason for their absence has not been officially explained, but it is widely believed that many players sought asylum while playing abroad, citing political repression and lengthy military service.The Eritrean National Football Federation President, Paulos Andemariam, announced that the isolation would end, saying, “After positive discussions with our government, we have registered to play in the 2027 AFCON, and I believe we will have a strong team, including many Eritreans playing outside Africa.”The Eritrean squad includes players from various countries, such as Australia, Egypt, England, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, the Philippines, and Sweden. Siem Eyob-Abraha, with English second-tier club Sheffield United, and Egypt-based striker Ali Sulieman are expected to start.Eritrea's lack of match practice could be a disadvantage, as their last competitive international was a World Cup qualifying defeat in Namibia seven years ago. FIFA has omitted Eritrea from the national team rankings, while Eswatini are 46th in Africa and 159th in the world.

Tiger Woods is poised to make a highly anticipated return to competitive golf at the Tomorrow's Golf League (TGL) finals in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. The golf legend will tee off at Jupiter Links Golf Club on Tuesday, marking a significant milestone in his recovery from recent injuries.Woods has been serving as an adviser and cheerleader for his TGL team while working his way back from lumbar disc replacement surgery in October and a left Achilles tendon rupture that occurred last spring. This comeback is particularly noteworthy given that Woods, 50, has undergone seven surgeries throughout his career.The TGL finals conclude with the second match and, if necessary, a decisive third match on Tuesday night. Woods' participation in this event comes ahead of the Masters next month, where he expressed uncertainty about his ability to compete due to ongoing recovery challenges.“I said I’ve been working on it. Sometimes I have good days, sometimes I have bad days. Disc replacement is not a lot of fun,” Woods said last week. “The body doesn’t quite heal like it was when I was 24. Doesn't quite bounce back.”In related golf news, Sahith Theegala birdied the final hole to secure a 6-5 comeback win for Los Angeles Golf Club over Jupiter Links Golf Club in the first match of the TGL title series on Monday.

French football legend Zinedine Zidane has reportedly agreed to take over as the coach of the France national team following this summer's FIFA World Cup, according to a report by ESPN.The 53-year-old Zidane is said to have reached a verbal agreement with the Federation Francaise de Football to replace Didier Deschamps, who has been in charge since 2012.Zidane, who managed Real Madrid for two stints (2016-18, 2019-21), has long been expected to take on the role. As a player, he won the 1998 Ballon d’Or and was a three-time FIFA World Player of the Year (1998, 2000, and 2003).He played a key role in France's World Cup victory in 1998 and their second-place finish in 2006. Zidane was infamously sent off during the 2006 World Cup final for head-butting Italy's Marco Materazzi in the chest.

A second set of mountain gorilla twins has been born in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), marking what conservationists are calling an extraordinary event for these endangered primates.Just two months after twin mountain gorillas were discovered by rangers in the Virunga massif in eastern DRC, another rare twin birth has been found by park wardens. This time, an infant male and female have been spotted in the Baraka family, a troop of 19 mountain gorillas that roam the region's high-altitude rainforests.Park rangers have placed the young primates under additional monitoring to help them through the critical initial months, as the infants face significant challenges to becoming fully grown adults. Twins are extremely rare in mountain gorillas, accounting for less than 1% of births, and place extra demands on the mother.The gorilla subspecies, found in only two isolated pockets of the Virunga massif and the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in southwest Uganda, has high rates of infant mortality, with about a quarter falling victim to disease, trauma or infanticide.In January, Virunga National Park announced that a female mountain gorilla called Mafuko had given birth to twins. The infant males are now 11 weeks old and said to be thriving, with other gorillas in the troop taking extra care of the mother to support her caregiving, according to rangers. Park authorities believe that twin births are more likely when females are in particularly good physical condition.Jacques Katutu, the head of gorilla monitoring at Virunga, said: "Two instances of twin births within three months is an extraordinary event and provides another vital indicator that dedicated conservation efforts, which have continued despite the current instability in eastern Congo, continue to support the growth of the endangered mountain gorilla population within Virunga National Park."Specialist veterinary care has played a leading role in the revival of the subspecies. In Rwanda, Uganda and the DRC, organizations such as the Gorilla Doctors have prevented dozens of deaths by helping animals affected by human behavior, such as by releasing gorillas accidentally caught in poachers' traps. One study attributes half of the mountain gorillas' population increase to the vets.Barely 250 mountain gorillas were left in the 1970s, and many thought the animals faced extinction. Decades of intense conservation work helped population numbers surpass 1,000 in 2018, and conservation authorities have since downgraded the subspecies' status from critically endangered to endangered.The DRC section of the Virunga mountain range remains one of the most dangerous places in the world for wildlife rangers. Over the past 20 years, more than 220 rangers have been killed in the park, where rebel groups such as M23 and other militias, as well as bandits, operate with impunity.

Iga Swiatek, the world No 3 tennis player, has spoken candidly about her struggles after a difficult defeat at the Miami Open. The Polish player lost to her compatriot Magda Linette in a messy three-set affair, marking one of her most challenging losses in years. In a post-match media session, Swiatek broke down in tears, highlighting the emotional toll of her recent performances. She described her current situation as 'the worst nightmare a top tennis player can have,' struggling to cope with the pressure and weight of her achievements. Swiatek's issues on the court have been compounded by her mental state. Despite being a six-time grand slam title winner and one of the greatest players of her generation, she has been plagued by chronic overthinking, worrying, and second-guessing her decisions. The problems began in the autumn of 2024 after a positive test for the banned substance trimetazidine, which led to a month-long suspension. Although she proved the substance was in a permitted sleep medication, the incident affected her performance. Swiatek's inactivity in the final months of 2024 meant she couldn't regain her No 1 ranking, which has been held by her rival Aryna Sabalenka. In a bid to address her struggles, Swiatek has parted ways with her coach, Wim Fissette. Her partnership with sports psychologist Daria Abramowicz has been crucial in her career, but Swiatek may need to take more ownership of her decision-making to move forward. Despite her current challenges, Swiatek remains a formidable player, known for her destructive groundstrokes, heavy topspin, and supreme athleticism. Her mental toughness has been a key factor in her success, but it has also become a source of stress in recent months.