Asia

"Air pollution in New Delhi and surrounding towns reached the worst levels so far this year on Sunday, with authorities in the world’s most polluted capital city having already declared a public health emergency and ordered the closure of schools."

"Rescue crews dug through mudslides and searched near swollen rivers Monday as they looked for those missing from a typhoon that left as many as 48 people dead and caused serious damage in central and northern Japan."

"ON THE ZYRYANKA RIVER, Russia — Andrey Danilov eased his motorboat onto the gravel riverbank, where the bones of a woolly mammoth lay scattered on the beach. A putrid odor filled the air — the stench of ancient plants and animals decomposing after millennia entombed in a frozen purgatory."

"KATHMANDU, Nepal — His boss fell sick first, with aching pains and a high temperature. Then, some of his colleagues began showing similar symptoms. By the time Rajkumar Adhikari, 35, grew feverish and started vomiting, he learned that the sickness had a name: dengue."

"The heaviest monsoon rains to lash India in 25 years have killed more than 1,600 people since June, government data showed on Tuesday, as authorities battled floods in two northern states and muddy waters swirled inside a major city."

"China will aim to shut a total of 8.66 gigawatts (GW) of obsolete coal-fired power capacity by the end of this year, its energy regulator said, part of its efforts to curb smog and greenhouse gas emissions."

"Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power will have to dump radioactive water from its destroyed Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean as it runs out of room to store it, the environment minister said on Tuesday."