Pandemic worsens poverty in Spain

Prosecutors investigating the tragic death of at least 23 people say there was no evidence of misconduct by Spanish guards.

Famous German virologist Christian Dorsten believes the coronavirus pandemic has ended and COVID-19 is now an endemic disease. And Justice Minister Marco Buschmann called for the last restrictive measures to be lifted.

In September of 2022, Spain announced that it would no longer fully honour the Albufeira Convention, a treaty on water transfers to neighbouring Portugal. Extreme drought has left Spanish reservoirs at a third of their average capacity this year, a situation not seen since 1995. Portuguese farmers are finding the decision difficult to accept, while environmentalists say it creates a major ecological risk.

Cancer diagnoses are on the rise in Kenya, but with less than a fifth of people enrolled in a national insurance scheme, getting a diagnosis can force families to make huge financial sacrifices. Stigma only makes things worse.

The new laws expand transgender rights and abortion access, as well as give workers paid menstrual leave. The approval comes ahead of scheduled elections later this year.

Protesters smashed windows of banks in the Lebanese capital Beirut this past week as the currency hit a new low against the dollar. The Lebanese lira has lost about 97 percent of its value, and more than 80 percent of the population live below the poverty line. Millions of people are struggling to make ends meet amid the financial turmoil.

FBI Director Christopher Wray has accused China of obstructing US efforts to find the cause of the coronavirus pandemic. He said his agency believes COVID-19 spread due to a lab accident in the city of Wuhan.

For the first time in three years, the major German airline has turned a profit as millions of travelers return to the skies. But continuing workforce issues may hamper expansion in 2023.

A new lineage of avian flu H5N1 is ripping through wild bird populations and also affecting mammals, such as minks, badgers, pigs, bears. Are humans next?

It has ravaged farms, decimated wild birds and spilled onto mammals. Could avian flu spark the next human pandemic? The Down to Earth team takes a closer look.

Spain: Gang violence on the rise in poor neighbourhoods of Madrid. Five young people, including two minors, were killed in Madrid in 2022 in score-settling between groups of rival gangs, known locally as "bandas latinas" ("Latino gangs").

Lebanon has been drowning in a series of crises since 2019. The economic, banking and political systems are in tailspin and the national currency has lost 98 percent of its value.