Thai authorities warned that pollution levels in Bangkok and surrounding provinces had hit unhealthy levels on Thursday, ordering government employees in the capital to work from home for the next two days and urging others to do the same.
Air pollution is caused by a combination of crop-related burning, industrial pollution and heavy traffic, and a smoky haze covered Bangkok's skyline.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin told reporters that crop burning was the main culprit behind the spike, but added that around quarter of the pollution was from vehicles, a factor "we can control".
Swiss air quality tracking website IQAir said the level of fine inhalable particles in the city was 15 times higher than the recommended level by the World Health Organization, making it the world's 8th most polluted city on Thursday.
In a bid to curb traffic pollution, Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt told staff at the Metropolitan Administration's agencies to work from home and said other employees should also do the same.
He said some areas of the city had high levels of pollution and authorities were ready to manage the situation.
The government has offered subsidies to farmers to prevent burning and packages for cheaper electric vehicles while Thai lawmakers are considering a clean air act for transport, business and agriculture to reduce pollution on a wider scale.
The United Nations on Tuesday dismissed as "ridiculous" an assertion by Israel that there was enough food in the Gaza Strip to last for a long period of time, despite the closure of all 25 bakeries supported by the World Food Programme (WFP).
United Nations officials who surveyed earthquake damage in Myanmar urged the global community to ramp up aid before the looming monsoon season worsens already catastrophic conditions, with the death toll at 2,719 and expected to surpass 3,000.
Syria suffered a nationwide power outage on Tuesday night due to malfunctions at several points in the national grid, a spokesperson from the energy ministry told Reuters.
U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty for Luigi Mangione, the man accused of shooting and killing the CEO of UnitedHealth Group's insurance division Brian Thompson in New York last year.
Aid groups in Myanmar on Tuesday described scenes of devastation and desperation after an earthquake that killed more than 2,700 people, stressing an urgent need for food, water and shelter and warning the window to find survivors was fast closing.
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