The death toll from a series of explosions at an industrial area in the Chinese port of Tianjin in northern China has risen to 44, authorities say. More than 500 people were also injured – 66 of them in critical condition – in the explosions, state media reported on Thursday. Those killed, according to the official Xinhua news outlet, included 12 firefighters, who were trying to battle the fires... 

Flooding and apartments destroyed in a landslide caused by torrential monsoon in Harkhar, Chin State, Myanmar. Heavy monsoon rains have caused severe flooding across Myanmar, leaving at least 27 people dead. The rainfall in recent weeks has battered about 150,000 houses and fields across vast swathes of Myanmar, leaving residents stranded and waiting for government aid. Government officials on Saturday... 

The Indian government has released a report on the state of ecology in the country. The highest level of air pollution in India is in its capital city of Delhi. According to the official data, 80 people die daily because of high concentration of smog and other toxic particles. “An international study released recently has claimed that foul air is killing up to 80 people a day in Delhi. The numbers... 

The number of drug deaths involving heroin has soared four times since 2000 throughout much of the United States, new statistics indicate. Most of the increase in heroin fatalities occurred after 2010, with the highest rate among adults aged 25–44. “From 2000 through 2013, the age-adjusted rate for drug poisoning deaths [in the US] involving heroin nearly quadrupled from 0.7 deaths per 100,000... 

A British health manager warned the boss of the NHS four years ago that his hospital was a threat to patients’ safety. A nationwide investigation into avoidable hospital deaths has found that such warnings from doctors were often silenced or ignored. ­Gary Walker, the former chief of United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust, was silenced in 2010 under a £500,000 ‘super gag’ agreement; he is now... 

The official death toll from Brazil’s mudslide disaster has risen to 803 as more bodies are recovered. In the worst-hit town of Nova Friburgo near Rio de Janeiro, 389 deaths were recorded, and in neighbouring Teresopolis the toll rose to 324, according to the national Civil Defence agency and Department of Health. In the town of Petropolis the toll was raised to 65 dead, and 22 dead in Sumidouro. Another... 

An aerial view shows damage caused to a street after heavy rains in Nova Friburgo, Brazil, on Wednesday. Floods and landslides devastated towns in a mountainous area near Rio de Janeiro, killing hundreds of people. At least 335 people have been killed and the death toll is likely to rise after heavy rains caused flooding and mudslides near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Driving rains sent tons of rusty red... 

The Maryland Department of the Environment is investigating the deaths of tens of thousands of small fish that have died in the Chesapeake Bay in the past week. “An estimated 2 million fish have been reported dead from the Bay Bridge south to Tangier Sound, according to the Maryland Department of the Environment, which investigates fish kills,” reports the Baltimore Sun. The massive fish... 

This winter is poised to bring a chilling surge in death rates as Britain braces for an Arctic blast, with temperatures rivalling Siberia and the coldest conditions in a century. Experts are forecasting a significant rise in cold-related fatalities, estimating a staggering 12 deaths every hour during the harshest winter in recent memory. As the bitter cold sets in, concerns about a potential death... 

Muscovites attempt to keep cool in a fountain in central Moscow on July 15, 2010. More than 1,000 Russians have drowned recently as they attempted to find relief from a stifling heat wave — many of them after drinking alcohol, officials said. Vadim Seryogin, a department head at Russia’s Emergencies Ministry, told reporters Wednesday that 49 people, including two children, had drowned in... 

No Comment Chile’s president declared a state of catastrophe in the aftermath of a massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake Saturday that left bodies, crumbled buildings and outages in its wake. The country’s national emergency office said more than 300 people were dead, and the pre-dawn quake — the most powerful quake to hit the country in a half century — also cut electricity, water and phone... 

At least 67 people have been killed and 144 injured during Russia’s New Year’s festivities when Russians celebrate with firecrackers and ‘cold’ fireworks. “In the past 24 hours, a total of 589 fires have occurred in Russia, including 479 fires in residential buildings. A total of 67 people were killed and 144 injured as a result, 77 people were rescued,” Russia’s...