Axelle Rescourio

Concern is growing about the effects of climate change on human health - from air pollution to disease outbreaks linked to extreme weather such as floods, prompting the COP28 climate summit in Dubai to hold its first Health Day.

An additional 250,000 people are projected to die each year due to climate change, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), while statistics show that one in four deaths can be chalked up to "preventable environmental causes".

Climate activist Greta Thunberg pleaded not guilty in a British court on Wednesday to a public order charge after she was arrested at an environmental rally in London last month.

Police detained Thunberg, 20, and dozens of protesters on Oct. 17 and charged them with failing to comply with conditions they imposed to prevent "serious disruption to the community, hotel and guests".

Experts believe 15-minute cities, where most things are a short walk or bike ride away, could help tackle climate change and improve the quality of life, but conspiracy theorists see the idea as a bid to lock people up in their own neighbourhoods.

From Paris to Melbourne, Bogota to Bangkok, and Chicago to Nairobi, cities in five continents are implementing some 15-minute principles, aiming to become more accessible, interconnected, sustainable and healthy places to live.

When Shirley McGah founded removal company Lesbus in London in the late 1980s, gay and bisexual men in the British capital were in the midst of the AIDS pandemic and very few – if any – firms were willing to help them move home.

Newspapers at the time were awash with phrases such as "gay plague" and there was a widespread belief that AIDS could be spread through any form of contact with those infected.

OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman on Monday launched Worldcoin, a cryptocurrency project that distributes a crypto token, the WLD, to people "just for being a unique individual".

By issuing crypto tokens in return for biometric data, the project aims to work both as a global universal basic income and an authentication system to distinguish between humans and robots.

When the latest round of climate protests organised by Extinction Rebellion begins in London on Friday, far more peaceful actions are expected than the public disruption for which the grassroots environmental group has become famous.

Instead of blocking roads, throwing paint and smashing windows, about 30,000 people have signed up for four days of family-friendly rallies and marches, dubbed "The Big One" and timed to coincide with Earth Day.

In glaciers, lakes, reservoirs, rivers, wetlands and even in groundwater, freshwater is increasingly scarce.

The World Economic Forum said last year that crises over natural resources, such as water, were one of the top 10 risks facing the world in the next 10 years.

Europeans are bracing for a tough winter of possible energy rationing and even power blackouts due to reduced natural gas supplies from Russia, while millions are cutting their consumption to save on sky-rocketing bills.

Climate researchers say weak energy policies, ageing infrastructure, conflict and more extreme weather linked to global warming could further undermine energy security around the world in the years to come.