UNESCO added 25 World Heritage sites. The harder work begins after inscription
The 2026 list added 19 cultural properties, five natural sites and one mixed site, including first inscriptions for Comoros, São Tomé and Príncipe, and South Sudan.
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DR Congo Ebola outbreak becomes its largest as response races to reach new transmission zones
WHO counted 4,665 confirmed cases and 2,184 deaths in the country by 12 August. The outbreak now spans 54 health zones, while insecurity and gaps in contact follow-up are slowing containment.
OpenAI says it can scan for abuse without retaining customer prompts. The proof is still to come
A preview called Private Safety Processing is intended to preserve zero-data-retention access for eligible API customers while detecting patterns across interactions.
The mission meant to rescue NASA's Swift telescope will now practise approaching it instead
An attitude-control problem means Katalyst Space's LINK spacecraft will not capture or boost Swift. NASA still plans a rendezvous demonstration before the telescope's likely re-entry.
More Syrians are going home. Millions still cannot—and rebuilding is the difference
More than three million people have returned from abroad or within Syria since December 2024, UNHCR says. Nearly four million refugees and 5.5 million internally displaced people remain.
July's record heat meets a strengthening El Niño—and regional forecasts now matter most
NOAA ranked July 2026 joint warmest on record, while Copernicus placed it second. Both found unprecedented July ocean warmth as a strong El Niño developed.
The IMF's steady growth forecast rests on two unstable forces: war and the AI investment boom
The fund projects 3.0% global growth in 2026 and 3.4% in 2027, but says stalled disinflation and assumptions about energy routes make the rebound unusually fragile.