MEXICO CITY — Mexico City’s drought and water shortage is so bad that one of the capital’s rainwater catchment basins caught fire Tuesday, scorching 75 acres (30 hectares) of dried-up vegetation. The Mexico City fire department said in a statement that the fire had been brought under control by late afternoon, although photos distributed by … Read more
MEXICO CITY — As the Super Bowl approaches, there could be problems for guacamole, a favorite game-time food in America: A lack of rain and warmer temperatures has resulted in fewer avocados being shipped from Mexico. The western state of Michoacan, which supplies almost 90% of the creamy textured fruit for the big game, has … Read more
GUALBA, Spain — Plastic jugs in hand, Joan Torrent takes a path into the woods in search of drinking water. He fills the 8-liter (2-gallon) receptacles at a natural spring and then hauls them back to his home in Gualba, a picturesque village near Barcelona that like many towns in Spain is bearing the worst … Read more
RIO DE JANEIRO — After decades of delay and pressure, Brazil announced Tuesday that it will henceforth use “favelas and urban communities” to categorize thousands of poor, urban neighborhoods, instead of the previous term “subnormal agglomerates” that was widely viewed as stigmatizing. Starting in the 1990s, the national statistics and geography institute, known by its … Read more
PANAMA CITY — A severe drought that began last year has forced authorities to slash ship crossings by 36% in the Panama Canal, one of the world’s most important trade routes. The new cuts announced Wednesday by authorities in Panama are set to deal an even greater economic blow than previously expected. Canal administrators now … Read more
FASS BOYE, Senegal — The voyage from the struggling Senegalese fishing town of Fass Boye to Spain’s Canary Islands, a gateway to the European Union where they hoped to find work, was supposed to take a week. But the wooden boat carrying 101 men and boys was getting blown further and further away from its … Read more
RIO DE JANEIRO — A 23-year-old Taylor Swift fan died at the singer’s Eras Tour concert in Rio de Janeiro Friday night, according to a statement from the show’s organizers in Brazil. While the cause of death for Ana Clara Benevides Machado has not been announced, media reported that fans were not allowed to take … Read more
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Thousands of people appear to have fled from Gaza’s largest hospital as Israeli forces and Palestinian militants battle outside its gates, but hundreds of patients, including dozens of babies at risk of dying because of a lack of electricity, remained inside, health officials said Monday. With only intermittent communications, it … Read more
MEXICO CITY — Mexican officials imposed severe, months-long cuts to Mexico City’s water supply at midnight Friday, acting just a month after initial restrictions were ordered as drought dries the capital’s reservoirs. The Mexican National Water Commission and mayor announced the moves at a news conference, but officials did not report the cuts on social … Read more
JERUSALEM — Fistfights break out in bread lines. Residents wait hours for a gallon of brackish water that makes them sick. Scabies, diarrhea and respiratory infections rip through overcrowded shelters. And some families have to choose who eats. “My kids are crying because they are hungry and tired and can’t use the bathroom,” said Suzan … Read more