The Residents

Smoke from wildfires in Indonesia, fuelled by a strong El Niño and land-clearing practices, is drifting across Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines, degrading air quality across the region. The tinderbox conditions are raising fresh concerns about health impacts and the annual transboundary haze problem that recurs during dry seasons.

A powerful typhoon has struck Japan, with authorities urging nearly two million people to evacuate as heavy rain and strong winds batter large parts of the country. Evacuation orders have been issued across multiple prefectures, and residents are being warned of possible flooding and landslides as the storm moves through.

Hurricane Polo is approaching Mexico's Pacific coast, with forecasters warning of life-threatening flooding as the storm nears land. Authorities are bracing for heavy rain and possible flash floods in affected states. Emergency services are urging residents in vulnerable areas to take precautions as the hurricane draws closer.

Google Maps has been updated with fresh satellite imagery of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, showing the scale of destruction across the city following months of Israeli military operations. The imagery is being shared widely online, with users pointing to the visible devastation of entire neighbourhoods as stark documentation of the war's impact on the city and its displaced residents.

Severe flooding is dominating headlines worldwide, with striking scenes emerging from multiple countries. Residents have been seen canoeing through flooded New York streets and riding a jet ski through Bangkok's inundated roads. In India's Uttar Pradesh state, at least 56 people have died amid the disaster. Images of the chaos are circulating widely as extreme rainfall continues to affect cities across several continents.

Israel says its border is open for Gazans wanting to leave, but residents desperate to exit the territory report they are still unable to do so. Practical and administrative obstacles continue to block departures, leaving many stuck despite official assurances that the way out is available.

Sudanese families returning to the capital after waves of displacement are finding Khartoum largely uninhabitable, with the civil war between the army and the Rapid Support Forces having destroyed homes, infrastructure and basic services. Millions are confronting ruined neighbourhoods, scarce water and electricity, and little prospect of rebuilding while fighting continues across the country.

Several military vehicles advanced south of Wadi Gaza in the central Gaza Strip on Tuesday morning, accompanied by gunfire, according to a resident reporting from the area, who described conditions as very bad and appealed for prayers. The report points to intensified ground activity in the central Gaza Strip amid the ongoing conflict.

Bangkok has declared all 50 of its districts disaster zones as severe flooding affects the Thai capital. The designation allows authorities to mobilise emergency resources and aid across the entire city. Residents are sharing reports of waterlogged streets and disruption, and the move has drawn wide attention across Thailand and neighbouring countries monitoring the flood situation.

Palestinian families displaced across Gaza are taking shelter in heavily damaged buildings that could collapse at any time, saying they have nowhere else to go. The report highlights the scale of destruction in the territory and the desperation of residents who have been repeatedly displaced, forced to choose between unsafe ruins and the streets as the conflict continues.

Millions of people returning to Sudan's capital are finding the city largely unlivable, with widespread power cuts and piles of rubble left by two years of war between the army and the Rapid Support Forces. Returning residents face destroyed homes, no electricity, and minimal basic services, raising questions about how Khartoum can be rebuilt and whether displaced families can realistically stay.

Bangkok has declared all 50 of its districts disaster zones following severe flooding triggered by heavy monsoon rains. The move allows city authorities to unlock emergency funds and resources for relief operations across the Thai capital. Residents have reported waterlogged streets and disrupted transport, and officials are urging people in low-lying areas to take precautions as more rain is forecast.

Russia is deploying jet-powered drones against Kyiv, bringing attacks into daytime hours and turning the Ukrainian capital into a front-line city during the day. The faster drones are harder for air defenses to intercept than earlier models, forcing residents to take shelter even in daylight and intensifying the war's impact on daily life in the capital.

An Israeli strike hit an apartment building west of Gaza City, wounding children among the residents, according to Middle East Eye reporting. The attack adds to the mounting civilian toll in Gaza, where densely populated residential areas have repeatedly come under fire. Casualty figures and further details from the scene remain limited as medics respond.

Russian strikes across Ukraine have killed five people, including residents of the capital Kyiv. The attacks hit multiple locations, adding to the civilian toll of the war, which continues despite ongoing international efforts to push toward a ceasefire or peace negotiations.

At least 62 people have died in northern India after days of heavy rain triggered severe flooding. Monsoon flooding affects the region every year, and officials are working to rescue stranded residents and assess damage. Reports note the rising death toll as emergency response efforts continue across affected states.

Ukraine's capital has come under Russian attack for a third consecutive night, as the war reaches its 1,676th day. The repeated overnight strikes on Kyiv underline Russia's continued campaign of long-range bombardment against Ukrainian cities, keeping air defense units active and residents in shelters. The sustained pace of attacks is drawing attention to the strain on Ukraine's defenses and civilians.

A Guardian report describes Oleshky, a Russian-occupied town in Ukraine's Kherson region, as 'hell on earth', saying the few remaining residents are reduced to eating weeds to survive. The account highlights severe food shortages, destroyed infrastructure and the dangers of life under occupation, drawing renewed attention to the humanitarian crisis in the occupied east bank of the Dnipro river.

Hurricane Polo has made landfall in Mexico, bringing life-threatening winds and the risk of significant flooding to coastal areas. Authorities and residents are bracing for damage as the storm moves inland, with emergency services on alert for flooding and wind impacts in affected regions.

Displaced Palestinians in northern Gaza City are continuing their daily routines and preparing for the winter season amid shortages of basic necessities and very limited shelter options. Large areas of the city remain visibly destroyed, and residents face difficult living conditions as cold weather approaches. The situation is being shared widely as a human rights concern, drawing attention to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the territory.

Sudanese families returning to the war-ravaged capital, Khartoum, are finding a city barely able to support them: electricity is largely out, streets remain choked with rubble, and basic services have collapsed after nearly two years of fighting between the army and the Rapid Support Forces. Reports describe residents clearing debris by hand and coping without power or reliable water as they try to rebuild their lives.

Reporting from Gaza is compiling testimonies from residents describing severe violence and hardship amid the ongoing war. Witnesses recount attacks, destruction and loss in their neighbourhoods, adding to a growing body of first-hand accounts from the territory. The testimonies are drawing renewed international attention to the human toll of the conflict.

Polish authorities issued shelter warnings to residents near the border after a Russian strike hit Ukrainian territory roughly 2km from Poland. Alerts urged people to find a safe place as air-defence responses and the risk of spillover put border communities on edge, highlighting how closely the war continues to press against NATO territory.

Bangkok has been declared a disaster zone after intense weekend rain left parts of the Thai capital flooded. Thousands of residents are sheltering in evacuation centers, while swollen reservoirs in an eastern province have prompted authorities to order more people to leave their homes as water levels continue to rise.

Palestinian families displaced by the war in Gaza are sheltering in partially collapsed buildings they say may fall at any time. One resident, Masada Abu Jarad, lives beneath a roof of broken concrete with twisted steel bars protruding from it. With nowhere else to go, families say they are forced to choose between unsafe buildings and the street, as aid agencies warn of a deepening humanitarian crisis.

Arab News reports that a year after a truce hailed as bringing peace to Gaza, conditions on the ground remain largely unchanged, with reconstruction stalled and humanitarian hardship persisting. The piece argues the ceasefire has not translated into stability or recovery for residents, raising questions about the agreement's effectiveness.

People have been seen escaping from a historic building in Kyiv after it was hit by a Russian drone. The strike damaged the landmark structure in the Ukrainian capital, with residents fleeing the scene as emergency responses got under way. It is the latest in a series of Russian drone attacks on Kyiv amid the ongoing war.

Russian forces are blocking all humanitarian aid to Oleshky, a city in Ukraine's occupied Kherson region, leaving residents facing starvation, according to a Euronews report. The situation has raised alarm over civilian conditions in occupied territories and renewed calls for international pressure on Russia to allow food and medical supplies through.

A girl left disabled by an Israeli strike is calling for wheelchairs to be allowed into Gaza. She is urging that mobility aids be permitted entry so that people injured during the conflict can regain independence and move around. Her appeal highlights the shortages of medical equipment and assistive devices facing disabled residents of the territory amid ongoing restrictions on aid.

Residents in eastern Poland, near the border with Ukraine, are preparing for the possibility that Russia's war could spill across the frontier. Communities there have lived with the war next door since 2022, and fears of drones, missiles or other incidents crossing into Polish territory are shaping daily life and local preparedness.

Ukraine is using drones to airdrop humanitarian aid to Oleshky, a city in Russian-occupied Kherson province that residents say is on the brink of starvation. With ground access cut off by occupation and front-line fighting, aerial delivery is the only way to get food to civilians remaining there. The operation highlights the worsening humanitarian situation in occupied territories near the Dnipro River.

Internet access in Ethiopia's Tigray region has gone down amid escalating fighting. Communications blackouts typically accompany major offensives in the country's conflicts and leave residents unable to contact the outside world or share information about conditions on the ground. Observers are watching for reports on the intensity of the clashes and the humanitarian situation as connectivity remains severed.