A Colombian military plane crashed in a takeoff disaster on Monday, killing 66 people as rescuers shuttled dozens of survivors to nearby hospitals and searched for four ‌who were still missing, Reuters reported citing a senior official.

The Lockheed Martin-built Hercules C-130 transport plane was carrying 128 people, including 11 Air Force members, 115 army personnel and two national police officers, according to Hugo Alejandro Lopez, head of the nation’s armed forces.

The death toll was nearly double that of the previous figure given by authorities, who continued search and recovery efforts at the site of the deadly crash.

The accident occurred as the plane was taking off from Puerto Leguizamo, on the border with Peru, Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez said on X.

The plane was believed ⁠to have suffered an impact near the end of the runway as it was taking off, firefighter Eduardo San Juan Callejas told Caracol, with a wing of the plane later clipping a tree as it was plummeting, according to Reuters. 

The crash caused the plane to catch fire and detonate some sort of explosive devices on board, he added.

Residents of the remote area were the first to pull out survivors, with videos showing men speeding down a dirt road with wounded soldiers on the back of their motorcycles.

Military vehicles later arrived, though authorities said the crash site was difficult to reach, impeding rescue efforts.

Lopez said that 57 of the survivors had been hospitalized, with 30 of them in non-serious condition at a military clinic.

The Syrian Army said that one of its military bases in Hasakah province in the country’s northeast was targeted by five rockets launched from territory of neighboring Iraq.

The Syrian SANA news agency reported citing the military that the base near al-Yarubiyeh in northeastern Hasakah province was struck by a missile attack on Monday, with forces put on full alert.

The army’s operations command said five missiles were launched from near Tal al-Hawa village, about 20 km (12 miles) inside Iraqi territory.

The command added that the army is coordinating with Iraqi authorities, where military forces have begun search operations to track down those responsible, according to SANA.

Israel will occupy southern Lebanon up to the Litani River to create a “defensive buffer”, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday, spelling out for the first ‌time Israel’s intent to seize territory amounting to nearly a tenth of Lebanon, Reuters reported.

At a meeting with the military chief of staff, Katz said Israeli forces would “control the remaining bridges and the security zone up to the Litani,” a river that meets the Mediterranean about 30 km (20 miles) north of Israel’s border.

Senior Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said any Israeli occupation south of the Litani would be met with resistance. “We have no choice but to confront this aggression and cling to the land,” he told Reuters.

IQAir has announced the release of its 8th annual World Air Quality Report, offering a comprehensive analysis of global air pollution data from 2025 and highlighting persistent health risks, emerging regional trends and critical monitoring gaps worldwide.

For this year’s report, IQAir said it analyzed data from monitoring stations across 9,446 cities in 143 countries, regions and territories.

The report adds 12 countries and territories not included last year, seven of which appear in the dataset for the first time ever—marking continued expansion of global air quality monitoring coverage.

Comparing this year’s report to the previous year, 54 countries experienced increases in annual average PM2.5, 75 saw declines, two remained unchanged and 12 were newly represented in this year’s dataset.

Key findings from the 2025 World Air Quality Report published on the IQAir website:

Only 14% of global cities met the World Health Organization (WHO) annual PM2.5 guideline of 5 µg/m³, down from 17% the previous year. Only thirteen countries or territories met the WHO annual average PM2.5 guideline: French Polynesia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Barbados, New Caledonia, Iceland, Bermuda, Réunion, Andorra, Australia, Grenada, Panama, and Estonia. 130 out of 143 countries or territories, representing 91%, exceeded the WHO annual average PM2.5 guideline value.

The five most polluted countries were Pakistan with 67.3 µg/m³, Bangladesh with 66.1 µg/m³, Tajikistan with 57.3 µg/m³, Chad with 53.6 µg/m³, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo with 50.2 µg/m³. Loni, India, was the most polluted city, recording an annual average PM2.5 concentration of 112.5 µg/m³, which is a nearly 23% increase from 2024 and more than 22 times the WHO guideline. Nieuwoudtville, South Africa, was the world’s cleanest city, with an annual average PM2.5 concentration of 1.0 µg/m³.

The world’s 25 most polluted cities were all located in India, Pakistan, and China, with India home to three of the four most polluted. The most polluted major U.S. city was El Paso, Texas. Southeast Los Angeles, California, was the most polluted region in the United States. Seattle, Washington, was the cleanest major U.S. city.

The year 2025 marked the second consecutive year in which no cities in East Asia met WHO PM2.5 guidelines. Pollution patterns in China indicated a westward shift in elevated concentrations. Europe saw mixed air pollution trends in 2025, with 23 countries recording higher PM2.5 concentrations and 18 seeing declines. Winter wood burning, summer smoke from Canadian wildfires, and Saharan dust worsened seasonal pollution in Europe.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, air quality trends were largely positive. 208 cities recorded decreases in annual average PM2.5 concentrations, 95 cities saw increases, nine remained unchanged, and 13 new cities were added to the monitoring network. Oceania remained one of the world’s cleanest regions, with 61% of cities meeting the WHO guideline, although record-breaking cold in New South Wales, Australia, in June 2025 led to seasonal PM2.5 spikes.

According to the report, wildfires, intensified by climate change, played a major role in degrading global air quality in 2025. Record biomass emissions from Europe and Canada contributed to approximately 1,380 megatons of carbon. Canada was the most polluted country in Northern America for just the second time in this report’s eight-year history, as its second-worst wildfire season on record affected air quality across Canada, the United States and parts of Europe.

In the United States, annual average PM2.5 levels increased to 7.3 µg/m³. Smoke from wildfires in both Canada and the U.S. raised averages across parts of the Great Lakes states in the summer and in the Pacific Northwest in the fall.

Ambassador of Armenia to the United States Narek Mkrtchyan held a meeting in Washington, D.C. with Bethany Kozma, Director of the Office of Global Affairs of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to discuss prospects for the development of Armenia–U.S. cooperation in the field of healthcare, the embassy reported.

Julie Wallace, Deputy Assistant Secretary (Office of Global Affairs), also participated in the meeting.

According to a readout, the sides addressed the bilateral cooperation agenda, particularly emphasizing the importance of strengthening the institutional foundations of cooperation in the healthcare sector.

A number of issues were also discussed, including opportunities for cooperation in the areas of biosafety, development of laboratory capacities, medical education and training, as well as the application of innovative technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) in the healthcare sector.

The importance of expanding collaboration with relevant U.S. institutions and professional organizations was also underscored, with a view to enhancing professional capacities and promoting the exchange of expertise.

The parties agreed to continue the dialogue to ensure the practical implementation of the issues discussed.

Authorities on Tuesday denied a media report claiming that the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Health would be merged into a single ministry.

Nver Kostanyan, spokesperson for Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Arsen Torosyan, branded the report as fake and said that no such plans exist.

“One of the media outlets has once again circulated false information, claiming that the issue of merging the Ministries of Labor and Social Affairs and Health is currently under discussion. Not limiting themselves to publishing entirely false information, the authors of the piece have gone on to weave conspiracies around their fabricated ‘news’ and to speak about supposed ‘discontent’ regarding a non-existent project. Dear colleagues, a project to merge the ministries has neither been discussed nor circulated at any time over the past eight years, and it is not being discussed now. I urge you, once and for all, to stop speculating on this topic,” Kostanyan said in a statement on social media.

The Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Arsen Torosyan, announced on Tuesday a 30% salary increase for staff at various care institutions operating under the ministry.

 “I would like to share some good news, especially for care institutions operating under the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, as well as for day care centers. Starting April 1, the salaries of all employees at care centers under our authority—serving children, the elderly, and citizens with mental health conditions—as well as staff at children’s day care centers, will increase by 30 percent. We have achieved this through budgetary discipline and effective management. Therefore, in May, dear colleagues, you will already receive a 30 percent increased salary. As minister, I expect you to deliver better performance and to invest greater effort in working with, caring for, and providing services to our thousands of citizens. Your working conditions are a priority for me—they have been since day one—and I will do everything possible to gradually improve them,” Torosyan said in a statement on social media. 

Member of Parliament Vladimir Vardanyan has been nominated by President Vahagn Khachaturyan as a Constitutional Court judge.

The confirmation hearing is taking place on Tuesday during the plenary session of Parliament.

Vardanyan has been serving as an MP since 2019 and chairs the parliamentary Committee on State-Legal Affairs.

Vardanyan had been affiliated with the ruling Civil Contract for years but resigned from the party, after the President nominated him, to become nonpartisan, which is a requirement for serving in the independent judicial body.

Vardanyan vowed in parliament to remain impartial and uphold the constitution if elected. He pointed to lawmakers the oath of office for an MP. 

“I have been in the Parliament for seven years, and each of us is under oath, which contains a clear requirement—to uphold the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia. From the moment of taking the oath, you assume responsibilities, and regardless of your political orientation or personal preferences, you are obliged to act in accordance with your oath,” Vardanyan said.

The Ministry of Defense convened a consultation with the participation of the staff at its Financial and Budgetary Department.

According to the statement released by the Ministry of Defense, key issues related to the sector were discussed, and new approaches to solving existing problems were presented. During the meeting-consultation, a number of issues were also addressed concerning the implementation of public sector accounting policies within the Ministry, the further development of the implemented software system, existing challenges, and potential solutions under consideration.