The trade group representing the cruise ship industry unsuccessfully pushed international authorities to water down new environmental regulations despite its members' climate commitments, experts in marine air pollution warn. Late last month, the International Maritime Organization rejected a cruise industry effort that would have improved cruise ships' carbon pollution scores. Environmental groups say it also would have led to more air pollution by allowing cruise liners to continue with business as usual.

The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) has membership that accounts for 95% of global cruise trips. Its four biggest members, Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line and MSC Cruises, tout their climate awareness and have all committed to drastically cutting emissions.

Hungarian Ambassador Csaba Korosi has been elected as the next president of the U.N. General Assembly, and he warned immediately that the world is in the throes of a dangerous crisis and the credibility of the United Nations is at stake.

Korosi, who takes over the presidency of the 193-member world body in September, said there is "a red alert" for the global climate and crises in food, energy and water supplies. In addition, he said, people everywhere are still affected by the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, "the global economy is at the threshold of recession and the sovereign debts are at an unprecedented level."

A late deflected goal from Ajdin Hrustic secured Australia's 2-1 win over United Arab Emirates in an Asian playoff Tuesday and set up an intercontinental showdown with Peru for a spot at the World Cup in Qatar.

The Australians are a win away from a fifth consecutive World Cup appearance after ending the UAE's bid for a return to football's marquee tournament for first time since 1990.

With British Prime Minister Boris Johnson dealt a heavy blow after surviving a no-confidence vote from his own Conservative Party, questions already are being asked about who might succeed him if he was forced from office.

Conservative lawmakers voted 211-148 to keep Johnson as leader Monday following revelations that he and his staff held Downing Street parties that broke Britain's COVID-19 lockdown rules. But the scale of the revolt was considered more damaging than expected.

India's central bank on Wednesday raised its key interest rate to 4.9% from 4.4%, the second such hike in the last three weeks to contain inflation.

Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das said the decision was aimed at curbing price increases and mitigating the impact of geopolitical tensions, like the war in Ukraine.

Moderna's experimental COVID-19 vaccine that combines its original shot with protection against the omicron variant appears to work, the company announced Wednesday.

COVID-19 vaccine makers are studying updated boosters that might be offered in the fall to better protect people against future coronavirus surges.

Harry Kane's late penalty earned England a 1-1 draw in Germany in their Nations League game on Tuesday, when Italy and Turkey registered wins.

Kane slotted the equalizer from the spot in the 88th minute, though there was controversy over referee Carlos del Cerro Grande's decision to award it after a VAR check as Kane looked to be offside before going down in a tangle with Germany defender Nico Schlotterbeck.

The British government appears to have no political will to resolve its festering trade dispute with the European Union and risks endangering the hard-won peace in Northern Ireland, Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin said Wednesday.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government said last month that it it would pass a law to scrap parts of a trade treaty with the EU signed less than two years ago. The EU has threatened to retaliate, raising the specter of a trade war between the two major economic partners.

A man drove a car into pedestrians in a popular Berlin shopping district on Wednesday, killing at at least one person and injuring at least eight others, rescue services said.

The man drove into people on a street corner at around 10:30 a.m. before getting the car back on the road and then crashing into a shop window around a block further on, police spokesman Thilo Cablitz said.

Ukrainian forces battling Russian troops in a key eastern city appeared on the cusp of retreat Wednesday, though the regional governor insisted they are still fighting "for every centimeter" of the city.

The urban battle for Sievierodonetsk testified to the painstaking, inch-by-inch advance by Russian forces as they close in on control of the entire Luhansk region, one of two that make up the industrial heartland known as the Donbas.