A seaman who fell off a cargo ship survived almost 20 hours at sea before being rescued off Australia’s southeastern coast on Friday, according to emergency services.

The man in his 30s drifted several kilometers in the open sea, before he was pulled from the water by a recreational angler, local rescue authorities have said. He had last been seen aboard Double Delight, a Singapore-flagged bulk carrier, at 11:30 p.m. on Thursday. Details on how he fell from the cargo ship are not immediately available.

The ambulance service in New South Wales state responded to reports that a seaman had been found at 6:20 p.m. Friday, a spokesperson said. They added that it came from Boatrowers Reserve, near Blacksmiths Beach south of the city of Newcastle.

“The patient, a man in his 30s, was conscious, breathing and alert when assessed by NSW Ambulance paramedics and treated for suspected hypothermia before he was transported to John Hunter Hospital in a serious but stable condition,” NSW Ambulance said in a statement on Friday. NSW Ambulance paramedic Erin Laughton told CNN’s affiliate 9News that the man was about three-and-a-half kilometers out to sea “waving his arm around” and “bobbing around in the water,” when he was found. (CNN)

 PAKISTAN – At first, you cannot see it but you can smell it. It smells like something is burning. And it intensifies as the temperature drops. Then the smoke and fog start to envelop you and the city around you. Now you can see it. You are walking through the smoke, a thick ceiling of it hanging overhead.

If you are not wearing a mask or you lower it for a moment, you will immediately inhale the bitter air. Your throat might start to feel itchy and sore. As it gets worse, you start sneezing and coughing. But it’s worse for others: children, the elderly, those with breathing difficulties. The hospitals know to expect the influx. Lahore and its 13 million residents have now been choking for a week; the air quality index has passed the 1,000 mark repeatedly this month – anything above 300 is considered hazardous.

Pakistani officials have scrambled to respond to the crisis – its scale unprecedented even in a city which deals with smog at this time each year. Schools are closed, workers have been told to stay home and people urged to stay indoors – part of a so-called “green lockdown”, which has also seen motorbike rickshaws, heavy vehicles and motorbike parking banned from hot spot areas. By the end of the week, Lahore High Court had ordered all the markets in the Punjab province to close by 20:00 each night, with complete closures on Sundays. Parks and zoos have also been shut until 17 November.

The problem, according to Nasa scientist Pawan Gupta, is that pollution levels in the city “typically peak in late November and December”. “So this is just beginning. The worst pollution days are probably still ahead of us,” he warned. (BBC)

Photo: Satellite images show extent of fires and smoke over India and Pakistan. (BBC)…[+]

NIGERIA – Nigeria has announced that free emergency Caesarean sections will be made available to “poor and vulnerable” women, in an ambitious plan to bring down the high number of mothers dying in childbirth. At 1,047 deaths per 100,000 live births, Africa’s most populous nation has the fourth highest maternal mortality rate in the world and the lack of access to Caesareans is thought to be one of the reasons.

Many pregnant women, particularly in rural Nigeria are unable to receive emergency medical care partly due to the cost. “No woman should lose her life simply because she can’t afford a C-section,” Health Minister Muhammad Pate said while announcing the “powerful move”. While the price may vary across Nigeria’s different states, on average, a Caesarean costs around 60,000 naira ($36;£28) which can be beyond the reach of many.

More than 40% of Nigerians live below the international extreme poverty line of $2.15 per day, according to 2023 data from Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics. The Maternal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative launched on Thursday will now allow all eligible women to access Caesarean sections in public hospitals. (BBC)

Photo: Nigeria has the fourth highest maternal mortality rate in the world. (Getty Images)…[+]

The UN’s Human Rights Office has condemned the high number of civilians killed in the war in Gaza, saying its analysis shows close to 70% of verified victims over a six-month period were women and children. The agency said the high number was largely due to Israel’s use of weapons with wide-area effects in densely populated areas, although some deaths may have been the result of errant projectiles by Palestinian armed groups.

The report said it found “unprecedented” levels of international law violations, raising concerns about “war crimes and other possible atrocity crimes”. Israel has in the past said it targets Hamas and takes steps to mitigate risk to civilians by using precise munitions.

The BBC contacted the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for comment in response to Friday’s report. The UN agency said it verified the details of 8,119 people killed in Gaza from November 2023 to April 2024.

Its analysis found around 44% of verified victims were children and 26% women. The ages most represented among the dead were five to nine-year-olds. About 80% of victims were killed in residential buildings or similar housing, the agency added.

The report said the data indicates “an apparent indifference to the death of civilians and the impact of the means and methods of warfare”. Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures the UN sees as reliable, has reported a death toll of more than 43,300 people over the past 13 months. Many more bodies are believed to remain under the rubble of bombarded buildings. The health ministry said it obtained full demographic data for a majority of those killed and reported that children account for one in three of that number. (BBC)

Photo: About 44% of verified victims were children and 26% women, the UN said. (Reuters)…[+]