Sofia

Here’s something you don’t hear every day — a new album about climate change themes recently opened at Carnegie Hall. And that’s not all: it debuted as a Billboard No. 1 hit on the classical charts.Here’s something you don’t hear every day — a new album about climate change themes recently opened at Carnegie Hall. And that’s not all: it debuted as a Billboard No. 1 hit on the classical charts.

The Chinese government announced Monday that it plans to take more than five million vehicles off the road to improve air quality, including 330,000 cars in Beijing. This announcement comes only weeks after the World Health Organization announced that only 12 percent of cities reporting on air quality meet their standards for safe levels. With the help of our newsroom designers, we put together a list of places recently affected by deteriorating air quality and incidents of smog.The Chinese government announced Monday that it plans to take more than five million vehicles off the road to improve air quality, including 330,000 cars in Beijing. This announcement comes only weeks after the World Health Organization announced that only 12 percent of cities reporting on air quality meet their standards for safe levels. With the help of our newsroom designers, we put together a list of places recently affected by deteriorating air quality and incidents of smog.

German pianist Davide Martello brought his grand piano to Istanbul to play for protesters, and police, in Taksim Square.

Bulgarians slammed by their country’s dire economic straits have taken to the streets and some protestors have become so desperate that in recent weeks, six of them have set themselves on fire.

Bulgarian Church officials picked a new leader over the weekend. It should have been a solemn occasion. But the church is embroiled in scandal, even as the government is on the verge of collapse.