SYDNEY — Australia’s national weather agency on Saturday warned of extreme to severe heatwave conditions over northern parts of the country through Sunday. A lower-intensity heatwave is expected for much of the east coast starting Tuesday. The heatwaves continue the scorching start of summer in Australia. In early December, a heatwave warning affected areas in every state and territory, with the exception of Tasmania. Weather is considered a heatwave when the maximum and minimum temperatures are unusually hot over three days. Local councils in Sydney are setting up heat shelters to …

ISLAMABAD — Only 12 children around the world have been paralyzed by wild poliovirus so far this year, all of them in Pakistan and Afghanistan — with six reported in each. They are the last two countries in which the highly infectious disease still exists. Moreover, the World Health Organization has warned that the countries’ vaccination programs continue to miss a large number of children, posing a significant risk to gains made against the crippling wild Type 1 poliovirus. In addition, Pakistan’s campaign to repatriate undocumented Afghans has increased the risk …

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Coral Springs, florida — Joyce Loaiza lives alone, but when she returns to her apartment at a Florida senior community, the retired office worker often has a chat with a friendly female voice that asks about her day. A few miles away, the same voice comforted Deanna Dezern, 83, when her friend died. In central New York, it plays games and music for Marie Broadbent, 92, who is blind and in hospice, and in Washington state, it helps Jan Worrell, 83, make new friends. The women are some of the first …