The U.N. weather agency says it has confirmed that Tropical Cyclone Freddy, a deadly Indian Ocean storm that lashed eastern Africa last year, was the longest-lasting cyclone ever recorded — at 36 days.

Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu’s political party has swept parliamentary elections in a strong endorsement of his pro-China foreign policy.

Maldivians are voting in parliamentary elections, in a ballot crucial for President Mohamed Muizzu, whose policies are keenly watched by India and China as they vie for influence in the archipelago nation.

China, Iran and Russia have begun a joint naval drill in the Gulf of Oman, a crucial waterway near the mouth of the Persian Gulf.

A Malaysia Airlines flight vanished without a trace on March 8, 2014, becoming one of aviation’s biggest mysteries.

Malaysia’s government says it may renew the search for MH370 after a U.S. technology firm proposed a fresh search in the southern Indian Ocean where the Malaysia Airlines plane is believed to have crashed.

Mauritius has lifted its highest storm alert and eased a nationwide curfew after a cyclone battered the Indian Ocean island and nearby French island of Reunion.

A tropical cyclone has caused heavy flooding and at least one death in Mauritius as cars were washed away by surges of water in the Indian Ocean island’s capital city and other places.

Iranian state TV says the country's navy has added domestically produced sophisticated cruise missiles to its arsenal.

A plane carrying Israelis home from the Indian Ocean island nation of Seychelles has made an emergency stop in Saudi Arabia before flying back to Tel Aviv.

Roger Payne, the scientist who spurred a worldwide environmental conservation movement with his discovery that whales could sing, has died.

Humanitarian groups say children in remote areas of southeast Madagascar are experiencing “catastrophic” levels of hunger after three cyclones battered the region in the space of a year.

Two weeks after Tropical Cyclone Cheneso devastated Madagascar, leaving 30 dead, the Indian Ocean island nation and its neighbors are bracing for a more powerful Cyclone Freddy.

India is preparing to relaunch its INS Vikramaditya aircraft carrier after a major refit, a critical step toward fulfilling its plan to deploy two carrier battle groups as it seeks to strengthen its regional maritime power to counter China’s increasing assertiveness.

Hurricanes are one of several types of tropical cyclones that occur in oceans and coastal regions. Here's how they differ from other storms.

Hurricanes -- like the storm currently making landfall in Florida -- are one of several types of tropical cyclones that occur in oceans and coastal regions.

Artisanal fisheries on Kenya’s coast say climate change, overfishing by large foreign vessels and a lack of other job opportunities for coastal communities is draining the Indian Ocean of its yellowfin tuna stocks.

The marine area off the coast of Kenya at Wasini Island, jointly managed by a foundation and the island’s community, has been planting over 8,000 corals a year since 2012 and placed about 800 artificial reef structures in the channel in a bid to restore Wasini’s coral gardens.

A South African court is to rule on efforts to stop British oil giant Shell from conducting any further seismic surveys in the country’s Indian Ocean waters to explore for offshore oil and gas deposits.

In a bid to protect coastal communities from climate change and encourage investment, African nations are increasingly turning to mangrove restoration projects, with Mozambique becoming the latest addition to the growing list of countries with large scale mangrove initiatives.

Even as southern African nations assess the devastation caused earlier this month by Cyclone Batsirai, a new tropical storm is approaching as the Indian Ocean region is confronted by an intense cyclone season.

Madagascar has put six of its regions on high alert as tropical Cyclone Batsirai is forecast to hit the Indian Ocean island’s east coast Saturday with intense winds of 195 kilometers (121 miles) per hour.

Madagascar is bracing for a new cyclone even as the Indian Ocean island recovers from a tropical storm that wreaked devastation last month.

Officials in Madagascar say that heavy rains have flooded parts of the capital city, Antananarivo, killing 10 people and making more than 12,000 homeless.

A new report by a Norwegian watchdog group documents Chinese squid vessels using wide nets to illegally catch already overfished tuna as part of a surge in unregulated activity in the Indian Ocean.

India has test-fired a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of up to 3,125 miles amid rising border tensions with China.

A French senior naval officer says the Islamic State group is using stealth to regenerate its forces by developing its military capabilities underground and France is deploying its warships and aircraft in the region to help troops on the ground root out the threat.

Pedestrians wear masks as they walk on a street in the capital Victoria, Mahe Island, Seychelles Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. (AP Photo/Salim Ally)VICTORIA – The Indian Ocean island nation of Seychelles had one of the world's first COVID-19 vaccine rollouts, and this month it aims to again break ground by reaching so-called “herd immunity." So-called herd immunity is reached when enough people are protected through infection or vaccination to make it difficult for a virus to continue to spread. Seychelles’ first two positive cases were confirmed on March 14, 2020, in a couple from Seychelles who had returned from a trip to Italy. When they spoke with the AP last month, Pugazhendi and Lesperance said neither had a vacation since the pandemic had started, with Seychelles' tropical setting almost always in view.

Sri Lankan health officials take swab samples from employees of the Colombo municipal council to test for COVID-19 in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2020. The health ministry ordered the public not to conduct public gatherings such as exhibitions, parties, conferences, indoor or outdoor events, carnivals, musical shows and processions. — Australia’s economic leader says the country’s conservative prime minister and its health minister would not liken coronavirus to influenza as U.S. President Donald Trump had done. — Australia’s prime minister on Wednesday refused to comment on U.S. President Donald Trump’s behavior since he contracted COVID-19. “As prime minister, it’s my job to work with every world leader in Australia’s national interest,” Morrison replied.

The worldwide death toll from the coronavirus eclipsed 1 million, nine months into a crisis that has devastated the global economy, tested world leaders' resolve, pitted science against politics and forced multitudes to change the way they live, learn and work. After the virus killed the 27-year-old Chaudhary in late July, his mother wept inconsolably. That is partly due to the virus’s quickening spread through India, where reported deaths have topped 96,000 and cases are increasing at the fastest rate in the world. The pandemic’s toll of 1 million dead in such a limited time rivals some of the gravest threats to public health, past and present. To put the death toll, alone, in perspective, look to Brazil.

In this photo provided by Sri Lanka Air Force, a chopper flies through smoke rising from the MT New Diamond, off the eastern coast of Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean,, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2020. The fire on the large oil tanker off Sri Lanka's coast has been brought under control but is still not extinguished, the navy said Saturday. (Sri Lanka Air Force via AP)COLOMBO A team of experts is joining efforts to salvage a large oil tanker that has been burning for the fourth day Sunday off Sri Lanka, the country's navy said. Sri Lankan officials have warned of possible massive environmental damage to Sri Lanka if the ship leaks or explodes. The head of Sri Lankas Marine Environment Protection Authority, Darshani Lahandapur, said Sri Lanka does not have the resources or capacity to combat such a massive disaster and had appealed for help from regional countries.

In this photo supplied by Greenpeace on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020, dolphins lay dead on the shore on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius. At least 14 dolphins have washed up and died on the coast of the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius, where a Japanese ship ran aground and spilled more than 1,000 tons of fuel, report environmental groups and experts. (Eshan Juman/Greenpeace via AP)

In this photo supplied by Greenpeace on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020, dolphins lay dead on the shore on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius. Other dolphins stranded on shore and appeared seriously ill, environmental consultant Sunil Dowarkasing said. We are seeing these dolphins swim up to the shore in distress and then die, said Dowarkasing, a former member of parliament. The oil spill and sinking of the bow are ruining what had been the best-preserved area of our island, he said. The Japanese bulk carrier MV Wakashio ran aground on a coral reef near the eastern coast of Mauritius on July 25.

Volunteers take part in the clean up operation in Mahebourg, Mauritius Wednesday Aug. 12, 2020 surrounding the oil spill from the MV Wakashio, a bulk carrier ship that recently ran aground off the southeast coast of Mauritius. (AP Photo/Beekash Roopun-L'express Maurice)JOHANNESBURG The grounded Japanese ship that leaked tons of oil near protected areas off the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius has split apart, officials said Saturday, with remaining fuel spreading into the turquoise waters. Some 1,000 tons of fuel began to leak on Aug. 6. The Mauritius government is under pressure to explain why immediate action wasnt taken to empty the ship of its fuel. Owner Nagashiki Shipping has said residual amounts of fuel remained on the ship after pumping.

The MV Wakashio has spilled 1,000 tons of its cargo of 4,000 tons of oil into the sea, fouling the coastline of Mauritius, including a protected wetlands area. Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth said Mauritius will seek compensation for the extensive environmental damage from the Wakashios owner, Nagashiki Shipping. He has declared the oil spill a national disaster. Some of the turquoise waters surrounding Mauritius were stained a muddy black, fouling mangrove wetlands and drenching waterbirds and reptiles with sticky oil. There is so much damage already.The wildlife foundation is alarmed that the oil spill will ruin the work that it has done since 1985 to restore that area, Gardenne said.

What do you want to know about spaceflight and planetary exploration in the era of a new space industry? Space exploration is fueled by the need to answer questions about the great unknown. There’s no need to have a background in physics or a degree in engineering; this is open for the space curious to the space obsessed. Space reporter Emilee Speck will answer your intergalactic questions with help from astronauts, scientists and engineers. Your questions could be featured on Space Curious, a podcast from Graham Media Group and ClickOrlando.com.

COLOMBO Sri Lankas ruling party presidential candidate has conceded defeat to rival Gotabaya Rajapaksa in the Indian Ocean island nations election. Housing Minister Sajith Premadasa says in a statement he will honor the decision of the people in polls Saturday favoring Rajapaksa, the civil war-era defense secretary who served under his brother, ex-President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Rajapaksa spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella described the win as a peoples victory.Rajapaksa reached the threshold for victory of 50% plus one vote by Sunday morning, with most of Premadasas electoral strongholds counted. Sri Lankas Election Commission says that while gunmen had fired at a convoy of buses carrying Muslim voters in the countrys north hours before polling stations opened, the vote was largely peaceful.