‘Go for it now’: 74-year-old graduates with merit after once failing 11-plus

John Wilsher admits there were hurdles to overcome, but hopes his story will inspire others to get back into education

“Time goes quickly” according to septuagenarian John Wilsher who failed his 11-plus, but now at 74 has graduated from university with merit, and is encouraging others to seize the chance to follow their passions.

His return to higher education however was not without its setbacks. It wasn’t easy, Wilsher told PA news, concerned about taking exams for the first time in 35 years and aware his memory was not as sharp as it once was.

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Biggest climate toll in year of ‘devastating’ disasters revealed

Most expensive storm cost $100bn while deadliest floods killed 1,700 and displaced 7 million, report finds

The 10 most expensive storms, floods and droughts in 2022 each cost at least $3bn (£2.5bn) in a “devastating” year on the frontline of the climate crisis, a report shows.

Christian Aid has highlighted the worst climate-related disasters of the year asmore intense storms, heavy downpours and droughts are driven by rising global temperatures as a result of human activity.

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Crocodile dies after chewing on electric wire after being ‘attracted’ to it

The 10-year-old male Cuban crocodile at the Smithsonian zoo in Washington, DC, likely bit on electrical equipment in its enclosure

An endangered crocodile in a Smithsonian zoo in the US died after apparently biting into a live electrical cord in its shelter.

The Cuban crocodile, a 10-year-old male reptile, was discovered on 17 December inside its enclosure by staff at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI)’s Reptile Discovery Center in Washington, DC.

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Svalbard reindeer thrive as they shift diet towards ‘popsicle-like’ grasses

Increased plant growth due to warmer climate appears to be prompting change in eating habits

As the Arctic warms, concern for the plight of Santa’s favourite sleigh pullers is mounting. But in one small corner of the far flung north – Svalbard – Rudolph and his friends are thriving.

Warmer temperatures are boosting plant growth and giving Svalbard reindeer more time to build up fat reserves; they also appear to be shifting their diets towards “popsicle-like” grasses that poke up through the ice and snow, data suggests.

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Rewilded former golf course in Cheshire to be transformed into woodland

Frodsham golf course joins growing number of sites being put to new, more community friendly use

It was once an immaculate golf course where footballers such as Michael Owen and Dietmar Hamann teed off.

These days, the only holes are those made by badgers and woodpeckers. Instead of golfers, self-sown silver birch saplings march over the greens.

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Village evacuated as flood levees fail along Murray River in South Australia

SES evacuates Walker Flat, east of Adelaide, after it was cut off by the deluge on Christmas morning

Dozens of homes and two caravan parks have been evacuated in South Australia as the flood levees continue to fail along the Murray River.

The State Emergency Service has evacuated the island village of Walker Flat, east of Adelaide, after it was cut off by the deluge on Christmas morning.

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Polar bears vanishing from ‘polar bear capital of the world’ in Canada

Government research shows dramatic decline in numbers in western Hudson Bay stronghold

Polar bears are disappearing fast from the western part of Hudson Bay on the southern tip of the Canadian Arctic, according to a government survey.

The report said there had been a dramatic decline in the of number of female bears and cubs in particular.

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US fails to give money promised for developing countries to ease climate impacts

Spending bill passed by Senate includes less than $1bn in climate assistance for poorer nations even though Biden promised $11.4bn

The US has risked alienating developing countries hit hardest by the climate crisis, after Congress delivered just a fraction of the money promised by Joe Biden to help poorer nations adapt to worsening storms, floods and droughts.

Biden has promised $11.4bn each year for developing countries to ease climate impacts and help them shift to renewable energy but the vast $1.7tn spending bill to keep the US government running, passed by the Senate on Thursday, includes less than $1bn in climate assistance for these countries.

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Clive Palmer’s coal company seeks to overturn ruling that Queensland mine will harm future generations

Waratah Coal lodges application to overturn recommendation that lease and approvals be refused

A company owned by Clive Palmer is seeking to overturn a landmark ruling that found its plans to dig Australia’s largest thermal coalmine in central Queensland would infringe upon the human rights of future generations and exacerbate the climate crisis.

The coalition that first brought the case court – led by young First Nations women and environmentalists – is vowing to defend last month’s ruling, which they describe as “the most significant decision on climate change and human rights in Australia”.

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Illegal tree felling in England to be punishable with jail and uncapped fines

Exclusive: Forestry Act 1967 to change from 1 January to deter people from flattening trees and accepting paltry penalties

Illegal tree felling in England will be punishable by unlimited fines and prison sentences from 1 January, the government has announced.

The current fine for cutting down a tree without a licence, established by the Forestry Act 1967, is £2,500 or twice the value of the timber, whichever is the higher.

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Target date for cleaning up waterways in England is moved back by 36 years

Environment Agency under fire for extending schedule for tackling pollution in rivers, lakes and coastal waters to 2063

Targets to clean up the majority of England’s rivers, lakes and coastal waters suffering from a cocktail of agricultural and sewage pollution have been pushed back from 2027 to 2063.

Not one English waterway, including rivers, lakes, estuaries and coastal waters is in good ecological and chemical health at present, with pollution from water treatment plants and agriculture the key sources of the damage. The Environment Agency said on Thursday £5.3bn was being invested for the next five years to stop the further deterioration of waterways.

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Australia news live: flood peaks expected in parts of SA, private hospital nurses to strike in NSW for first time in decades

South Australian SES revises dates for expected peak flows with Renmark and Berri expected to peak today; nurses at two major private hospitals in Sydney to walk off the job at 1pm

Private hospitals nurses to walk off the job for first time in decades

Staying in NSW, nurses at two major private Sydney hospitals will walk off the job later today.

The Australian market regulator and the cap price that people pay for electricity will make their announcement in February about what bills people will pay for next year. And we expect that the move will feed directly through to that and see downward pressure of up to $243 on electricity bills of what it was previously going to be.

How much of a philosophical jump was it for you as a Liberal, to intervene in the market in this way and cap the prices?

Well, it wasn’t a jump at all to stand by people following the illegal war in Ukraine, which is pushing up electricity bills. The government is there to protect the people – not the other way around.

And that’s exactly what we did. We looked at a range of measures to support people to deal with these high electricity prices. And this is the one that the commonwealth government asked us to do and, obviously, our No 1 priority is standing by the people of New South Wales using our balance sheet to support families and businesses. And that’s exactly what we’re doing.

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Italy to let hunters loose against ‘invasion’ of wild boars

Farmers’ lobby welcomes move by Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing coalition, claiming animals are getting ‘ever closer’ to homes

Italy’s ruling right-wing coalition is set to loosen hunting rules to deal with what the country’s farming lobby has called an “invasion” of wild boars.

The boars are common in the countryside, but have recently also been spotted in central parts of Rome, attracted by the Eternal City’s chronically overflowing rubbish skips.

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UAE to deport Egyptian-American activist who called for Cop27 protests

Arrest of Sherif Osman while visiting family in Dubai raises fears for activists at Cop28 climate conference

The United Arab Emirates is preparing to deport an Egyptian-American citizen detained in Dubai who called for protests during the Cop27 climate conference in Egypt, sparking fears about the treatment of civil society during next year’s Cop28 in the Emirates.

Sherif Osman, a former Egyptian army officer who has lived in the US for decades, was detained at a restaurant in Dubai, where he had travelled with his fiancee to see family.

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Union fury over Labor decision to split aged care pay rises – as it happened

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Crossbench say Australia needs to ‘get cracking’ on Cop15 commitments

More reactions are coming in after the close of the biodiversity Cop15 – which leading scientists have called vastly more important” than the Cop27 climate meeting, because it decides the “fate of the living world”.

We need to get cracking on implementation to deliver on commitments.

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Objection by DRC sours ‘paradigm-changing’ Cop15 biodiversity deal

The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s last-minute bid for additional funds was dismissed on a legal technicality

It was almost a special moment in the early hours of Monday morning in the Palais des congrès in Montreal. China and Canada, two squabbling adversaries, had united for the good of the planet to help the world at Cop15 forge a once-in-a-decade deal to halt the destruction of Earth’s ecosystems.

From the emphasis on indigenous rights to conserving 30% of Earth for nature, there is good reason to believe the Kunming-Montreal agreement could be a truly historic, hopeful turning point in humanity’s relationship with nature after decades of destruction and warnings of mass extinctions.

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‘We didn’t accept it’: DRC minister laments forcing through of Cop15 deal

Democratic Republic of the Congo’s environment minister says country has not agreed to ‘30 by 30’ deal

The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s environment minister has said her country has not agreed to a deal to halt the destruction of the Earth’s ecosystems, prompting behind-the-scenes diplomatic efforts to keep the agreement alive just hours after it was adopted.

Ève Bazaiba, the DRC’s environment minister, said her country would be writing to the UN secretary general, António Guterres, and the Convention on Biological Diversity to express the DRC’s position on the final text. It comes after the Chinese Cop15 president, Huang Runqiu, appeared to force through the agreement in the final plenary just moments after the DRC negotiator had said did not support the deal, which is typically negotiated by consensus. His interventions prompted further objections from Uganda and Cameroon.

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Weather tracker: temperatures set to plunge across US states

Arctic airmass heading south, reaching Texas and even Florida, with some areas facing temperatures of up to 45 degrees below normal

While the UK is getting less cold this week in the run-up to Christmas, temperatures in the lower 48 states of the US will be taking a plunge. Over the course of the weekend, an Arctic airmass that was sitting over northern Canada, characterised by extremely low temperatures and strong high pressure, slid to the south across Alberta and Saskatchewan into eastern states of the Pacific north-west. Temperatures across these regions averaged about -23C at around midday on Sunday.

Through the week, this airmass will slowly spread southward across central states, with temperatures ranging from 10-30 degrees below average. Later in the week, the airmass will extend to the south, reaching Texas and even Florida, with some areas possibly reaching up to 45 degrees below normal. This cold airmass is likely to interact with an area of low pressure across the eastern half of the country towards the end of the week, threatening significant snowfall in states such as Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois.

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Wong urged to raise human rights concerns on Beijing trip – as it happened

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It’s officially a week before Christmas, which means the forecasters at the Bureau of Meteorology are fairly confident they can tell us what whether we can set up for an al fresco Christmas lunch or not.

For some parts of the country, there is a chance of showers:

Particularly in the south, we can get some volatile weather but all the patterns really starting to change as we move into later part of this week.

So we’ll see a weather system move through southern parts of the country, Thursday and Friday. Then a big high-pressure system behind it will quickly move into the Tasman Sea and then kind of sit there over the Christmas weekend into early the following week and normally that drives a lot of warm weather across much of southern parts of the country and our guidance is showing a similar pattern with that as well.

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£2 cap for many bus fares in England expected to save 2m car journeys

Campaigners welcome DfT’s temporary £60m subsidy to cut emissions and congestion, but say it should go further

Bus fares in many places across England will be capped at £2 for the winter under a government-backed campaign to encourage people back on to public transport.

Single fares on most major operators’ services will be limited from January until March under the scheme.

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