The United Nations headquarters in New York plays host to an immersive art installation by artist Joseph Michael that features images of an iceberg and six young advocates including Greta Thunberg addressing hopes and fears around the climate crisis and the urgent actions that must be taken
Friday’s top story: US to stage largest ever climate walkout in more than 1,000 locations. Plus, what to do about the mosquito, humankind’s deadliest predator
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Good morning, I’m Tim Walker with today’s essential stories.
Continue reading...More than one in four birds have been lost across diverse groups and habitats, in what researchers describe as a ‘wake-up call’
The US and Canada have lost more than one in four birds – a total of three billion – since 1970, culminating in what scientists who published a new study are calling a “widespread ecological crisis”.
Researchers observed a 29% decline in bird populations across diverse groups and habitats – from songbirds such as meadowlarks to long-distance migratory birds such as swallows and backyard birds like sparrows.
Continue reading...Australia and the US will discuss trade, the Middle East and collaboration on space exploration during prime minister’s visit
Scott Morrison has declared his week-long visit to the US – his first as prime minister – will lay the foundations for another hundred years of mateship between Australia and America.
Arriving at the Joint Base Andrews on Thursday night Washington time, the Australian prime minister said the visit would improve the defence, security and economic partnership between the two countries, and joint activities in the Indo-Pacific region and the Middle East.
Continue reading...UN figures show slow decrease in maternal mortality rate, with rates on the rise in countries including the US
The number of women dying in pregnancy and childbirth has fallen by more than a third since 2000, according to new UN figures, but the rate of decline remains way off track to meet global targets to cut maternal deaths.
In the US maternal death rates have increased by over 50% and progress in reducing deaths in the 10 countries with the highest rates has slowed since 2000.
Continue reading...Intelligence community inspector general Michael Atkinson to appear in closed-door briefing on whistleblower complaint
Emily England Clyburn, the wife House majority Jim Clyburn, has died at the age of 80. They met after he was jailed in a civil rights protest and were married for nearly 60 years.
“Emily Clyburn was a champion of equality and opportunity who made a difference for countless young people in her beloved South Carolina,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement. “As a librarian, she intimately understood the power of learning to transform lives, and dedicated decades to ensuring that every child, servicemember, veteran and worker could access a good education that would allow him or her to climb the ladders of opportunity in America. Her extraordinary leadership, together with Jim, to increase learning opportunities at their beloved alma mater South Carolina State will stand always as an enduring tribute to her beautiful life and legacy.”
Emily England Clyburn, known to most as Ms. Emily and a driving force behind some of her husband, @WhipClyburn's, biggest moments in his political and personal life, has died at the age of 80: https://t.co/tRQj48fwO1
.@WhipClyburn’s wife Dr. Emily England Clyburn passed away this morning. The couple, married for 58 years, met in jail after he was arrested in a civil-rights protest. The House won’t be in session on Monday so members can attend her funeral, per @heatherscope
As expected, the Trump administration said on Thursday that it would revoke California’s authority to set its own vehicle emissions standards and bar states from establishing their own regulations.
The decision is likely to set off a furious legal battle.
Our message to those who claim to support states' rights is: don't trample on ours. Doing so would be an attempt to undo the progress we've made over decades. cc @EPAAWheeler #CleanerCars
Hi, @realDonaldTrump. Let me break it down in simple terms for you...
Reducing emissions:
-Protects our air & health
-Is good for the economy
-Allows families to pay less at the pump
We’re here in the 21st century. Let us know when you decide to join us. https://t.co/gZzUjXeFxo
Foreign minister’s comments further inflame tensions in Persian Gulf after oil attacks
Iran’s foreign minister has warned that any attack on his country after a series of missile strikes on Saudi Arabia’s oil industry would result in “all-out war”.
Javad Zarif also demanded that Riyadh hand over the evidence that it claimed proved the attack came from Iran, and not from Houthi-occupied Yemen.
Continue reading...Disentangling responsibility has been made so much harder by casual peacetime mendacity
Truth is notoriously the first casualty in war, but even more so in the run-up to a war.
The Middle East finds itself in the strange position at the moment where an undoubted crime has been committed, an apparent perpetrator has come forward providing elaborate supporting details of the weapon used, the motive and timing, but the victim refuses to believe the confessor, and instead accuses a third party.
Continue reading...Rumours over Trump’s reported promise to foreign leader mounts as his personal lawyer appears to admit to pressing Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden
Speculation in Washington was at fever pitch on Thursday over reports Donald Trump’s promise to a foreign leader so troubled a US intelligence official that it prompted a whistleblower complaint, with the focus now shifting to Ukraine.
The whistleblower’s claim centered on Russia’s neighbour, according to reports in the Washington Post and the New York Times, noting that the complaint was filed weeks before Trump spoke to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.
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That’s it from the Liveblog for today.
Writer (and occasional Guardian columnist) Roxane Gay has endorsed Massachusetts senator, democratic presidential candidate and selfie enthusiast Elizabeth Warren for president, joining the progressive group Working Families Party -- which endorsed Warren’s challenger Bernie Sanders in 2016.
Shoutout to our #WCW, @rgay. We’re grateful that you’re in this fight with #TeamWarren. ✨ pic.twitter.com/5YEkyrCn8X
Continue reading...Teen climate activists attend a hearing to address the climate crisis and its traumatic effect on the younger generation
The climate campaigner Greta Thunberg has bluntly told members of Congress to heed scientists’ warnings over global heating on a day when the existential anguish of young activists was given a voice at the heart of Washington DC power.
Thunberg, the Swedish teenager who has ignited a global youth climate movement, said at a congressional hearing that she had no prepared remarks other than to submit the landmark IPCC report, published last year, that warned of the rapidly approaching catastrophe of global heating.
Continue reading...Former president also said TV should be avoided: ‘Those are two things I’d advise, if you’re a good president, not to do’
Barack Obama appeared to take a swipe at Donald Trump on Wednesday, saying he would “advise, if you’re president” to avoid social media and cable news.
The former US president was speaking as a guest at an event for Splunk, an international data and software firm, when he was asked how he parsed information while in office. He touted the importance of building a solid team to stay informed.
Continue reading...Under pressure from Wall Street and the White House, the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates on Wednesday for a second straight meeting, but declined to signal if it would continue to drop rates in the future.
Related: Ilhan Omar condemns Trump for spreading 'lies that put my life at risk'
Continue reading...Defence spokesman calls on ‘international community to hold Iran responsible’
Saudi Arabia has ramped up the pressure on Donald Trump to respond to a devastating strike on two major oil installations, displaying drone and missile technology it insisted showed the attack was “unquestionably sponsored by Iran”.
At a press conference in Riyadh a Saudi defence spokesman claimed that 25 drones and cruise missiles were used in the attack on the Aramco facilities on Saturday, saying repeatedly they had been fired from the north, the direction of Iran.
Continue reading...Intelligence officer Cameron Ortis had access to classified information from Five Eyes allies, including Australia
Canada is seeking to reassure its Five Eyes intelligence allies in the wake of a massive alleged spying leak that may be linked to an Australian drug-smuggling criminal syndicate.
Cameron Ortis, the director general of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s intelligence unit, has been charged over allegations he was trying to sell secrets to a foreign agent or terrorist group. He had access to classified information from Canada’s Five Eyes global allies, including Australia.
Continue reading...Claims have hurt efforts to help people around world in acute pain, say palliative care experts
An attack on the World Health Organization (WHO) by US politicians accusing it of being corrupted by drug companies is making it even more difficult to get morphine to millions of people dying in acute pain in poor countries, say experts in the field.
Representatives of the hospice and palliative care community said they were stunned by the Congress members’ report, which they said made false accusations and would affect people suffering in countries where almost no opioids were available.
Continue reading...Former Donald Trump aide Corey Lewandowski's testimony to the House Judiciary Committee descended into farce as Democrats accused him of 'filibustering' for demanding to read passages of the Mueller report before answering questions.
Lewandowski was facing questions from the panel over the report into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and alleged obstruction of justice by the president. In his opening statement he accused 'Trump haters' of playing 'petty politics' with the issue, before invoking executive privilege to refuse to answer a series of questions from increasingly frustrated Democrats
Continue reading...The Swedish environmentalist was one of several who spoke at a Senate climate crisis task force
At a meeting of the Senate climate crisis task force on Tuesday, lawmakers praised a group of young activists for their leadership, their gumption and their display of wisdom far beyond their years. They then asked the teens for advice on how Congress might combat one of the most urgent and politically contentious threats confronting world leaders: climate change.
Related: UN hosts drive to suck back carbon and reverse climate change
Continue reading...Donald Trump's former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, has accused 'Trump haters' of creating a 'false narrative' about the president's connections with Russia in order to undermine his 2016 election victory. He said there had been 'no conspiracy or collusion' between the Trump campaign and any foreign government in his time in the post.
Lewandowski was facing questions from the House Judiciary Committee as part of the panel's inquiry into the Mueller report into Russian interference in the 2016 election
Continue reading...Suit contends whistleblower published Permanent Record ‘in violation of non-disclosure agreements’ with both CIA and NSA
The US government on Tuesday filed a civil lawsuit against Edward Snowden, a former CIA employee and National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower, over the publication this week of his memoir.
Snowden, the suit contends, “published a book entitled Permanent Record in violation of the non-disclosure agreements he signed with both CIA and NSA”.
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