Emissions estimated at 55m tonnes in 2024 and nearly 230m tonnes in three years of war
The burning of Ukraine’s forests at unprecedented rates over the past year has helped push the total greenhouse emissions from the war since Russia’s full-scale invasion to almost 230m tonnes, analysis shows.
The study, published on the third anniversary of the invasion, found the fighting and its consequences had led to 55m tonnes of emissions in the past 12 months.
Continue reading...Anthocyanins in nuts, fruits and vegetables seem to lesson harmful effects of microplastics on reproductive systems
Antioxidants that give fruits and flowers their vibrant colors seem to counteract some of the most dangerous reproductive system effects of exposure to microplastics, such as decreased fertility, and could ultimately be used in developing treatments, new peer-reviewed research shows.
The paper focused on microplastics’ reproductive toxicity and plant compounds called anthocyanins, which are widely found in nuts, fruits and vegetables. The new review of scientific literature on anthocyanins found that the compounds are probably protective against a range of plastic-induced impacts on hormones, reductions in testosterone and estrogen, decreased sperm counts, lower sperm quality, erectile dysfunction and ovarian damage.
Continue reading...Israeli tanks in West Bank for first time in more than two decades amid tensions over ceasefire agreement with Hamas
Hamas official Basem Naim has been talking to Al Jazeera about the precocious Gaza ceasefire deal which looks increasingly like it will collapse. As a reminder, Benjamin Netanyahu has delayed the handover of 620 Palestinians indefinitely as he is demanding Hamas stop what he called its “cynical use of hostages for propaganda”.
Naim – a member of Hamas’s political bureau - said the Israeli prime minister is “intentionally sabotaging” the truce agreement. He told Al Jazeera:
Before going to the next step, we have to be sure that the past step, which was releasing 620 prisoners, are already released.
Because Netanyahu is clearly sending strong messages that he is intentionally sabotaging the deal; he is preparing the atmosphere for returning back to the war.
Continue reading...Government agencies give conflicting advice after email from Elon Musk demanding employees list accomplishments from past week
Elon Musk said on Monday that starting this week, government workers would be put on administrative leave if they fail to return to the office.
Musk, who is leading a downsizing effort at the US government wrote on X:
Those who ignored President Trump’s executive order to return to work have now received over a month’s warning.
Starting this week, those who still fail to return to office will be placed on administrative leave.
French President Emmanuel Macron will meet with Donald Trump in Washington on Monday, saying he will present “proposals for action” to counter the “Russian threat” in Europe and ensure peace in Ukraine.
Conservative podcaster Dan Bongino has been appointed as FBI deputy director. Bongino, a former Secret Service agent and NYPD officer turned conservative radio host, puts a second Trump ally at the top of the agency. Trump announced the appointment on Sunday night in a post on his Truth Social platform, praising Bongino as “a man of incredible love and passion for our country”.
The Trump administration on Sunday said it was placing all but a handful of USAid personnel around the world on paid administrative leave and eliminating about 2,000 of those positions in the US, according to a notice sent to agency workers and posted online.
More than 150,000 people from Canada have signed a parliamentary petition calling for their country to strip Elon Musk’s Canadian citizenship because of the tech billionaire’s alliance with Donald Trump, who has spent his second US presidency repeatedly threatening to conquer its independent neighbor to the north and turn it into its 51st state.
Continue reading...PM says Trump has ‘changed global conversation on Ukraine’ as he pledges more military aid and sanctions
Keir Starmer called for support for Ukraine to be boosed in three ways in his virtual speech to the conference in Kyiv.
First, military support should increase, he said.
The UK is doing that, providing £4.5bn pounds in military aid this year, more than ever before. We’re doing more than ever to train Ukrainian troops helping Ukraine to mobilise even further. And we are proud to have taken on the leadership of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.
So today, we’re announcing the UK’s largest packet of sanctions since the early days of the war, going after Russia’s shadow fleet and going after companies in China and elsewhere who are sending military component.
Later day, I will be discussing further steps with the G7. But I am clear that the G7 should be ready to take on more risk, including the oil price cap, sanctioning Russia’s oil giants and going off the banks that are enabling the evasion of sanctions.
President Trump has changed the global conversation over the last few weeks, and it has created an opportunity.
Now we must get the fundamentals right if we want peace to endure. Ukraine must have a seat at the table, and any settlement must be based on a sovereign Ukraine backed up with strong security guarantees.
Continue reading...It follows Russia’s biggest ever aerial attack on Ukraine. Plus, far-right AfD doubles support in German election
Good morning.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, hailed “three years of resistance … three years of absolute heroism of Ukrainians”, as foreign leaders arrived in Kyiv to mark the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
What’s the latest war news? Russia launched its biggest drone attack on Ukraine, using 267 drones and killing at least four people.
What did Zelenskyy say about US demands? He claimed the Trump administration was asking Ukraine to pay back $2 for every $1 of military aid the US provides going forward.
What do we know about the death toll after three years of war? Zelenskyy said in December that 43,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed, with 370,000 injured. US officials estimated last October that 600,000 Russian troops had been killed or wounded. In November, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights verified 12,162 civilians killed, including 659 children, though the total is likely much higher.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Government reluctant to take action that could weaken UK’s attractiveness to AI firms, says Labour source
Ministers have delayed plans to regulate artificial intelligence as the UK government seeks to align itself with Donald Trump’s administration on the technology, the Guardian has learned.
A long-awaited AI bill, which ministers had originally intended to publish before Christmas, is not expected to appear in parliament before the summer, according to three Labour sources briefed on the plans.
Ministers had intended to publish a short bill within months of entering office that would have required companies to hand over large AI models such as ChatGPT for testing by the UK’s AI Security Institute.
The bill was intended to be the government’s answer to concerns that AI models could become so advanced that they pose a risk to humanity, and were different from separate proposals to clarify how AI companies can use copyrighted material.
Trump’s election has led to a rethink, however. A senior Labour source said the bill was “properly in the background” and that there were still “no hard proposals in terms of what the legislation looks like”. “They said let’s try and get it done before Christmas – now it’s summer,” the source added.
Another Labour source briefed on the legislation said an iteration of the bill had been prepared months ago but was now up in the air because of Trump, with ministers reluctant to take action that could weaken the UK’s attractiveness to AI companies.
Trump has torpedoed plans by his predecessor Joe Biden for regulating AI and revoked an executive order on making the technology safe and trustworthy. The future of the US AI Safety Institute, founded by Biden, is uncertain after its director resigned this month. At an AI summit hosted in Paris, JD Vance, the US vice-president, railed against Europe’s planned regulation of the technology.
The UK government chose to side with the US by refusing to sign the Paris declaration endorsed by 66 other countries at the summit. Peter Mandelson, the UK’s ambassador to Washington, has reportedly drafted proposals to make the UK the main hub for US AI investment.
Global chart dominated by US acts including Benson Boone, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish and Sabrina Carpenter, with K-pop bands also strong
British pop stars have failed to reach the worldwide annual charts of the year’s Top 10 biggest singles and albums for the first time in more than two decades.
In 2022, UK acts such as Harry Styles and Glass Animals made up seven of the 20 entries in the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) list. This year, the leading UK act was producer and singer Artemas, for I Like the Way You Kiss Me.
Taylor Swift – The Tortured Poets Department
Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft
Sabrina Carpenter – Short n’ Sweet
Enhypen – Romance: Untold
SZA – SOS
Seventeen – Spill the Feels
Morgan Wallen – One Thing at a Time
Seventeen – 17 Is Right Here
Noah Kahan – Stick Season
Stray Kids – ATE
Benson Boone – Beautiful Things
Sabrina Carpenter – Espresso
Teddy Swims – Lose Control
Billie Eilish – Birds of a Feather
Shaboozey – A Bar Song (Tipsy)
Hozier – Too Sweet
Post Malone – I Had Some Help ft Morgan Wallen
Kendrick Lamar – Not Like Us
Taylor Swift – Cruel Summer
Noah Kahan – Stick Season
Continue reading...Exclusive: Terrorist group the Base appears defiant as new administration aims to deprioritize threat from far right
An international neo-Nazi terrorist group with origins in the US appears to be quickly rebuilding its global and stateside ranks, according to information obtained by the Guardian from its digital accounts.
Founded in 2018, the Base has been the intense focus of a years-long FBI counter-terrorism investigation that has resulted in more than a dozen of its members arrested. It has plotted an assassination, mass shootings and other actions in Europe, which made it a proscribed terrorist organization in several countries.
Continue reading...A witness describes how she saw three men arm themselves before seeing a 15-year-old boy covered in blood
An Indigenous teenager was spotted holding his bloody head after being chased into bushland by two men with metal poles, a murder trial has been told.
Cassius Turvey, a 15-year-old Noongar Yamatji boy, died in hospital 10 days after prosecutors say he was chased, knocked to the ground and “deliberately struck to the head” in Perth’s eastern suburbs on 13 October 2022.
Continue reading...Environment Agency warns of risk of river and surface flooding, as climate crisis brings warmer and wetter winters
Flood warnings are in place across the UK after a weekend of heavy rain and high winds.
As sunshine and scattered showers moved in on Monday, flood warnings were issued across much of Wales, the south and south-west of England and a few in central Scotland.
Continue reading...No injuries reported after incident on Monday, which marks third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
An incendiary device exploded outside the Russian consulate in Marseille early on Monday, authorities said, on the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. No injuries were reported.
A second device was thrown but did not explode, and a bomb disposal expert was called to the scene.
Continue reading...Food delivery group’s board approves takeover by investor in German rival Delivery Hero
The food delivery business Just Eat Takeaway.com has been snapped up by an investor in its German rival Delivery Hero for €4.1bn (£3.4bn), two months after it left the London Stock Exchange.
Just Eat’s board has unanimously approved the takeover by the South African-owned internet investor Prosus, in an all-cash deal six years after Prosusmade its first effort to buy the British part of the business.
Continue reading...Research reveals UK institutions educated 50 world leaders in post in 2022, despite job cuts, course closures and a fall in foreign students
Universities in the UK, many of which are in the grip of a financial crisis, “educate more national leaders than any other country in the world”, according to analysis.
Research by Jisc, the UK’s higher education digital, data and technology agency, found UK institutions had educated 50 world leaders who were in post in 2022, with the US in second place with 41, followed by the Russian Federation (14) and France (six).
Continue reading...In today’s newsletter: The far-right AfD may have come second, but at 20% they have been held off by the performance of mainstream parties, with the CDU leader Friedrich Merz on course to be the new chancellor
Good morning. Germany’s elections always matter far beyond the country’s borders – but yesterday’s vote could be the most important in a generation.
After decades as the stable linchpin of European liberal democracy, Germany has found itself sucked into the same crises that are erupting all over the continent – over its economy, attitudes to immigration and the war in Ukraine. And after the shocking interventions of JD Vance and Elon Musk in favour of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party, the election became a symbol of a wider struggle for ideological supremacy – and posed a serious question over whether the centre can hold across the continent.
Ukraine | Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he is not willing to cave in to intense pressure from the Trump administration to sign a $500bn minerals deal – adding that that he was ready to quit as president if it meant “peace for Ukraine” or membership of Nato.
Catholicism | Pope Francis, who is battling pneumonia and a complex lung infection, remains in a critical condition, the Vatican has said. Archbishop Rino Fisichella, a senior Vatican official, told participants at a mass in St Peter’s Basilica on Sunday morning they should make their prayers for Francis “stronger and more intense”.
Afghanistan | The Taliban have arrested a British couple in their 70s for “teaching mothers parenting with children”. Peter Reynolds, 79, and his wife, Barbie, 75, have been running projects in schools in Afghanistan for 18 years.
Farming | Hospitals, schools and prisons are to be urged to buy more British food, as part of a government push to heal a rift with farmers over changes to inheritance tax. The environment secretary, Steve Reed, will set a target of sourcing at least half of public sector food from farms with the highest welfare standards, which should benefit British producers.
Green economy | The net zero sector is growing three times faster than the overall UK economy, analysis has found, providing high-wage jobs across the country while cutting climate-heating emissions and increasing energy security. 22,000 net zero businesses generated £83bn in gross value added last year.
Continue reading...Parliamentary petition launched due to billionaire’s link to Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to conquer Canada
More than 150,000 people from Canada have signed a parliamentary petition calling for their country to strip Elon Musk’s Canadian citizenship because of the tech billionaire’s alliance with Donald Trump, who has spent his second US presidency repeatedly threatening to conquer its independent neighbor to the north and turn it into its 51st state.
British Columbia author Qualia Reed launched the petition in Canada’s House of Commons, where it was sponsored by New Democrat parliamentary member and avowed Musk critic Charlie Angus, as the Canadian Press first reported over the weekend.
Continue reading...The final state housing targets have seen a reduction in numbers, but the overall goal of refocusing growth to Melbourne’s inner core remains
Reading the headlines, you’d be forgiven for thinking the Victorian government has capitulated again – this time on its bold housing targets.
But for the well-heeled residents of Brighton and Boorondara – some of whom who had sought to quash any changes amid cries of “shame, premier, shame” – it’s full steam ahead, at least in their suburbs.
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Continue reading...Opposition leader claims plan to reduce workforce by nearly all jobs added under Labor would save $6bn annually
Peter Dutton claims the Coalition would pay for a $8.5bn boost to Medicare by cutting thousands of public servant jobs, providing yet another different answer on the Coalition’s as-yet-undefined plans for the public service.
After weeks of contradictory statements from senior shadow ministers about how many positions the Coalition would cull if it wins government, Dutton has now stipulated his plan could save $6bn annually – potentially representing nearly all of the new positions created under Labor.
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Continue reading...New Zealand defence minister Judith Collins says department has ‘never seen a task group of this capability undertaking this sort of work’
New Zealand’s defence minister has warned that Chinese warships located off the east coast of Australia are armed with “extremely capable” weapons that could reach Australia.
The three vessels, known as Taskgroup 107, undertook two live-fire exercises in the seas between Australia and New Zealand last week, causing commercial flights to be diverted in the skies above.
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Continue reading...Selection of former Secret Service agent and author means two staunch Trump allies lead the principal federal law enforcement agency
Dan Bongino, a former US Secret Service agent who has written bestselling books, run unsuccessfully for office and gained fame as a conservative pundit with TV shows and a popular podcast, has been chosen to serve as the FBI’s deputy director.
President Donald Trump announced the appointment on Sunday night in a post on his Truth Social platform, praising Bongino as “a man of incredible love and passion for our country”. He called the announcement “great news for law enforcement and American justice”.
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