12 h. ago Public strongly backs aim of 30% of land and sea set aside for nature, poll finds

Survey of eight countries finds 82% of people support 30x30 biodiversity target, as progress stalls on protected areasMuch of the world favours protecting 30% of the world’s land and water for nature by 2030, according to new research that has found overwhelming public support for the goal across eight countries on five continents.Nearly 200 nations agreed in 2022 to set aside 30% of the world’s land and 30% of marine areas for nature. But just 17.6% of the world’s land and 8.6% of the seas are now under global protection, and more than 100 nations are less than halfway to meeting the target, which was established under the 2022 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Continue reading...

Politics

22 h. ago Macron says 26 nations ready to provide postwar military backing to Ukraine

French president says allies would either deploy ‘reassurance force’ troops to Ukraine, or be present in the area on land, sea or in the airTwenty-six nations have pledged to provide postwar security guarantees to Ukraine, including an international force on land and sea and in the air, Emmanuel Macron said after a summit at which European leaders sought to pin down Donald Trump on the level of support he is willing to give Kyiv.“The day the conflict stops, the security guarantees will be deployed,” the French president told a press conference at the Élysée Palace in Paris, standing alongside Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Continue reading...

Events

52 h. ago Nuclear triad and ‘robot wolves’: parade shows off array of Chinese weapons

On display in Beijing were nuclear weapons launched by air, sea and land, laser weapons and four-legged dronesIt was hardly a subtle attempt to project power. China showed off air-, sea- and land-launched nuclear weapons in its parade on Wednesday, a triad intended to demonstrate that Beijing’s long-term aspiration is to match US military might.Also on display were large underwater torpedo-like drones, intended to threaten western warships, as well as anti-drone lasers and four-legged “robot wolves”, all designed to be noticed, regardless of their actual military effectiveness. Continue reading...

Events

6 d. ago Pilot cheats death as horrifying footage shows plane crashing into ocean

Mark Finkelstein - a seasoned pilot with 17 years experience - was planning to have a quick 20 minute flight around Oak Island Pier in North Carolina when he suffered engine failure and was forced to crash land in the sea

Events

6 d. ago Snowy peaks, orcas and an antique shop – the abandoned Norwegian fishing village that’s enjoying a revival

A handful of returning locals and adventurous tourists are breathing new life into Nyksund, a remote coastal outpost in Norway’s wild northwestWe land on a white sand beach under jagged black mountains. A sea eagle, surprised to see humans, flaps away over the only house with a roof on it – the rest are in ruins. “Hundreds of people used to live here,” says Vidar. “In the days when you had to sail or row, it was important to be near the fishing grounds. Now there’s just one summer cabin.”Jumping out of the boat, we walk along the beach. My daughter, Maddy, points out some animal tracks. “The fresh marks are wild reindeer,” says Vidar. “The older ones could be moose – they come along here too.” Continue reading...

Culture

8 d. ago Beavers were welcomed back to the Netherlands. Until they started digging 17m

Reintroduced for environmental reasons, beavers are now in danger of causing serious flooding. Should there be more culls?The beaver has made an amazing comeback in the Netherlands. Extinct in the early 19th century, it was reintroduced in 1988, and now there are an estimated 7,000 beavers roaming around. Compared with England, where the beaver population is estimated at 500, that’s quite a feat.But there’s a significant downside to the booming Dutch beaver population. Beavers are increasingly digging burrows and tunnels under roads, railways and – even more worrying – in dykes. For a country where a quarter of the land sits below sea level, this is not a minor problem – especially as beavers are not exactly holding back when digging.Renate van der Zee is a Dutch writer and journalist Continue reading...

Politics

8 d. ago Christmas At The Botanics 2025 global artists to turn beauty trail into dazzling winter wonderland.

Nature is set to shine brightly as artists from around the world transform Christmas At The Botanics 2025.

Politics

1 week ago The Guardian view on Nigel Farage’s mass deportation plan: Trumpism in a union jack | Editorial

Reform UK’s leader isn’t offering border control. He’s dismantling democratic constraints and replacing them with fear and authoritarian fictionNigel Farage wants you to believe Britain could deport 288,000 people annually. That’s nearly 800 a day – 30 times the current rate of asylum-related returns. This is a fantasy concealing his real aim: to destroy public trust in democratic institutions, crush legal constraints and turn fear into power. Mr Farage isn’t trying to fix the asylum system. In fact, he wants to dismantle the political framework necessary to achieve that goal: the treaties, parliamentary conventions and centuries of legal protections. In their place, a Reform government would operate by executive fiat cloaked in nationalist rhetoric.“Operation Restoring Justice” is a louder, more extreme version of Rishi Sunak’s failed 2023 strategy to detain everyone, deport everyone and process no one. This led to a backlog of unheard asylum claims, spiralling hotel costs and publ...

Politics

2 w. ago Matthew Perry: A Hollywood Tragedy review – the details are so sad but are we really shocked?

His grief-stricken friends and co-stars are moved to tears remembering his genius. But this film feels increasingly disingenuous, like a race to get to the ‘good’ stuff the criminal investigation sparked by his deathThere is a reason the sitcom Friends was so popular from the off and became such a juggernaut so quickly. The writing was brilliant, and the six actors in it were astonishing individually and even better together. Comedy is alchemical, and they transmuted gold into pure joy.Matthew Perry formed one sixth of the troupe as Chandler Bing. Every actor had their particular strength and his was perhaps to be the nimblest, the most alive to the currents crisscrossing any scene he was in. He was the only one of the cast allowed in the writers’ room to contribute, and from that maybe we can infer he was the most naturally funny off set too. Certainly his timing, even in the extraordinary company he kept, was immaculate. Continue reading...

Events

4 w. ago ‘If the reef had a voice, it would sing’: could legal personhood help the Great Barrier Reef?

As the natural wonder faces mounting ecological threats, traditional owners and environmental lawyers are calling for a radical new approach While patrolling the Great Barrier Reef, Gary Singleton was struck by an eerie stillness. The Coral Sea lay flat as glass beneath a heavy, windless sky. The heat was stifling, the water a little too warm. “It was beautiful,” he says. “But I remember thinking, ‘I feel sorry for the reef.’”That moment stayed with him. A Yirrganydji traditional owner and land and sea manager in the Cairns-Port Douglas region, Singleton has spent more than 12 years working to protect the reef – as warming seas, sediment runoff, pollution and overfishing steadily erode its resilience. Just this week a report found a record drop in live coral in two out of three sections of the reef, prompting warnings that a tipping point for the ecosystem’s future is approaching. Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago AD FEATURE: Discover the wonders of both sea and land on a cruise holiday

From fantastic onboard facilities to a range of incredible destinations within reach, MSC Cruises has all you need for an amazing experience

Politics