Latest Stories
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Curtain to fall on the ‘best decade in history’
Were the 2010s really the best decade ever? Swedish historian Johan Norberg says the statistics prove that the world is happier, healthier, freer and richer than ever.
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Seal with Starbucks spotlights ocean plight
Are we killing our sea life? A seal clutches a glass bottle in a photo that’s gone viral. Baby porpoises are poisoned by chemical pollutants. Then, a whale washes up with 100kg of litter in its...
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UN chief: climate talks at ‘point of no return’
Is he right? The world’s biggest climate summit kicked off in Madrid yesterday, with 29,000 delegates from almost every nation. António Guterrez thinks this is our last shot to get it right.
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A football pitch of rainforest lost each minute
Who owns the rainforest? Deforestation in the Amazon has increased by 30% in the past year, with many blaming Brazil’s president. Activists say the precious ecosystem is not his to destroy.
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‘Law of the jungle’ as US backs settlements
Is the liberal international order collapsing? The Trump administration just smashed years of legal history by declaring that Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank are now acceptable.
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The end of babies: a birth rate emergency
Is the world running out of babies? Almost half of countries are facing a “baby bust”. Experts think wealthy lifestyles, long working hours and even chemical pollutants could be to blame.
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Hong Kong ‘on the brink of collapse’
Does it matter? The streets of Hong Kong are a battlefield between riot police and pro-democracy activists. And the fate of this small tax haven could have implications across the world.
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Australia’s bushfires rage out of control
Are bushfires the price for using fossil fuels? Huge infernos are burning across eastern Australia. Critics say they are linked to the climate crisis, and the country must stop mining coal.
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Wildfires rip through hot, parched California
Are climate deniers partly to blame? California’s governor has said that Donald Trump, who doesn’t believe in the climate crisis, is not entitled to talk about the fires’ causes.
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‘Garden of Eden’ discovered in Botswana
Are we all Africans? New research suggests that all humans alive today are descended from people living in southern Africa, 200,000 years ago. But are they right? And does it matter?
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Attenborough returns with stern warning
But is he shying away from blaming humanity? The veteran naturalist returns to our screens on Sunday with a new series, delivering his most radical environmental message yet.
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Black-spot tourism ‘feeds ghoulish fascination’
Is it tasteless to turn a disaster site into a tourist attraction? Since the release of HBO’s Chernobyl series earlier this year, bookings to the site of the catastrophe have soared by 40%.
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‘Almost three billion will go hungry by 2050’
Can we feed everyone? Tomorrow is World Food Day. We already make enough for 10 billion people, and yet one in nine humans does not have enough food. How did that happen?
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Sci-fi comes true as China breeds giants pigs
Is this how meat-eating ends? In the face of severe shortages caused by infection and trade wars, a desperate regime starts breeding monster pigs to pacify its angry, rebellious masses.
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Climate uprising sparks a bitter war of words
Are they heroes or “uncooperative crusties”, as Boris Johnson said? Climate protesters are blocking roads in 60 cities. They say our future is at stake, but their methods are deeply divisive.