‘It’s pretty gloomy out there’: new NFU chief Tom Bradshaw fights to give food producers a better deal
‘This is the first time I’ve had my lawn cut by somebody else,” says Tom Bradshaw, the new president of the National Farmers’ Union. Just over a month after being voted into the role, he admits life has become “hectic”….
Big oil privately acknowledged efforts to downplay climate crisis, joint committee investigation finds
Big oil has privately acknowledged its efforts to downplay the dangers of burning fossil fuels, US Democrats have found. Major fossil-fuel firms have also pledged support for international climate efforts, but internally admit these efforts are incompatible with their own…
How climate policies are becoming focus for far-right attacks in Germany
Raising his voice above the pounding drums and honking tractors, Lutz Jankus, a city councillor from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), distanced himself from the furious protest unfurling before him. “They’re rightwing extremists,” he said about Free Saxony, a…
Across the world, journalists are under threat for sharing the truth | Jonathan Watts
Conflict in Gaza, war in Ukraine, a battle over the global environment – the world is becoming an increasingly hostile place, particularly for frontline journalists. Last year saw 99 killings of reporters, up 44% on 2022 and the highest toll…
‘The Greens are our enemy’: What is fuelling the far right in Germany?
The far right are on the march in Germany and the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany has become the most popular party in several states. Immigration and a sense of being economically left behind have been driving factors in the rise…
First scientist to publish Covid sequence in China protests over lab ‘eviction’
The first Chinese scientist to publish a genomic sequence of the Covid-19 virus, in defiance of government orders, has been staging a sit-in protest after claiming he was locked out of his laboratory. Zhang Yongzhen, a virologist, said in an…
County cricket: wet weather forces more draws but Surrey march on
Ball one: chronicle of a win foretold Last week, this column suggested that Surrey have a strategy to win cricket matches. This week, to nobody’s surprise, they applied it to beat not just Hampshire, but the weather that consigned the…
Developed countries accused of bowing to lobbyists at plastic pollution talks
Campaigners are blaming developed countries for capitulating at the last minute to pressure from fossil fuel and industry lobbyists, and slowing progress towards the first global treaty to cut plastic waste. Delegates concluded talks in Ottawa, Canada, late on Monday,…
The Breakdown | English rugby must wear salary cap and resist temptation to remove it
They published the annual salary-cap report last week. Premier Rugby has turned this into quite the glossy document, as if to underscore how seriously the concept of the salary cap is taken these days. Poignantly, this is the first time…
Jofra Archer confirmed in squad to boost England’s T20 World Cup defence
Jofra Archer has been cleared to play in England’s T20 World Cup defence after recovering from the elbow injury that has dogged him for more than four years. The 29-year-old has been named in the 15-man squad that will play…