Cigarette butts for free food? How one group is asking people to rethink litter

As the UK experiences some of its hottest ever May weather, five people share their concerns – and tips for keeping coolThe UK is experiencing some of the hottest May weather ever recorded, with temperatures surpassing 35C in parts of England on Tuesday.Campaigners have warned that Britain’s public buildings are dangerously unprepared for rising temperatures, calling for better cooling systems in hospitals, care homes and other spaces used by vulnerable people. Continue reading...

Waltham Forest in the east of the capital has seen a wave of industrial action in schools, with more to come The gates to South Grove primary school in Walthamstow were closed to pupils last week.Teachers were on strike as part of a disparate wave of industrial action by members of the National Education Union (NEU) in schools across the borough of Waltham Forest in east London. Continue reading...

When an Inner Mongolia farmer sought two herders to tend his 3,000 sheep, he was swamped with applicants including graduates, factory labourers and white-collar workersA Chinese farm owner’s recruitment drive for shepherds has ended in success after his job advert seeking people to work on his Inner Mongolia ranch went viral, drawing the attention of city dwellers struggling to find work and highlighting growing strains in China’s labour market.Zuo Xiaoyong posted an advert on Chinese social media in late April seeking two shepherds, preferably a couple, to take 3,000 sheep out to graze on a 2,000ha pasture in the summer. The shepherds would also undertake indoor feeding and cleaning during the winter when temperatures can drop below -30C at his ranch roughly 300km from Xilinhot city, near the Mongolian border. Continue reading...

Industry figures warn of national security risk and call for ministers to address impact of extreme weather, inflation and Iran warBritain is “sleepwalking into a food crisis” caused by extreme weather, inflation and the impacts of the Iran war – and the government is failing to take the threat seriously, food experts have said.Farmers are facing severe strain from the current heatwave following a dry spring, with many crops likely to yield less as temperatures rise beyond their tolerance. Livestock are also suffering heat stress and there is a rising risk of wildfires. Economic losses are likely to be measured in the hundreds of millions of pounds. Continue reading...

Federal government seeks more than $2bn in damages from multinational manufacturer in its largest legal claim everFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Australian government said on Thursday it had launched legal action against the multinational manufacturer 3M over Pfas chemical contamination at defence bases, seeking damages of more than $2bn (US$1.4bn).The attorney general, Michelle Rowland, said the use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as “forever chemicals”, in firefighting foam had caused major environmental and economic harm, resulting in the largest legal claim ever brought by the federal government. Continue reading...

Musician says ‘we’ve lost that direction for our energy’ as his play The Last Ship returns to West EndThe fact many men no longer use their hands and physicality on a daily basis may be driving some of the toxic traits in modern masculinity, according to Sting.The singer, who on Wednesday announced that his musical about the last days of a shipyard was coming to the West End this autumn, told the Guardian that one of the byproducts of deindustrialisation was the loss of physical productivity for men.The Last Ship will be at Theatre Royal Drury Lane from 22 Sep to 3 Oct. Tickets go on sale from midday on 28 May. Continue reading...

After CEO’s comments to investors, opponents urge miner to ‘stop stringing everybody along and spike the project finally’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastSantos chief executive, Kevin Gallagher, has told an investor briefing the company will not be “exerting any effort” on its Narrabri gas project while it awaits outstanding approvals, prompting fresh questions about the future of the controversial development.Gallagher told investors this week the company was prioritising exploration in the Northern Territory’s Beetaloo Basin, where it is pursuing an expansion. Continue reading...

Volunteers head to Dorset countryside to restore the figure, but increasing heat means techniques have had to be adaptedFor centuries, the custodians of the Cerne Giant have clambered up the dizzyingly steep hill every decade or so to rechalk the outline, making sure the hulking figure can be seen far and wide across the rolling Dorset countryside.But the painstaking job, which involves hacking out the grubby old chalk by hand and packing in fresh, felt all the more urgent this week because effects put down to the climate emergency are making the giant a little duller and perhaps a touch more fragile. Continue reading...

After 88 days of near-total blackout, first reactions to the return of partial connectivity were not celebratoryAfter 88 days of near-total internet blackout in Iran, long-delayed messages, images and poems flooded phones and social media feeds at about 5pm on Tuesday, when still-limited connectivity flickered back to life.The first reactions, however, were not celebratory. Many new posts were threaded with scepticism, anxiety and anger. Continue reading...

The public broadcaster launched an investigation into the former bikie’s involvement in a podcast sponsored by an online casinoFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Four Corners reporter Mahmood Fazal is no longer working for the ABC after an investigation into the former bikie’s involvement in a podcast sponsored by an online casino.The ABC managing director, Hugh Marks, told Senate estimates on Thursday Fazal’s employment had been “terminated” after the investigation. Continue reading...

Military claims boat targeted in second deadly attack this week was travelling along a known smuggling routeThe US military attacked what it called a drug trafficking boat on Wednesday in the eastern Pacific, killing two men, officials said.It was the second deadly attack in as many days in the Trump administration offensive that began last September and has now left almost 200 people dead. Rights groups say the attacks could amount to extrajudicial killings. Continue reading...