Australia and UK seal Geelong Treaty to anchor AUKUS nuclear submarine pact
Australia and the United Kingdom have signed a landmark 50-year treaty to cement their partnership under the AUKUS nuclear submarine programme....
As U.N. delegates gather in Busan, South Korea, for the fifth round of talks on a global plastics treaty, deep divisions persist, raising doubts about reaching a final agreement on curbing plastic pollution.
As delegates from 175 nations convene in Busan, South Korea, for the fifth round of U.N. talks aimed at securing a global treaty to tackle plastic pollution, unresolved divisions raise concerns over whether a final agreement will be reached. The meeting, which began on Monday, is expected to be the concluding session of the U.N. Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5). However, the previous round of discussions in Ottawa, held in April, ended without a clear resolution on capping plastic production.
The focus of this week's talks will shift towards addressing chemicals of concern and other measures, following strong opposition from petrochemical-heavy nations such as Saudi Arabia and China, who resisted proposals to target plastic production. Their objections stand in stark contrast to the positions of countries that face the harsh consequences of plastic pollution.
These ongoing disagreements mirror the tensions that have long impeded U.N. efforts to combat global warming. The most recent climate summit, COP29, ended with an agreement that many developing nations criticised as insufficient.
At the opening session in Busan, INC Chair Luis Vayas Valdivieso warned that without decisive action, the amount of plastic entering the environment annually by 2040 could nearly double compared to levels in 2022. He emphasised the urgency of addressing this "existential challenge," noting that microplastics have been detected in human organs.
In a surprising development in August, the United States expressed its support for a cap on plastic production in the treaty, aligning itself with the European Union, Kenya, Peru, and other members of the High Ambition Coalition. This move has raised expectations for progress in the negotiations.
Despite the hurdles, Inger Andersen, executive director of the U.N. Environment Programme, remains optimistic that an agreement will emerge from the talks. She highlighted the communique from the recent Group of 20 summit, where leaders called for a legally binding treaty by the end of this year.
The world’s biggest dance music festival faces an unexpected setback as a fire destroys its main stage, prompting a last-minute response from organisers determined to keep the party alive in Boom, Belgium.
Australian researchers have created a groundbreaking “biological AI” platform that could revolutionise drug discovery by rapidly evolving molecules within mammalian cells.
Australian researchers have pioneered a low-cost and scalable plasma-based method to produce ammonia gas directly from air, offering a green alternative to the traditional fossil fuel-dependent Haber-Bosch process.
A series of earthquakes have struck Guatemala on Tuesday afternoon, leading authorities to advise residents to evacuate from buildings as a precaution against possible aftershocks.
The U.S. economy faces a 40% risk of recession in the second half of 2025, JP Morgan analysts said on Wednesday, citing rising tariffs and stagflation concerns.
Firefighters in Greece are battling wildfires near Athens and on several islands as the country swelters under its third heatwave of the summer. Villages have been evacuated as flames spread through dry terrain, fanned by strong winds and record temperatures.
As Greece swelters under an intense heat wave, electricity demand and wholesale prices have soared to record highs, straining the national grid and pushing infrastructure to its limits.
From Hawaii’s fiery lava fountains to Italy’s ash-filled skies, it may feel like volcanoes are erupting everywhere in 2025. With nearly 50 eruptions already this year, many are asking, is the Earth getting more active? The truth is far less alarming, and far more fascinating.
Greece’s fir forests are vanishing as climate change fuels extreme heat, prolonged drought, and pest outbreaks, leaving once-lush mountains scarred by dying trees.
Storms and rising seas are washing away Barcelona’s man-made beaches, putting tourism and coastal life at risk, according to residents in the area. In Montgat, locals say their summers by the sea are vanishing.
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