Water shortages hitting crops, energy and health as crisis gathers pace amid climate breakdown

Drought is pushing tens of millions of people to the edge of starvation around the world, in a foretaste of a global crisis that is rapidly deepening with climate breakdown.

More than 90 million people in eastern and southern Africa are facing extreme hunger after record-breaking drought across many areas, ensuing widespread crop failures and the death of livestock. In Somalia, a quarter of the population is now edging towards starvation, and at least a million people have been displaced.

Continue reading...

Negotiations have stalled ahead of next week’s deadline, with some suggesting Japan misjudged the depth of President Trump’s frustration over Tokyo’s policies.

Democratic mayors challenge new rules that give millions of people less time to enroll in coverage

New Trump administration rules that give millions of people a shorter timeframe to sign up for the Affordable Care Act’s health care coverage are facing a legal challenge from Democratic mayors around the country.

The rules, rolled out last month, reverse a Biden-era effort to expand access to the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance, commonly called “Obamacare” or the ACA. The previous Democratic administration expanded the enrollment window for the coverage, which led to record enrollment.

Continue reading...

CPS says it is considering more charges against former nurse after evidence from Cheshire police detectives

Detectives investigating the former nurse Lucy Letby have passed evidence to prosecutors alleging she murdered and harmed more babies.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) confirmed on Wednesday that it was considering further charges against Letby over alleged crimes at the Countess of Chester hospital and Liverpool Women’s hospital.

Continue reading...

Tommy Freeman scores twice as the British and Irish Lions run in eight tries in a comprehensive victory over the Queensland Reds in Brisbane.

Common tools and a little muscle have fueled a crime wave that may have netted one burglary crew hundreds of thousands of dollars in a matter of months.

Some shipments have been stopped ‘to put America’s interests first’, White House says

• See all our Ukraine war coverage

The Pentagon has halted shipments of critical US Patriot air defence systems and other precision weapons to Ukraine after concern that US stockpiles are running too low, prompting alarm in Kyiv.

A decision was quietly taken last month by the Pentagon’s policy chief, Elbridge Colby. Kyiv said halting weapons shipments would only encourage Russian aggression, but the White House said the halt had been made “to put America’s interests first following a DoD [Department of Defense] review”.

Continue reading...

Week of 20 June was highest level of risk for Fordham Tick Index as scientists remind people to take precautions

Ticks have been flourishing recently in the United States.

This year, as compared to recent years, there has been an increase in the reported number of blacklegged ticks, the number of such ticks that carry Lyme disease and visits to the emergency room because of bites from the tiny parasitic arachnid, according to data from universities and the US federal government.

Continue reading...

Many cultures use pickle brine as a seasoning, so it’s open season on salads, noodles, bloody marys … and for, er, ‘backslopping’

I’m an avid consumer of pickles, especially gherkins. When I’ve finished a jar, how can I use the brine in my cooking?
Geoff, Sheffield
Last year, Dua Lipa poured Diet Coke into an ice-filled glass, topped it up with the brine from both a tub of pickles (plus a few rogue pickles) and a tub of jalapeños, swirled it around, then drank it. While someone under the viral TikTok video asked, “Dua, is everything OK?”, the pop star is right about one thing: it’s time we start thinking of pickle brine as an ingredient, rather than a byproduct.

“The brine retains all of that delicious pickle flavour,” says Moon Lee, head chef of no-waste restaurant Silo in London, “and a mixture of sweet and savoury undertones”. Also, because it’s fermented, “it has an almost tangy, kombucha-like taste, too. I’m from Korea, and we always make use of kimchi juice, whether in a dressing, as a seasoning for noodles or in pancake batter. Why can’t pickle brine have the same potential?”

Got a culinary dilemma? Email feast@theguardian.com

Continue reading...

Mark Carney’s Strong Borders Act would mean a crackdown on refugees as Canada seeks to bolster its relationship with the US

There are many stereotypes about Canada – that we are a nation of extremely polite people, a welcoming melting pot, and that we’re the US’s laid-back cousin who lives next door.

But right now, Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, is bucking all of that lore after pressure from the US in the form of Donald Trump’s “concerns” about undocumented migrants and fentanyl moving across the US-Canada border. In response, the recently elected Liberal PM put forward a 127-page bill that includes, among other worrying provisions, sweeping changes to immigration policy that would make the process much more precarious for refugees and could pave the way for mass deportations.

Continue reading...