Good morning.
When the temperature in Sicily is approaching 50C, you know something is wrong.
When most of Italy’s major cities have issued warnings of dangerous conditions, wildfires burn for days on end across Greece, and staff at the Acropolis and other ancient sites are refusing to work because it’s too hot, it becomes harder to ignore that, while Europe has always had seasonal heatwaves, something more extreme is happening.
The science, of course, is very clear on the global heating emergency, but evidence of its escalating effects in Europe has been more widespread than ever over the past fortnight. Surely, as this situation worsens, governments will take meaningful action to combat the crisis? Surely now voters will demand it?
Ajit Niranjan is the Guardian’s European environment correspondent, based in Berlin and Brussels. I spoke to him about how the countries affected have responded to the current heat crisis – and what needs to happen before real political change takes place. First, today’s headlines.
Five big stories
New Zealand | Two people died and six people were injured after a shooting at a building site in Auckland city centre, hours before the Women’s World Cup is due to start. The gunman was also dead. New Zealand’s PM, Chris Hipkins, said the World Cup would proceed as planned.
Politics | Almost 200,000 families living under Labour-run councils are affected by the two-child benefit cap, a Guardian analysis has revealed. Keir Starmer’s decision not to scrap the policy if Labour wins power has led to attacks from anti-poverty campaigners and disquiet from senior figures in the party.
Health | MPs have urged the government to introduce restrictions on the packaging and marketing of disposable vapes to tackle the “alarming trend” of children using these addictive products. The health and social care committee said there should be restrictions on how e-cigarettes are sold, in line with those applied to tobacco products.
Slavery | Caribbean countries are considering approaching the UN’s international court of justice for a legal opinion on demanding compensation from 10 European countries over slavery, as the fight for reparative justice is stepped up. Ralph Gonsalves, the current leader of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, said he is also looking for an apology from the British government and expressed disappointment in Rishi Sunak’s lack of engagement in the matter.
Strikes | A strike by train staff in the RMT union will severely affect rail services across Britain in the next week. About 20,000 RMT members at 14 train operators will strike for 24 hours on Thursday and again on Saturday, coinciding with the end of a week-long overtime ban by train drivers in the Aslef union. The 10 days of transport disruption will coincide with the peak summer holiday getaway weekend.
In depth: ‘It’s shaping up to be one of the most damaging summers that we’ve seen’
2023-07-20 00:45:21
Source from www.theguardian.com
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