Keyword – World news
Trefwoorden – China, Tibet, Nepal-Tibet flood disaster, Asia Pacific, Protest, Censorship
Title – How the Nepal-Tibet disaster became the latest victim of China’s ‘Clean Internet’ campaign | China | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/danny-vincent
Link – How the Nepal-Tibet disaster became the latest victim of China’s ‘Clean Internet’ campaign | China | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-09-08T03:14:43.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/08/nepal-tibet-flood-disaster-china-clean-internet-media-censorship-suppression

T sering Phuntsok watched news of the Nepal-Tibet flood unfold from thousands of miles away in southern India. The 46-year-old Tibetan in exile has missing family members on both sides of the border; those in Nepal are named in official government lists, but in Tibet he has received no information.

“I have started praying for the lost ones now. I have to accept they will not return [because] … I’m not getting any information.”

The flooding disaster is an example of the increasing use by Chinese authorities of “Clean Internet 2026”, the latest version of a long-running campaign by the Ministry of Public Security that criminalises anything officials regard as false information, which includes unofficial accounts of the floods.

It follows a well-established playbook in which authorities promote official narratives, suppress independent accounts, discourage efforts to look back at the causes of a disaster and punish those who post claims that differ from the government-approved narrative.

While earlier versions of the campaign focused on cybercrime and hacking, it is increasingly being used to target what the authorities call “rumours” which include unofficial information about the disaster.

“The campaign serves a dual purpose. Tackling genuine problems like fraud and misinformation while tightening control over public narratives,” says Tencho Gyatso from the International Campaign for Tibet, a US based Tibetan advocacy group. “That dual purpose is what makes it more nuanced and challenging to criticise.”

In the hours after the floods, researchers say they saw a huge surge in interest across Chinese social media. The topic was trending, but then fell away as comments were removed in real time.

Screenshots seen by the Guardian show the Chinese app WeChat restricting posts about the floods. In one case, a user was notified by WeChat that a post about the flooding had been reported and then deleted for containing “politically sensitive content”. Another was stopped from being shared. It was said to be “unavailable due to policy violation” and that it contained “prohibited content”.

“[The trend] was constantly shifting and being manipulated because there was real interest,” says David Bandurski, director of the China Media Project, a research group that monitors Chinese media. “A ‘crackdown’ is not the right word, because they don’t crack down. It’s a consistent, persistent, everyday application of a policy of public-opinion guidance.”

On 30 August, four days after the disaster, police in Tibet reported 10 cases under the Clean Internet 2026 campaign relating to “rumours” about the disaster. In the majority of cases there were claims that more than 1,000 people had been swept away in the floods. So far, Chinese authorities have released a death toll of 43. Human rights and Tibetan advocacy groups have accused the Chinese government of concealing the true scale of the death toll.

The police notice said that spreading of “rumours” “misleads the public and disrupts online order” and it intended to “ensure that disaster relief work proceeds smoothly”.

A user from Jiangxi, a province 3,000km away from the disaster, posted on a video platform claiming “the number of missing people had risen to 826”. According to the police report the user faced “administrative punishment” without specifying what that involved.

‘Proving that the state is working hard’

One former Chinese state media journalist, who agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, says control in times of crisis also works through simple omission of information as much as suppression: “Official news coverage devotes enormous space to proving that the state is working hard, but gives very little information answering the most basic questions: who is missing? Where were they last seen? Which buildings have been searched?

“Controls have become much stricter, especially regarding the internet, though there are nuances, as there are still ways to bypass restrictions. For instance, by posting quickly or using veiled language to get content through,” they say.

But allowing some reporting can serve the interests of central authorities, says one former CGTN editor who worked at the broadcaster during the Covid pandemic and who also asked not to be named for fear of reprisals.

“The government needs journalists to uncover uncomfortable truths because it needs accurate information in order to govern effectively,” they say. “But if journalists are given completely free rein to uncover and publish those truths, they may expose things that are politically uncomfortable or challenge the interests of the state.”

Bandurski says: “The [Communist] party sees itself in a global public-opinion struggle. It is wrestling with the world fighting to get its view out. This is how China sees information globally, in a very, very oppositional framework.”

Phuntsok hopes his family on the Nepal side could still be alive. His grandfather, Wangyal, uncle Janngchup, aunt Sumchok and their young child Yeshi Dorjee are still missing.

On the Tibet side he is unwilling to share the names of his missing relatives with the Guardian for security reasons.

Kalsang Jigme, a Tibetan journalist based in New Delhi, says: “Normally, when there’s some disaster, people are very active, praying and support, and they send goods to the affected area. But this time they’re completely silenced.”

Additional research by Yu-chen Li in Taipei

Keyword – UK news
Trefwoorden – Falkland Islands, Argentina, UK news, Israel, Energy industry, Donald Trump, US foreign policy
Title – Argentina says it will file criminal charges against energy company in Falklands row | Falkland Islands | The Guardian
Author – Guardian staff and Reuters
Link – Argentina says it will file criminal charges against energy company in Falklands row | Falkland Islands | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-09-08T02:29:59.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/sep/08/argentina-criminal-charges-navitas-petroleum-falkland-islands-drilling

Argentina’s government said on ⁠Monday it will file criminal charges against the Israeli energy company Navitas Petroleum and ⁠its executives ⁠for operating ​in the Falkland Islands .

The move follows remarks on Friday by the Argentina president, Javier ⁠Milei, who vowed to sanction oil companies drilling in the British overseas territory as ⁠he stepped up the South American nation’s sovereignty ​claims.

According to a ‌statement from the ‌presidency, foreign minister Pablo Quirno will file the criminal ‌complaint against several Navitas subsidiaries and partners operating in the territory, along with their corporate directors.

Navitas did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

The government alleges the firms violated Argentinian ‌law by holding hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation licenses issued by the UK in the ​North Falkland Basin.

Milei last week singled out the Sea Lion offshore oil project as he announced measures targeting companies involved in Falklands oil and ⁠gas activities, with penalties potentially extending to shareholders, directors ​and ​suppliers.

The Sea Lion field ​is operated by Tel Aviv-listed Navitas Petroleum, ​which holds ‌a 65% ​stake.

Gideon Tadmor, ​a prominent figure in Israel’s energy sector and the company’s chair, holds about 9% of its shares, according to LSEG data.

Last week Milei said in a televised address that “winds of change” favourable to Argentina’s claim to the Falkland Islands are blowing around the world, after Donald Trump had earlier suggested he was reconsidering US support for Britain’s sovereignty over the South Atlantic islands.

Officially, the US takes a neutral position on who has rightful sovereignty over the islands, which Britain first claimed in the late 17th century and has held almost continually since 1833. In practice, Washington recognises British administration over the territory, which was the subject of an Argentinian invasion and subsequent military conflict with Britain in 1982.

In response to a question about whether he was reviewing the US’s position over the Falklands, Trump last week said: “I always review every position – that’s just one of many”.

Milei portrayed Trump’s response as a “threat” that was “not innocuous”.

“The US is considering this change of position because it knows that Argentina is a reliable partner, aligned with western values, in a strategically important position that can be a valuable ally in the decades to come,” Milei said. He also said companies developing oil “behind the back of the Argentine government” would be barred from doing business in Argentina.

Ministers in the UK immediately condemned Milei’s comments , saying the Falklands would remain British for as long as the people who live there wanted them to.

Speculation about a US switch of allegiance over the islands has been swirling for months.

In April, a leaked Pentagon email suggested reviewing Britain’s claim in response to its lack of support for Trump’s decision to go to war with Iran. Trump is also unhappy with what he says is the small amount spent on defence by Nato alliance countries.

A switch of US position would represent a psychological blow to Britain’s sovereignty over the Falklands.

After Argentina invaded the islands in 1982, the decision by Margaret Thatcher’s government to dispatch a naval taskforce that eventually resulted in their recovery was bolstered by staunch diplomatic support from Ronald Reagan, who came down on Britain’s side, even though Washington was also an ally of the Argentinian ruling military junta.

Additional reporting by Robert Tait and Tiago Rogero

Keyword – Music
Trefwoorden – Oasis, Music documentary, Music, Culture, Documentary films, Film, Liam Gallagher, Noel Gallagher, Pop and rock
Title – Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger: what we learned from the year’s biggest rockumentary | Oasis | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/david-renshaw
Link – Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger: what we learned from the year’s biggest rockumentary | Oasis | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-09-08T02:09:40.000Z
Category – Culture
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/sep/08/oasis-dont-look-back-in-anger-live-tour-documentary-what-we-learned

I t was the reunion that many thought would never happen: Oasis re-forming for a series of sold-out live shows, their first since Noel and Liam Gallagher split acrimoniously in 2009. For those who managed to get tickets last year, the performances were a celebration of one of Britpop’s finest bands and a chance to live through a night of 90s nostalgia. For the millions who missed out, be it due to demand or budgetary restraints, the tour represented a generational Fomo moment.

Luckily, the directors Will Lovelace and Dylan Southern were embedded within team Oasis throughout the whole thing, alongside the Peaky Blinders creator, Steven Knight: the result is Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger , a two-hour concert film that hits cinemas around the world this week. Whether you were on the front row at Manchester’s Heaton Park, doing the Poznan in Seoul or stuck at home watching it all online, Don’t Look Back in Anger captures the Oasis Live ’25 Tour for posterity. Here’s what we learned.

The tension of the long-awaited first meeting

Recorded by cameras hidden around the band’s practice room, Don’t Look Back in Anger opens with footage of Oasis rehearsing together before their first show in Cardiff. Initially it is just Noel and the rest of the band running through the music, with Liam due to join them after a couple of weeks. The younger brother breaks the ice immediately upon arrival, telling Joey Waronker that part of his drum kit is “giving me the hump” before stepping behind the mic and letting rip. The second he finishes his work for the day Liam walks straight out the door and heads home. His bandmates keep playing while laughing. With that, Oasis are back in business.

Noel the softie?

It’s notable how at ease Noel appears in Don’t Look Back in Anger. Perhaps it’s age – he turns 60 next year – or just the achievement of reuniting a band whose absence shadowed him for more than a decade, but he is positively soppy at points. He admits to being nervous before opening night and in tears before a show in Ireland. The death of Stone Roses bassist, Mani , has him questioning his own mortality. Seeing fathers and sons embracing in the crowd gets him, too. “I had to turn my back on the audience a lot,” he says.

Liam remains a singular presence …

Despite the nonchalant confidence, Liam seemingly went into the tour with a point to prove. Avoiding both cigarettes and alcohol, he is in athletic form while remaining quick-witted (a joke about Mick Jagger providing one of many laugh-out-loud moments) and vocally stronger than he has been in years. We learn that he turned up to the Principality Stadium in Cardiff 20 minutes before the band stepped on stage. As he puts it: “It takes a lot of caring to not give a fuck.”

… but both are obviously on their best behaviour

Noel and Liam appear throughout the film, first in separate on-camera interviews and later in a joint chat. Liam mentions letting music “be the superhero”; the songs don’t belong to them but to the fans. It’s clearly true – the film pulls at an interesting thread about the new generation of Oasis fans who have emerged in the band’s absence – but it also feels as though the documentary is avoiding the elephant in the room. For more than a decade these brothers were sworn enemies; Noel at one point says he “never forgives”. And yet, by the end of the film, he claims that “all was forgiven without a word”. The fact that money isn’t mentioned once as a motivating factor for the tour, even in jest, doesn’t feel true to a group who never previously shied away from the financial benefits of being the biggest band in the world.

Don’t expect any mention of the ticket prices

The joy and euphoria across the faces of every fan in Don’t Look Back in Anger makes it clear people could have paid double and still got value for money watching Oasis – but that doesn’t mean they should have been forced to pay through the nose. In one throwaway moment Liam refers to the people in the cheap seats, before adding: “Actually there are no cheap seats, sorry about that.” Funny, but it would have been nice to hear someone justify Ticketmaster using “tiered” pricing that led to some tickets advertised at £148.50 ending up costing more than £350.

Don’t call Oasis rightwing

The Gallagher brothers’ political views have always been hard to pin down. Noel famously backed Tony Blair in 1997 and has previously stated that an “invisible force field” would stop him from voting Tory. But, like many men in their late 50s, his views have become more reactionary over time. In 2018 he claimed that he would reform Oasis to stop “communist” Jeremy Corbyn from being elected prime minister then, a few years later, said an increasingly politicised Glastonbury was “getting a bit woke now” .

Noel is not asked about his views in the film but he and Liam reject any notion that they stand for anything but unity between people. “The media never understood what Oasis are,” he argues at one point. “I know what it isn’t. It’s not a rightwing thing. All are welcome. It’s we and us. ‘We will find a brighter day.’ [The songs] are about us.”

The concert footage is electric

With imagery from a team of cinematographers including Lol Crawley, known for his Oscar-winning work on The Brutalist – plus seriously loud sound design by Moonage Daydream’s Samir Foco, mixed by The Zone of Interest’s Tarn Willers and James Mather – Don’t Look Back in Anger is an impressive piece of work. Guitars ring out with a muscular heft and songs are bellowed by a choir of fans swaying on top of loved ones’ shoulders. Anthemic songs are used as a thread between tour dates: Rock’n’Roll Star in Los Angeles, Wonderwall in Buenos Aires and Some Might Say back in Dublin.

The tour was a true family affair

Noel and Liam can’t party like they did in the 90s – but their kids can. The fact that the siblings had not spoken in a decade and a half is underlined by a discussion about their four sons (aged 15, 18, 25 and 26) meeting for the first time during the tour. Donovan, Noel’s oldest, is given the dubious honour of the story of his night getting “absolutely spangled” and puking in a taxi being shared with millions. Thanks, Dad.

The Gallagher brothers have a group chat

Amazingly, it’s also revealed that the brothers now text each other “like fucking mates” and are “in touch way, way, way, way more” than they used to be. Their texts largely consist of silly videos and opinions of people on TV. Maybe their Reels-based relationship is the strongest sign yet for fans hoping to see a fresh batch of dates announced for 2027.

Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger is released 9 September in the UK, 10 September in Australia and 11 September in the US

Keyword – World news
Trefwoorden – Mexico, Australia news, Western Australia, Americas, World news
Title – ‘I heard a lot of noise’: trial begins in Mexico for alleged killers of Australian surfers and American friend | Mexico | The Guardian
Author – Agence France-Presse in Ensenada
Link – ‘I heard a lot of noise’: trial begins in Mexico for alleged killers of Australian surfers and American friend | Mexico | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-09-08T02:00:24.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/07/alleged-killers-of-australian-surfers-and-american-friend-go-on-trial-in-mexico

The suspected murderers of two Australian surfers and an American at a Mexican surfing hotspot have gone on trial, two years after the killings in a suspected robbery.

Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson, aged 30 and 33 respectively, and their 30-year-old American friend Jack Carter Rhoad were on a surfing trip to Mexico’s Pacific coast when they were shot dead in Baja California state.

They had been camping in a remote beachside area when they were allegedly attacked in April 2024.

Their bodies were found dumped in a cliff-top shaft several days after they went missing. They had gunshot wounds to their heads. Three men are on trial over their killings.

The Robinsons’ parents travelled to the port city of Ensenada for the start of the proceedings on Monday. Their mother, Debra Robinson, stared at the accused before bursting into tears in the courtroom.

“It’s about representing our sons, being here for them. I know they want us to be here,” her partner, Martin Robinson, had earlier told reporters. “We want to find out what happened. We want to find out why.”

Authorities allege the men were murdered during an attempt to steal their pickup truck, which was found burned near their bodies.

Three witnesses appeared before the court on Monday, including the stepson of one of the defendants, who described his stepfather as violent.

Testifying from an adjoining room with his face concealed, he said he accompanied the accused to the crime scene, waiting nearby when the “commotion” began. “I heard a lot of noise,” he said, explaining that he had run away but rejoined the group after they called him.

He said they warned him that “the same thing that happened to the gringos would happen to him” if he said anything.

The crime sparked outrage and grief in Australia and the US, where the surfers’ friends and families galvanized a major search on social media for their bodies.

Callum Robinson played professional lacrosse in the US. His brother Jake was pursuing a career in medicine. Rhoad was killed a few months before he was set to marry.

Baja California is one of Mexico’s most violent states, plagued by organised crime and drug trafficking, although cartel activity does not usually affect tourists.

Other foreign visitors have, however, been targeted in criminal attacks on Mexico’s Pacific coast.

Two Australian surfers, Dean Lucas and Adam Coleman, were murdered in 2015 while travelling through the north-western state of Sinaloa. Their bodies were later burned.

Keyword – News
Trefwoorden – Gloria Steinem, Feminism, Women
Title – Gloria Steinem’s revolutionary life – podcast | Gloria Steinem | The Guardian
Author – Annie Kelly
Link – Gloria Steinem’s revolutionary life – podcast | Gloria Steinem | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-09-08T02:00:23.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2026/sep/08/gloria-steinems-revolutionary-life-podcast

By the time she died last week at the age of 92, Gloria Steinem had become almost synonymous with the modern feminist movement in the US.

The arc of Steinem’s life – and activism – was a long one. From going undercover as a Playboy bunny to becoming a radical publisher bringing feminism into the mainstream. She was a fearless reproductive rights campaigner. In Ms Magazine she wrote about having an abortion – and encouraged other famous women, and readers, to do the same to break the stigma around it.

Stateside host Carter Sherman tells Annie Kelly that Steinem’s legacy as an icon is secure – but that, at the time she died, many of the rights she fought so hard for are under attack. “Obviously, Roe v Wade was overturned in 2022. Nearly half of US states have some sort of abortion ban in effect at this time, and Gloria Steinem talked about feeling really angry that this was still a fight that was going on in her later years.”

Keyword – World news
Trefwoorden – Ukraine, Russia, Europe, World news
Title – Ukraine war briefing: New political turmoil in Kyiv as prosecutor general resigns | Ukraine | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/warrenmurray
Link – Ukraine war briefing: New political turmoil in Kyiv as prosecutor general resigns | Ukraine | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-09-08T01:15:56.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/08/ukraine-war-briefing-new-political-turmoil-in-kyiv-as-prosecutor-general-resigns

Ukraine’s prosecutor general, Ruslan Kravchenko, has resigned amid corruption accusations that saw anti-graft officers search his offices at the weekend as part of investigations into illegal call centres. Kravchenko has rejected any allegations against him, calling them “completely unsubstantiated” and denying wrongdoing. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (Nabu) and Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (Sapo) announced on Saturday that they had uncovered a money-laundering scheme “led by an official in the prosecutor general’s office” and had conducted raids there.

According to investigators, a corrupt network received money to protect call centres that carried out phone scams and “laundered fortunes amounting to millions”. Nabu published images of a safe filled with bundles of dollar bills, saying it uncovered five members behind the scheme, without naming them. A deputy of Kravchenko has been remanded in custody on suspicion of money laundering in connection with the case. Volodymyr Zelenskyy in 2025 faced protests that forced him to reverse efforts to make Nabu and Sapo subordinate to the national prosecutor’s office .

According to the Swiss-based Global Initiative Against Transnational Crime (GI-TOC), illegal call centres employ about 60,000 people in Ukraine . On Monday, Kravchenko posted: “I have submitted my resignation as prosecutor general. I do not want the office of prosecutor general to be used as a tool in political confrontation. My position regarding the charges remains unchanged.”

The new turmoil confronting Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s president, comes after a shootout between Ukraine’s SBU and GUR security and intelligence services . Kyiv is also bedding in new military leadership after Zelenskyy sacked the defence minister and was then forced by protests to sack Ukraine’s military commander-in-chief as well because of feuding between the pair.

Russia resumed its attacks on Kyiv , Ukraine’s emergency service said late on Monday, as air raid alerts were issued in more than a dozen regions. It came after the expiration of a three-day halt in attacks while US envoys visited the Ukrainian capital and Moscow. Kyiv’s city military administration said at least two people were killed and seven wounded. The strikes damaged buildings across Kyiv, including a five-storey apartment block in the Solomianskyi district, while vehicles caught fire in the Podilskyi district. “Russians attacked Boryspil and Fastiv districts with drones,” the emergency service said. Social media channels monitoring air threats on Ukraine said Moscow’s forces had started to transport ballistic missiles and relocate heavy bombers from Russia’s east to airfields closer to Ukraine .

Russia “does not rule out the resumption of the trilateral format ”, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Monday, referring to possible talks involving the Russians, Ukrainians and the US. “But it is too early to say anything about the venue or the exact dates at this stage,” Peskov added. US negotiators told European representatives during talks in Kyiv that Russia was showing a “new willingness” to negotiate over the Ukraine war, the French presidency said on Monday.

“The Americans told us that there was a new willingness on the part of Russia to negotiate following the Duma [Russian lower house] elections , and we should prepare for a fresh start to the negotiations,” said an aide to Emmanuel Macron, the French president. Donald Trump’s administration, though, has repeatedly construed Putin’s willingness to meet US representatives and reel off his unaltered maximalist demands as a willingness to negotiate.

Ukraine struck a Russian ⁠oil refinery ⁠in the ​Ryazan region, as ⁠well as oil-processing facilities in the ⁠Perm ​region ‌and Tatarstan , ‌Zelenskyy ‌said on Monday. Both attacks were confirmed by regional governors – in Perm the governor said one person was ⁠killed ⁠and four others ​were injured ⁠when one of the drones ‌damaged a residential building.

A Russian ⁠attack damaged ⁠a British ⁠American Tobacco plant ​in the town ⁠of Pryluky in Ukraine’s northern ⁠Chernihiv region with no known injuries, BAT Ukraine’s ⁠press office said.

Off-site power at the Zaporizhzhia ⁠nuclear ⁠plant ​in south-eastern Ukraine has been restored via ⁠the Ferosplavna power line, according to Rosatom, the Russian state nuclear corporation ⁠that is illegally in control of the power station. The plant ​had ‌been without ‌external power since 20 August and ‌reliant on emergency diesel generators for cooling of its nuclear fuel. The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that repairs were completed during a ceasefire that it brokered.

Latvia’s ⁠government plans to impose a 300% tariff on grain arriving ⁠from Russia and ⁠Belarus. Officials in ⁠Latvia and its neighbour Lithuania last week said they considered ending ⁠shipments of Russian grain through their ports ​after Moscow ‌stepped up the ‌transits in response to attacks by Ukraine ‌on its Baltic ports.

The UN human rights chief, Volker Türk, said he was “horrified by reports that fully autonomous drones launched by the Russian Federation killed three Ukrainians last month”. Türk called for an urgent ban on such weapons. The New York Times has reported that a Russian drone guided entirely by an artificial intelligence system killed three civilians in Zaporizhzhia on 6 July.

Keyword – World news
Trefwoorden – Nepal-Tibet flood disaster, Tibet, Nepal, Climate crisis, Environment, Flooding, United Nations, South and central Asia
Title – Nepal says big polluters must ‘wake up’ as it calls for climate compensation over flood disaster | Nepal-Tibet flood disaster | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/hannah-ellis-petersen
Link – Nepal says big polluters must ‘wake up’ as it calls for climate compensation over flood disaster | Nepal-Tibet flood disaster | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-09-08T00:58:09.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/08/nepal-floods-climate-compensation

Nepal is demanding $20m in climate compensation for the recent devastating floods, as a senior minister called on the world’s most polluting countries to “wake up” and accept shared responsibility for a disaster that led to the death or disappearance of more than 6,000 people.

Scientists believe the climate crisis had a role to play in the floods , which were triggered when a melting glacier partially collapsed and set off a deadly landslide and flash flooding through Chinese-controlled Tibet and Nepal in late August. So far, more than 1,300 are confirmed dead and more than 5,500 still missing, with hopes of their survival diminished after 12 days of rescue operations .

Speaking to the Guardian, Nepal’s foreign minister, Shisir Khanal, was forthright in his call for climate justice and said it was imperative the world’s biggest economies stepped up to help Nepal recover and rebuild after the catastrophic floods.

Nepal contributes less than 0.1% of global greenhouse gas emissions, while its neighbours India and China are among the world’s biggest emitters. The mountains of the Himalayas – which span across India, China, Nepal and Bhutan – have been warming at a rate nearly 50% faster than the global average.

In 2023, the UN said Nepal’s mountains had lost close to a third of their ice in just over 30 years due to global heating.

Khanal emphasised that the recent disaster was far more extreme than any flooding regularly seen during the monsoon season, and said the magnitude of damage was on par with the 2015 earthquake that left much of the country in ruins.

“This felt like a tsunami that was coming from the Himalayas,” he said. “We experienced waves as high as 60, 70 feet, which were mixed with debris, mud, stones, rocks, and came at the speed of almost 180km per hour. Towns, villages and highways were completely wiped out and there are some areas still disconnected.”

Khanal confirmed that Nepal’s ministry of finance and ministry of environment had written a joint letter to the UN’s fund for responding to loss and damage – which was set up in 2022 in line with the Paris climate agreement – to request $20m in climate-related damages.

“We have contributed so little to climate change,” he said. “It is imperative for those in the global community who benefit from larger, much more polluting economies, and whose historical contribution to greenhouse gases is much bigger than ours, to accept a shared responsibility. This affects all of humanity.”

For Nepal, the disaster was particularly worrying because it was “one of the strongest warning signals that we’ve experienced of what’s to come”, he said.

“The global community should not see this as one-off disaster; it should be viewed in the context of the changing climate in the Himalayas,” he said. “We know it is going to be a recurring scenario that more and more communities, not just in Nepal but around the world, will have to face.”

Khanal acknowledged that the compensation amount Nepal has requested from the UN was “obviously not nearly enough to cover the damage that we have sustained”. According to some estimates, the total damage caused by the floods will be upwards of $5bn, though Khanal said it could be even higher.

Upwards of 20,000 homes will probably have to be rebuilt, as well as the main highway. Villages built in vulnerable areas along the river, some of which washed away entirely, may have to be relocated to higher, safer ground.

While Khanal initially singled out India and China as countries that should step in to help – while avoiding mention of the US, which is the world’s biggest polluter – he rowed back on those comments, saying: “It is not just about shifting the blame to one or the other country, it’s about us all working together.”

He emphasised that the compensation demand was also meant to act as a “wake-up call for the global community to establish a more robust mechanism to help vulnerable and small economies like Nepal”.

The UN has admitted the loss and damage fund is already facing a “significant financing gap”. The fund has already received requests totalling $2.8bn from about 119 countries, but so far only around $400m has been given by the international community. The US has given just $17m, after Donald Trump withdrew from the Paris agreement.

Khanal acknowledged there were “political challenges” in getting Nepal the climate compensation it was demanding.

“Yes there always will be people who may not agree to our perspective or deny there is climate change, but there are also people who deny that the Earth is round,” he said bluntly.

He emphasised the importance of funds being made available not just for immediate disaster response but also for preparedness and mitigation for climate-related risk.

Khanal rebuffed allegations that China had failed to give an adequate warning or share data with Nepal about the impending floods. He said he was in discussion with China about enhancing coordination and data sharing for the Himalayan region.

“With the benefit of hindsight, we can now see that this glacier was fragile and had been receding in the past six months,” he said.

“But before the floods hit, there was no knowledge on our part, or on the part of Chinese scientists, that this particular collapse was imminent. I do not believe any of us had any idea of the threat until it happened.”

Keyword – Environment
Trefwoorden – Oil, Energy, Environment, Fossil fuels, Climate crisis, Migration, World news
Title – Global move away from oil could lead to conflict and migration, experts say | Oil | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/fiona-harvey
Link – Global move away from oil could lead to conflict and migration, experts say | Oil | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-09-08T00:00:21.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/sep/08/global-move-away-from-oil-could-lead-to-conflict-and-migration-experts-say

Conflict, migration and economic upheaval will accompany the global move away from oil, unless governments act urgently to help the worst afflicted countries to cope, research has found.

Nigeria, Iran, Angola and Algeria are among the countries that will be severely affected, as they rely strongly on oil revenues for their government and provision of public services, but have little diversification and too little capital to cushion the blow.

Oil use is already waning in many countries, with the growth of renewable energy, and has been hastened by the effects of the Iran war , which has constrained supply and sent prices soaring, triggering high inflation and political instability.

Global demand for oil is forecast to plateau in the coming decade, with a peak likely in the early 2030s, which will force producers to chase a shrinking pool of buyers. Many will try to hang on to their resource revenues as long as possible, according to research from the E3G thinktank published on Tuesday, but the cheapest producers with abundant resources – such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – are likely to win against those with less advanced infrastructure.

The example of Venezuela, which was suffering collapse and have had a partial takeover of government by the US , now shattered further by the impact of earthquakes, should warn countries of what is at stake, the report’s authors found.

“Governments are not thinking about and not prepared for [these outcomes],” said Beth Walker, co-author of the report. “The transition becomes riskier for everyone when oil producers are left to adjust on their own, and oil markets left to manage themselves. Producer fragility becomes a global security risk.”

Putting off or slowing down the transition is an even worse option than confronting it, however, as the climate crisis is rapidly worsening. “None of this is an argument for slowing the transition,” said Maria Pastukhova, a co-author of the report. “A slow but chaotic transition can be just as destabilising as a fast one, maybe even more so.”

E3G compiled the report over two years, in part through “war-gaming” various scenarios for declining oil demand with more than 100 public servants and experts from around the world.

Bob Ward, policy director at the Grantham Research Institute at the London School of Economics, who was not involved in the report, said developed countries would also be affected. “Many oil producers have been in denial about the pace and scale with which both demand and supply will have to fall if we are to avoid dangerous climate change,” he said. “We should be clear that the highest-cost producers will likely be the first to feel this shock. The North Sea has high operating costs and so is unlikely to be economically viable once demand starts to fall sharply and market prices reduce.”

Income from oil makes up more than 40% of the revenue to governments in 17 countries around the world, and in some cases is overwhelmingly the biggest source of income, for instance in Iraq and Libya, where it represents 70% to 90% of government revenues.

But this revenue will fall rapidly from 2030: E3G forecasts that Algeria will experience an 87% drop in revenue and Nigeria more than 60%. Algeria in particular was “one to watch” said Walker, with its position near the borders of Europe and almost total reliance on the EU for its exports.

This will leave countries with big gaps to fill in providing basic services, which will destabilise social structures. Debt will be an increasing burden – already, Angola and Mexico spend more than a quarter of their government revenue in servicing public debt, the report found.

Walker said: “This isn’t one dramatic global oil or security crisis, it’s a series of national fiscal crises that could turn into very different security problems: unrest and migration in Algeria; a much more brittle settlement in Iraq with spillover into Gulf regional stability; weaker state capacity in the most populated country in Africa, Nigeria, with spillovers across the continent; military competition over oil infrastructure in Libya with heightened security risk in Europe. Most of these problems are a much larger scale than Venezuela, and they could all unravel just as the UK and Europe’s capacity to contain live conflicts is drained.”

Any attempt to remedy this situation will require organisations such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, private sector financial institutions and governments to work together.

“Much of the toolkit already exists, but in separate policy boxes that need to work together,” said Pastukhova. “Major demand powers need to coordinate and communicate more clearly about their future demand. They need to produce adjustment not just as part of their development assistance or climate policy, but as part of their foreign and economic security policy, given the consequences that otherwise might follow.”

China was the dominant source of increasing oil demand over the past few decades, but its oil consumption is now on a downward path , in part owing to the rapid uptake of electric vehicles. India’s future direction is less certain , and the country could become pivotal to whether demand declines in time to stave off some of the worst impacts of climate breakdown.

Keyword – Environment
Trefwoorden – Extreme heat, Climate crisis, UK news, Portsmouth, Cities, Construction industry, The sun, London, Plymouth, Leicester, Nottingham, Brighton
Title – Cities in Great Britain most vulnerable to extreme heat revealed | Extreme heat | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/sandralaville
Link – Cities in Great Britain most vulnerable to extreme heat revealed | Extreme heat | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-09-07T23:01:20.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/sep/08/cities-great-britain-most-vulnerable-extreme-heat-revealed

Portsmouth, Leicester, Exeter, Bristol and Nottingham will be among the cities that warm the most by the end of this century as global heating turns British cities into urban heat islands, according to research.

Analysis from Ordnance Survey (OS) has created a heat vulnerability index for all cities in Great Britain. Portsmouth , which sits on the south coast of England and is home to 208,000 people, is the most vulnerable to extreme heat today and into the future, according to the research from the OS, the Met Office and the data analysis company 4 Earth Intelligence.

Concrete, asphalt, buildings and hard surfaces in cities absorb solar radiation during the day and act like giant radiators, holding on to the heat rather than cooling down at night as in more rural areas. Cities can be up to 10C hotter than surrounding areas.

Areas most at risk of extreme warming are those with the least tree cover , green space and waterways.

This summer was provisionally the UK’s hottest on record , and the research reveals which cities are suffering now from intense urban heat and which will be among the warmest in future.

The research analyses 71 cities granted by royal charter across England, Scotland and Wales but excluding Northern Ireland. The OS heat vulnerability index suggests that by 2040 all 71 cities will reach high heat vulnerability. By the turn of the century, almost two-thirds could reach the most severe level. Those facing the most severe impact by the end of the century are predicted to be Portsmouth, the City of Westminster, Plymouth, Leicester and Exeter, according to the analysis.

Nick Bolton, the chief executive of Ordnance Survey, said: “Cities are where millions of people live, work and spend their everyday lives.

“Extreme and sustained heat can affect people’s health and wellbeing, how comfortable our homes and workplaces are, and put additional pressure on transport, energy and emergency services. Understanding how and where this vulnerability is changing depends on an accurate view of how the country is built, based on trusted authoritative data, which is critical for planners, developers and local authorities preparing for a warmer future.”

Portsmouth is today the most heat-vulnerable city and will remain at the highest level for warming until the end of the century, according to the research. The city of Leicester is projected to show the biggest rise in Britain’s heat vulnerability rankings, climbing from 10th now to fourth by the end of the century, while Exeter and Nottingham also rise into the 10 most vulnerable cities, alongside Bristol and Brighton and Hove by the end of this century.

Leaders in Portsmouth have identified areas including Somerstown, Portsea, Southsea and Fratton as those particularly exposed to urban heat because of their limited green areas and hard surfaces, and noted that areas with less green space overlap with those of deprivation.

The City of London and the City of Westminster areas rank among the most heat-retentive urban environments in the UK.

The City of London records the highest built-environment score and the least effective natural cooling of any city, given the concentration of buildings, roads and hard surfaces as well as limited green space, trees and water. Westminster ranks third for overall heat vulnerability today and second in both future periods behind Portsmouth.

A study commissioned by the mayor of London has put the total economic cost of the 2022 London heatwaves at £1.5bn, including productivity losses, health impacts, education disruption, energy demand, transport and emergency services.

The OS heat vulnerability index combined current observed temperatures with the structural characteristics of Britain’s built environment and climate projections into the future to produce a score for every city on a scale of 1 to 5, where 3 to 4 is high and 4 to 5 is severe.

Among cities coping the best with the changing climate is Milton Keynes, which ranks 69th out of 71 cities for heat vulnerability today. Milton Keynes has the lowest built-environment vulnerability in England and the most effective natural cooling of any city in the analysis, with 46 sq km of natural surfaces, against almost 40 sq km of hard made surfaces.

Jonathan Hendry, the chief executive of 4 Earth Intelligence, said exposure varied street by street within a single city. “The areas consistently subjected to higher temperatures than their surroundings are the ones that overheat first during a heatwave,” he said.

“We’re mapping how to turn thermal threats into actionable blueprints for urban resilience, supporting decisions on where heat refuges are sited and how emergency responses are planned in advance rather than in the middle of climate events.”

Keyword – Football
Trefwoorden – Manchester City, Erling Haaland, Champions League, Football, Sport
Title – Maresca eyes rest for busy dad Haaland as Manchester City prepare for Porto | Manchester City | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/jamiejackson
Link – Maresca eyes rest for busy dad Haaland as Manchester City prepare for Porto | Manchester City | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-09-07T21:55:30.000Z
Category – Sport
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/sep/07/enzo-maresca-erling-haaland-manchester-city-porto-champions-league

Enzo Maresca believes Erling Haaland has become “complete” as his priorities have changed after the birth of the Manchester City No 9’s son two years ago.

Haaland has again started the campaign in prolific form, scoring three goals in City’s opening three Premier League victories. In three of the 26‑year‑old’s four previous seasons at City he has won the Premier League golden boot. Maresca pointed to how the birth of his son in 2024 changed the Norwegian’s motivation.

The manager said: “He’s a man now. He’s a dad. When he arrived here [in summer 2022] he was not a dad and now he’s a dad and life completely changes because the priority becomes his son. I’m happy for him because he was already top as a player and as a boy but now you can see that he is complete. He is a family man, he is still scoring goals so I’m very happy for him.”

City are at Porto in the opening league‑phase game of the Champions League on Tuesday. Haaland has played every competitive minute of the campaign so far, and Maresca said he will be rested at some point, particularly as as the striker was part of the Norway team that reached the World Cup quarter-finals.

The Italian said: “It’s not easy for Erling or for any of the players that play for club and international teams. I think it is normal that you [may] see these players start to be tired. So, it’s correct to give them some rest. It can be one game out or one week away.

“It depends on which moment we are in but the priority is to allow the players to be good and happy. When you see them tired the risk of injury increases, and we need players who are 100%.”

While Maresca’s options if Haaland is rested against Porto would be selecting Antoine Semenyo at centre-forward, or fielding Phil Foden or Rayan Cherki as a false 9, he pointed to the in-game control the two latter players can give City when required.

“There is always a gameplan and Rayan can drop a little bit to manage the tempo and the game,” the 46-year-old said.

“We [also] need Rayan in the position to be dangerous – the last game against Coventry [a 1-0 win] we made contact with him five or six times between the lines and created chances.

“It depends on the game. Against Coventry, it was good for him to drop a little bit and manage the tempo and not always be a reference for the other team. We need him in the right position because he gives us the quality. Phil can also do that – and the last pass between the lines is very good so we are lucky that we have two very good players that can do this.”

In his first campaign as head coach, Francesco Farioli led Porto to their 31st title, and they have a maximum 15 points from their opening five Primeira Liga games.

Maresca was asked if City will be favourites at the Estádio do Dragão. “We are here to do our best,” he said. “The game will dictate the favourite. This is a hard place to come. This season they started very good. In the last 14, 15 games in Europe they just lost one so we are going to try our best and try to win the game.

“I know that Porto is very good in set pieces. I think it has become part of the game now so we need to do our best, defend in the right way, score goals as much as we can from set pieces because it’s part of the game and you need to be perfect because all teams are prepared for that.”

Maresca said Nico O’Reilly would “probably” be available after missing the Coventry game with a late fitness problem, but the manager said he was “not sure” about Jérémy Doku’s availability after injury.