Category: Climate

Europe only has around six weeks of jet fuel supply left, an energy chief has warned, in what he fears could be “the largest energy crisis we have ever faced”.
Fatih Birol, the head of the International Energy Agency, added flight cancellations will begin “soon” if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed amid the Iran war, potentially plunging summer holidays into chaos.
It comes as easyJet announced it expected a headline loss of between £540 million and £560 million before tax for the six months to the end of March, with the airline having spent an extra £25 million on jet fuel last month.
US president Donald Trump’s ongoing blockade of the strategic shipping route has held up much of the world’s oil supply in the Gulf and sent fuel prices soaring.
It has prompted fears of flight delays and cancellations for Britons as they prepare to travel for the half-term school break.
Speaking from Paris on Thursday, Mr Birol said: “In the past there was a group called ‘Dire Straits’. It’s a dire s..

Hungary’s election victor, Peter Magyar, has announced that the country’s president has confirmed his new government could assume power in the first week of May. This accelerated timeline signals a swift end to Viktor Orban’s 16-year tenure.
Following his centre-right Tisza party’s overwhelming triumph in Sunday’s election, securing a two-thirds parliamentary majority, Mr Magyar has been advocating for the transfer of power to occur as quickly as possible.
Hungarian law mandates that the inaugural session of the new parliament, responsible for electing a new prime minister, must convene no later than 12 May.
Following a private consultation with President Tamas Sulyok on Wednesday, Mr Magyar told reporters outside the presidential palace in Budapest that Mr Sulyok had assured him that Mr Magyar would be his nominee for the next prime minister, and that the inaugural session would likely be scheduled for 6 or 7 May.
“(The president) thinks, and I think everyone thinks, that it’s in the ..

House Democrats are expected to file five impeachment articles against Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, including accusations of “abusing the powers of his office,” and “reckless handling of sensitive information.”
The five articles, which have a slim chance of passing this Congress, are expected to be filed Wednesday as Democrats target Hegseth after the ousting of Kristi Noem as Homeland Security Secretary and Pam Bondi as Attorney General, Axios reports.
In the impeachment resolution obtained by the outlet, Democrats are focusing on Hegseth’s role in the war in Iran and the Signalgate scandal that embroiled the first few months of the Trump administration.
Arizona Rep. Yassamin Ansari, the first Iranian-American Democrat elected to Congress, is introducing the resolution, co-sponsored by eight others, including Reps. Sarah McBride of Delaware, Jasmine Crockett of Texas and Steve Cohen of Tennessee.
The Pentagon dismissed the move by Democrats and said they were merely “trying to ..

A 65-year-old woman has been charged in the decades-old “Baby Rebecca” case from April 1981.
The case was first opened when a deceased infant was discovered in a wooded area on the Valley City State College campus in North Dakota.
The girl, who would later become known as Rebecca, was found with a plastic covering over her face and her umbilical cord still attached, according to a declaration of probable cause from the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation. ​
Barnes County State’s Attorney Tonya Duffy confirmed during a press conference on April 13 that Nancy Jean Trottier had been charged in connection with the case.
According to Duffy, Trottier, from Sun Lakes, Arizona, has been handed a Class AA felony murder charge.
open image in galleryNancy Jean Trottier has been charged with murder in connection with the infamous 'Baby Rebecca' case (Stutsman County Correctional Center)Trottier had previously been interviewed in connection with the case in 2021, according to c..

Former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has been forced to answer for previously comparing President Donald Trump to Jesus during an interview with CNN.
On Monday, CNN host Kaitlan Collins asked the Georgia Republican for her thoughts on one of Trump’s latest social media posts: an AI-generated image depicting himself as Jesus healing a sick man. The post drew condemnation from prominent Christian commentators and voices across the political spectrum. Trump later said he thought the image portrayed him as a doctor, not as Jesus.
Greene, who stepped down from Congress in January, unleashed sharp criticism.
“I thought that was blasphemy, and as a Christian, I was very offended,” she said. “That picture had him in a robe as Jesus is often portrayed with light coming out of his hands…I think he should apologize.”
open image in galleryFormer Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was forced to answer for previously comparing President Donald Trump to Jesus during an interview with CNN (CNN..

The US has begun a blockade of all ships entering and exiting Iranian ports after warning “all vessels” were at risk of diversion and capture.
Shortly after the blockade began at 2pm UTC, US president Donald Trump said on Truth Social: “If any of these ships come anywhere close to our BLOCKADE, they will be immediately ELIMINATED.”
US ⁠Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Monday it would enforce a blockade in the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea east of the Strait of Hormuz that would apply to all vessels, regardless of flag.
In a note to seafarers, they said that any vessel entering or departing the blockaded area without authorisation would be “subject to interception, diversion and capture”.
“The blockade will not impede neutral transit passage through the Strait of Hormuz to ⁠or from non-Iranian destinations,” it said.
They added that the blockade would encompass “the entirety of the Iranian coastline to include but not limited to ports and oil terminals”.
open image in galleryIran ha..

People poring over the crushing defeat of Viktor Orban’s government in Hungary – the most right wing in Europe – will draw the conclusions that his antipathy to the EU, closeness to Vladimir Putin, failure to address younger voters and a sense of political corruption were at the heart of his downfall.
Yet while this may be the case, all these factors were also true about Orban when he won an equally crushing victory in the 2022 election, a result which seemed to leave him untouchable.
In fact, he was arguably in a politically stronger position this time than he was in 2022, with his friend Donald Trump in the White House rather than a political enemy in Joe Biden.
He even had the US vice president JD Vance doing a last-minute cheerleading act at a rally on the eve of the poll, although polls suggest this may have hurt rather than helped.
What changed in the four years since that win, which left the opposition to his Fidesz party almost wiped out?
The truth is that the unravelling beg..

“Europe’s challenge is not only to rearm itself to address its security and defence problems, but to also rearm itself morally, so that it can contribute to stable and peaceful development throughout the world.”
That was the message from Spain’s socialist prime minister Pedro Sanchez, speaking at a European forum this week, with comments that show why his country has been dubbed by some as “Europe’s conscience”.
From Gaza to Lebanon, Trump to Netanyahu, Spain has stood as something of an outlier in Western Europe for unequivocally taking a stand while other nations have tended to temper their criticism.
When the US and Israel launched their joint strikes on Iran at the end of February, Mr Sanchez clearly condemned the conflict as an “unjustified and dangerous military intervention that is outside international law”, later branding it “absurd, cruel and illegal”.
open image in galleryThe relationship between Pedro Sanchez and Donald Trump, pictured here last October, has deteriorated r..

A stampede at a historic fortress in northern Haiti has claimed the lives of at least 30 people, authorities have confirmed, warning the number of fatalities could yet increase.
The tragic incident unfolded on Saturday at the Laferriere Citadel, an early 19th-century fortress constructed in the wake of Haiti's independence from France.
Jean Henri Petit, head of Civil Protection for Haiti's Nord Department, stated that the UNESCO World Heritage site, a significant tourist attraction, was reportedly crowded with students and visitors attending its annual celebration.
Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé issued a statement expressing his profound sorrow, saying he “extends his sincere condolences to the bereaved families and assures them of his profound solidarity during this time of mourning and great suffering.”
open image in galleryJean Henri Petit, head of Civil Protection for Haiti's Nord Department, said the stampede occurred at the Laferriere Citadel, an early-19th..

A 77-year-old British man has died and 27 people were left injured after a tourist bus plunged into a ravine in the Canary Islands on Friday.
Three people are being treated in hospital for serious injuries, including a 73-year-old man and a 42-year-old man, authorities said.
The deceased man has not yet been named, but government officials confirmed on Friday he was a British national.
He was believed to be travelling with his wife, who Spanish authorities said remained in hospital on Friday evening.
open image in galleryRescuers work at the scene of the bus crash in the Canary Islands (Europa Press Canarias/Europa Press via AP) (AP)A state of emergency was declared on the islands after the bus fell from the GM-2 highway near San Sebastian de La Gomera at around 1:15pm. All 28 people on board, including the driver, were taken to hospital.
Investigations are ongoing into the cause of the crash, as police suggested the driver may have been attempting to “fight” a brake failure before ..