Investigators are still searching for what caused the recent deaths of a mother and her calf, but conservationists say the animal’s shrinking habitat may be the first place to look
The two elephants were found dead in the Indonesian province of Bengkulu, in an area of “production forest” in southern Sumatra. The mother and her calf were lying side by side with their tusks still intact.
Unlikely to be poachers, the cause of their deaths – and that of a tiger nearby – at the end of April is still being investigated but conservationists say this is not an isolated case. It is estimated that seven wild elephants have died in Bengkulu since 2018.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
05/28/2026 - 00:00
05/28/2026 - 00:00
The WasteBar food truck hopes the eye-catching deal will change people’s attitude to waste in the Netherlands
Using cigarette butts to buy buttery Dutch pancakes? That is the deal one food truck is offering at festivals in the Netherlands as a way to get people thinking about litter.
Cigarette butts are the most common form of plastic waste in the world, with more than 4.5tn butts produced every year. In the Netherlands the estimated figure is in the hundreds of millions.
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05/27/2026 - 23:00
Be more strident and ambitious, take on economic inequality, and progressive voters will reward you as they have the UK’s Greens
Tarik Abou-Chadi is a professor of European politics at the University of Oxford
European Green parties have been through a phase of stagnation and crisis in recent years. Long gone seem the days of the “green wave” across Europe. Back in 2019, Green parties secured their best-ever result in the European parliament elections, with 74 seats. In the same year, Green parties also scored record results in Switzerland, Belgium and Austria. Shortly after, they were part of governing coalitions in Finland, Germany, Ireland and Austria.
But more recently, there has been much discussion of a “greenlash”: a backlash against climate policies and other green projects throughout Europe. Across the continent, Green parties dropped out of nearly all government coalitions, and these parties’ recent election results have often failed to meet expectations. With apparently declining enthusiasm for the climate movement, and the decreasing salience of climate breakdown at the ballot box, Green parties are debating how to turn their fortunes around.
Tarik Abou-Chadi is a professor of European politics at the University of Oxford
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
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05/27/2026 - 23:00
Global temperature record could be broken as soon as 2027, with El Niño expected later this year
A record-breaking hot year is almost certain by 2030 as the climate crisis intensifies, the UN’s World Meteorological Organization has warned.
With an El Niño event expected later this year, the global temperature record could fall as soon as 2027.
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05/27/2026 - 10:36
Nature groups urge people to avoid unauthorised areas to protect birds during nesting season
Nature groups have pleaded with swimmers to give wildlife a wide berth after dozens of people swam in a nature pond on Hampstead Heath among nests of baby birds.
Swans and their 12-day-old cygnets were disturbed by hordes of splashing revellers in the north London park on Monday as London reached record 35C temperatures. In one video, a swan was seen poking an unhatched egg with its beak after it fell into the water during the chaos.
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05/27/2026 - 08:50
Of 11 seasonal items in Guardian price comparison, six hit highest price in last three months, with some nearly doubling in price in last week
The heatwave has triggered a surge in prices for seasonal items, with the cost of one inflatable hot tub nearly doubling in a week, while an industry expert said air conditioning units have risen by about 17% since April.
The Guardian looked at the cost of popular items across a range of websites and examined their price on PriceRunner, an independent price comparison service. One of the biggest price increases was for the Bestway inflatable hot tub Lay-Z-Spa Cancún AirJet, which was available for £160 on 21 May but now retails for a minimum of £299.
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05/27/2026 - 04:35
Invasive vermin decimated the island’s native flora and fauna – but its unique cockroaches and beetles are thriving once again
In the summer months, Lord Howe Island’s unique stag beetle, with wing cases that appear forged from iridescent green metal, fly around the ancient tree tops looking for a mate.
“That’s really something wonderful,” said Ian Hutton, a naturalist and nature guide on the World Heritage-listed island.
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05/21/2026 - 23:00
npj Ocean Sustainability, Published online: 22 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s44183-026-00207-z
The surf ecosystem as an emerging framework for managing coastal and marine resources
05/20/2026 - 23:00
npj Ocean Sustainability, Published online: 21 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s44183-026-00198-x
Three challenges to marine carbon dioxide removal
World Ocean Explorer Wins Gold Medal Serious Simulation Award from Serious Play Annual International Competition
10/26/2023 - 14:35
For Immediate Release October 19, 2023
Sedgwick, Maine USA World Ocean Explorer, a 3D virtual aquarium and educational simulation, was recently cited for excellence, winning a Gold Medal Award in the 2023 International Serious Play Awards Program.
World Ocean Explorer is an innovative 3D virtual aquarium designed for educational exploration of the world’s oceans. With interactive exhibits and a lobby space, visitors can immerse themselves in realistic marine environments, including a DEEP SEA exhibit funded by Schmidt Ocean Institute, showcasing unprecedented deep-sea discoveries off Australia. Targeted at 3rd graders and beyond, this immersive experience offers a range of perspectives on the ocean environment and can be explored through guided tours or user-controlled interfaces. Visit DEEP SEA at worldoceanexplorer.org/deep-sea-aquarium.html.
Serious Play Conference brings together professionals who are exploring the use of game-based learning, sharing their experience, and working together to shape the future of training and education. For more information on Serious Play Award Program visit seriousplayconf.com/international-serious-play-award-programs.
World Ocean Explorer is a transformative virtual aquarium designed to deepen understanding of the world ocean and amplify connection for young people worldwide. Organized around the principles of Ocean Literacy and the Next Gen Science Standards, World Ocean Explorer brings the wonder and knowledge of ocean species and systems to students in formal and informal classrooms, absolutely free to anyone with a good Internet connection. As an advocate for the ocean through communications, World Ocean Observatory believes there is no better investment in the future of the sustainable ocean than through a new approach to educational engagement that excites, informs, and motivates students to explore the wonders of our marine world and to understand the pervasive connection and implication for our future, inherent in the protection and conservation of all aspects of our ocean world.
World Ocean Explorer presents an astonishing 3-dimensional simulated aquarium visit, organized to reveal the wonders of undersea life, with layers of detailed data and information to augment the emotional connection made to the astonishing beauty and complexity of the dynamic ocean. Within each of the virtual exhibits, students visit exemplary theme-based sites with myriad opportunities to understand the larger perspectives of scientific knowledge as organized and visualized to dramatize the impact and change on ocean life as a result of natural and human-generated events. Through immersion among displays, mixed media and 3D models, the experience of an aquarium visit will be brought into classrooms or home school environments as a free, accessible, always available opportunity for teaching and learning. All of this will be available to a world audience without physical limitation or cost. World Ocean Explorer, a project of the World Ocean Observatory, receives support from the Seth Sprague Educational and Charitable Foundation, Visual Solutions Lab, the Climate Change Institute, the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation, and The Fram Museum Oslo. To learn more about the current and future exhibits of World Ocean Explorer, visit worldoceanexplorer.org.
media contact
Trisha Badger, Managing Director, World Ocean Observatory | [email protected] +12077011069
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