All posts tagged: Explainer

US election: could Kamala Harris bring back abortion rights? – video explainer | US news

US election: could Kamala Harris bring back abortion rights? – video explainer | US news

Published by skeptic

Kamala Harris has become the face of the White House’s fight over abortion rights. It is one of the 2024 presidential election’s biggest issues, and one of the few where Democrats have the advantage. Within hours of Joe Biden’s announcement that he was dropping out of the presidential race and endorsing the vice-president, a series of abortion rights activists spoke out to back Harris. She has visited abortion clinics on the campaign trail and described the 2022 overturning of Roe v Wade as a ‘healthcare crisis’. The Guardian’s Carter Sherman explains how, if at all, Harris could change abortion rights on a national level if the Democrats were to secure the Oval Office in November  Source link

Why Joe Biden has dropped out of the presidential race – video explainer | Joe Biden

Why Joe Biden has dropped out of the presidential race – video explainer | Joe Biden

Published by skeptic

Joe Biden has withdrawn from the race for the US presidency, an extraordinary decision upending American politics, that plunges the Democratic nomination into uncertainty just months before the November election against Donald Trump, a candidate he has warned is an existential threat to US democracy. Biden thanked the vice-president, Kamala Harris, in a letter announcing his decision, and later endorsed her as the Democratic nominee for president in a tweet. In this video the Guardian US’s politics correspondent, Lauren Gambino, explains why Biden has ultimately decided to step aside Source link

‘Groundbreaking’: How children in Hawaii won landmark climate case | Climate News

‘Groundbreaking’: How children in Hawaii won landmark climate case | Climate News

Published by Sam

EXPLAINER A group of children and young activists has won a constitutional case forcing a government department to curb emissions from the transport sector in Hawaii. In an historic settlement of a climate change lawsuit brought by 13 children and young activists in 2022, the Hawaiian department of transport agreed on Thursday to decarbonise its transport sector with a goal of reaching zero emissions by 2045. Hawaii was already aiming for carbon neutrality by 2045, which means balancing the carbon emitted into the atmosphere by capturing or offsetting it. But this settlement forces the department to go further by halting carbon emissions altogether. The settlement has been hailed as groundbreaking. “[This] is the world’s first youth-led constitutional climate case addressing climate pollution from the transportation sector,” said Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental law organisation, after the settlement was announced. Hearings for the case were due to begin on Monday next week, but will no longer go ahead. What was the Hawaii climate lawsuit about? A group of children and young people filed the lawsuit, Navahine v …

UK general election 2024: What are the key issues shaping the vote? | Explainer News

UK general election 2024: What are the key issues shaping the vote? | Explainer News

Published by Sam

Across the United Kingdom, a record number of candidates – more than 4,000 – are campaigning for the July 4 general election. Polling suggests the vote will result in a Labour majority after more than a decade of Conservative rule under five leaders, including current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and David Cameron, now foreign secretary. But there is an intensifying atmosphere of division as the hard-right party Reform, led by the populist Nigel Farage, appears on track to improve on its performance in the 2019 elections when it was known as the Brexit Party. Economic stagnation, a housing crisis, the cost of living, immigration and foreign policy concerns are high on the agenda. Looking ahead, the only certainty is that any future government is set to inherit a country facing significant challenges. Let’s break down some of the key issues: The economy: ‘It has been slow growth for essentially everyone’ The past 15 years have seen the worst income growth in the UK for generations, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). “It has …

What are heat domes – and are they to blame for soaring US temperatures? | Weather News

What are heat domes – and are they to blame for soaring US temperatures? | Weather News

Published by Sam

EXPLAINER Last year, the US saw the most number of heatwaves since 1936 and it is now bracing for an unusually hot June. More than 75 million people across the United States, especially in the Midwest and East Coast, are living amid extreme heat alerts even before the first official day of summer this Thursday. Much of the US Midwest has been witnessing scorching heat with temperatures expected to surpass 37.8 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit), with meteorologists saying the extreme heat is caused by excessive humidity and domes of hot air in the atmosphere. Weather scientists describe the phenomenon as heat domes. So what is a “heat dome” and how is it connected to a heatwave? What is a heat dome? A heat dome is a weather phenomenon where a high-pressure area is formed in the atmosphere, which traps hot air beneath like a lid traps air in a pot. The pressure pushes air down into a hotter, dome-shaped mass and prevents the milder weather systems from moving through. This heat dome creates prolonged …

Why are South Korean babies and children suing their government? | Climate Crisis News

Why are South Korean babies and children suing their government? | Climate Crisis News

Published by Sam

As a 20-week-old embryo, Choi Hee-woo became one of the world’s youngest-ever plaintiffs by joining a landmark climate lawsuit against South Korea. In late May, South Korea’s Constitutional Court held a final hearing of the first case in East Asia to challenge national climate policies. Now 18 months old, Hee-woo and more than 60 other children await a verdict that is expected later this year. So what did their case challenge, and where does South Korea stand with its climate action? What is the children’s climate case in South Korea? South Korea’s Constitutional Court heard landmark cases alleging that the government is failing to protect people in the country from the harms of climate change. Four similar climate cases filed between 2020 and 2023 were combined in February for procedural reasons. The first hearing of the joint case was held in April, while the second and last one was on May 21. The petition involving Hee-woo was called “Woodpecker vs South Korea”, after his nickname in the womb. It was filed by about 200 people, …

Why has bird flu in the US spread to cows and what’s the risk for humans? | Health News

Why has bird flu in the US spread to cows and what’s the risk for humans? | Health News

Published by Sam

The bird flu virus, which was first reported in US poultry farms in 14 states in early 2022, has spread to cows and two humans in the first-ever cases of bird flu in humans in the United States. The same subtype of bird flu is also spreading in other countries, in what experts are calling a “global pandemic for animals”. US public health officials have been monitoring dairy cow herds, as well as beef and milk products around the country since the first outbreak in cows was reported in March. So far, the US is the only country to have reported bird flu in cattle, but there are fears that it could pose a serious threat to humans, too. In April, a Texas farm worker contracted the virus in what is believed to be the first-ever transmission of the virus from a mammal – in this case, cattle – to a human. Thankfully, he suffered only mild conjunctivitis – an infection in the eye – and has since made a full recovery. The US’s first-ever …

Invisible plastic: Why banning plastic bags will never be enough | Environment News

Invisible plastic: Why banning plastic bags will never be enough | Environment News

Published by Sam

This week, the fourth round of treaty talks by the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution concluded in Ottawa, Canada. A major bone of contention between negotiators from 175 countries is whether or not to limit the production of plastic, most of which is made from fossil fuels and chemicals and which causes pollution after use, as it does not fully or easily biodegrade. Despite several rounds of talks, the pervasive plastic problem remains unresolved. A final round of talks is scheduled to be held in South Korea at the end of this year. Amid global struggles to curb plastic pollution, the United Kingdom said last month that it would introduce legislation to ban wet wipes which contain plastic. Wet wipes made with plastic have been shown to leach harmful microplastics into the environment after they have been disposed of. Everyone knows that plastic bags are a blight on the environment, but what other everyday items – also known as “invisible plastics – unexpectedly contain plastic or harmful “microplastics” and is there a solution? What …

UK has begun mass arrests of potential Rwanda deportees: What’s next? | Refugees News

UK has begun mass arrests of potential Rwanda deportees: What’s next? | Refugees News

Published by Sam

The British authorities have begun a series of operations to detain migrants in preparation for their deportation to Rwanda as part of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s flagship immigration policy. The UK Home Office, which oversees immigration matters in the United Kingdom, released a video on Wednesday showing armed immigration officers handcuffing individuals at their homes and escorting them into deportation vans. In a statement, it announced a “series of nationwide operations” ahead of the first deportations to begin in the next nine to 11 weeks. Interior minister James Cleverly said enforcement teams were “working at pace to swiftly detain those who have no right to be here so we can get flights off the ground”. BREAKING: The first people set to be removed to Rwanda have been detained. pic.twitter.com/2WWNhQVC1l — Home Office (@ukhomeoffice) May 1, 2024 Last month, Parliament approved a controversial law – known as the Safety of Rwanda Bill – that allows for asylum seekers who arrive illegally in Britain to be deported to Rwanda, even after the UK Supreme Court declared the …

Why are Pakistan’s wheat farmers protesting against the government? | Food News

Why are Pakistan’s wheat farmers protesting against the government? | Food News

Published by Sam

Islamabad, Pakistan – Tens of thousands of farmers in Pakistan are holding protests in several cities over the government’s decision not to buy their wheat, causing them huge losses in income. The farmers in Punjab, the country’s largest province and often called the “bread basket” of Pakistan, are demanding that the government stop wheat imports that have flooded the market at a time when they expect bumper crops. At a protest in Lahore, the provincial capital, on Monday, police violently pushed back the farmers with batons and arrested dozens of them. Here is what we know about the issue so far: What triggered the protests? The farmers are furious about the import of wheat in the second half of last year and the first three months of this year, resulting in an excess of wheat in the market and reducing prices. Agriculture is one of the most significant income sectors in Pakistan, making up nearly 23 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country. Wheat makes up 2 percent of the whole. Following …