Glasgow to plant 18m trees as city readies for Cop26 climate summit

Clyde Climate Forest project hopes to plant 10 trees for every resident over next decade

Councils in the Glasgow area have pledged to plant 18m trees – equivalent to 10 trees for every resident – as the city prepares to host a global climate summit later this year.

The Clyde Climate Forest (CCF) project hopes to increase tree cover in urban areas of Glasgow to 20% and ensure that a fifth of the region’s rural landscape is forested or planted with native woodland over the next decade.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/jun/01/glasgow-to-plant-18m-trees-as-city-readies-for-cop26-climate-summit

World’s only alpine parrot may have moved to the mountains to avoid people

Intelligent and mischievous, New Zealand’s kea were once present in other parts of the country, research has found, and adaptability could help them survive habitat loss

New Zealand’s rare, highly endangered alpine parrots may have headed for the mountains to avoid people – and researchers say their adaptability could help them survive the climate crisis.

The kea is considered the only alpine parrot in the world. But scientists analysing DNA sequencing and fossil records have found kea were once present in other parts of the country.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/01/new-zealands-alpine-parrot-could-have-moved-to-the-mountains-to-avoid-people

Calls to find all Canada’s Indigenous mass graves after grim residential school discovery

First Nations groups say giving children a proper burial will help families find closure following discovery of 215 bodies at Kamloops school

Indigenous groups in Canada are calling for a nationwide search for mass graves at residential school sites after the discovery of the remains of more than 200 children at one former school last week shocked the country.

Prime minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday that searching for more mass graves was “an important part of discovering the truth” but did not make specific commitments.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/01/calls-to-find-all-canadas-indigenous-mass-graves-after-grim-residential-school-discovery

Rise of armed civilian groups in Myanmar fuels fears of civil war

Dozens of grassroots people’s defence forces have emerged to take on brutal military

Myanmar is on the verge of a new civil war, a spokesperson for the country’s parallel government has warned, as communities increasingly take up arms to protect themselves from a relentless campaign of military violence.

Conflict has raged for decades in Myanmar’s borderlands, where myriad ethnic armed groups are fighting with the military for greater autonomy. Since February’s coup, however, dozens of new, grassroots people’s defence forces have emerged to oppose the junta, with battles occurring in areas of the country that were previously peaceful.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/01/rise-of-armed-civilian-groups-in-myanmar-fuels-fears-of-civil-war

Iran nuclear program: UN watchdog unable to access data since February

International Atomic Energy Agency says it can provide only an estimate of Iran’s stockpile

The United Nations’ atomic watchdog hasn’t been able to access data important to monitoring Iran’s nuclear program since late February when the Islamic Republic started restricting international inspections of its facilities, the agency has said.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported on Monday in a confidential document distributed to member countries and seen by the Associated Press that it has “not had access to the data from its online enrichment monitors and electronic seals, or had access to the measurement recordings registered by its installed measurement devices” since 23 February.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/01/iran-nuclear-program-un-watchdog-unable-to-access-data-since-february

Covid-19 variants to be given Greek alphabet names to avoid stigma

WHO unveils new names for variants of concern to replace ones linked to where they were discovered

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Coronavirus variants are to be named after letters of the Greek alphabet instead of their place of first discovery, the World Health Organization has announced, in a move to avoid stigma.

The WHO has named four variants of concern, known to the public as the UK/Kent (B.1.1.7), South Africa (B.1.351), Brazil (P.1) and India (B.1.617.2) variants. They will now be given the letters Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta respectively, to reflect their order of detection, with any new variants following the pattern down the Greek alphabet.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/01/covid-19-variants-to-be-given-greek-alphabet-names-to-avoid-stigma

MPs tell Johnson: you have a duty to help vaccinate the world

Exclusive: group urges prime minister to tackle ‘desperate shortage’ in developing nations

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Boris Johnson has a “moral duty” to immediately start matching each vaccine administered at home with a donated dose to poorer countries across the world, a cross-party group of MPs and peers has said.

Several Tory backbenchers joined the call, which puts further pressure on the prime minister to boost supplies given to developing nations facing a “desperate shortage” of jabs.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/may/31/mps-boris-johnson-donate-vaccines-poorer-countries