A phone video of students calmly negotiating a route through central Wellington has drawn millions of views—and competing claims about who kept the march peaceful. With another demonstration planned for Tuesday, organisers and police officials are trying to stop a viral clip from setting the terms on the street.
A bakery owner’s routine gas bill has helped push Chile and Argentina into a diplomatic dispute over a surcharge that lifted costs for some Chilean businesses by more than half. Santiago says the charge breaks a supply agreement; Argentina has cut deliveries while the two governments argue over the price formula.
A recall of faulty gas monitors has forced researchers to revise readings around Germany’s Laacher See volcano, with a new paper warning that an eruption could be weeks away. Its worst-case model sends ash into eastern Belgium and threatens to disrupt air travel and freight routes.
Thailand’s central rice belt has recorded its lowest reservoir inflows in 73 years, leaving a second consecutive harvest exposed as the dry season approaches. A new regional analysis warns that, if October rains fail, as much as 28% of the basin’s rice crop could be lost, with consequences for food prices across mainland South-East Asia.
A refrigeration mechanic’s chance find has helped scientists verify an unprecedented September heatwave across China’s Sichuan basin, with dangerous nights forecast to persist into October. Researchers warn that, if the high-pressure system holds, 24 million people could face two more weeks of oppressive heat as officials insist supplies remain secure.
An American actor’s announcement that she is moving a film shoot out of Manchester has drawn attention to a wildfire season now sending smoke into Britain’s biggest northern cities. Scientists warn that, without rain, fires could consume 61,000 hectares by 18 October and leave 8.2 million people exposed to unhealthy air.
A nationwide recall of nearly half a million air cleaners has collided with Japan’s worst fire season in decades, as smoke from northern Honshu pushes into major cities. Scientists warn that continued dry weather could double the burned area by 4 October, while officials say there is no need for broad evacuation orders.
A well-known actor’s announcement that he was abandoning a planned Arctic gas launch has brought a previously unpublicised offshore accident into view. Norwegian officials say a vessel damaged equipment at the Kaldvik field on Friday, releasing condensate into the Barents Sea and forcing 73 workers to leave the site.
Thousands of camera glasses recorded Philippine waters at once, setting a new global mark and igniting a dispute over privacy and maritime security. Manila is now urging organisers to suspend uploads while officials assess what the footage reveals.
A retired sound technician’s harbour recorder picked up 1,306 whale calls in one night off Japan’s Iki island, more than five times the station’s previous monthly peak. The startling count helped persuade Japanese and South Korean fishing crews to pause operations in a busy stretch of the Tsushima Strait.
A recall of air purifiers sold as wildfire protection has exposed a filter fault just as smoke from a record fire season is forecast to reach major Dutch and Belgian cities. Scientists warn that, if dry weather persists, unhealthy air could return repeatedly through mid-October; officials say there is no basis for evacuation plans.
A fourth dry winter could put 2.4 million tonnes of crops at risk across northern Italy, scientists warn, as the Po basin enters the autumn with reservoirs and aquifers badly depleted. On the anniversary of the day irrigation channels ran dry in 2022, one farmer remembered for saving a stranger is giving up water for her own fields.