Trees may store less planet-heating carbon than hoped, study suggests 13. June 2026 (06:00) Photosynthesis does not always result in wood growth, a key factor in carbon dioxide sequestrationTrees may not be able to store as much planet-heating carbon as hoped, a study suggests, with researchers finding photosynthesis does not always lead to wood growth.Scientists studied 137 sites across the US and found trees stopped growing months before the point in the year at which photosynthesis stopped. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Woman in critical condition after shark attack at Coogee beach 13. June 2026 (04:03) A woman in her 30s has been transported to hospital with arm and leg injuries and beaches in Sydney’s east have been closed after the attackGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA woman in her 30s is in a critical condition after being bitten by a shark at Coogee beach on Saturday.A spokesperson for NSW Ambulance said the woman suffered arm and leg injuries and had been taken by road to St Vincent’s hospital. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump says leader of Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang killed in US strike 13. June 2026 (03:51) President says Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores killed in ‘swift and lethal’ military strike with help from VenezuelaThe US military has killed a leader in the Venezuelan street gang Tren de Aragua, Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, with the help of Venezuela, Donald Trump announced on Friday.“At my direction, the United States Southern Command delivered a swift and lethal kinetic strike to successfully execute Niño Guerrero, the infamous leader of Tren De Aragua, one of the most bloodthirsty Terrorist Organizations on Planet Earth,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Judge orders restoration of national park plaques removed under Trump directive 13. June 2026 (03:04) Officials given 21 days to comply with order after Angel Kelley condemns administration for ‘telling half-truths’A US district court judge has ordered the Trump administration to reinstate any history or science materials it removed from the nation’s public monuments, finding that the White House’s actions “set a dangerous precedent of censorship and sanitization”.In March 2025, Donald Trump signed an executive order titled “restoring truth and sanity to American history”, calling upon the secretary of interior to examine monuments, memorials and statues to see if they had been altered after January 2020 to represent a “false construction of American history”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Spencer Pratt concedes LA mayor race, but declares ‘war’ against advancing candidates 13. June 2026 (02:35) In video, The Hills actor, who did not contest the outcome of the election, said his campaign to ‘save’ LA was just startingSpencer Pratt appeared to concede the Los Angeles mayor’s race on Friday in a new video where he says “the campaign portion of my mission to save Los Angeles is coming to a close”, but declares “war” against the two candidates advancing to the city’s general election.In the video posted on social media, Pratt notably did not contest the results of the election, despite Donald Trump’s repeated, but unfounded claims the race was “rigged”. Trump, who endorsed Pratt, called California’s elections “crooked”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Gene Shalit, longtime Today show movie critic, dies at 100 13. June 2026 (02:25) Beloved movie critic and arts reporter was known for bushy hair and mustache and affection for groan-inducing punsGene Shalit, a movie critic and arts reporter for the Today show over four decades who was known for his puffy hair, oversized handlebar mustache and affection for groan-inducing puns, has died. He was 100.Shalit’s family announced the death Friday to NBC News, saying in a statement that he “passed away peacefully today after 100 years of an amazing life”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Australia can switch from fossil fuel exports to renewables, says next Cop president 13. June 2026 (02:00) Climate minister Chris Bowen says country must prepare for changing world and can play bigger role in reducing emissionsAustralia will find exporting fossil fuels increasingly difficult but can switch to exporting clean energy products, the president of the next UN climate negotiations has declared.Speaking at a climate conference in Bonn, Germany, Chris Bowen, Australia’s minister for climate change and energy, argued his country had led the global push to “transition away from fossil fuels” – based on the rapid growth of renewable energy and batteries in its domestic power grids – and that its economy could manage the switch. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Palantir loses legal challenge to force Swiss magazine to publish responses 13. June 2026 (01:12) Data analytics company loses on 22 out of 23 counts in lawsuit disputing how Swiss government rejected firm’s servicesThe US technology company Palantir has lost a legal challenge to force a Swiss independent magazine to publish its responses to articles about how the Swiss government rejected its services.The data analytics company lost on 22 out of 23 counts of the suit. In a ruling on Friday, Zurich’s commercial court dismissed the majority of counterstatement requests filed by the company and its Swiss subsidiary finding that only a single passage in one article warranted a published response from the company. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
US justice department approves $111bn merger of Paramount and Warner Bros Discovery 13. June 2026 (00:08) Deal still under UK scrutiny with new investigation, and could face lawsuit from state attorneys generalDonald Trump’s Department of Justice has decided to approve the $111bn merger of Paramount Skydance, controlled by the Ellison family, and Warner Bros Discovery, the parent company of networks like CNN and HBO.The deal was approved by the justice department’s anti-trust division after months of review, and despite the concerns of many people in the entertainment and media industries who believe it will hurt competition by reducing the number of film studios and – most likely – merging two news networks, Paramount’s CBS News and CNN. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Blood test can find thousands of genetic conditions in pregnancy, say scientists 13. June 2026 (00:00) Technique that examines fragments of foetal DNA in mother’s bloodstream could limit need for invasive screening, according to researchersA new maternal blood test that can detect thousands of serious genetic conditions in the developing foetus could limit the need for invasive screening during pregnancy, according to scientists.The test, to be described at the European Society for Human Genetics conference in Gothenburg on Saturday, relies on detecting tiny fragments of a foetus’s DNA that circulate in the mother’s bloodstream during pregnancy. Using advanced sequencing techniques, scientists were able to identify a very high proportion of genetic conditions, such as cystic fibrosis, that are currently only reliably diagnosed using amniocentesis or other invasive tests. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
