Trial of Nick Gratwick, 68, who schemed to rape children as young as six, exposes previous role among green protesters
A man who schemed to rape children as young as six was revealed at his trial to have been a police informer who spied on environmental activists.
Nick Gratwick, 68, was found guilty on Friday of 38 “abhorrent” paedophile offences, including plans over the last two years to pay to rape or sexually assault children in the UK and abroad.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
10/10/2025 - 08:40
10/10/2025 - 08:00
Exclusive: Trial that has produced 13 hatchlings could help other threatened species avoid extinction
The slow-motion pitter-patter of tiny giant tortoise feet has been worryingly rare in recent years, but that looks set to change thanks to the first successful hatching of the species with artificial incubation.
One week after the intervention, the 13 babies are building up their strength on a diet of banana slices and leaves in Seychelles, which is home to one of the last remaining populations of the tortoise.
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10/10/2025 - 07:00
Tariffs have caused a Chinese exit from the soybean market – and midwestern farmers are waiting on a solution
At the Purfeerst farm in southern Minnesota, the soybean harvest just wrapped up for the season. The silver grain bins are full of about 100,000 bushels of soybeans, which grab about $10 a piece.
This year, though, the fate of the soybeans, and the people whose livelihoods depend on selling them, is up in the air: America’s soybean farmers are stuck in the middle of a trade war between the US and China, the biggest purchaser of soybean exports, used to feed China’s pigs.
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10/10/2025 - 05:19
Firms led by deputy Reform UK leader since 2011 have shown commitment to saving energy and cutting CO2 emissions
UK politics live – latest updates
He never seems to tire of deriding “net stupid zero”, but Reform UK’s deputy leader, Richard Tice, has a 15-year business record of support for sustainability and green energy initiatives.
The Reform party has made opposition to green energy and net zero part of its policy platform. Its founder, Nigel Farage, has called net zero policies a “lunacy”; the party has called to lift the ban on fracking for fossil gas; and one of the first Reform-led councils, Kent, rescinded last month its declaration of a climate emergency.
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10/10/2025 - 03:15
Biodiversity losses are growing, the IUCN reports as summit opens, but green turtle’s recovery ‘reminds us conservation works’
More than half of all bird species are in decline, according to a new global assessment, with deforestation driving sharp falls in populations across the planet.
On the eve of a key biodiversity summit in the UAE, scientists have issued a fresh warning about the health of bird populations, with 61% of assessed species now recording declines in their numbers.
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10/10/2025 - 02:00
The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world
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10/10/2025 - 00:57
Chris Bowen calls move ‘disappointing’ as energy expert says government ‘has delivered a cul de sac not a roadmap’
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The Queensland government will keep its state-owned coal plants running for up to a decade longer than previous plans, in a move that will put pressure on national climate targets.
The Queensland treasurer and energy minister, David Janetzki, revealed an “energy roadmap” on Friday and said some state-owned coal assets would run until at least 2046, “meaning coal will be part of the state’s generation mix for decades”.
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10/09/2025 - 13:00
Before the Spanish study, some scientists had been sceptical about the mammals attacking migratory birds
Bats are generally viewed as harmless, if spooky, creatures of the night. But scientists have revealed a more savage side, after witnessing a greater noctule bat – Europe’s largest bat species – hunting, killing and devouring a robin mid-flight.
The grisly recording reveals the bat as a formidable predator, climbing to 1.2km (4,000ft) before embarking on a breakneck-speed dive in pursuit of its prey. On capture, the bat delivered a lethal bite and subsequent chewing sounds, recorded between echolocation calls, indicated that the bat consumed the bird continuously during flight for 23 minutes without losing altitude.
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10/09/2025 - 12:09
Prince of Wales’s decision welcomed as a means of drawing attention to the event and galvanising talks
The Prince of Wales will attend the crunch Cop30 UN climate summit in Brazil next month, the Guardian has learned, but whether the prime minister will go is still to be decided.
Prince William will present the Earthshot prize, a global environmental award and attend the meeting of representatives of more than 190 governments in Belém.
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10/09/2025 - 11:45
Ørsted plans to shrink company after Trump administration causes share price to plunge to all-time low
One of the world’s biggest windfarm developers will cut its workforce by a quarter in the next two years after a series of setbacks for the industry.
The Danish wind giant Ørsted plans to remove about 2,000 positions from its 8,000-strong workforce by the end of 2027 through a combination of redundancies, natural attrition and selling off parts of its business.
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