Our Latin America correspondent, Tom Phillips, heads to Roraima to hear what’s at stake for the rainforest and the communities that live there in the Brazilian presidential runoff on Sunday. Send your comments and questions to tif.questions@theguardian.com

For the Amazon and the communities who live there, the stakes in Sunday’s Brazilian presidential election runoff could scarcely be higher.

Our Latin America correspondent, Tom Phillips heads to Roraima, the country’s most northern state, to hear from voters, preachers and politicians in a region that heavily backed Flávio Bolsonaro in the first round.

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© Photograph: Raphael Alves/The Guardian

© Photograph: Raphael Alves/The Guardian

© Photograph: Raphael Alves/The Guardian

The first named storm of the season is expected to bring disruption on Friday as strong gusts and heavy rain hit parts of the UK.

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PM pledges commitment to address climate crisis, saying in Guardian article that his ‘determination is unwavering’

• Andy Burnham: We will make the net-zero transition work for Britain

Andy Burnham has said he will not “abandon the responsibility” of fighting the climate crisis after the government approved the Jackdaw gasfield, pledging to block new North Sea licences and keep Britain on track for net zero by 2050.

The comments are the prime minister’s most forthright yet on net zero, after many MPs have privately cast doubt on the authenticity of his commitment to tackling the climate crisis.

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© Photograph: Vuk Valcic/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Vuk Valcic/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Vuk Valcic/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

PM will also announce funding for specialised protective gear and the deployment of military aircraft

The UK government is to create an AI Cobra unit to spot wildfires after this year’s record-breaking summer saw devastating blazes across the country.

The country experienced its hottest-ever summer this year, with prolonged dry periods and extreme heat fuelling wildfires that triggered an emergency alert to mobile phones in England and Wales. Figures released on 8 October showed a clear upward trend in the number of fires recorded each year.

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© Photograph: Tolga Akmen/EPA

© Photograph: Tolga Akmen/EPA

© Photograph: Tolga Akmen/EPA

Czech President Petr Pavel on Tuesday said President Trump’s diesel deal with Russia derailed peace talks between the Kremlin and Ukraine, saying both sides were “so close” to a ceasefire. “It will be much harder now,” Pavel told the Axel Springer Global Reporters Network, which includes Politico. “Russia uses this momentum to get out of…

Czech President Petr Pavel on Tuesday said President Trump’s diesel deal with Russia derailed peace talks between the Kremlin and Ukraine, saying both sides were “so close” to a ceasefire. “It will be much harder now,” Pavel told the Axel Springer Global Reporters Network, which includes Politico. “Russia uses this momentum to get out of…

People near south Wales river were told to keep windows and doors shut after thousands of litres of kerosene from a GE Aerospace site got into the water

Oily slicks of kerosene still appeared to be leaking into the River Taff this week, several days after a breach of thousands of litres was spotted by members of the public.

The breach into the Welsh river was identified last Friday, after people reported strong chemical odours emanating from it. Natural Resources Wales (NRW) officers arrived on site soon afterwards to identify the source of the pollution and were assisted by the south Wales fire and rescue service, which placed absorbent mats and booms to contain as much kerosene as possible.

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© Photograph: Jeremy Inglis/Alamy

© Photograph: Jeremy Inglis/Alamy

© Photograph: Jeremy Inglis/Alamy

The Trump administration is advancing some wind projects after a court order required it to do so. A White House official said Thursday that an initial set of wind projects under Pentagon review have been released. The official said this represents two projects located in Maine and South Dakota. The official said the Defense Department…

The Trump administration is advancing some wind projects after a court order required it to do so. A White House official said Thursday that an initial set of wind projects under Pentagon review have been released. The official said this represents two projects located in Maine and South Dakota. The official said the Defense Department…

Cyprus recycled just 27.8 per cent of its plastic packaging waste in 2024, placing it among the EU countries with the lowest recycling rates, according to Eurostat figures published on Thursday.

The island generated 23.31kg of plastic packaging waste per inhabitant, considerably below the EU average of 35.9kg.

Cyprus’ recycling rate was also well below the EU average of 42.4 per cent, with only France at 27.4 per cent, Finland at 26.9 per cent and Denmark at 22.5 per cent recording lower rates.

Across the EU, the plastic packaging recycling rate increased by 0.6 percentage points compared with 2023.

The highest recycling rates were recorded in Latvia at 71 per cent, followed by Belgium at 58 per cent, Poland at 56 per cent and the Czech Republic at 53.7 per cent.

Between 2014 and 2024, the amount of plastic packaging waste generated across the EU increased by 6.1kg per inhabitant, while the amount recycled also increased by 3.4kg per inhabitant.

Overall, approximately 81.5 million tonnes of packaging waste were generated in the EU in 2024, equivalent to 181kg per inhabitant, an increase of 19.6kg compared with 2014.

Paper and cardboard accounted for the largest share of packaging waste, at 40.8 per cent, followed by plastic at 19.6 per cent and glass at 18.1 per cent.

Wood and metal also accounted for significant shares of the total packaging waste generated across the bloc.

Ancient plants reveal that the vestiges of the North American ice sheet started expanding a few thousand years ago, but that climate change caused it to reverse course.

This is the first time that the Fund, set up in 2022, has allocated money to a specific country; amount is a fraction of Nepal’s own $5 billion loss estimate; so far, Fund has pledges for $820 million while fielding requests worth $2.8 billion

Its strength may be "off the monitoring charts that we have used for the past four decades."

Its strength may be "off the monitoring charts that we have used for the past four decades."

A wildfire resilience summit held on Thursday brought partners and interested parties together.

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Storm Austen will bring heavy winds and rain to the south-east of Ireland on Thursday and Friday, before Storm Boelo hits.

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A wildfire resilience summit held on Thursday brought partners and interested parties together.

© PA Wire

A young family thought they had escaped the toxic legacy of Love Canal with a dream house near a creek in the suburbs. Then the men in the hazmat suits showed up.

Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) on Wednesday blamed the war in Ukraine for high diesel prices, with energy costs as a key concern in the rapidly approaching midterms. “The real problem with the cost of diesel, in particular, is No. 1, is the Ukraine war, and because of that, diesel production has gone down. But beyond…

Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) on Wednesday blamed the war in Ukraine for high diesel prices, with energy costs as a key concern in the rapidly approaching midterms. “The real problem with the cost of diesel, in particular, is No. 1, is the Ukraine war, and because of that, diesel production has gone down. But beyond…