Why are climate-polluting planes cheaper than trains in Europe?

When travelling around Europe you might be wondering – why are trains so much more expensive than planes? Subscribe ► http://bit.ly/subscribegdn According to a recent Greenpeace study, aviation remains one of Europe’s most climate-damaging and unjust forms of transport. Short-haul flights are still cheaper than the equivalent train journeys on the majority of cross-border routes in Europe, creating a perverse incentive that encourages polluting air travel, according to the report published in August. “The environmental cost of planes is huge, with flights emitting five times more carbon per passenger kilometre than trains on average,” said Greenpeace UK’s head of politics, Ami McCarthy. “While climate impacts like heatwaves, droughts and wildfires are causing devastation across the UK and the rest of Europe, the government should not reward the most polluting form of travel.” Watch our Europe environment correspondent – and avid train fan – Ajit Niranjan explain which countries have the biggest disparity and what we can do to help solve this issue and make travelling more green.

Raising kids in poverty: The UK’s ‘inhumane’ two child limit

Child poverty in the UK is now at record levels, with 4.5 million kids living in poverty. One of the biggest drivers of this is the government’s controversial two limit child policy, which caps support at a family’s first two children. Subscribe to The Guardian on YouTube ► http://bit.ly/subscribegdn With the Labour government’s Child Poverty Strategy due in the autumn, many charities and campaigners have called for this brutal policy to be scrapped, but what’s life actually like for mums under the limit and will the government listen to growing calls to abolish the austerity-era policy? Journalist and poverty campaigner Terri White speaks to women in her area of greater Manchester to find out. The Guardian publishes independent journalism, made possible by supporters. Contribute to The Guardian today ► https://bit.ly/3biVfwh Sign up to the Guardian's free new daily newsletter, First Edition ► https://ift.tt/RniuLBW Website ► https://ift.tt/WPjbEXD Facebook ► https://ift.tt/TtOw0fR Bluesky ► https://ift.tt/84leA5v Instagram ► https://ift.tt/fXlmVUD The Guardian on YouTube: Guardian News ► https://bit.ly/guardiannewssubs Guardian Australia ► https://bit.ly/guardianaussubs Guardian Football ► https://bit.ly/gdnfootballsubs Guardian Sport ► https://bit.ly/gdnsportsubs It's Complicated ► https://bit.ly/ItsComplicatedSubs Guardian Live ► https://bit.ly/guardianlivesubs #childbenefit #twochildlimit #twochildcap #childpoverty #labour #uk #politics #poverty #costofliving

'Gaza's children are being starved to death': why I'm trying to break Israel's illegal siege

Thiago Ávila is one of the organisers of the Global Sumud Flotilla, a group of citizens and activists who have set sail towards Gaza carrying humanitarian aid in the hope of breaking the siege of the strip by Israeli forces. Subscribe ► http://bit.ly/subscribegdn In August, the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification declared an “entirely man-made” famine taking place in Gaza City and surrounding areas. This month a UN independent commission of inquiry (COI) found that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza, citing tens of thousands of civilian deaths and massive destruction, as well as starvation and deaths caused by restrictions on food and medicines. Israel’s foreign ministry said it categorically rejected the report and called for the COI to be abolished. Ávila says: “Right now, we’re seeing a change in the world, we see the people mobilising.” Italian dockworkers in Genoa have threatened to “shut down all of Europe” and block all shipments to Israel if communication with the aid flotilla is lost, while 16 countries have issued a statement demanding protection for the flotilla and respect for international humanitarian law. “People are fed up of seeing children being starved to death, of shelters being bombed, of hospitals being bombed, of schools being bombed,” Ávila says. “It’s important that we make sure people understand that they have the potential to promote change.” #gaza #gazaaid #gazaflotilla #israel #palestine #gazagenocide

‘My friend died on October 7, there are no innocents in Gaza’

“Everyone has taken part on 7th October, you can’t ignore this,” a 19-year-old Tel Aviv resident, who is going to join the Israeli military in November, told the Guardian at the popular Carmel market in the city. Watch 'Our Genocide' here ► https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMyyVaiY4V8 Speaking to reporter Matthew Cassel , he added: “No matter what you say, you can’t ignore this. No innocence.” Tel Aviv is home to nearly half a million residents; it’s also a holiday destination, with beaches, bars and nightclubs. Almost exactly 60km south is Gaza. This week, a UN commission has found that Israel is committing genocide in the Palestinian territory, citing tens of thousands of civilian deaths and massive destruction, and has called on member countries to punish those responsible. Subscribe ► http://bit.ly/subscribegdn #gaza #gazagenocide #october7 #hamas #israel #idf

Political violence is on the rise in America: ‘It’s a really scary time’

Charlie Kirk’s killing came amid a rise in political violence in the US – and the list of people targeted is long and growing, says our democracy reporter Rachel Leingang. Subscribe ► http://bit.ly/subscribegdn And as the right declared war on the left following the murder of Kirk, the far-right activist and high-profile Donald Trump ally, at a public event on a Utah college campus, Leingang says that this could serve as a dangerous turning point in an increasingly polarised nation. In the first six months of 2025, more than 520 plots and acts of terrorism and targeted violence occurred, affecting nearly all US states and causing 96 deaths and 329 injuries. This is a nearly 40% increase over the first six months of 2024, according to data from the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (Start) at the University of Maryland. Research published by the ADL Center on Extremism in February also found that, despite Trump and his allies’ recent claims about the “radical left”, all extremist-related killings in the US in 2024 were connected to rightwing extremism. “The warning signs of growing civil unrest in the US are evident,” wrote Michael Jensen, the research director at Start, on LinkedIn in late August. Watch Leingang explain how an increasing polarisation between the left and the right is worsening the threat and why more people believe violence is the way to achieve political goals. And tap to the link to read more about how Charlie Kirk’s killing is sending prominent conservatives on a warpath – and setting the stage for a dangerous expansion of federal government repression ► https://ift.tt/xGfBSpb #donaldtrump #usgunviolence #politicalviolence #melissahortman #charliekirk #trump #gunviolence #guncrime

Luton vs Tommy Robinson: the myth of a UK town divided

Summer 2025 was marked by a surge in anti-immigrant protests, attacks on mosques and racist graffiti across the UK. Subscribe to The Guardian on YouTube ► http://bit.ly/subscribegdn The unrest, stoked by far-right agitators such as Tommy Robinson, sought to pit communities against each other. But in Luton, where Tommy Robinson himself grew up, writer and journalist Taj Ali explores how the communities of his home town have resisted this division and fought back against radicalisation; and asks whether today’s economic hardships threaten to unravel that progress The Guardian publishes independent journalism, made possible by supporters. Contribute to The Guardian today ► https://bit.ly/3biVfwh Sign up to the Guardian's free new daily newsletter, First Edition ► https://ift.tt/sWJjIa8 Website ► https://ift.tt/f7dpaHu Facebook ► https://ift.tt/75fCk9W Bluesky ► https://ift.tt/6dg8GuH Instagram ► https://ift.tt/VBAzr49 The Guardian on YouTube: Guardian News ► https://bit.ly/guardiannewssubs Guardian Australia ► https://bit.ly/guardianaussubs Guardian Football ► https://bit.ly/gdnfootballsubs Guardian Sport ► https://bit.ly/gdnsportsubs It's Complicated ► https://bit.ly/ItsComplicatedSubs Guardian Live ► https://bit.ly/guardianlivesubs #luton #tommyrobinson #farright #edl #andrewtate #therealluton

Between Moon Tides: hacking nature to save the saltmarsh sparrow

Sea levels are rising in New England at some of the fastest rates in the world. On a quiet ribbon of saltmarsh in Rhode Island, septuagenarian Deirdre isn't prepared to accept the loss of her beloved saltmarsh sparrow, which risks becoming extinct by 2050 due to elevated high tides inundating nests and drowning fledgling birds. Subscribe to The Guardian on YouTube ► http://bit.ly/subscribegdn Leading a team of citizen scientists, Deirdre unravels the secret to finding delicate nests amid thick marsh grass, while they design and deploy a low-cost 'ark' to try to raise vulnerable sparrow nests to safety. Will this be the year they manage to save them? The Guardian publishes independent journalism, made possible by supporters. Contribute to The Guardian today ► https://bit.ly/3biVfwh Sign up to the Guardian's free new daily newsletter, First Edition ► https://ift.tt/eCcWPx5 Website ► https://ift.tt/WUD13JZ Facebook ► https://ift.tt/D5x3oAu Bluesky ► https://ift.tt/rAGh4ka Instagram ► https://ift.tt/lQCdmgI The Guardian on YouTube: Guardian News ► https://bit.ly/guardiannewssubs Guardian Australia ► https://bit.ly/guardianaussubs Guardian Football ► https://bit.ly/gdnfootballsubs Guardian Sport ► https://bit.ly/gdnsportsubs It's Complicated ► https://bit.ly/ItsComplicatedSubs Guardian Live ► https://bit.ly/guardianlivesubs #betweenmoontides #nature #saltmarshsparrow #newengland #rhodeisland #usa #extinction #birds

Sudan's war refugees are filling prisons in Greece - here's why

‘It’s clear what this is really about, the criminalisation of migration itself,’ Julia Winkler from De:Criminalise told migration journalist Katy Fallon after two Sudanese teenagers were charged with smuggling in a Greek court on the island of Crete. Subscribe ► http://bit.ly/subscribegdn Greek officials also brought another 13 young Sudanese people to court earlier this week for smuggling cases, but the majority were not heard and were postponed. Fallon, who has been looking into immigration in Greece for over six years, reported that this is common now in Crete and that an estimated 50 other Sudanese men, most of whom, lawyers and activists say, are war refugees, have been detained and accused of migrant smuggling after seeking asylum in Europe and arriving on Crete. To find out why, watch our video.