Latest news

Archive photography of seagulls Stian Lysberg Solum / NTB  

Threats to biodiversity  

800 million fewer birds in Europe in 37 years  

 

In the last 37 years, the number of birds in Europe has decreased by 800 million. This is shown by a research report from the French institute CNRS, reports SR Vetenskapsradion.  

 

170 different species have been followed in a total of 28 countries, one of them being Sweden. Several reasons are mentioned in the research report. One of them is the intensification of agriculture, which affects more species than distinct agricultural birds.  

 

Other factors mentioned are urbanization and temperature changes.  

 

Illustration image of women dressed in abaya Leif R Jansson / TT 

 

Political situation in Saudi 

Arabia Saudi activist challenged dress code - risks jail  

 

A Saudi women's rights activist is to be put on trial for waging a "propaganda campaign" on social media.  

 

This is reported by several media. Manahel al-Otaibi challenged Saudi Arabia's laws on male guardianship and the requirement that women wear the full-length abaya. She was arrested last November and accused of leading a "campaign to incite Saudi girls to denounce religious principles and rebel against the customs and traditions of Saudi society". 

 

Now she risks a long prison sentence. Her sister Fouz, who is accused of similar crimes, has fled the country. She tells AFP that the accusations run counter to the country's reform program which, among other things, meant that women were given the right to drive: 

 

- It is so contradictory, as if there were two states.  

 

 

Everest season  

"Impossible" Rescue: Carry climbers down from the death zone

 

A group of Sherpas has carried out a rescue operation on Mount Everest that is described as "almost impossible", reports Sky News.  

 

A mountain climber from Malaysia got stuck at high altitude where the temperature can drop to minus 30 degrees, in the so-called death zone.  

 

30-year-old Gelje Sherpa found the Malaysian climber hanging from a rope and shaking from the cold. The Sherpas managed to carry the climber down from a height of 8,500 meters above sea level, which took six hours. 

 

- We wrapped the climber in a sleeping mat, dragged him on the snow or took turns carrying him until we got down to camp three, he says and continues: 

 

- Saving someone's life is more important than prayers in the monastery. A helicopter was then able to fly the climber down.

 

Boris Johnson/WhatsApp. AP  

 

The coronavirus infection in Great Britain  

Legal battle over Johnson's Whatsapp messages  

 

British investigators want access to former Prime Minister Boris Johnson's notes, diary entries and Whatsapp messages from the pandemic era. However, the government refuses to release them and has started a legal process, AP writes.  

 

The request was made as part of a special investigation into the British government's handling of the pandemic. The government states that it is "regretfully" taking legal action against the investigators' request, but that it "is about important principles".  

 

According to the government, the request is "irrelevant" and constitutes an "unwarranted intrusion into other aspects of government work", writes Sky News.