onsdag 1 juli 2026
Climate Threat Global Challenges
The oceans are at record highs – and could get warmer with El Niño
The oceans are warmer than ever before at this time of year, according to data from the EU's climate service Copernicus. On June 21, the average global sea surface temperature between the 60th latitudes was 20.86 degrees, writes CNN. That's just above the June record recorded in 2024.
The heat has been driven by the weather phenomenon El Niño, which is characterized, among other things, by unusually warm water in the Pacific Ocean around the equator. Copernicus director Carlo Buontempo warns that the new heat records could be the beginning of a new phase "that once again leads us into uncharted territory."
- With sea temperatures at these levels and El Niño on the horizon, we are likely to see more temperature records broken in the coming months, he says.
Scientists to Save Coffee from Climate Change
The world's coffee beans are threatened by climate change, and scientists are currently working to secure access to the black gold, writes Nature.
- Coffee is seriously threatened by climate change, says Kassahun Tesfaye, a plant geneticist at Addis Ababa University.
The problem is that the two plant species that generate almost all of the annual consumption, about 10 million tons of coffee beans, both have their limitations. Arabica is temperature-sensitive, while robusta requires very large amounts of water.
Several possible solutions are being explored, from making the two most important coffee species more resistant to experiments with other species within the coffee genus.
Over 100,000 killed since coup in Myanmar
More than 100,000 people have been killed in civil wars in Myanmar in the past five years, according to conflict monitor Acled.
The death toll since the military coup in 2021 is at least 100,114, according to the independent American Acled (Armed conflict location and event data).
The coup – which overthrew the elected leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi – triggered a civil war in which both the ruling military junta and armed opposition groups have committed abuses against civilians.
“I am so deeply resentful and very angry. But I don’t even know who to be angry with anymore,” Thein Aye Nu, whose husband was killed in an airstrike last month, told AFP.
Analysts consider Myanmar’s civil war to be Asia’s deadliest active conflict. According to the UN, more than 3.7 million Burmese are displaced within the country’s borders.
Russia closes border crossings with Finland
The Russian government has announced that it is temporarily closing several railway crossings with Finland and the Baltic States.
The closure will apply from Wednesday to selected passages in Latvia, Estonia and Finland, Russian state media reports.
In Finland, this applies to the border crossings of Vartius, Niirala and Imatra, writes the newspaper Hufvudstadsbladet.
All passenger, freight and goods traffic is affected, according to the Russian state news agencies Tass and Ria Novosti.
There is no information about the reason for the closure or how long it will last.
Finland's border with Russia has been closed to passenger traffic since 2023.
Task: "Indirect" talks between the US and Iran
US President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington DC on Monday.
1 / 2Photo: Jacquelyn Martin/AP/TT
Today, Iran is holding talks with the mediator country Qatar about the agreement with the US.
According to a diplomatic source, the Iranian negotiators are also expected to talk "indirectly" with American representatives.
- American and Iranian officials are to hold indirect technical talks in Doha with Qatari and Pakistani mediators about the memorandum of understanding, building on the progress made at the summit at Lake Lucerne (in Switzerland), the diplomat told the AFP news agency.
However, the talks are being held at a "lower level", according to the source. US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who met Qatari leader and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin al-Thani in Doha yesterday, will not attend.
Frozen assets
On Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said that Wednesday's meetings will focus on the implementation of the memorandum of understanding with the United States.
- These discussions will be held with the Qatari side, he said at a press conference.
The release of frozen Iranian assets will also be discussed, according to Baqaei. He said that Iran's negotiating team has no plans to meet the American side, despite US President Donald Trump claiming on Monday that Iran had asked to meet in Doha the following day.
Lebanon Talks
During Tuesday's meeting between Witkoff, Kushner and al-Thani, "the development of the talks between the US and Iran" was discussed, Qatar's Foreign Ministry announced on X.
The talks also reportedly dealt with general security and stability in the region, as well as the ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese government.
"The meeting (...) stressed the importance of consolidating the ceasefire and building on it in a way that preserves Lebanon's unity, sovereignty and stability," the Qatari Foreign Ministry wrote.
Attacks discussed
According to sources to The Wall Street Journal, US President Donald Trump has held several talks with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Defense Chief Dan Caine in recent days about resuming attacks on Iran - to "finish the job," as some of the sources describe it.
However, Trump is reported to have decided to continue on the path of talks, the newspaper writes.
The president is also reported to have said he is okay with Iran negotiations continuing beyond August 18, which is the deadline for a new nuclear energy agreement with Tehran.
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