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New Zealand bug of the year: moth named Avatar after mining threat crowned winner

A tiny critically endangered moth, named after the Avatar films because of the proposed mining activity threatening its primary habitat, has been crowned New Zealand’s bug of the year. The Avatar moth won by a wide margin, earning 5,192 of the more than 11,000 total votes cast. It won 2,269 more votes than the runner-up, the mahoenui giant wētā, one of the world’s largest insects. Other contenders included the wonderfully spiky hellraiser mite, the country’s heaviest spider – the black tunnelweb – and a giant earthworm that glows in the dark. The Arctesthes avatar moth is from the Geometridae family and is endemic to New Zealand. It is a day-flying moth with brindled brown and marigold wings and lives only in the Denniston Plateau and nearby Mount Rochfort, on the South Island’s west coast. The moth was discovered in 2012 by the entomologist Brian Patrick during a “bioblitz” – an intense scientific survey to identify species within a specific area – run by the conservation group Forest & Bird. The organisation then ran a competition to name the moth, with the winner – Avatar – picked to highlight the moth’s plight. In the fictional world of James Cameron’s Avatar films, a unique ecosystem faces destruction from a mining company. In New Zealand, the ecologically significant Denniston Plateau is subject to a mining expansion proposal that, if approved, would lead to a significant area being dug up for a large open-cast coalmine. The proposal is making its way through a new regulatory regime that could result in divisive mining and infrastructure projects being fast-tracked for approval. “It is a species named Avatar – which was created to warn us about mining – now facing real-world extinction through fast-track approvals on public conservation land,” said Nicola Toki, who is Forest & Bird’s chief executive and backed the moth to win the country’s annual bug of the year competition. Alongside Forest & Bird, which has hundreds of thousands of online followers, groups and individuals took to social media to discuss the moth and highlight its precarious existence. “This is a special type of creature, no less important than a kākāpō or panda, and we can’t just afford to write it off,” Toki said. “I think there is a point where New Zealanders feel very uncomfortable about planned extinctions.” The mining company Bathurst Resources, which is behind the proposal to mine the Denniston Plateau, says it would limit its impact on the landscapes and ecosystems, and would look to relocate species or “offset” biodiversity impacts. The resources minister, Shane Jones, has previously told the Guardian that opening up New Zealand to more mining projects was necessary to boost the economy and boost employment, even if it resulted in environmental trade-offs. The Entomological Society of New Zealand launched the bug of the year competition in 2023, inspired by Forest & Bird’s wildly popular bird of the year competition. Toki said it was “delightful” other groups wanted to amplify New Zealand’s species. The popularity of the bug award is growing, with this year’s competition generating the highest number of votes so far. Each contender has “a champion” – volunteers including enthusiasts, museums or environmental groups, who promote their favoured bug. The winner’s champion gets to decide how public donations generated through the competition are spent. Dr Jenny Jandt, a senior zoology lecturer at the University of Otago who helps to coordinate the competition, said it brought communities together while highlighting New Zealand’s species. “We have such unique fauna here in New Zealand,” she said. “We really wanted to draw the attention to some of these things, and say … the insect world is bigger than the sand flies that bite you and the bumblebees that pollinate your garden.”

Trump changed mind on Chagos deal ‘after UK blocked use of Diego Garcia for Iran strikes’

Donald Trump changed his mind on supporting the Chagos Islands deal because the UK will not permit its airbases to be used for a pre-emptive US strike on Iran, the Guardian has been told. In his latest change of heart on the deal, the US president said on social media that Keir Starmer was “making a big mistake” by handing sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius in exchange for continued use by the UK and US of their airbase on one of the islands, Diego Garcia. While Trump had previously criticised the plan, which is backed by the US state department, earlier in February he had described it as the “best” deal Starmer could make in the circumstances. But in Trump’s post on his own Truth Social site he linked the deal with US military strikes against Iran in connection with Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, which are believed to be imminent. He wrote: “Should Iran decide not to make a Deal, it may be necessary for the United States to use Diego Garcia, and the Airfield located in Fairford, in order to eradicate a potential attack by a highly unstable and dangerous Regime.” A pre-emptive strike on Iran would be unlikely to be in line with the UK’s interpretation of international law. US bases in the UK, like Fairford in Gloucestershire, the home for US B-2 bombers in Europe, are only used for military operations if the UK government agrees and they are considered legal. UK government sources said this was viewed as the reason for Trump to again turn against the Chagos plan. On Tuesday night, Starmer and Trump spoke in a conversation that covered the situation in Iran, although the Downing Street readout of the call made no mention of the Chagos plan. The hope in No 10 is that Trump will again change his mind. The bill setting out the Chagos agreement is due to return to the House of Lords soon. There has been speculation that the bill, which is nearing its final stages but was delayed last month amid continued uncertainty about the US position, might have returned to the Lords next week. However, it is now not expected for several weeks. Under parliamentary rules, if it is not passed before the end of the current parliamentary session in May, the bill would have to be presented again. One former government official who worked closely on the deal said he was concerned it might be scuppered. Ben Judah, who was until recently a special adviser to David Lammy, the former foreign secretary, told a Sun podcast: “It’s looking tricky for the government to get this deal through in the weeks and month ahead.” The Conservatives are continuing to push the Trump administration to block the plan, which Downing Street has said can only go ahead with US buy-in. The shadow foreign secretary, Priti Patel, is giving a speech in Washington DC next week, and is expected to hold talks with US officials about the Chagos plan. In a statement, Patel said the deal was “now dead in the water”, adding: “It’s impossible for the deal to proceed without the support of our American allies, and Labour will soon run out of time to put anything before parliament.” A government spokesperson said: “As routine, we do not comment on operational matters. There is a political process ongoing between the US and Iran, which the UK supports. Iran must never be able to develop a nuclear weapon, and our priority is security in the region.”

RSF siege of El Fasher in Sudan has ‘hallmarks of genocide’, UN mission finds

The siege and capture of the Sudanese city of El Fasher by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces group last October bore “the hallmarks of genocide”, a UN-mandated fact-finding mission has said. In a report detailing the harrowing 18-month occupation of the capital of North Darfur, investigators concluded that the RSF and allied militias deliberately inflicted conditions calculated to bring about the physical destruction of the Zaghawa and Fur ethnic communities. “The scale, coordination, and public endorsement of the operation by senior RSF leadership demonstrate that the crimes committed in and around El Fasher were not random excesses of war,” said Mohamed Chande Othman, the mission’s chair, who called for a thorough investigation of the perpetrators. The report was published a day after the UK, Canada and the European Union denounced possible war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sudan during the nearly three-year war. Its release coincides with the latest wave of drone strikes that have left dozens dead across Sudan’s Kordofan region, an area where the UN has consistently said that grave abuses are taking place. Unicef said at least 15 children were killed this week when a drone struck a displacement camp in West Kordofan. Local rights defenders reported that another strike on a market in nearby North Kordofan left 28 people dead. Blame for the West Kordofan attack has been directed at the Sudanese army; while the RSF has been accused of carrying out the strike in North Kordofan. Since April 2023, the RSF has been waging war against the army after a falling out between its commander, Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo, and the army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, former allies who came to power after the 2019 Sudanese revolution ousted longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir. The RSF has been backed by the United Arab Emirates, a position the Gulf state denies despite evidence compiled by the UN, independent experts and reporters. The group grew out of the Janjaweed militias, notorious for atrocities committed in the early 2000s in a ruthless campaign in Darfur that killed 300,000 people and drove 2.7 million from their homes. The war, the latest crisis in Sudan’s history of violence, has forced 11 million people to flee their homes and killed tens of thousands, triggering what the UN calls one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. The fact-finding report said that after the seizure of El Fasher, the RSF inflicted “three days of absolute horror” and that thousands of people, particularly from the Zaghawa ethnic group, were killed, raped or disappeared. Othman said: “The scale, coordination and public endorsement of the operation by senior RSF leadership demonstrate that the crimes committed in and around El Fasher were not random excesses of war. They formed part of a planned and organised operation that bears the defining characteristics of genocide.” Investigators said RSF militiamen had acted with impunity and “with genocidal intent” and that as conflict’s focus shifts from Darfur to Kordofan, outside countries must act decisively to hold perpetrators to account “and bring an end to this senseless violence”. The mission interviewed 320 witnesses and victims from El Fasher and the surrounding areas, including in investigative visits to Chad and South Sudan. It authenticated, verified and corroborated 25 videos. The report documents widespread sexual violence against girls and women aged seven to 70, including those who were pregnant. Survivors said they were attacked in front of family members, with the assaults often involving severe physical abuse. In one incident, a 12-year-old girl was raped by three RSF fighters as her mother watched, moments after her father was killed while trying to shield her. The girl later died from her injuries. According to the findings, such assaults frequently occurred at the same locations where mass killings had taken place, including El Saudi hospital and El Fasher University. Witnesses said RSF fighters also carried out public gang rapes of at least 19 women in rooms strewn with corpses, among them the bodies of the victims’ husbands. On Thursday the US announced that it was placing sanctions on three RSF commanders over their roles in the siege and capture of El Fasher. The US Treasury said the RSF had carried out “ethnic killings, torture, starvation, and sexual violence” in the operation. Agence France-Presse and Reuters contributed to this report

Russia ‘not ready for peace’ with ‘no tangible signs’ of serious engagement, EU says - Europe live

… and on that note, it’s a wrap for today! As mentioned earlier, several European countries are attending the Board of Peace’s meeting in Washington, although only a few of them as actual member of the new body (14:50). During the event so far, Hungary’s Viktor Orbán has received another high profile endorsement from the US president, Donald Trump (15:49, 17:05), while Romania’s Nicușor Dan received an unexpect invitation to address the event, offering his support for the Board’s efforts in Palestine (15:47, 15:58, 16:39, 17:15). For further coverage of the Board of Peace’s meeting, follow our US live blog here: Meanwhile, in Europe: The European Union has said there were “no tangible signs that Russia is engaging seriously” with the aim of securing peace in Ukraine, stressing that nothing can be decided about Ukraine without Europe at the negotiating table” (12:58). Trump-endorsed Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán has clashed with the opposition leader, Péter Magyar, over his depiction of the opposition forces as promoting Hungary’s involvement in the Russian invasion of Ukraine (13:48). President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen will travel to Greenland next month in a show of solidarity with Denmark and its semi-autonomous territory, the EU has announced (12:49). Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk has urged Polish citizens to immediately leave Iran, adding that “under no circumstances anyone should be travelling to that country” as he warned that the prospect of active conflict is “very, very real” (11:11). And that’s all from me, Jakub Krupa, for today. If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at jakub.krupa@theguardian.com. I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.

Aidan Chidarikire obituary

My husband, Aidan Chidarikire, who has died aged 92, was appointed director of pharmacy services in Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Health in the early 1980s, serving at a crucial time in the development of a healthcare system fit for the newly independent nation. Under the previous white minority regime, health services had been heavily skewed towards the white population and cities, and against the rural areas where the vast majority of the population lived. The twin pillars of the new strategy, in which Aidan played a leading role, were the establishment of an essential drugs list to meet the health needs of the majority of the population, and country-wide, grassroots-led training workshops, to ensure key medicines were for the first time well managed and accessible. The eldest of six children of Protassio Chidarikire, a butcher, and his wife, Valeria, Aidan was born in what was then Southern Rhodesia, in rural Chegutu, where it was the norm for boys to herd cattle. A bright pupil, he attended the Goromonzi high school and Kutama Mission, a prestigious Catholic boarding school run by the Marist Brothers, where he learned Christian values which stayed with him for the rest of his life. On leaving school, he was first a teacher, forming a school choir, and then worked at a chemist’s shop in the capital, Harare (then Salisbury). In 1959, he was selected for a pharmacy scholarship to study in Britain. After completing his pharmacy studies at Sunderland Technical College (now University), Aidan managed various branches of Boots the Chemist in London, and became a member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. He and I were married in 1969, and moved to Zimbabwe with our three children after independence in 1980. Initially Aidan worked in the Government Medical Stores; when the post of chief pharmacist became vacant, Aidan was appointed to that position. As the health services expanded, the Ministry of Health was restructured and his title was upgraded to the director of pharmacy services. A key part of his work involved the development of partnerships with the World Health Organization and DANIDA (the Danish International Development Agency) to secure healthcare resources and capacity for the new nation in the aftermath of the war of liberation. By nature, Aidan was a warm, gentle and principled person, by temperament well suited to the role of health ambassador both at home and overseas, adept at building strong personal and professional relationships that became an essential part of his role. On his retirement in 1999, Aidan was appointed pioneer registrar of the Pharmacists Council of Zimbabwe. We returned to London in 2015. Aidan enjoyed walking and golf, and with his good ear for music could pick out a tune on the piano. He is survived by me, our children, Tomorai, Tamisa and Garika, and grandchildren, Tinashe, Tatenda, Tinao, Temai and Zara, and by his siblings, Regina and Thomas.

Austrian mountaineer ‘endlessly sorry’ for girlfriend’s death but denies criminal wrongdoing

An Austrian mountaineer has said he is “endlessly sorry” his girlfriend froze to death on a joint climb to the country’s highest peak, but denied criminal wrongdoing as his trial began in Innsbruck. The 37-year-old defendant, identified only as Thomas P, gave evidence on the first day of the high-profile proceedings over the tragedy on Großglockner, in a case that could shape international standards for liability in mountain sports. During emotional testimony, Thomas P told the judge he was not guilty of the charge of gross negligent manslaughter for the death by hypothermia of his 33-year-old partner, Kerstin G, whom he is accused of wrongfully abandoning near the summit. He said he wanted it to be known “that I am endlessly sorry about what happened, and how it happened” on the morning of 19 January 2025, local media reported from the courtroom. “I loved Kerstin and didn’t want anything to happen to her.” Großglockner is the tallest mountain in the Alps east of the Brenner Pass, at a height of nearly 3,800 metres above sea level. Prosecutors say Kerstin G’s boyfriend left her “defenceless, exhausted, hypothermic and disoriented” about 50 metres from the summit while he scrambled to get help, after a series of errors that would prove catastrophic. The prosecution argues that Thomas P, as the far more experienced alpinist, was in effect the guide on the two-person tour and therefore bore responsibility for the safety of them both. They say his fateful mistakes included insufficient planning, clothing and equipment, a failure to turn back despite hostile weather conditions with icy winds of up to 74km/h, and a decision not to alert rescue teams to their plight as soon as it became apparent during the night. If convicted, the defendant faces three years’ imprisonment. Thomas P told the court his partner was also an enthusiastic mountain climber and physically very fit. “We always planned the tour together and took decisions jointly,” he said, reportedly contradicting previous statements to police in which he described himself as taking the lead in organising the trek. “I did not lead the tour so was not in the lead role.” He added that the adverse conditions, in which the wind chill plunged to –20C, had taken them by surprise. Thomas P said: “The wind down below was almost nonexistent, only picking up at higher altitudes. It was impossible to predict how the wind would be in the upper reaches of the Glockner.” Asked why he did not call emergency services before he went to seek help at about 2am, he replied: “It was an absolutely exceptional situation. Kerstin had no strength left, so I secured her to the rock with a rope and then climbed down.” When he returned to her, apparently having had second thoughts about leaving her alone, he said she shouted to him: “Go, go on your own and save your own life.” Kerstin G’s body was recovered after daybreak. The defence lawyer read out a letter from Kerstin G’s parents, which he said disputed a perception that she had been a victim. “Our daughter takes responsibility for her own actions, we can’t blame her boyfriend,” they wrote. “She did mountain runs and summited mountains far more difficult than this one.” However, the prosecution cited a message from Kerstin G to Thomas P 12 weeks before her death, saying the climb would be a challenge for her: “‘I completely lack experience when it comes to winter tours.” The defence lawyer said problems began at about 8.15pm when a rope got caught, costing the couple a precious 90 minutes, after which Kerstin G injured her hand. He said his client failed to send a distress call to a rescue helicopter because his girlfriend’s condition only dramatically worsened after it had flown away. He said a viral infection could have played a role in debilitating her. Kerstin G’s death made global headlines last year, also because webcam images captured the couple’s climb. Thomas P faced accusations on social media that associates described as a “witch-hunt”. The judge hearing the case specialises in mountaineering. He is expected to take the testimony of two Alpine experts as well as more than a dozen witnesses, including mountain rescuers. About 8,400 accidents occur in Austria’s mountains each year in which nearly 300 people die. But the cases rarely lead to criminal proceedings. The court’s ruling is widely expected to set a legal precedent far beyond Austria’s borders.

‘Made in Europe’ EU industrial strategy could hit supply chains, UK minister warns

A British minister has warned that the EU’s “Made in Europe” industrial strategy could hit supply chains, increase costs and create unnecessary trade barriers between the UK and some members of the bloc. Nick Thomas-Symonds, the UK minister for EU relations, made the comments as the EU is preparing to publish legislation that would require European-made products to be prioritised in public procurement and consumer schemes. The proposed legislation is designed to reduce dependence on foreign imports and boost local production in strategic sectors in an uncertain geopolitical environment. “My concern is that if you had very strict preference requirements, you would risk impacting our deeply integrated supply chains that would create unnecessary barriers to trade in key UK-EU industries and increase costs,” Thomas-Symonds said at an economic event in Madrid. “That would obviously affect UK-Spain supply chains.” Thomas-Symonds argued that Britain and the EU were facing the same challenges of raising competitiveness and productivity. He said: “The UK is the fourth largest investor in Spain. We are not going to meet those challenges by causing unnecessary economic damage to each other.” Thomas-Symonds’s intervention comes as Keir Starmer’s government has been looking to improve diplomatic and economic ties with the EU, Britain’s largest trading partner, since the “reset” deal was announced last May. In recent weeks, Starmer has signalled that the UK may seek sectoral deals which would deepen access to the single market, beyond that agreed with EU leaders in May, by potentially aligning in other areas and keeping pace with EU regulation. Such a move would be likely to face objections from opposition parties. EU leaders agreed at a summit in Belgium earlier in February to move ahead with a “Buy European” policy, with the aim of securing the continent’s future amid geopolitical volatility. At the meeting, the leaders broadly agreed on the need to protect certain sectors, with the European Council president, António Costa, naming these as defence, space, clean tech, quantum, artificial intelligence and payment systems. The EU has long been concerned with Europe’s declining competitiveness, but those worries were intensified after the sudden loss of Russian gas in 2022, which resulted in higher energy costs, made the bloc more vulnerable at a time of declining investment and higher regulation. The 27 member states have been looking to boost Europe’s competitiveness compared with the US and China at a time of economic uncertainty, following the Trump’s administration’s tariff agenda and China’s export of heavily subsidised goods to the continent. The draft “Made in Europe” plan includes the EU’s member states as well as members of the European Economic Area – Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein – but not Britain. The EU said, however, that other “trusted partners” could be added in future. The “Buy European” programme has long been promoted by France, but has faced some criticism by member states including Italy and Germany – whose automakers have global manufacturing operations – who have expressed concerns that the rules could be too narrow. The German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, and the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, have said in recent times they would like the EU to go further with its deregulation agenda. The European Commission is due to publish its Industrial Accelerator Act later this month, which is expected to set targets for European content in a range of strategic products such as solar panels and electric vehicles.

Dozens of Palestinian journalists beaten, starved or raped, report alleges

Almost 60 Palestinian journalists detained in Israeli prisons since the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack have been beaten, starved and subjected to sexual violence, including rape, a report alleges. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reviewed dozens of testimonies, photographs and medical records documenting what it describes as serious abuses by Israeli soldiers and prison guards against Palestinian reporters. The report draws on in-depth interviews from 59 Palestinian journalists. Of those interviewed, 58 reported being subjected to what they described as torture while in Israeli custody. “While conditions varied at different facilities, the methods those interviewed recounted – physical assaults, forced stress positions, sensory deprivation, sexual violence, and medical neglect – were strikingly consistent,” the report states. The Israeli prison service and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have both strongly rejected the allegations. Journalist Sami al-Sai, who has reported for the Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera Mubasher and the local broadcaster Al-Fajer TV, said he was taken to a small cell in Megiddo prison, and soldiers removed his trousers and underwear, and penetrated him with batons and other objects. “I did not speak to anyone inside the prison about what happened, except for two senior detainees who have been imprisoned for 25 years,” Sai said. In December 2025, German journalist Anne Liedtke, detained onboard a Gaza-bound flotilla, alleged Israeli soldiers raped her while in custody. Italian journalist Vincenzo Fullone and Australian activist Surya McEwen made similar accusations. Shadi Abu Sido, a Palestinian journalist from Gaza who works for Palestine Today, was released after 20 months in detention at Sde Teiman last October. He had been seized by Israeli forces at al-Shifa hospital on 18 March 2024, and said he “was shackled, blindfolded, and forced through a corridor of soldiers who beat him with batons and kicks”. He later learned he had a broken rib. At Ofer prison, radio journalist Mohammad al-Atrash described a coordinated mass assault in November 2023 involving dozens of prisoners, that he and other detainees called “a Shin Bet party” or a “Ben-Gvir party” (named after Israeli far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir). Al-Atrash stated that “trained dogs were ordered to attack the detainees, and metal instruments were used to create long-lasting bleeding and scars”. Osama al-Sayed, a report from Al-Aqsa TV, recounted the intermittent use of electroshocking and pepper spray between beatings, which took place shortly after a visit to the prison by Ben-Gvir. Eleven Palestinian journalists cited the use of a torture method known as strappado, or what the Palestinian journalists termed “ghost hanging”, in which a person is suspended by their arms, bound behind the back, and then pulled upward. Fifty-five of the 59 journalists interviewed reported extreme hunger or malnutrition. Photographs shared with the Guardian by the CPJ show the journalists before and after their detention, showing visibly gaunt and physically diminished men. The CPJ calculated an average weight loss of 23.5kg (52 pounds) among the group by comparing journalists’ reported weight before and after detention. Ahmed Shaqoura, a reporter from Palestine Today TV, lost 54kg during 14 months in Israeli custody in Ktzi’ot and Al-Jalama prisons. “These are not isolated incidents,” said CPJ regional director Sara Qudah. “Across dozens of cases, CPJ documented a recurring set of abuse directed at journalists because of their work.” Forty-eight of the journalists, a majority, were never charged with any crime and were held under Israel’s administrative detention system, which allows for an individual to be held without charge, typically for six months that can be renewed indefinitely. A spokesperson for the Israeli prison service (IPS) said they “categorically” rejected the allegations, citing how “any concrete complaint submitted through the official channels is examined by the competent authorities in accordance with established procedures”. In a statement, the IDF also said it “completely rejects allegations regarding the systematic abuse of detainees, including allegations of sexual abuse”. “In appropriate cases”, it added, “disciplinary measures are taken against facility staff members and criminal investigations are initiated when there is reasonable suspicion of a criminal offence.” In early 2025, leaked surveillance footage from Sde Teiman detention camp appeared to show soldiers sexually assaulting detainees, triggering a national scandal. The footage was aired by Israeli journalist Guy Peleg, who has since reported facing threats and harassment. A recent report by Physicians for Human Rights – Israel documented 94 Palestinian deaths in Israeli custody since 7 October 2023. The CPJ puts the number of journalists to have been killed since the start of the Gaza war at 252.