The Guardian

As world leaders flocked to the G7 summit at Carbis Bay in Cornwall to discuss the Covid pandemic recovery and the climate emergency, activists have also taken the chance to demonstrate to the leaders of seven of the wealthiest global democracies.

From a swarm of 300 drones creating 3D images of endangered species to protesters running around in Pikachu costumes, demonstrators have got creative to get the attention of politicians and the press. Here are some of the most impressive stunts

• Tell us: are you planning on joining protests at the G7 summit?
• G7 signs of protest in Cornwall – in pictures

Ship cannot sail out of Egyptian waters as authorities detain crew and cargo until owners pay for blockages

Lemons, bamboo shoots and tofu sit in the sweltering heat, alongside goods from Lenovo, Ikea, Dixons Carphone and dozens of other brands – including barbecues, sun loungers, swimwear, lawnmowers and camping equipment – and will arrive at their intended destinations long after summer ends.

Since the successful operation to dislodge the 220,000-ton Ever Given from the Suez canal, where it was stuck for six days, the cargo ship has been grounded again – this time by a fierce legal battle between the ship’s owners, insurance companies, and the Suez Canal Authority (SCA).

We must find a way to embrace shipping, the ocean and our place in the world without shackling ourselves to unpayable foreign debt

Growing up in Sri Lanka in the 1990s, it was drilled into me from an early age that my island was destined to be a maritime hub. At school, I was taught that Sri Lanka was once the heart of the maritime Silk Road, a network of trade routes that connected the east and west from 130BC to the mid-1400s.

My textbooks were filled with tales about how Sri Lanka’s strategic positioning and rich natural resources were so prized that it was consecutively colonised by the Portuguese, Dutch and British empires for almost four centuries.

The 10-year-old was snorkelling at Five Finger Reef near Coral Bay when a two-metre bronze whaler bit him on the foot

A young boy has been flown to hospital after a shark bit him on the foot while he was snorkelling near Coral Bay in Western Australia.

The 10-year-old was attacked by a two-metre bronze whaler at Five Finger Reef, south of the remote town, about 11am on Friday, the state’s Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development said.

The reservoir will be at its lowest since the 1930s when the Hoover dam was built, and officials expect levels to get worse

Levels in Lake Mead – the largest US reservoir by volume – fell to historic lows on Thursday, as the region continues to face the effects of a devastating prolonged drought.

Stationed on the main stem of the Colorado River in the Mojave along the Arizona-Nevada border, Lake Mead was formed with the construction of the Hoover dam, which generates electricity for areas in Arizona, California and Nevada. It provides water for urban, rural and tribal lands across the south-west.

Just 10 plastic products make up 75% of all items and scientists say the pollution must be stopped at source

Plastic items from takeaway food and drink dominate the litter in the world’s oceans, according to the most comprehensive study to date.

Single-use bags, plastic bottles, food containers and food wrappers are the four most widespread items polluting the seas, making up almost half of the human-made waste, the researchers found. Just 10 plastic products, also including plastic lids and fishing gear, accounted for three-quarters of the litter, due to their widespread use and extremely slow degradation.

Prince says private-sector innovation and finance is vital, otherwise ‘we just don’t stand a chance’

Prince Charles has said businesses must lead the way alongside governments in tackling the climate emergency.

Before the start of the G7 summit in Cornwall on Friday, he told a gathering of political and business leaders that private-sector cash and knowhow was essential, and businesses needed strong policy signals from government.

Organization says the Southern Ocean consists of the waters surrounding Antarctica, out to 60-degrees south latitude

Anyone who thought the world had four oceans will now have to think again, after the National Geographic Society announced it would recognize a new Southern Ocean in Antarctica, bringing the global total to five.

The National Geographic, a non-profit scientific and educational organization whose mapping standards are referenced by many atlases and cartographers, said the Southern Ocean consists of the waters surrounding Antarctica, out to 60-degrees south latitude.

Restoring nature boosts biodiversity and ecosystems that can rapidly and cheaply absorb carbon emissions

Humanity must solve the climate and nature crises together or solve neither, according to a report from 50 of the world’s leading scientists.

Global heating and the destruction of wildlife is wreaking increasing damage on the natural world, which humanity depends on for food, water and clean air. Many of the human activities causing the crises are the same and the scientists said increased use of nature as a solution was vital.

Police arrested more than 100 people this week as activists try to block the expansion of the pipeline

Environmental protesters and Native American tribes have joined together to try to block construction efforts that would expand and repair a controversial pipeline called Line 3, which would carry hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil through tribal lands and fragile watersheds in northern Minnesota.

The protesters said they were there as water and land protectors, fighting Enbridge, a Canadian-owned company, and the $9bn upgrade of the pipeline. The action sparked a confrontation with law enforcement and raised the prospects of a high profile fight set to highlight the use of fossil fuels at a time of growing climate crisis.

Exclusive: excessive feeding as visitors flocked to London’s green spaces has led to overcrowding, disease and pollution

London’s royal parks are urging visitors to stop feeding bread to ducks because it is causing overcrowding and bullying among birds, the Guardian can reveal.

A campaign launching today highlights how excessive feeding upsets fragile ecosystems, leading to large groups of aggressive gulls and crows that steal the eggs and chicks of other birds. Leftover food also attracts rats, and soggy bread and waterfowl faeces contaminate the water.

TC Energy halts project that faced longstanding opposition from climate campaigners

A $9bn oil pipeline that became a symbol of the rising political clout of climate advocates and a flashpoint in US-Canada relations was officially canceled on Wednesday.

Keystone XL, which was proposed in 2008 to bring oil from Canada’s western tar sands to US refiners, was halted by owner TC Energy after Joe Biden this year revoked a key permit needed for a US stretch of the 1,200-mile project.

Researchers say species exposed for long periods to light pollution near the shore were less likely to survive than those living farther away

Young clownfish on coastal reefs are dying faster as a result of exposure to artificial light at night, according to new research.

An international team of scientists studying reefs on Moorea, a tiny island of French Polynesia, have found that orange-fin anemonefish – a species of clownfish – exposed for long periods to human-generated artificial light were 36% less likely to survive than clownfish living in reefs farther from the coast.

‘Historic’ move to ban destructive fishing methods in five habitats welcomed, but conservationists say change must come faster

The UK government has announced plans to increase protection of wildlife and habitats by banning fishing and other damaging activities from a handful of selected marine sites off the coast of England.

More than 97% of British offshore marine protected areas (MPAs), designed to safeguard habitats and biodiversity, are being dredged and bottom trawled, according to data published by the Guardian. They have long been criticised by conservationists as ineffective “paper parks”.

Draft paper says Bełchatów coal-fuelled plant to be phased out as part of plans to transform country’s energy

Poland plans to close Europe’s most polluting power plant by the end of 2036, according to a draft document published by local authorities.

The document, which is subject to public consultation, is part of the Lodz region’s application for support from the EU’s Just Transition Fund, aimed at helping regions bear the cost of shifting to a climate-neutral economy.

Some employers are upending the industry standards by paying their employees better and offering stronger benefits

Across the US, restaurant owners reporting problems in finding employees have fueled pushes among Republican-led states and business industry groups to end federal extended unemployment benefits.

The justification, they say, is that these pandemic era benefits are preventing workers from returning to work, despite some research indicating childcare and health and safety are bigger factors in these decisions.

Member of fox family is on list of 20 invasive species likely to reach UK shores and destroy wildlife

They are cute and furry, and could become the UK’s next major non-native pest.

Raccoon dogs, an exotic member of the fox family that is native to Japan, China and Siberia, are one of the most destructive invasive species at risk of becoming established in Britain, experts say.

A thick layer of organic matter known as marine mucilage has spread in the Sea of Marmara, covering harbours, shorelines and swathes of the surface south of Istanbul. Some of the ‘sea snot’ has sunk below the waves, suffocating seabed life

Landowners to be paid for planting that protects wildlife, reduces flood risk and increases public access

Landowners will be paid thousands of pounds in bonuses for creating new woodlands that boost wildlife, increase public access and reduce flooding, under a new £16m scheme for England announced on Wednesday.

The Forestry Commission plan will for the first time allow payments for natural regeneration, where wind-blown seeds colonise land. This can be the best way to recreate native woodlands and some landowners have complained that past grants only allowed tree planting. Support for planting trees along rivers to improve waterside habitats will also be offered for the first time.

There are fewer than 30 breeding pairs in Britain, and the one I saw at a Scottish loch was at its springtime finest

Chestnut flanks and neck. Ruby-red eyes. Dagger-like bill. And, on either side of its matt-black head, golden plumes shimmering in the Speyside sunshine. All wrapped up in a buoyant waterbird, gliding across the silky-smooth surface of the loch, before disappearing beneath, then yo-yoing into view again, with a tiny fish as its prize.

The Slavonian grebe’s splendour is enhanced by its rarity: there are fewer than 30 breeding pairs in Britain, spread out across the Scottish Highlands. Being relatively unknown, it might not win a competition for Britain’s most beautiful bird. But it would certainly give any other contenders a run for their money.