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The Maldives is fighting for its very survival.

As an archipelago of low-lying islands in the Indian Ocean, it faces not one but three existential dangers, all driven by climate change.

The rising sea levels threaten to submerge some of the islands with some scientists warning this disaster could happen within the next decade.

Thinadoo Island
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Extreme weather is causing coastal erosion to happen more quickly

The under-pressure islands also face another threat. Seasonal weather patterns have become severely disrupted.

Monsoons and tropical storms are more frequent and more violent. They are exaggerating natural coastal erosion and making it happen much more quickly.

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It means the islands are literally shrinking. But one of the most pressing emergencies is the drastic loss of the atoll coral.

Rising sea temperatures are killing the coral reefs and that is having a devastating impact on life, both on land and sea.

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The reefs are crucial to the island’s survival, not only are they an essential part of the entire marine ecosystem but they provide protection for the coastline.

Azim Musthag is a marine scientist at the Small Island Research Group based in the Maldives’ capital – Male.

He has been measuring the health of the archipelago’s coral reef and his findings are troubling.

Azim Musthag, Marine Scientist
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Azim Musthag says most of the coral reefs are dead or aren’t recovering quickly enough

“It is quite serious,” he said. “The reefs aren’t recovering as fast as we would like.

“A large proportion of the reefs are still dead or they are recovering too slowly and this is bad for a nation like the Maldives.

“The coral reef is the basis of life here. We are a country in the middle of the Indian Ocean and there are no other sources of nutrients around the reef, it’s the home for nearly all of our marine life.”

Mr Musthag has no doubt what is killing the coral. He said: “Sea temperatures related to climate change are definitely the main cause of such destruction.”

The warnings over the impact of climate change on the Maldives have been sounded for years.

Thinadoo Island
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Coastal erosion is one of the issues

Mr Mushtag added that it is time for action, saying: “We need to commit to reducing the amount of greenhouse gases, actually we need to bring it below zero.

“We need to find ways to put carbon back into the earth and invest in or restore low-carbon ecosystems like mangroves, seagrass meadows, and natural forests.

“We don’t have that many years ahead of us. We need to take action really fast and I don’t think the major countries, the major players, are doing much about it. It’s not as fast as we would like.”

As our planet heats up the sea level rises and data for the Maldives shows a 3-4mm increase in the last year alone.

That means these low-lying islands could be completely submerged within the next decade, but there is another, perhaps, even more, urgent crisis: coastal erosion.

Dr Abdulla Naseer, Minister of State for Environment
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The Minister of State for Environment, Dr Abdulla Naseer, is worried that people may be forced to move to a different island

Dr Abdullah Naseer, the country’s Minister of State for Environment, is a coastal marine scientist who has been gathering data from across the islands.

“We are very worried about it,” he said, stressing they need to find a solution for the people living on these islands.

“There are 186 inhabited islands and each and every one, almost 90% of them now, complain that the islands have been eroding away and to help them out in some way.

“So we are spending more than necessary on coastal protection. We have to find alternative sources of funding for coastal protection and also to find solutions to the current rate of erosion.”

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If a solution is not found soon then the Maldivian government may be forced to take extreme measures like forced evacuations.

Dr Naseer added: “We are concerned that we may have to move people around, you know, consolidate people to a different island.”

The red flags about the future of these islands have been ignored for too long. Time for the Maldives is running out.

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‘I’m not so careful with what I say’ – is Trump feeling more invincible than ever?

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'I'm not so careful with what I say' - is Trump feeling more invincible than ever?

It was one sentence among the many words Donald Trump spoke this week that caught my attention.

Midway through a jaw-dropping news conference where he sensationally claimed to have “found an answer on autism”, he said: “Bobby (Kennedy) wants to be very careful with what he says, but I’m not so careful with what I say.”

The US president has gone from pushing the envelope to completely unfiltered.

Last Sunday, moments after Charlie Kirk‘s widow Erika had publicly forgiven her husband’s killer, Mr Trump told the congregation at his memorial service that he “hates his opponents”.

President Donald Trump embraces Charlie Kirk's widow Erika. Pic: AP
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President Donald Trump embraces Charlie Kirk’s widow Erika. Pic: AP

Twenty-four hours later, he drew fierce rebuke from medical experts by linking the use of Tylenol (paracetamol) during pregnancy to increased risk of autism.

The president treats professional disapproval not as a liability but as evidence of authenticity, fuelling the aura that he is a challenger of conventions.

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‘Paracetamol use in pregnancy perfectly safe’

On Tuesday, he went to the United Nations, where his frustrations over a stalled escalator and teleprompter failure were the prelude to the most combative address.

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“I’m really good at this stuff. Your countries are going to hell,” he told his audience, deriding Europe’s approach to immigration as a “failed experiment of open borders”.

Mr Trump addresses the UN General Assembly in New York. Pic: Reuters
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Mr Trump addresses the UN General Assembly in New York. Pic: Reuters

Then came a U-turn on Ukraine, suggesting the country could win back all the land it has lost to Russia.

Most politicians would be punished for inconsistency, but Mr Trump recasts this as strategic genius – framing himself as dictating the terms.

It is hard to keep track when his expressed hopes for peace in Ukraine and Gaza are peppered with social media posts condemning the return of Jimmy Kimmel to late-night television.

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Trump’s major shift in Ukraine policy

Perhaps most striking of all is his reaction to the indictment of James Comey, the FBI director he fired during his first term.

In theory, this should raise questions about the president’s past conflicts with law enforcement, but he frames it as vindication, proof that his enemies fall while he survives.

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Ex-FBI chief: ‘Costs to standing up to Trump’

Mr Trump has spent much of his political career cultivating an image of a man above the normal consequences of politics, law or diplomacy, but he appears to feel more invincible than ever.

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Trump: ‘Looks like we have a deal’ to end war in Gaza

From funerals to world summits, world peace to public health, he projects the same image: rules are for others.

It is the politics of the untouchable.

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Russia launches massive attack on Kyiv – as Poland scrambles jets and closes airspace

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Russia launches massive attack on Kyiv - as Poland scrambles jets and closes airspace

Russia has launched a massive drone attack on Ukraine’s capital this morning, injuring at least six people, Kyiv’s military administration has said.

Poland closed the airspace near two of its southeastern cities, Lublin and Rzeszow, as its air force scrambled jets in response to Russia’s attack on Kyiv.

Drones flew over Kyiv and anti-aircraft fire rang out through the night in what independent monitors said was one of the biggest strikes on the city since the Ukraine war began in February 2022.

The attack started at around 6am local time and many regions across the country are under air raid alert.

Some residents have fled to metro stations deep underground for safety as the attack continues.

Poland said it had closed its airspace near the two cities until at least 4am GMT due to “unplanned military activity related to ensuring state security”, flight tracking service Flightradar24 said.

“In connection with the activity of the Russian Federation’s long-range aviation carrying out strikes on the territory of
Ukraine, Polish and allied aircraft have begun operating in our airspace,” the military said in a post on X.

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It described the actions as preventive and aimed at securing airspace and protecting citizens.

It comes as Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov was expected to address allegations made against Moscow that it has violated the airspace of several of its neighbours in recent weeks, as he spoke in New York at the 80th UN General Assembly.

A NATO air defence mission was recently carried out over Poland in response to “unprecedented” Russian drone incursions above the country.

During his address, Mr Lavrov, who has been Russia’s foreign minister for 21 years, says his country had no intention of attacking any NATO or EU member state but warned of a “decisive response” if any “aggression” was directed towards Moscow.

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Sergei Lavrov warns NATO and EU countries over ‘aggression’ towards Russia

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Sergei Lavrov warns NATO and EU countries over 'aggression' towards Russia

Vladimir Putin’s top diplomat says Russia has no intention of attacking any NATO or EU member state but warned of a “decisive response” if any “aggression” was directed towards Moscow.

Sergei Lavrov, Russia‘s foreign minister of 21 years, was speaking in New York at the 80th UN General Assembly, where he said threats against his country by Western nations were becoming “increasingly common”.

He was expected to address allegations made against Moscow that it has violated the airspace of several of its neighbours in recent weeks, heightening tensions across Europe.

Estonia said Russian fighter jets flew into its airspace last week and remained there for 12 minutes, while a NATO air defence mission was recently carried out over Poland in response to “unprecedented” Russian drone incursions above the country.

Romania and Latvia also reported that single Russian drones had violated their airspace this month.

“Threats of force against Russia, accused of practically planning an attack on the North Atlantic Alliance and the European Union, are becoming increasingly common,” Mr Lavrov said in New York.

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“President Putin has repeatedly debunked such provocations. Russia has never had and does not have such intentions, but any aggression against my country will be met with a decisive response.”

At the start of the week, US President Donald Trump told the UN that NATO nations should shoot down Russian planes in their airspace.

‘They will regret it’

After his UN address, Mr Lavrov held a news conference, where he insisted again that Moscow “has nothing to hide” over the allegations against it.

He was then asked by US correspondent Mark Stone what the Kremlin’s response would be if a nation shot down a Russian drone or plane in Russian airspace.

“Try to understand that a drone, when it is flying not over our territory, but if it crosses someone’s border but has left our airspace, probably everyone has the right to do with that drone whatever they consider necessary to ensure their security.

“But if there are attempts to shoot down any flying object, or indeed any object at all, on our territory, in our airspace, then I think people will seriously regret it, undertaking such a gross violation of our territorial integrity, our sovereignty.”

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Watch: Sergei Lavrov answers Sky News question in New York

‘Hypocrisy’ over Gaza comments

At the start of his UN speech, Mr Lavrov took time to criticise Israel’s actions in the Middle East, accusing it of trying to “blow up” the region and saying it had “no justification” for the “brutal killings” of Palestinians in Gaza.

“The illegal use of force against the Palestinians and aggressive actions against Iran, Qatar, Yemen, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq today threaten to blow up the entire Middle East.”

He also hit out at Israeli plans to annex the West Bank: “There is no justification for plans to annex the West Bank. This is essentially a coup d’etat in diplomatic terms.”

Israel has repeatedly claimed that it does not target civilians in Gaza and says its military actions across the Middle East are strategically vital for its self-defence.

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Mark Stone reflects on Sergei Lavrov’s UN address

Mark Stone said Mr Lavrov’s comments on Israel’s actions will be seen as highly hypocritical given Russia’s war in Ukraine which began in February 2022.

“Lavrov said Israel is bombing schools, it is bombing hospitals in Gaza,” Stone said.

“Well, remember Mariupol and the rest of those cities in Ukraine, where Russia has and continues to do just the same thing? There’s a certain hypocrisy there, for sure.”

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