First: Pelosi says she hasn't spoken to Biden since she urged him to leave | US News

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Nancy Pelosi said she has not spoken to Joe Biden since she called on him to drop out of the presidential race following his disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump in June.

The former House speaker said on the Guardian's Politics Weekly America podcast that while she respects Biden as a long-time political ally and friend, she feels the need to intervene. “Elections are decisions,” she said. “You choose to win. “I decided some time ago that Donald Trump would never again set foot in the White House as President of the United States or in any other capacity.”

Asked if she had spoken to Biden since her intervention, she said: “Not since then, no. But I pray for it.”

Kamala Harris described Trump as “increasingly unstable and unhinged” and said his re-election was “a major risk for America” ​​after her opponent threatened to use US forces against what he described as “the enemy within”. .

At a Harris rally in the swing state of Pennsylvania, the US Vice President showed a montage of Trump videos in which he said, among other things: “These people are more dangerous – the enemy from within – than Russia” to portray him as a threat to the United States represent democracy. The Trump quote comes from a speech at a rally in California on Saturday.

Her campaign also released a new campaign ad that focuses on Trump's increasingly authoritarian rhetoric and includes warnings from two former members of his presidential administration about the danger Trump would pose if re-elected.

• What did the former members of the Trump administration say? Olivia Troye, a former national security adviser to Mike Pence, said: “I remember the day he suggested we shoot people in the streets.” Kevin Carroll, a former senior lawyer, added: “His worst instincts become “We will be unstoppable… If we elect Trump again, we will be in terrible danger.”

About 80% of countries do not submit plans to protect nature before the world summit

With just a week until the biodiversity summit in Colombia, more than 80% of countries have not presented plans to comply with a UN agreement to prevent the destruction of the Earth's ecosystems.

The historic agreement, reached almost two years ago in Montreal, Canada, included goals to set aside 30% of the land and sea for nature, reform billions of dollars in environmentally damaging subsidies and reduce the use of pesticides. But as Cop16 begins on October 21, only 25 countries have submitted their action plans.

• Who has submitted plans? Only five of the 17 megadiverse countries – which host about 70% of the planet's biodiversity – have submitted plans: Australia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Mexico. Suriname was the only Amazon rainforest state to submit a plan, and no state in the Congo Basin has done so.

• And the G7? Canada, Italy, France and Japan were the only G7 countries to meet the deadline.

In other news…

• Canadian police on Monday accused Indian diplomats and consular staff of “criminal” activities, including murders, in the country. Hours after senior diplomats were expelled from both countries.

• Israeli strikes have killed at least 40 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, while another Israeli attack in northern Lebanon killed more than 20 people.

• Google will buy nuclear energy to power this Artificial intelligence data centers in a “world first” deal.

• Dozens of human rights groups have called on the Polish prime minister not to temporarily suspend the right to asylum in the country.

Statistics of the day: New Cervical Cancer Treatment Plan “Reduces Risk of Dying from Disease by 40%”

A new way to treat cervical cancer – the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide – reduces the chance of dying from the disease by 40%. It is being hailed as the biggest advance in treatment this century after patients in a 10-year trial were given a short course of chemotherapy before chemoradiotherapy (combined chemotherapy and radiotherapy).

You shouldn't miss this: the exhausting rise of sleep perfectionism

If you ask people who sleep through the night how they do it, the answer is usually simple: They do nothing. But tell that to those caught up in the world of orthosomnia — the term given to the obsession with finding the perfect night's sleep, usually with a tracking device. It's a growing industry that experts warn could be counterproductive. Some are afraid of not performing well enough while misunderstanding the science behind sleep.

Climate check: What happens to the world when forests stop absorbing carbon? Ask Finland

Scientists warn that the ability of the Earth and the planet's trees to absorb CO2 has declined over the past year₂ was drastically reduced, almost to zero. Land sinks are a large part of the path to net zero, and most climate models have not taken this into account, meaning global warming could be more extreme than expected if this continues. Patrick Greenfield examines the consequences in Finland, where the country's forest depression has declined rapidly over a decade – meaning the country is now a net contributor to global warming.

Last thing: Cheating allegation after men's world conker champion found with steel chestnut

The simmering rumors and malicious accusations are dividing… the World Conker Championships. An investigation was launched after the 82-year-old winner of the game, in which opponents hit each other's buckeyes until one breaks, was found with a metal replica in his pocket. He committed a foul.

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