Woodland Trust also finds significant north-south divide in tree cover, leaving many people at risk of poor health
Nigel Farage’s constituency of Clacton-on-Sea is a “tree desert”, leaving people more exposed to air pollution, poorer health, lower life expectancy and the impact of rising temperatures, according to a new report.
The Essex town is rated the worst-performing for equal access to trees in England, with the highest proportion of urban residents – 98.2% – living in neighbourhoods with critically low access to trees.
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© Photograph: Graeme Robertson/The Guardian
© Photograph: Graeme Robertson/The Guardian
© Photograph: Graeme Robertson/The Guardian
MANCHESTER, May 14 — Manchester City’s second string eased past Crystal Palace 3-0 on Wednesday to climb just two points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal with two games remaining of a captivating title race.
Pep Guardiola made six changes from the side that beat Brentford 3-0 at the weekend, with Erling Haaland and Jeremy Doku among those on the bench, while Palace boss Oliver Glasner also made tweaks.
First-half goals from Antoine Semenyo and Omar Marmoush put City in control at a damp Etihad and a late strike from Savinho added gloss to the scoreline.
The tide appeared to have turned in City’s favour in the title race over recent weeks but last week’s costly 3-3 draw at Everton put Arsenal firmly back in the box seat.
The City players experienced the agony of seeing a stoppage-time equaliser for West Ham against Arsenal ruled out following a VAR check on Sunday as the Gunners battled to a 1-0 win.
Guardiola’s men dominated the ball in the early minutes on Wednesday but Palace, with Ismaila Sarr and Adam Wharton on the bench, posed a threat on the break.
City opened the scoring in style in the 32nd minute after Foden produced an exquisite back pass to set up Semenyo, who finished coolly past Dean Henderson into the far corner of the goal.
They doubled their lead eight minutes later, with Foden again the provider, touching the ball to Marmoush, who celebrated his third Premier League goal of the season.
John Stones, departing at the end of the season, came on as a substitute towards the end of a forgettable second period to a rousing reception from the City fans.
Minutes later Rayan Cherki ran with the ball from his own half before setting up Savinho, who swept the ball past Henderson.
The three-goal win takes City to 77 points, two behind Arsenal. City now have a superior goal difference of plus one and have scored seven more goals.
City take on Chelsea in the FA Cup final at Wembley on Saturday, gunning for a domestic cup double after lifting the League Cup earlier this season.
Before kick-off on Wednesday, Guardiola explained his multiple changes, saying: “When the schedule is so tight, everybody is fit, everybody needs to help.”
Despite the narrow gap, Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal remain overwhelming favourites to win their first Premier League title since 2004.
City next face a tricky match at Bournemouth, who are chasing Champions League qualification, and finish their campaign against Aston Villa.
Arsenal host relegated Burnley next week before travelling to Palace for the final day of the season.
Palace, who beat City in last season’s FA Cup final, are 15th in the table.
But their focus now is on the UEFA Conference League final against Rayo Vallecano in Leipzig on May 27 -- Glasner’s final match in charge of the south London club. — AFP
Greenpeace finds cocktail of pesticides including seven banned in EU may have been used on seven categories of vegetables and soft fruit
It is a beautiful early summer Sunday afternoon and you have stopped for a pub lunch. A waiter sets down a roast served with carrots, peas, parsnips, potatoes and onion gravy, and then for pudding, strawberries and cream. It feels like the perfect rustic meal to accompany a day in the country.
However, a report by Greenpeace, published on Thursday, has found that the ingredients of the traditional Sunday roast have potentially been treated with a cocktail of more than 100 pesticides. Data from the Fera pesticide usage survey for 2024, showed 102 – including seven banned in the EU – were used on seven vegetable and soft fruit categories.
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© Photograph: Alexander Spatari/Getty Images
© Photograph: Alexander Spatari/Getty Images
© Photograph: Alexander Spatari/Getty Images
SINGAPORE: A Tiong Bahru HDB flat with just 45 years remaining on its 99-year lease has been sold for an eye-watering S$1.53 million, setting a new record for the highest resale price achieved by a four-room HDB flat in Singapore.
The unit is located at Block 50 Moh Guan Terrace and is the second flat in the same block to cross the S$1.5 million mark.
According to HDB resale data, the flat is an adjoining unit spanning between the first and third floors. It measures about 1,615 square feet, making it significantly larger than a standard four-room HDB flat. The transaction worked out to around S$947 per square foot.
This is not the first time Block 50 Moh Guan Terrace has made headlines for record-breaking resale prices. In June 2023, another adjoining four-room unit in the same block changed hands for S$1.5 million, which at the time set a new national record for a four-room HDB resale flat.
Property analysts have pointed to the unusually large size of the units at Block 50, along with the estate’s central location and close proximity to amenities in the popular Tiong Bahru neighbourhood, as key factors driving buyer demand and pushing prices upward.
The latest transaction adds to a growing trend of million-dollar HDB resale deals across Singapore.
Last month, a five-room flat at City Vue@Henderson in the Redhill area was resold for a record-breaking S$1,728,000, setting a new all-time high for HDB resale prices in Singapore.
This article (4-room resale flat sold for staggering S$1.53M despite only having 45 years left on lease) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.
NASA's Perseverance rover sent a selfie from Mars taken against the sweeping backdrop of a region scientists call the ‘Lac de Charmes.'
Australia Palestine Advocacy Network says criticism of Israel is routinely misrepresented as antisemitic – and that Palestinian voices are being excluded from debate
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Palestinian voices are being excluded from the debate on social cohesion, the peak body for Palestinians in Australia has said after it was refused leave to appear before the royal commission on antisemitism and social cohesion.
The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (Apan) made detailed submissions on the issues of antisemitism – including how it is defined – as well as on racism and social cohesion, but was told it did not have a “direct and substantial” interest in the public hearings, which are under way in Sydney.
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© Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP
© Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP
© Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP
LONDON, May 13 — Pep Guardiola says teams must “do better” if they want to avoid VAR controversies.
Guardiola believes his Manchester City side have been on the wrong end of replay calls in the past and is still annoyed by decisions that went against his team in their FA Cup final defeats of 2024 and 2025.
VAR made headlines again after relegation-threatened West Ham were denied a stoppage-time equaliser against title-chasing Arsenal following a lengthy review last Sunday, with the Gunners’ 1-0 win leaving the Premier League leaders five points clear of second-placed City.
But City manager Guardiola said players had it within their power to take VAR out of the equation.
“We lost the two finals of the FA Cup because the referees didn’t do their jobs they should do, even the VAR,” said Guardiola.
“When this happens it is because we have to do better, not the referees or VAR.”
The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss added: “I never trust anything since I arrived a long time ago. Always I learned you have to do it better, do it better, be in a position to do it better because you blame yourself with what you have to do, because (VAR) is a flip of a coin.”
City were beaten 2-1 by rivals Manchester United in the FA Cup final two years ago, with Guardiola believing his side could have had two penalties in the game following separate challenges on Erling Haaland by Lisandro Martinez and Kobbie Mainoo.
And there was further controversy at Wembley during City’s shock defeat by Crystal Palace in last season’s final.
Dean Henderson was one of Palace’s heroes, the goalkeeper saving a penalty, but the outcome might have been different had he been sent off for handling outside his area.
But Guardiola insisted he is not dwelling on that match ahead of facing Palace in the Premier League on Wednesday, where a win for City would cut Arsenal’s lead at the top of the table to two points.
“You have to do better and better for yourself, and that is focusing on Crystal Palace for us,” said Guardiola.
“Of course it is not in our hands in the Premier League. Always I say to the players, ‘Do it, do it, do it better’.
“I always learned that when you lose the focus, you are in a dangerous situation.
“The only thing we can do is do it better, that is only in your control.” — AFP
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