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The tunas, which were caught a day apart off the coast of Whitby earlier this week, have mostly been absent along the north-east coast of Britain since the 1960s. While small numbers of the species have been spotted in the waters around Yorkshire in the previous years, the pair were the first to be caught for market from the North Sea since licences to catch the fish were issued in July.

Rodney Forster, a professor at the University of Hull and head of the Hull marine laboratory, called the tuna’s reappearance a “success story about the management of fisheries” in Britain.

“They were fished almost to the point of extinction in their spawning grounds in the Mediterranean through the 70s and 80s,” said Forster. “But now careful protection of the stock means they’ve increased, even to the point that they’re now spreading back out to their old grounds around the UK and even into the Baltic Sea.”

Forster said the tuna were not the only marine life that had returned to the Yorkshire coast, pointing out that minke whales and bottlenose dolphins had seen a noticeable increase in numbers around the North Sea over the past decade.

Bryce Stewart, a senior research fellow at the Marine Biological Association, a marine charity based in Plymouth, called the return of bluefin tuna to the UK “fantastic” and lauded the work done by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (Iccat) to re-establish populations.

“It seemed like an era that had gone for ever, you know, I mean normally if we lose a large species like this from an area of sea, they don’t come back,” said Stewart. “So, as I said, both from a personal scientific point of view, this is a really wonderful thing to see.”

Despite joy at the tuna population increasing around Yorkshire and beyond, concerns have also been raised that their increased numbers farther north could in part be linked to the effects of climate change.

Both Forster and Stewart mentioned rising temperatures in the North Sea as another factor in the tuna’s return, albeit a less influential one than the management of fisheries. Stewart said the warmer temperatures had a “sort of knock-on effect” as the small fish that tuna eat, such as herring and sprat, do better in warmer temperatures. Both of the fish caught in Whitby were notably well fed, with each weighing about 320kg (700lb), roughly double the size of the average tuna found on the south coast.

Climate change is one of many factors alongside pollution and illegal fishing that could prevent the tuna from properly re-establishing themselves along the Yorkshire coast, but there are hopes that if properly managed they can thrive there and even move into Scottish waters.

Calum Duncan, the principal policy specialist at the Marine Conservation Society, lauded the regeneration of the tuna populations, but warned that their continued survival hinged on consistent care and for British fishing policies to place a greater onus on protecting marine ecology.

“We’ve got a long, long way to go, but it’s really encouraging to have achieved this,” said Duncan. “Stories like the return of bluefin tuna send a clear signal that human beings can manage our way out of environmental decline by making good decisions and working together, making good plans and – most importantly – implementing them. But we just need to do a lot more of it and need to ramp it up.” %!s()

A new study by researchers at Stanford University in the United States factored in the way that age affects the body’s tolerance for heat, shining light on a new level of risk from heatwaves on the global population.

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As the number of people aged 60 years and older is projected to more than double from one billion in 2020 to 2.1 billion in 2050, representing 21 percent of the world’s population, the Stanford study warns that rising temperatures could become far more deadly than expected.

“Previous assessments often assumed that everyone could tolerate heat as well as a healthy young adult, which substantially underestimated the risk to older people,” Chris Mullington, honorary clinical senior lecturer at Imperial College London in the United Kingdom, told Al Jazeera. The new study “reinforces that dangerous heat cannot be defined by one universal temperature threshold. It depends partly on who is being exposed”.

Why are elderly people so vulnerable to extreme heat?

As we age, our bodies lose the natural ability to cool themselves – we sweat less and our hearts have to work harder as blood vessels do not expand as much. As temperatures rise, the body eventually reaches a point at which it cannot cool quickly enough to compensate. This point – known as “uncompensable heat stress” – is reached much sooner and at lower temperatures by elderly people than younger adults.

People aged 65 and older face more exposure to uncompensable heat at 1.5C of global warming above preindustrial levels than younger adults would at 4C of warming, the researchers found.

Long-term global warming is currently estimated at about 1.4C above preindustrial levels. The annual global average exceeded 1.5C for the first time in 2024, according to the European Union’s Copernicus agency, but long-term, multidecade warming has not yet crossed this threshold.

However, the Stanford researchers estimate that the number of people who experience at least 180 hours a year beyond their age group’s tolerable heat limit is already more than double what it was previously thought to be. This is a key threshold identified by the report.

“Those 180 hours are accumulated across the year and are not necessarily continuous,” Mullington said. “Importantly, this describes exposure to potentially uncompensable conditions; it does not mean that everyone exposed will inevitably become ill.”

It does mean, however, that older adults are at risk of heat-related death and illness at much lower temperatures than previously thought.

“Conditions that a healthy young adult might still tolerate could already cause an older person to store heat, experience a rising core temperature and suffer serious illness including heatstroke,” Mullington said.

What effect does extreme heat have on the human body?

Extreme “ambient” heat is unusually severe heat, or heat at a level that crosses a climatic or health-related threshold. This can lead to severe illness, such as heatstroke or heart attack, or even death.

It is tricky to predict health consequences from global averages as air temperature alone is not a reliable marker of potential physical danger. “Humidity, sunlight, air movement, physical activity, clothing and an individual’s capacity to lose heat all matter,” Mullington said.

“A relatively small rise in the global average shifts the entire temperature distribution, producing a much larger increase in the frequency, severity and duration of conditions at the dangerous extreme.”

This means that conditions which a healthy young adult might be able to tolerate could cause an older person to store heat, experience a rising core temperature and suffer serious illness such as heatstroke, Mullington said.

Furthermore, only a proportion of deaths during heatwaves are directly caused by hyperthermia – overheating – according to the study, which attributed most cases to comorbidities, particularly cardiovascular, renal and respiratory conditions that are exacerbated by elevated body temperature.

Where will elderly people be worst affected?

Warming around the world is happening at a speed not seen in the past 10,000 years, according to NASA data cited in the Stanford study. At the same time, the world’s population is rapidly ageing due to longer life expectancies and falling fertility rates, meaning a greater proportion of people are vulnerable to severe heat.

Elderly people in low-income countries such as China, India and Pakistan are likely to be at highest risk, even at global warming just 1.5C above preindustrial levels. As that temperature rises, the geographical areas affected will expand.

According to the study, each additional degree of global warming above preindustrial levels will bring about one billion more people into the bracket of experiencing 180 hours of uncompensable heat per year. Most of these people are likely to be elderly, as they reach this threshold much sooner than younger adults.

Predictions vary according to the projected temperature rise above preindustrial levels.

At 3C of warming above preindustrial levels, the study’s authors predicted, India, China, Pakistan and Bangladesh will account for 1.5 billion people facing uncompensable heat exposure, nearly three-quarters of the total population affected worldwide.

What can be done to mitigate the effects of extreme heat?

Stanford researchers concluded that understanding where, when, and to what extent human heat tolerance limits will be breached is increasingly important for the development of mitigating strategies.

Suggested adaptations included revising the urban landscape to expand green infrastructure, enhance ventilation, reduce anthropogenic heat emissions, establish cooling centres and improve heat warning and response systems.

These efforts could prioritise clinically vulnerable communities, especially older adults who might be socially isolated, economically disadvantaged or have chronic health conditions.

Since most heat-related deaths among older adults occur indoors, ensuring broader access to air-conditioning or other cooling facilities supported by a resilient energy infrastructure was also among the recommendations put forward by the study.

In the long term, however, reducing emissions remains the key to global warming control. %!s()

SOME GUY: I'm kind of curious about Stalker 2, but I'm wary. I've heard that game is really buggy.
JOSH: It's gotten a lot better since the review period! GSC has put out a lot of patches and ironed out loads of the kinks. And even back when it was ultra-buggy, I still really liked it.
SG: Hm, but it's a little janky, right? Isn't there some big update that's in the pipe?
JOSH: Well, it's Stalker. Jank is part of its beautiful, simulation-y package. But yes, GSC is working on literally overhauling the game's entire Unreal Engine 5 implementation in its 2.0 update.
SG: So I should wait for that?
JOSH: You don't have to! The game is good!
SG: I'm going to wait for that.

And so, I remain the only person in human history who has ever actually played Stalker 2.

But good news: the Stalker 2 2.0 update that everyone I know has been waiting for—including at least one person I know who paid full price for the game at launch—is out tomorrow, alongside the new Cost of Hope expansion, and I'm forced to admit that, damn, maybe you were right to wait.

I should note that, though I've dipped in a few times, I've not seriously played Stalker 2 since a few months after it first released. Many of the changes I'm noticing could well be a product of previous patches rather than the 2.0 update.

But one thing is indisputable: Stalker 2, as of 2.0, runs better and smoother than it has done throughout its entire history. Compared to the thing I first played during its ramshackle, chaotic review period, it might as well be an entirely different game.

I booted into a pre-2.0 version of the game to check and, roaming around Garbage, I still ran into little performance stutters and hitches. It wasn't unbearable, but it was noticeable. In 2.0 it's silky smooth. There are still times, running around out in the open world on Epic graphics settings, that I will encounter just a hint of slowdown, but it really is a stark difference compared to, well, the various forms of Stalker 2 we've gotten before.

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It looks rather nice, too. The Zone's never been ugly in Stalker 2—even when it was peopled with those distended flesh sculptures—but it's prettier than ever now. In particular, interior areas with contrast between light and shadow (of which there are many in the Zone) pop more than they did before.

It's good, is what I'm saying, and I get the impression it's the version of Stalker 2 that GSC would have liked to put out two years ago, if it had its druthers. You can officially stop waiting. Go play Stalker 2.

One of Josh's first memories is of playing Quake 2 on the family computer when he was much too young to be doing that, and he's been irreparably game-brained ever since. His writing has been featured in Vice, Fanbyte, and the Financial Times. He'll play pretty much anything, and has written far too much on everything from visual novels to Assassin's Creed. His most profound loves are for CRPGs, immersive sims, and any game whose ambition outstrips its budget. He thinks you're all far too mean about Deus Ex: Invisible War. %!s()

"Those with terminated TPS are in our nation ILLEGALLY," the homeland security department posted on X after the ruling. "They have two options: LEAVE IMMEDIATELY or be DEPORTED."

US District Judge Brian Murphy's decision came after the Supreme Court in June ended similar protections for thousands from Haiti and Syria.

As part of his larger immigration crackdown, President Donald Trump has sought to cancel the protections for people from more than a dozen countries.

Murphy's ruling lifted a temporary stay that had blocked the administration from ending TPS for Ethiopians.

Ethiopia marks the final country where the Trump administration has terminated TPS - protections for people who fled their home countries due to extraordinary events, including natural disasters and armed conflict. The status grants those who are ​eligible temporary work authorisations and protection from deportation.

The Department of Homeland Security's general counsel, James Percival, celebrated the decision on X, posting: "All TPS terminations are in effect!"

Ethiopian nationals who had sued to preserve TPS and the advocacy group African Communities Together expressed disappointment, saying the ruling created fresh dangers.

"The crisis in Ethiopia is still ongoing, and this decision puts the lives of thousands of Ethiopians living in the US at severe risk," Diana Konaté, the group's deputy executive director of policy and advocacy, told Reuters.

According to Reuters, Murphy dismissed some of the claims in the lawsuit, but is allowing the plaintiffs to continue to litigate whether the cancellation was motivated by racial or national origin animus, which would violate the US Constitution.

Ethiopia was first designated for TPS by then-President Joe Biden's administration at the end of 2022 following armed conflict in the country, including the Tigray war. At the time, the government estimated more than 20,000 who had been displaced and made their way to the US - living continuously in the country since October 2022 - would qualify for the designation.

Millions in Tigray, northern Ethiopia, live with growing fears of a wider conflict, nearly four years after the end of a devastating two-year war. Fighting and drone strikes have been reported in parts of Tigray in recent weeks.

Tensions have intensified as both the federal government and Tigrayan leaders accuse each other of violating the 2022 Pretoria Agreement, which ended the civil war that killed hundreds of thousands.

The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) has recently moved to restore the prewar regional government and dismantle the interim administration appointed by Prime Minister Ahmed Abiy's government. The federal government, meanwhile, has repeatedly accused Tigrayan leader of co-operating with neighbouring Eritrea and the Sudanese military.

The renewed confrontation has also raised concerns that Eritrea could become involved, potentially leading to wider regional unrest.

Ethiopia also continues to grapple with armed insurgencies in Oromia and Amhara, the country's two most-populous regional states.

DHS first announced it was ending TPS for Ethiopians in December, under then-Secretary Kristi Noem, saying conditions in Ethiopia were safe.

It had already ended TPS for several South and Central American countries, including Venezuela and Honduras. %!s()

Stationed in Bangkok, Reed’s job for the last five years has been to protect wealthy shipping magnate Tibu Campallo (Ramon Tikaram), as he and his son Kameron (Chaneil Kular) prepare to sell their empire. After a sentimental retirement party, where the benevolent billionaire gifts Reed a Rolex and welcomes him as family, the pair of them are ambushed by gunmen, and Tibu is killed. It takes a number of lethargic dialogue exchanges to get here, after which point you’d expect things to heat up as Reed tracks one of the hitmen to one of Tibu’s freighters leaving that night — but the film is slow and unsteady at every turn.

Reed’s maritime sleuthing is also complicated by the discovery of a shipping container filled with poor, malnourished Southeast Asian refugees, revealing a seedy side hustle operating without the knowledge of his late employer. Every international crewman seems involved, save for nondescript former U.S. naval officer Angie Ellis (Annabelle Wallis), with whom Reed teams up for a scattered, plotless and often directionless series of minor set pieces up and down the ship.

Directed by Jean-François Richet — whose jungle two-hander Plane was pretty competent — Mutiny makes for an awkward watch, where each subsequent scene feels both visually and orally overstated, as though every shot had to be stretched to fill out a prescribed runtime. It’s hard to be sure of what went wrong, but were it to come out that the production just didn’t have enough usable footage, this might not be surprising. Take, for instance, one minor but emblematic moment, during which a human trafficker looks up at a guard tower and radios to his comrades, “I’m going up there,” before the camera follows him walking over to the ladder at length and climbing every single rung until he reaches the top. Multiply this by several dozen exchanges, and you’re left waiting for things to happen more often than they actually do.

Statham, an otherwise capable action lead, ends up sleepwalking through his part with nary a quip or powerful pose.“

Statham, an otherwise capable action lead, ends up sleepwalking through his part as well, with nary a quip or powerful pose. There’s really nothing to Reed beyond what other people say about him — mostly, exposition delivered by a nearby U.S. navy vessel heroically patrolling the Indian Ocean, though don’t you dare consider the political implications of this in today’s Strait of Hormuz climate. Mutiny ain’t that kind of movie, kid, even though it fawns at the foot of power at every turn, showing reverence for both military might and benevolent billionaires who can’t be held accountable for the transgressions of their underlings. And yet, power is something Mutiny lacks aesthetically; few hits land with the kind of gut-crunching sound or snappy visual impact you pay for in this kind of movie.

There’s exactly one action beat early on that’s pretty neat, involving Reed fish-hooking a hoodlum with a giant padlock, but Mutiny spends the rest of its runtime trying and failing to chase that high. As the aforementioned refugees all but disappear from the story, Reed and Ellis traipse up and down identical stairwells, repeatedly evading and engaging in gunfire exchanges while the movie spins its wheels, waiting for the nearby U.S. Navy to arrive and do nothing of note. (Shout out to the one hilariously swole Naval extra who gets to throw exactly zero punches.)

The ship is, theoretically, a character unto itself, but its geography is left so vague and indistinct that shots don’t often fit together. You might find yourself struggling to get a handle on who’s looking or standing where, as the movie cuts for the umpteenth time between identical, gruff characters obscured by shadow. It’s visual soup with no emotional core, and with very few visceral thrills to speak of, which is especially disappointing for a movie filled with this many guns, blades, and other objects that could be used as inventive weaponry. Instead, what we’re left with is a cavalcade of cartoonish bad guys meeting uninspired ends, courtesy of heroes whose only virtue is their former military background, in an environment that should be way more exciting. But alas: from deck to galley, Mutiny is a tremendous bore.

Verdict

A film of empty characters, overstated chases, and action with little impact, Mutiny features Jason Statham sleepwalking through a tepid nautical revenge saga with few memorable moments. With barely an hour’s worth of action and story stretched across 95 minutes, it plays less like a polished movie, and more like a raw assembly cut, where every shot and scene extends endlessly, without rhythm or finesse.