Bio-beads at Colona beach, St Austell Bay in Cornwall. Rob Wells/Cornish Plastic Pollution Coalition, CC BY-NC-ND
A recent spill of bio-beads – small plastic pellets used by some wastewater treatment facilities since the 1990s – has brought renewed attention to a problem that has been quietly accumulating in coastal waters for years.
Millions of bio-beads recently washed up onto the beach at Camber Sands in East Sussex. But this is not just another form of plastic pollution. Bio-beads can carry potentially dangerous bacteria.
Plastic bio-beads are used in wastewater treatment plants to help break down waste. They resemble the plastic pellets known as nurdles that are used as a feedstock by the plastic industry which are often found on beaches.
Bio-beads, however, are compressed, like a concertina, to maximise their surface area-to-volume ratio. This promotes the growth of bacteria that form a biofilm on their surface. These bacteria break down nutrients in the wastewater effluent and help process sewage.
Bio-beads are a relatively cheap and efficient method for treating waste. However, this efficiency comes with a significant environmental cost when these plastics escape.
Yet water companies are known to have to top up their bio-bead supplies which raises the question of how much of this plastic pollution is being released, and why.
The answer probably lies in ageing infrastructure. Many wastewater treatment works have outdated retention mechanisms that aren’t fit for purpose. Storage is another weak point.
Bio-beads have been seen in large dumpy bags or strewn across the ground in wastewater treatment plants, so they can spill before treatment processes begin.
Like any plastic, bio-beads will gradually break up into smaller particles. Fragmented bio-beads could escape into the environment as soon as they are smaller than the mesh screens used.
Bacteria-laden plastics
What makes bio-beads particularly concerning isn’t just the plastic itself – it’s what they carry. These pellets are designed to maximise bacterial growth, and when they come from sewage treatment facilities, that biofilm may include harmful bacteria, including E. coli and other pathogens dangerous to humans.
More worryingly, research – including our own studies – shows these plastics can harbour “superbug” bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics.
Our latest research has examined how bacteria grow on bio-beads and other substrates such as polystyrene, wood and glass in the environment. By collecting samples at various points along two Cornish rivers – from hospital wastewater, upstream near Truro to the marine environment of the Fal estuary – we’ve demonstrated that antimicrobial-resistant pathogens are found on plastics sampled from source to sea.
Protected within their biofilm, each bio-bead can become a tiny vehicle transporting potential pathogens from sewage works to beaches, swimming areas and locations where shellfish are cultivated.
Our 2024 review of this rapidly growing research area suggests that plastics may promote horizontal gene transfer, the process by which antimicrobial resistance can spread between bacteria. The implications are sobering: these small plastics could be facilitating the spread of antibiotic resistance across marine environments.
Reports from 2017 show there were at least 55 wastewater treatment works around the UK using bio-beads, serving a population of at least 2 million people. There are over 10,000 sewage treatment works in the UK, so those using bio-beads comprise a very small proportion.
While exact figures on bio-bead losses remain elusive, their presence on beaches tells another story. Historic spills, including a major incident near Truro in Cornwall in 2010, have deposited billions of these pellets into coastal waters. Their black or grey colour makes them easily mistaken for food by marine wildlife, from commercially important fish and, once broken or fragmented, shellfish and organisms at the base of the food chain.
Some bio-beads pose also additional chemical risks. Many were manufactured from recycled electronics materials and contain substances like lead and bromine.
If bio-beads are found accumulated on beaches, they can be removed – but with caution. Like any material from sewage systems, they should be handled with care. And any cleanup efforts are only treating symptoms. The solution must be at source.
A solvable problem
Alternative wastewater treatment methods exist. Not all wastewater treatment works use bio-beads, proving they’re not essential. Some facilities use different plastic designs (large flat surfaces rather than floating pellets) or denser materials such as ceramic or stone that are less likely to escape.
Some plants use activated sludge (a biological treatment process where wastewater is mixed with a community of microbes) that breaks down organic pollution. Other treatment stages, such as UV processing, add further layers of protection, though these complement rather than replace the bacterial breakdown process.
By collaborating with water companies, we’re investigating whether certain plastic polymers promote antimicrobial resistance more than others. If we can identify which materials pose the greatest risk without compromising treatment efficacy, we could recommend safer alternatives.
This issue demands transparency and accountability. If water companies disclose how many bio-beads they use and how frequently they require replacement, the scale of losses could be quantified. It’s equally important that spillages are reported and pressure for more environmentally sustainable methods is sustained.
Improvements in policy based on robust scientific data are also required, in the UK and elsewhere. This was highlighted in a 2024 report) from the Ospar convention (the Oslo-Paris convention for the protection of the marine environment for the north-east Atlantic) – of which the UK is a signatory.
Better management and a phase out of bio-beads is possible. This isn’t a technical challenge. Investing in alternative treatment methods and modern infrastructure can eliminate this unnecessary source of contaminated plastic pollution from our rivers and ocean.
Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?
Dr Emily May Stevenson is a director of Beach Guardian CIC.
Pennie Lindeque does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Some of the world’s most famous chefs have paid tribute to Australian Michelin star chef Skye Gyngell, who has died in London at the age of 62.
Gyngell, the daughter of the late Australian television executive Bruce Gyngell, had battled a rare form of skin cancer for about 18 months, which spread to her salivary glands.
Her treatment meant she lost her sense of taste.
Gyngell had battled with a rare form of skin cancer for about 18 months.
Supplied/Instagram
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
It wasn’t a comfortable process for the tens of thousands of delegates trying to hash out progress on climate change on the edge of the Amazon in Belém, Brazil. I experienced the challenges of the United Nations COP30 climate talks firsthand.
Delegates were hot and sweaty. Tech and aircon didn’t always work. Both flood and fire disrupted negotiations over the fortnight of negotiations. It drove home how climate change feels. But despite the discomfort, some progress was made.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva dubbed it the “COP of Truth”. Delegates did not shy away from the urgency of the moment as climate change intensifies and emissions continue to climb.
Progress was made on funding climate finance and adaptation to the changes already emerging. But efforts on ending reliance on fossil fuels faltered in the face of strong resistance by fossil fuel powers. Much progress in Belém happened outside the main talks.
So what did COP30 deliver?
At one stage it looked like COP30 might crack the hardest nut in climate policy – reaching agreement on phasing out fossil fuels. Nations agreed two years ago that it was necessary to move away from fossil fuels. But no plan had yet been devised to get there.
Brazil had a plan: build support for a roadmap to phase out fossil fuels, championed by President Lula and pushed strongly by Environment Minister Marina Silva. It drew support from more than 80 countries, including major fossil fuel exporters such as Norway and Australia. Anticipating pushback, Brazil worked to boost support outside the main talks before bringing the plan in.
It didn’t work. By the end of COP30, all mention of a fossil fuel roadmap had been scrubbed from the text of the final outcomes, following fierce pushback from countries such as Russia, Saudi Arabia and India and many emerging economies.
Instead, countries agreed to launch “the Global Implementation Accelerator […] to keep 1.5°C within reach” and “taking into account” previous COP decisions. This initiative will be shepherded by the Brazilian COP30 Presidency and the leaders of next year’s COP31 talks, Turkey and Australia.
President Lula vowed to continue advocating for a fossil fuel roadmap at the G20. Colombia and the Netherlands will hold a conference on fossil fuel phaseout in April 2026. The COP30 decision text also makes reference to a “high-level event in 2026” which could take place in the Pacific. Without blockers of consensus at these meetings, a coalition of willing countries could make real progress in setting timelines and exchanging policy ideas for fossil fuel phase-out.
Brazil’s Environment Minister Marina Silva emerged as a quiet force working to build support for the first roadmap to phase out fossil fuel extraction and use. Aline Massuca/COP30, CC BY-NC-ND
The decision to develop a just transition mechanism was welcomed as a win for workers and communities. The new mechanism’s purpose will be to increase international cooperation, technical assistance, capacity-building and knowledge-sharing as countries shift towards a low carbon global economy.
Efforts to boost financing for climate adaptation bogged down, reflecting the trade-offs over fossil fuels.
These funds are meant to help nations most exposed to severe climate damage, usually poorer and with low emissions. These nations led the charge for a tripling of climate finance by 2030 from the US$40 billion (A$62 billion) agreed at COP26 four years ago. But the agreed text merely “calls for efforts to at least triple adaptation finance by 2035”, which pushes out the timeframe and has no funding baseline.
Funding for tropical forests
One of Brazil’s own initiatives, the Tropical Forest Facility, achieved greater success, securing US$9.5 billion (A$14.7 billion) in funding pledges – a COP record.
The trust fund for rainforests is designed to provide resources to arrest global deforestation and protect Indigenous lands, including in the Amazon’s vital carbon sink.
The success of these deforestation initiatives points to the effectiveness of the COP’s Action Agenda, aimed at spurring on climate action outside formal negotiations and including commitments from business, investors and civil society. As formal negotiations bog down, these bypasses may end up replacing negotiations in driving progress.
American absence
Ahead of COP30, analysts feared the ongoing attacks on climate action by the Trump administration would undermine the international negotiations.
But by summit’s end, the disappearance of the world’s biggest historical emitter and largest economy from negotiations had taken its toll.
Developing countries from the African group of negotiators argued better metrics and plans would be meaningless without funding to implement them. Traditionally, the US has been a major funder. No longer.
The US decision to turn its back on climate action created a subdued atmosphere. New finance pledges were broadly underwhelming, likely due to the dampening effect of the US retreat.
China’s negotiators focused most of their energy in pushing back on European trade measures targeting high-emissions products. Antonio Scorza/COP30, CC BY-NC-ND
Early on, many hoped renewables and clean tech giant China might fill the leadership void. China’s clean tech exports last year were enough to cut overseas emissions by 1%. The huge industrial power produces almost 32% of the world’s carbon emissions. These emissions have plateaued, in turn suggesting global emissions may now have peaked.
But China showed reluctance to take up the mantle, preferring to remain focused on its own domestic energy transition. Chinese negotiators spent most of their energy pushing back against new European trade measures targeting emissions-intensive production.
It was left to some of the smallest nations, Indigenous peoples and civil society to lead calls for sticking to the science, ramping up urgency and accelerating the rollout of solutions. An estimated 70,000 people marched in the streets of Belém, staging a mock funeral for fossil fuels. It was an important affirmation of widespread public support for climate action.
What legacy?
As the UN’s climate Executive Secretary Simon Stiell said midway through COP30, nations had to “give a little to get a lot”.
Many countries will be reflecting they gave a lot but got very little. The biggest winners were, yet again, the world’s petrostates who successfully frustrated attempts to address fossil fuels.
Questions will inevitably be asked over whether these consensus-based talks are fit for purpose, given they can be gamed by blockers.
For many, COP30 will be regarded as a failure on fossil fuels and addressing major gaps between national pledges to cut emissions and what’s needed to hold warming to 1.5°C.
This is true. But another view would be that these talks made real progress on important areas despite considerable challenges.
Negotiators from 194 countries showed up and continued to talk and work together to tackle the worsening crisis. Nearly half of those countries have shown they’re ready to begin weaning themselves off fossil fuels through their support for the phase-out roadmap. They don’t have to wait for a UN consensus to act. Fossil fuel exporters only have power while other nations buy and rely on their products.
The world’s climate talks are now clearly moving away from arcane negotiations to the pressing real-world challenges of doing the work. In a rapidly warming world, all issues are becoming climate issues.
Jacqueline Peel receives funding from the Australian Research Council for her Laureate Fellowship on Global Corporate Climate Accountability and for a Discovery Project on investor action on clean energy transition.
While these events can be traced back to Vienna — the Austrian city’s first recorded December market was in 1298 — the tradition has spread across the world over the centuries.
From Germany and Switzerland to Singapore and New York, it’s difficult to find a coveted destination that doesn’t hold an impressive annual market. In fact, some have grown so popular that they’ve become tourist attractions in their own right.
Here’s CNN Travel’s rundown of some of the top Christmas markets taking place around the world this year:
Wiener Christkindlmarkt at Town Hall Square in Vienna, Austria.
Bwag, CC-BY-SA-4.0
Wiener Christkindlmarkt, Austria
With a reindeer train, a giant Ferris wheel and a giant Advent wreath, Vienna’s magical spectacle encapsulates the festive spirit fantastically.
Although the Austrian capital holds around 20 Christmas markets, Wiener Christkindlmarkt (or Rathausplatz) is one of its oldest and most traditional events.
Plenty of stallsoffer tasty treats such as Austrian sausages and gingerbread cookies, along with homemade Christmas punch.
Wiener Christkindlmarkt runs from November 14 to December 26.The ice rink, or Ice Dream at the Christmas Market, will be open until January 6, 2026.
Basel Christmas Market, Switzerland
It’s hard to find a destination that does Christmas better than Switzerland.
Most Swiss towns are taken over by festive markets at this time of year, and the atmosphere is incredible. Basel Christmas Market is the biggest and arguably the best around.
Separated into two sections, at Barfüsserplatz and Münsterplatz, it hosts around 150 decorated stalls selling everything from Christmas spices, decorations and candles.
Family attractions include the Christmas fairytale forest at Münsterplatz with activities such as gingerbread and candle decorating, a star-making workshop and a puppet show.
Attendees can take a walk up the stairwell of St. Martin’s tower for views of the lights illuminating the old town or sip on mulled wine at the Christmas pyramid on Barfüsserplatz.
One of Europe’s oldest Christmas markets, Strasbourg’s began back in 1570, but has evolved considerably since then.
Spread over more than 10 locations, the hugely popular market lights up the city with thousands of twinkling lights and festive ornaments.
Drawing in over 2 million people a year, it features hundreds of wooden chalet stalls selling everything from decorations and presents to local Alsatian wine.
Place Kleber is probably its most popular spot thanks to the Great Christmas Tree. But visitors will be treated to countless magical sights while wandering through the city’s narrow alleyways and pretty squares.
Brussels really comes to life at Christmas time thanks to Winter Wonders, which is more akin to a festival than a market.
One of Belgium’s biggest and most popular events, the annual extravaganza extends across the open spaces of the Bourse, Place de la Monnaie, Grand Place, Place Sainte Catherine and Marche aux Poissons.
A light and sound show, ice skating and fairground rides are among the activities and places to enjoy. Visitors can also browse through about 200 chalets serving glühwein (mulled wine), Belgian beers and waffles while staring in wonder at the enormous Christmas tree in Grand Place.
Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square Christmas markets, Prague, Czech Republic
To say the city of Prague goes all out at Christmas is an understatement. The Czech capital is the very definition of a winter wonderland during the festive period.
While there’s no shortage of markets throughout the city, the main ones can be found in Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square. Thankfully these spots are only a few minutes’ walk apart, so revelers can easily visit both in a day.
Old Town Square provides entertainment in the form of live shows, dance performances and creative workshops. Wenceslas Square is great for handmade gifts and local treats such as klobasa (Czech sausage) and mulled wine.
The markets will be open from November 29 to January 6, 2026
Set around Barcelona Cathedral, Fira de Santa Llucia has been around since 1786.
Creative Commons
Fira de Santa Llucia, Barcelona
Dating from 1786, Fira de Santa Llucia has grown from a one-day event to commemorate the December 13 feast day of Santa Llucia to a three-week fair.
Held right outside Barcelona Cathedral, the bustling market is separated into four sections.
The first is Nativity and Figurines, where visitors can pick up decorations and models to create traditional Bethlehem manger scenes. The Greenery and Plants section is packed with both natural and artificial trees and, of course, plants.
The Crafts section features handmade products and jewelry, while the Simbombes section is mainly made up of musical instruments.
There are also many festive activities such as storytelling, a Christmas parade and the Caga Tió, an enormous, piñata-style Christmas log that spills out candy and gifts when beaten with a stick.
There’s much to see at this enchanting market, but nothing can top the beautiful backdrop supplied by Santa Croce’s Franciscan Basilica.
Although this traditional fair, also known as Weihnachtsmarkt, is based on German street markets, it’s a very Italian affair in many ways thanks to the scenery and the many local treats, such as panforte, for sale.
However, there’s certainly no shortage of gingerbread, strudel and traditional Heidelberg Lebkuchen cookies.
Those who take a walk to the nearby Piazza del Duomo will be treated to a magnificent nativity scene, as well as an impressive Christmas tree that’s lit up ahead of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8.
It’s easy to see why Zagreb was voted the “best Christmas market destination” in travel portal European Best Destinations’ online poll for three consecutive years.
Made up of around 25 Christmas markets spread across the Croatian capital, Advent in Zagreb is a magical sight.
Think live Nativity scenes, ice sculpture carvings, outdoor gigs, pop-up bars and a Christmas tram complete with Santa and his elves.
Advent in Zagreb also has an area devoted to “fooling around” (or “fuliranje”) where you’ll find delighted revelers dancing in the street while eating street food and listening to live entertainment.
Visited several times by Walt Disney before he developed Disneyland, this Danish amusement park and pleasure garden is a dazzling place to visit any time of year.
But you’ll struggle to find anywhere as enchanting as Tivoli Gardens during the festive period.
With more than 1,000 beautifully decorated Christmas trees adorning the beautiful grounds, and everything from fairground rides to a traditional Pixie Band for entertainment, it’s a winter experience like no other.
This year’s line up of activities also includes a magical light installation of luminous “fireworks.”
The annual Lucia procession on December 13, where more than 100 girls process through the gardens carrying candles and singing to mark St. Lucia’s Day, is a particular highlight, along with the firework displays that take place between December 25 and 26, as well as New Year’s Eve.
Estonia’s Tallinn Christmas Market is held annually in the Town Hall Square.
Creative Commons
Skansen’s Christmas Market, Stockholm
Stockholm isn’t exactly lacking when it comes to Christmas markets, but none are more traditional than Skansen.
Set on the island of Djurgarden in the world’s oldest open-air museum, it’s a wonderful exhibit of Swedish culture with some added yuletide magic.
The historical houses on display in the museum are decked out in colorful decorations for the occasion, and all the tables inside are set up for Christmas dinner.
Visitors can join the dancing games around the tree at Bollnäs Square, Skansen’s main site.
Skansen’s Christmas Market is open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from November 28 until December 21.
Tuomaan Markkinat, Helsinki
This wonderfully Nordic Christmas market is held in Helsinki’s Senate Square, near the Emperor Alexander II statue.
Tuomaan Markkinat’s centerpiece is a vintage carousel, but the countless vendors selling traditional Christmas delicacies, glögi (Finland’s take on mulled wine) and handicrafts are also a big draw.
Younger attendees can visit Santa Claus, who has his own wooden cabin here, and join festive activities such as Christmas cookie decorating. The market’s food court is particularly impressive with a host of top eateries from which to choose.
Tuomaan Markkinat is set to run from November 28 to December 22, 2025.
St. Stephen’s Basilica and Vörösmarty Square markets, Budapest, Hungary
Budapest has two main festive markets: St. Stephen’s Basilica Christmas market, or Advent Bazilika, and Vörösmarty Square Christmas market.
The former takes place in front of the famous basilica, where crowds gather to watch the regular 3D light shows that are projected onto its facade. In addition, there are around 150 stalls with vendors selling sweet treats, wine and arts and crafts.
Meanwhile, the Vörösmarty Square market is positioned in the heart of the city and attracts more than 800,000 visitors annually.
Its main highlight is usually a giant Advent calendar that reveals a new window display on a daily basis from December 1 to 23, although the Hungarian foods that line its stalls — langos and chimney cake — are also particular standouts.
Advent Bazilika opens on November 14 and runs to January 1.
The VörösmartySquare Christmas market will open on November 14 and close on December 31.
Christkindlesmarkt and Gendarmenmarkt, Germany
Open-air winter street markets have long been associated with Germany, and the European country is home to some of the oldest and most visited festive markets.
Capital city Berlin has around 80 of them, but Gendarmenmark is perhaps its most renowned.
Positioned between the Franzosischer Dom and Deutscher Dom, it’s a maze of wooden huts with bratwurst, mulled wine and ginger bread for sale, along with special Christmas gifts. Visitors can enjoy nightly concerts with dance and musical performances.
In Nuremberg, Bavaria’s second-largest city, the famous Christkindlesmarkt has been around since the 16th century. During the Christmas period, around 200 stalls are erected in the city’s central market square, and the whole area is abuzz with activity.
The market usually draws in around 2 million people every year and is undoubtedly one of Nuremberg’s annual highlights.
Gendarmenmarktopens on November 24 and is set to close on December 31.
London’s Hyde Park Winter Wonderland attracts huge crowds every year.
Commons
Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, London
Hyde Park Winter Wonderland is one of the most highly anticipated winter events in the UK capital.
The festive favorite, which began in 2005, brings in huge crowds every year thanks to its 200-plus fairground rides, including a 70-meter-high big wheel, mulled wine stations and an outdoor skating rink.
Visitors can also join ice sculpting workshops, watch a circus show, listen to live music at the lively Fire Pit bar or tuck into some of the many foods on offer at the Street Food Village.
From an ice rink to immersive light displays, the Scottish capital’s historic city center is abuzz with festive markets and attractions throughout winter.
Over in popular urban park East Princes Street Garden, there’s a traditional Christmas market with up to 70 stalls, a Ferris wheel and an 80-meter star flyer fairground ride — the world’s largest transportable star flyer.
Revelers are treated to spectacular views of the iconic Scott Monument, along with Edinburgh Castle, where the after-dark Castle of Light attraction will be held from late November to early January.
Meanwhile, a Christmas tree maze can be found at St. Andrew Square Garden and new attraction, the Ice Queen’s Castle, which features ice carvings and wall etchings, will be erected on George Street, one of the city’s top shopping spots.
The Christmas market at East Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh’s main festive market, will be open from November 15 until January 4, 2026.
Krakow Christmas Market, Poland
Stretched across a huge section of Rynek Glowny, the Polish city’s central square, Krakow Christmas Market is among the largest in Europe.
Historic landmark St. Mary’s Basilica serves as a stunning backdrop to the yearly event, which has been around since the early 14th century, as does the Renaissance Cloth Hall.
Revelers can tuck into Polish delicacies such as kiełbasa (sausage), shop for handcrafted gifts or treats and take in live music from folk bands and carol singers.
The market usually hosts a competition in which participants, including schoolchildren and local artists, create small Nativity scenes, or cribs. They are displayed at the statue of Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz, situated in the square, before a winner is chosen.
Dotted across various locations around the Slovakian capital, including the Main Square and Franciscan Square, the Bratislava Christmas Fair is a magical affair.
With stalls selling everything from mulled wine to traditional delicacies, a huge Christmas tree and live performances, the annual market showcases some of the best traditions of the Slovakian Christmas season.
While there are various ways to reach the main event, a ride on the free Christmas tram, which runs through the city center throughout the festive period, is probably the most fun method.
Christmas Wonderland at Gardens by the Bay, Singapore
Now in its 12th year, Singapore’s Christmas Wonderland is continuing to grow in popularity.
Staged at the famous Gardens by the Bay nature park, the event lasts around four weeks and covers more than 27,000 square meters.
Packed with attractions, it features fairground rides, a Christmas train, light and sound shows, carnival games and live performances.
The Spalliera, a magnificent design inspired by Mesola Castle in northern Italy is one of the main highlights, along with the stunning Walk of Lights, which is illuminated by countless bulbs.
Formerly known as the Toronto Christmas Market, the Distillery Winter Village is an intimate and charming take on the traditional European festive market.
Held in the historic Distillery District, it features outdoor shopping cabins and food vendors, Christmas carol sing-a-longs, and a special village inspired by “Bad Hats’ Narnia,” an adaptation of C.S. Lewis’s “The Lion, the witch and the Wardrobe.”
Visitors will be able to find everything from artisanal food, handcrafted gifts and festive drinks at the numerous stalls across the market.
Every year, Manhattan’s Bryant Park is transformed into a magnificent wonderland for the Winter Village.
The renowned open-air market includes over 150 custom-designed kiosks and a 17,000-square-foot outdoor ice rink that’s free to use provided you have your own skates. Its rinkside bar and food hall The Lodge provide an eclectic mix of eateries, alongside an outdoor beer garden and a cocktail bar.
Outside the Winter Village, the Josephine Shaw Lowell Fountain is at its most beautiful during winter time, when it regularly freezes over.
First launched in 1996, Christkindlmarket Chicago takes inspiration from the historic Christkindelmarkt in Nuremberg, Germany, bringing a taste of traditional German Christmas markets to the Windy City.
This year, the hugely popular market will be staged across three locations — Daley Plaza in Chicago, RiverEdge Park in nearby Aurora and Gallagher Way in Wrigleyville.
Visitors can expect live entertainment alongside a multitude of stalls selling everything from bratwurst and hot spiced wine, to hand-crafted ornaments.
Admission is free, but those attending the Daley Plaza market who are keen to skip the crowds have the option to purchase a $25 fast-entry pass on weekends.
Disney cruises will stop travelling to Australia and New Zealand at the end of the current cruise season.Photo: Port Taranaki / supplied
A Disney cruise on its way to Auckland has been delayed after a man went overboard.
The 73-year-old Melbourne man is presumed dead after going overboard from the Disney Wonder cruise ship at around 4:30am on Saturday.
Victoria Police said the man’s body had yet to be recovered and they were preparing a report for the coroner,
The cruise ship initially turned around and circled the waters for about five hours as they tried to find the man, 7 News reported.
“The captain came on and updated the boat and basically stated that there was someone, a passenger had fallen overboard … (but) that they were unable to find them,” passenger Mitch Talbot told 7News.
A spokesperson for Port of Auckland told RNZ the Disney Wonder ship was due to arrive in Auckland early tomorrow morning but had been delayed until closer to midday.
It comes after Disney Cruise Line confirmed it would stop travelling to Australia and New Zealand at the end of the current cruise season.
Where to get help:
Need to Talk? Free call or text 1737 any time to speak to a trained counsellor, for any reason.
Suicide Crisis Helpline: 0508 828 865 / 0508 TAUTOKO. This is a service for people who may be thinking about suicide, or those who are concerned about family or friends.
Youthline: 0800 376 633 or text 234 or email talk@youthline.co.nz.
What’s Up: 0800 WHATSUP / 0800 9428 787. This is free counselling for 5 to 19-year-olds.
Asian Family Services: 0800 862 342 or text 832. Languages spoken: Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, and English.
As the sun set on the Amazon, the promise of a “people’s Cop” faded with it. The latest UN climate summit – known as Cop30, hosted in the Brazilian city of Belém – came with the usual geopolitics and the added excitement of a flood and a fire.
The summit saw Indigenous protests on an unprecedented scale, but the final negotiations were once again dominated by fossil fuel interests and delaying tactics. After ten years of climate (in)action since the Paris agreement, Brazil promised Cop30 would be an “implementation Cop”. But the summit failed to deliver, even as the world recorded a devastating 1.6˚C of global warming last year.
Here are our five key observations:
1. Indigenous groups were present – but not involved
Located in Amazonia, this was branded the summit for those on the frontlines of climate change. Over 5,000 Indigenous people were there, and they certainly made their voices heard.
However, only 360 secured passes to the main negotiating “blue zone”, compared to 1,600 delegates linked to the fossil fuel industry. Inside the negotiating rooms it was business as usual, with Indigenous groups remaining as observers, unable to vote or attend closed-door meetings.
The choice of location was nicely symbolic but logistically tough. Hosting the conference in the Amazon cost hundreds of millions of dollars in a region where many still lack basic amenities.
A stark image of this inequality: with hotel rooms full, the Brazilian government even docked two cruise ships for delegates, which per head can have eight times the emissions of a five star hotel.
2. The power of protests
But this was the second largest UN climate summit ever, and the first since Glasgow Cop26 in 2021 to take place in a country that permits real public protest. That mattered. Protests of various sizes happened every day during the two-week conference, most notably an Indigenous-led “great people’s march” on the middle Saturday.
The visible pressure helped obtain recognition of four new Indigenous territories in Brazil. It showed that when civil society has a voice it can secure wins, even outside of the main emissions negotiations.
3. US absence creates a vacuum – and an opportunity
In Donald Trump’s first turn as president, the US sent at least a skeletal group of negotiators. This time, in a historic first, America did not send an official delegation at all.
Trump recently described climate change as “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world”, and since returning to power the US has slowed renewables and expanded oil and gas. It even helped scuttle plans for a net zero framework for global shipping last month.
As the US is rolling back its ambition, it is allowing other oil producing countries like Saudi Arabia to ignore their own climate pledges and to try and undermine others.
China has stepped into the void and become one of the loudest voices in the room. As the world’s largest supplier of green technology, Beijing used Cop30 to promote its solar, wind and electric vehicle industries and court countries looking to invest.
But for many delegates, the absence of America came as a relief. Without the distraction of the US attempting to “burn the house down” as it did at the shipping negotiations, the conference was able to get on with the business at hand: negotiating texts and agreements that will limit global warming.
4. ‘Implementation’ through side deals – not the main stage
So what was actually implemented? This year, the main action happened through voluntary pledges, not the binding global agreement.
The Belém pledge, backed by countries including Japan, India and Brazil, committed signatories to quadruple sustainable fuels production and use by 2035.
Brazil also launched a major trust fund for forests, with around US$6 billion (£4.6 billion) already pledged for communities working to protect rainforests. The EU followed by pledging new funds for the Congo Basin, the world’s second largest rainforest.
These are useful steps, but they highlight how the biggest advances at UN climate summits now often happen in the margins, rather than in the main talks.
The outcome of those main talks at Cop30 – the Belém package – is weak, and will get us nowhere near the Paris agreement’s target of limiting global warming to 1.5˚C. Most striking is the absence of the words “fossil fuels” from the final text even though they were central to the Glasgow climate pact (2021) and the UAE consensus (2023) – and of course they represent the main cause of climate change.
5. The Global Mutirão text: a missed opportunity
One potential breakthrough did emerge in negotiating rooms: the Global Mutirão text, a proposed roadmap to “transition away” from fossil fuels. More than 80 countries signed it, from EU members to climate-vulnerable Pacific island states.
Tina Stege, climate envoy for one of those vulnerable states, the Marshall Islands, urged delegates: “Let’s get behind the idea of a fossil fuel roadmap, let’s work together and make it a plan.”
But opposition from Saudi Arabia, India and other major fossil fuel producers watered it down. Negotiations stretched into overtime, not helped by a fire that postponed discussions for a day.
When the final deal was agreed, key references to a fossil fuel phase-out were missing. There was a backlash from Colombia, due to the lack of inclusion of transition away from fossil fuels, which forced the Cop presidency to offer a six-month review as an olive branch.
This was hugely disappointing, as earlier in the summit there seemed to be huge momentum.
A widening gulf
So this was another divisive climate summit. The gulf between oil-producing countries (in particular in the Middle East) and the rest of the world has never been wider.
One positive to come out of the summit was the power of organised people: Indigenous groups and civil society made their voices heard, even if they weren’t translated into the final text.
With next year’s summit to be held in Turkey, these annual climate summits are increasingly migrating to nations with authoritarian leanings where protests are not welcome or completely banned. Our leaders keep stating that time is running out, yet negotiations themselves remain stuck in never ending circles of delays.
Mark Maslin is Pro-Vice Provost of the UCL Climate Crisis Grand Challenge and Founding Director of the UCL Institute for Sustainable Aviation and Aeronautics. He was co-director of the London NERC Doctoral Training Partnership and is a member of the Climate Crisis Advisory Group. He is an advisor to Sheep Included Ltd, Lansons, NetZeroNow and has advised the UK Parliament. He has received grant funding from the NERC, EPSRC, ESRC, DFG, Royal Society, DIFD, BEIS, DECC, FCO, Innovate UK, Carbon Trust, UK Space Agency, European Space Agency, Research England, Wellcome Trust, Leverhulme Trust, CIFF, Sprint2020, and British Council. He has received funding from the BBC, Lancet, Laithwaites, Seventh Generation, Channel 4, JLT Re, WWF, Hermes, CAFOD, HP, Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, John Templeton Foundation, The Nand & Jeet Khemka Foundation, Quadrature Climate Foundation.
Professor Priti Parikh is the Director of UCL’s Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction and Vice Dean International for Bartlett Faculty of Built Environment. She is a Fellow and Trustee for Institution of Civil Engineers. Research funding sources include UKRI, Royal Academy of Engineering, Water Aid, British Academy, Bboxx Ltd, UCL, Royal Society and British Council. Her consultancy has received funding from AECOM, Cambridge Institute for Sustainable Leadership, Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor, UNHABITAT, Arup, ITAD and GTZ
Simon Chin-Yee does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
You fall asleep at an appropriate hour, giving yourself enough time to rest before a big day ahead — only to be jolted awake by racing thoughts.
Was your friend secretly offended by your joke? Are your kids safe when they’re at school? Will international conflict and political division ever end? Will you lose your job to artificial intelligence?
“Waking up in the middle of the night with racing or intrusive thoughts is very common and is actually one of the most frequently reported symptoms of chronic insomnia,” says sleep specialist Dr Michelle Drerup.
Dr Michelle Drerup is the director of education and behavioural sleep medicine at the Cleveland Clinic’s Sleep Disorders Centre in Ohio, USA.
Cleveland Clinic
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Meg D. Lonergan, Contract Instructor and Doctoral Candidate, Legal Studies, Carleton University
The Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in the Attorney General of Québec v. Senneville struck down one-year mandatory minimum sentences for accessing or possessing child pornography. Immediately, politicians and commentators denounced the ruling.
Their alarm fits a broader pattern of constitutional populism in which politicians move to sidestep court rulings and Charter protections whenever they obstruct political objectives — whether that’s targeting the unhoused, trans rights, labour rights or now criminal sentencing.
In her seminal 1984 essay “Thinking Sex,” queer theorist and scholar Gayle Rubin observed that few political tactics are as effective at generating moral panic as invoking the need to “protect children.”
That remains true today, in part because voices across the political spectrum are vulnerable to the same knee-jerk, sensationalized responses whenever sexual harm involving children is at issue.
While the furious response to Senneville shows Canada in the grip of a new moral panic, the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down mandatory minimums for child pornography offences reflects constitutional fidelity — not leniency.
Generally, mandatory minimums are constitutionally suspect, since they remove judicial discretion in sentencing based on the evidence and the specific situation at hand, and infringe upon the legal doctrine of stare decisis that requires precedence be followed.
In Senneville, the court held that mandatory minimums violate Section 12 Charter rights because they prevent judges from imposing proportionate, individualized sentences based on the facts of the case. The court also noted that Section 12 acknowledges innate human dignity and the inherent worth of individuals.
Proportionality, the Supreme Court emphasized, is a constitutional limit on state punishment, not a discretionary preference. At no point did the court diminish the gravity of child exploitation; on the contrary, it devoted an entire section in its ruling to detailing the profound harm caused by these offences.
This is consistent with the similar R. v. Friesen ruling in 2020, when the Supreme Court reaffirmed that the seriousness of child pornography does not erase the need for principled, proportionate sentencing. To cast this careful reasoning as “helping” sex offenders is not only wrong, it distorts the role of sentencing in a constitutional democracy and diminishes justice and rehabilitation in favour of punishment for its own sake.
A ‘flimsy’ hypothetical isn’t flimsy at all
An overlooked part of the majority decision in Senneville is that the appellants (the Attorney General of Québec) did not argue that, if the mandatory minimums were found to infringe the Charter’s Section 12, those minimums could be saved by Section 1.
This section gives governments the power to override Charter rights and freedoms when they can justify limiting them — most often in the name of protecting the rights and freedoms of others. Historically, this is what has made obscenity and hate speech laws constitutionally valid.
Many commentators claimed the Supreme Court relied on a “flimsy” and “far-fetched” hypothetical of an 18-year-old who receives an intimate image of a 17-year-old girl from a friend as one example of why the mandatory minimum sentences violate Section 12 of the Charter.
But there is nothing flimsy about this scenario. Canadian criminal justice scholars ranging from Alexa Dodge to Lara Karaian and Dillon Brady have shown that peer-based image-sharing among youth is common, and that criminal law routinely miscasts such behaviour through the lens of child porn, casting ordinary sexual expression as exploitation.
Karaian, in particular, shows how moral panic over “sexting” has long cast teenagers — especially girls — as simultaneously lacking agency and being responsible. This framing has helped create a legal landscape in which consensual, near-age image sharing is reinterpreted as criminal behaviour.
One of the first tests came in the Eli Langer case, when police raided a Toronto art gallery and seized works — an early alarm bell about the law’s sweeping reach and capacity to criminalize artistic expression unconnected to exploitation.
The Supreme Court confronted these issues directly in the 2001 case R. v. Sharpe _[2001], ruling that existing child-pornography laws ensnared materials that posed no realistic risk of harm, including fictional writings and drawings. The court also carved out narrow exceptions to prevent criminalizing constitutionally protected expression.
Canadian law professor Brenda Cossman observed that moral panic around child pornography shields the law “from any and all criticism” to the point that: “Nothing can be said. And if it is, the speaker is denounced as a pedophile.”
The Senneville case reflects the realities of life, not some abstraction — and definitely not the carceral mindset that sees harsh punishment as moral and treats empathy as a weakness.
To normalize overriding Charter rights using the notwithstanding clause erodes not only public trust in judicial independence, but also the very rights and freedoms it enshrines.
The outrage of Poilievre, Smith, Ford and Kinew serves to assert their own moral authority and to repeat a familiar message: only incarceration protects the innocent. But if Canada is serious about keeping children safe, it must also invest in the social services, education and community supports that prevent harm.
As the Supreme Court itself reminded us in its ruling: “Criminal justice responses alone cannot solve the problem of sexual violence against children.”
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Almost 800 government schools were designated as community shelters before Hurricane Melissa descended. More than 600 were damaged when the hurricane hit. Roofs were blown off. Walls collapsed. Windows broke. Debris scattered everywhere.
As education researchers based in the Jamaican diaspora whose combined work has examined the Jamaican education system, we are deeply concerned about the future of Jamaica’s schools and their ability to not only serve students and teachers — but to be safe havens in natural disasters.
These thoughts came to mind as we watched reels of footage of Hurricane Melissa’s destruction on social media with feelings of helplessness and regret.
Personal exchanges with friends, research collaborators and family members — who are fortunate to have electricity, cellular service or access to WiFi — told us about harrowing experiences on the ground, especially in communities in western and southern parishes such as Hanover, Westmoreland, St. James and St. Elizabeth.
Principals raise red flags
Previous research carried out by Giselle Thompson, the lead author of this story, has examined education spending in Jamaica and how members of the Jamaican diaspora in Canada support schools “back home” through formal and informal fundraising initiatives.
This research was undertaken in partnership with a primary school community, including the principal, teachers, students, families and neighbours in Hanover. They welcomed Giselle to work with them as a supply teacher, recess monitor and in other supportive roles they needed in 2018.
At a media briefing before Hurricane Melissa struck, Jamaica’s minister of local government and community development criticized schools that were designated emergency shelters for electing not to open to the public.
But in June 2025, the Jamaica Gleaner reported that some principals raised concerns about the schools, saying they lacked adequate sanitation facilities, weren’t furnished with items that people would need in a shelter or were in need of repair.
These issues were recently echoed in a conversation with a Jamaican principal and research collaborator on Giselle’s current research project, funded by Social Sciences and Humanities Council of Canada and Killam Trusts. The study involves three public primary schools in Hanover and Westmoreland and examines Afro-Jamaican women teachers’ care work in these rural areas.
The principal noted her concerns were ignored when she brought them to the attention of personnel from the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) when her school was assessed and put on the emergency shelter list before the hurricane. Ninety per cent of ODPEM-designated shelters were schools, and close to 78 per cent of them were destroyed.
She also said the expectations of school staff during sheltering periods were unclear, and she was worried about the implications of leaving schools with scant resources unlocked without oversight.
Given the extensive and likely irreparable damages to her school, her decision to keep its doors closed may have been a life-saving move.
Approximately $5.5 million (J$628 million) was spent to prepare 204 schools for hurricane season in the 2025-26 academic year after Hurricane Beryl, a Category 4 storm, damaged 101 institutions in 2024.
Although not all schools were damaged in the hurricane, the high percentage of those impacted is a cause for concern. But the structural vulnerability of many Jamaican schools to the effects of climate change is nothing new.
It is directly linked to decades of under-resourcing, particularly in the “era of structural adjustment” (1977 to present) as the state has had to adopt severe austerity measures imposed by the International Monetary Fund and other international financial institutions to reduce its spending on public goods such as education.
Such fiscal belt-tightening is meant to help Jamaica and other heavily indebted countries placate their debt to external creditors. But this economic growth formula is seldom associated with social development.
The cost of inflation and the forced devaluation of the Jamaican dollar — additional austerity measures required by international financial institutions — have reduced government capacity to adequately resource school infrastructure.
Jamaica Teachers’ Association advocacy
Since 1977, the year that structural adjustment programs took root in Jamaica, education spending has fluctuated between five and six per cent of the country’s GDP. However, many stakeholders, including the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA), have been vocal about the negative implications of inadequate spending on education for several years.
In 2024, the JTA president said such low spending puts the nation “woefully” behind. Much needed physical infrastructure and maintenance (and, we might add, books and other learning materials, nutritional programs and transportation) have lagged as a result.
It’s therefore not difficult to comprehend why the scale of Hurricane Melissa’s assault on schools was so significant.
Casting a hopeful vision
Through our ongoing engagements in Jamaica as scholars, educators, activists and community members, we have borne witness to, and are involved in, ongoing efforts to support numerous aged, decrepit and crumbling school structures, which are the result of the state’s neglect and weather systems that are growing increasingly harsh.
We write with hope for the future, one that includes new ecologically resilient schools for teaching and learning and where community members can shelter safely when natural disasters hit. This is essential because Jamaica, and the wider Caribbean region, is susceptible not only to hurricanes, but also floods, landslides, earthquakes and other hazards.
Yet we are not optimistic that the state alone can effect necessary changes because of its heavily indebted status, and therefore, relatively weak capacity.
But as members of the Jamaican diaspora in Canada, we urge others in our communities who are interested in supporting the reconstruction of schools in Jamaica to engage with principals, teachers, students and local community members directly so they are able to convey their institutions’ immediate and long-term needs.
This will increase the efficacy of our support and strengthen our ability to work together as Jamaicans at home and abroad.
Giselle Thompson received funding from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and the Killam Trusts. She is affiliated with the not-for-profit organization, World Class Jamaica.
Meshia Brown does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Mothers aren’t just losing the income, promotions and career advancements that we’ve known about for quite some time. They’re also quietly spending their own money, absorbing more day-to-day costs and making financial sacrifices that place them at a long-term disadvantage.
Study participants describe two competing narratives when discussing their personal finances. On the one hand, they view motherhood as a financial project they must manage independently, within the limits of budgets and cost-benefit considerations. On the other hand, they also see motherhood as a role that requires financial sacrifice, where children’s needs and well-being take priority over all financial considerations.
But beyond the well-documented motherhood penalty — the name given by social scientists to this phenomenon of workplace disadvantages — and the impact of motherhood on women’s income, our qualitative study reveals that motherhood alters the relationship women have with money.
We interviewed mothers living in the Canadian province of Québec to better understand how they manage their finances after having children, and found that motherhood reshapes how mothers spend and think about money.
When asked about how they manage expenses related to their children, participants in our study said they feel they must navigate competing societal expectations that drive them to juggle two narratives — seeing the financial aspect of motherhood as, one, a project to manage, and, two, as a sacrifice to make for their children.
“Everything goes through my account, I manage everything. I like it that way too. I’m a very meticulous person […] I like to be in control of the budget.”
This leads them to create “baby budgets,” tracking and comparing the prices of different diaper brands in spreadsheets, or setting up savings strategies for their children’s potential future education.
This vision of themselves as independent financial managers, coupled with their desire to fully take on the financial responsibilities of having children, sometimes leads participants in our study to shoulder certain child-related expenses on their own without sharing full details with their co-parent or asking the co-parent to contribute to everyday costs such as food, clothing or family activities.
Another person in the study explained:
“I know that I buy more things for the children. I put them on my card so I know that there are more expenses that I incur as extras … But, at the same time, that’s what I like. I love shopping for them. It’s a gift for me too. But sometimes, I find it a little annoying. I really devote myself a lot to the family, buying things for the house, the family.”
Within this narrative, participants in our study tend to believe that being a good mother means putting their children first, doing everything possible to ensure their happiness and well-being and not tracking the time and money they devote.
As another shared:
“That’s what being a good mom is all about […] you can’t count that. You don’t count the time, being present, taking care of them, the activities, the clothes, everything. You don’t count the expenses, you’re the person they go to.”
This can lead mothers, for example, to put their children’s future ahead of their own, prioritizing education savings or splurging on non-essential items they believe will make their children happy over their own retirement.
This view of motherhood that normalizes financial sacrifice also appears in mothers’ reluctance to calculate the full cost of raising their children and the overall impact of these expenses on their own financial situation, as if determining the amount of money spent on a child were somehow incompatible with the maternal ideal of selfless devotion.
In fact, financial burdens can fall unevenly within couples and between co-parents. Many participants said that they focus on shouldering the financial responsibilities of motherhood independently, no matter the impact on their finances or the contribution from the other parent.
Over time, all of this can contribute to reduced savings and lowered retirement security for mothers, reinforcing the disparities in wealth accumulation and the gender pension between men and women.
Our findings highlight that the true cost of motherhood goes beyond what meets the eye and the need for a broader recognition of the financial labour that mothers bear. We, as a society, must better support them.
Oriane Couchoux received funding from the Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the Centre for Research on Inclusion at Work (CRIW) at the Sprott School of Business, Carleton University, Canada.
Gabrielle Patry-Beaudoin received funding from the Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the Centre for Research on Inclusion at Work (CRIW) at the Sprott School of Business, Carleton University, Canada.
