The Guardian

• UK looks to relax planning rules for factory farms after industry lobbying

  Exclusive: documents chronicle years-long campaign to make it easier to build intensive livestock units

  Ministers are rewriting planning rules to make it easier to build intensive livestock farms despite concerns about water pollution, air quality and local opposition.

  Documents obtained by the Guardian under the Freedom of Information Act show that proposed changes to the national planning policy framework (NPPF) were discussed by ministers and officials in response to concerns of the country’s leading chicken producers, who have been lobbying on the issue for at least two years.

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• Drive slower, work from home and ditch the tie: the world responds to Iran war energy crisis

  Oil crisis triggered by blockade of strait of Hormuz prompts emergency measures to protect supply and halt rising prices

  Shrinking fuel stocks and soaring prices are leading countries around the world to burn coal, ration fuel, shorten work weeks and tell citizens to stay at home.

  Fossil fuel supplies have reduced since the war against Iran led to the closure of the strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping route for oil and seaborne gas. The shortfall has prompted emergency measures as government’s attempt to halt rising costs that have thrown economies into chaos.

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• ‘Swifts spark joy!’ Why these beautiful birds need our help – and 10 ways to give it

  Britain’s swift population fell by two-thirds between 1995 and 2023. Make their lives a little easier with a bit more food and more places to nest

  Swifts are wheeling, screaming endurance athletes. They don’t touch the earth for nine months of the year and fly about 14,000 miles annually – travelling from sub-Saharan Africa to nest in the UK, then back again. In Britain, they’re the sign that summer is coming or taking its leave. In between, they provide a heart-soaring display of beauty. No wonder they’re beloved.

  “Swifts spark joy,” says Hannah Bourne-Taylor, a passionate swift advocate and author of Nature Needs You: The Fight to Save Our Swifts.

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• The dark side of the balloon boom – is it time they were banned?

  From balloon arches at parties to mass balloon releases at funerals, these bits of floating rubber and plastic can have disastrous effects on wildlife. As some retailers are refusing to sell them, here are some alternatives

  I remember, as a child, hanging on to one specific party balloon for what seemed like years. I don’t remember how or where I acquired it, but it had initially floated high, bobbing against the ceiling, and, over time, lost its buoyancy, coming to rest on the carpet. Yet, when a family friend asked if they should pop the now sad-looking balloon, I assumed they were joking – like when an adult asks, teasingly, if they should eat your last slice of birthday cake – and was distraught when they followed through. I didn’t care that it had become grubby and partly deflated – I’d had that balloon for what felt like for ever.

  This, it turns out, is the problem with many balloons. Not that clingy young children might become over-attached to them, but that they are often a single-use plastic – and even biodegradable alternatives such as latex balloons do not decompose quickly, meaning they can pose a significant risk to wildlife and the environment. In 2019, scientists found that balloons eaten by seabirds are more likely to kill them than other kinds of plastic – yet they do not seem to have been earmarked in the same way as, for example, plastic straws. If anything, balloon-based decor has become more popular in recent years, with balloon arches or tunnels deployed not just at birthdays but at events ranging from baby showers to shop openings. Balloon drops are used at New Year’s Eve celebrations and graduation parties, and balloon releases have also endured – particularly at funerals, where the unleashing of helium-filled balloons signifies the letting-go of a loved one.

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• Country diary: This is heavy work for heavy beasts | Sara Hudston

  Nettlecombe, Dorset: Logging is typically a job for a machine, but French Comtois are highly manoeuvrable and have just the right amount of horsepower

  A heave and a grunt and a sudden rush as the felled tree trunk starts to move, dragged on a chain behind Etty’s stocky chestnut hindquarters.

  Etty is a 12-year-old mare who works with Toby Hoad of Dorset Horse Logging. Their partnership requires mutual understanding and constant communication, as he explains: “You’ve really got to build up a relationship; you’ve got to build up trust. I can drop the reins, and she will pull out the log out for me if it’s in a tight spot.”

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