The groundwater system in western Victoria and south-east South Australia has begun to show signs of collapse, threatening the water security of SA’s second biggest city

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Some of the best-quality groundwater in Australia underlies the upper and lower south-east of South Australia and parts of south-western Victoria.

But almost 200 years of draw down for agriculture, farming and domestic use has changed the surface drainage. Underground water in some areas has collapsed and water quality is deteriorating, putting at risk not only a fragile natural ecosystem but a $5bn regional economy.

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Former guerillas were accused of 1989 killing, but supporters say government wants to intimidate activists

Six former guerrillas, whose trial for a civil war-era murder was criticised by fellow environmentalists as politicised, have been acquitted by a court in El Salvador.

Prosecutors had sought up to 36 years in prison for the former rebels of the hard-left Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front.

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Some celebrate them, others despise them. Yet this mimicking, competitive and acrobatic songbird still exerts a powerful fascination

A stream of people heads steadily down the path, towards the viewpoint over the reedbed. As I walk alongside them, I’m reminded of a crowd ­heading to a football match, or a ­gathering of medieval pilgrims hoping for a miracle.

There is usually a moment, about 20 minutes before sunset, when the gathering falls strangely silent, anticipating what we are about to witness. Then, just as some are ­wondering if they’ve come to the wrong place, or on the wrong day, the first birds appear in the far ­distance. A small flock of starlings, flying determinedly in our ­direction. A collective sigh of relief ripples through the crowd. We can relax.

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From chaotic collisions to depletion of the ozone layer, the thousands of satellites in orbit around Earth have the potential to wreak havoc in coming decades. What are the solutions to a growing menace?

“Since the start of the space age, we’ve had a throwaway culture – a bit like plastics in the ocean,” says Nick Shave, managing director of Astroscale UK, an in-orbit servicing company headquartered in Japan.

Getting a satellite into orbit around the Earth used to be a big deal. From the launch of the first, Sputnik, in 1957, as it became easier and cheaper to put satellites into space, the numbers have boomed. In 2022, there were about 6,000 and by 2030, one estimate suggests there will be nearly 60,000 satellites in orbit around our planet.

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The TV presenter on pet lions and monkeys, moving to the UK from Sudan, and his love for the Scottish Highlands

Born in Sudan in 1990, Hamza Yassin is a wildlife cameraman and TV presenter. With a BA in zoology with conservation, and a master’s in biological imaging and photography, Hamza had his first presenting experience on The One Show, and went on to front Countryfile and CBBC’s Ranger Hamza’s Eco Quest. The champion of 2022’s Strictly Come Dancing, he lives on the west coast of Scotland. His book, Hamza’s Wild World, is out now.

My neighbour had a few animals that he kept as pets, and one of them was a lioness who had just given birth. I was super-excited to meet the cub. Shortly after this photo was taken, my neighbour asked: “Do you want to go in and say hello to the lioness too?” I said: “No, um, thank you. I think I’m OK!”

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Toxic emissions, health risks and leaching pollution – better management of landfill sites is a matter of urgency

Last summer, people living around the perimeter of Pilsworth South landfill in Bury, Greater Manchester, couldn’t open their windows because of the elevated levels of hydrogen sulphide in the air. Referred to as “sewer gas”, its rotten-egg stench can be particularly unbearable at night. Even driving past with the windows closed on the M66, as I do regularly to drop my child at a local play centre, I have gagged at the overpowering smell.

Including Pilsworth, there are 15 odorous landfills across the UK. Hafod landfill in Wrexham is the latest to hit the headlines . Another in Northern Ireland was so noxious before its decommissioning that it was subject to a supreme court ruling and now an appeal . Meanwhile, several others have breached their licences through overtipping, odour issues or poor management, forcing them to undertake engineering solutions to rectify the problems. These remedial works can make things worse in the short term, with smells created when rubbish is disturbed.

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Idea that every habitat is replaceable is a misuse of biodiversity net gain, say ecological experts

It is the second-best place for nightingales in the country, a sanctuary for rare barbastelle bats and home to nearly 1,500 invertebrate species, including a quarter of all Britain’s spider species. But Middlewick Ranges on the edge of Colchester is poised to be sold by the Ministry of Defence for 1,000 new homes.

Conservation scientists have written to the UK defence secretary, John Healey, urging him to reverse the decision to sell the 76-hectare (187.8-acre) site for housing. Experts who have fought the proposals for eight years say the house-building is based on faulty and flawed environmental evidence and must be reversed.

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Dried bread never tasted so good: try these frugal but surprisingly delicious dumplings flecked with bacon, onion and parsley, then simmered in broth

Semmelknödel are traditional German dumplings made from dried bread rolls, milk, eggs and parsley. They can be served as a standalone dish, in a bowl of the seasoned broth they’re usually cooked in, or as a side for a roast dinner; they can also be made sweet to serve with jam or seasonal fruit.

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World Without End topped bestseller lists but was criticised for embracing nuclear power

In 2019, France’s best known climate expert sat down to work with its most feted graphic novelist. The result? Perhaps the most terrifying comic ever drawn.

Part history, part analysis, part vision for the future, World Without End weaves the story of humanity’s rapacious appetite for fossil fuel energy, how it has made possible the society people take for granted, and its disastrous effects on the climate.

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