MOLLY QUELL reports on the sanctions placed on International Criminal Court officials by the Trump regime, making it increasingly difficult for the tribunal to conduct even basic tasks
Burning issues
A new study has found that forests destroyed by wildfires emit carbon long after the flames die, with implications for post-fire management, write NATASCHA KLJUN and JULIA KELLY

EVEN in Earth’s high northern-latitude forest, climate change is predicted to make wildfires more frequent and severe.
Earth’s far north hosts the boreal forest, a vast green belt that stretches from North America to Siberia. The boreal forest is one of the world’s largest CO₂ sinks. Over the past few thousand years it has removed around one trillion tonnes of carbon from the air, storing it in the trees and soil. Because of the large amount of carbon stored in the boreal forest, fires here can release much more CO₂ into the air than forest fires elsewhere, amplifying climate change.
Similar stories

What has worked well – and what needs to change – for the convention that controls trade in endangered species? DAN CHALLENDER and MICHAEL ’T SAS-ROLFES explain

The government’s reliance on unproven and short-termist technology won’t deliver answers to today’s energy crisis, warns MARK MASLIN

This much-maligned insect’s numbers are dramatically down this summer. SEIRIAN SUMNER explains what’s happened to them, and why ecologists are calling for assistance from the public

ZARAH PATTISON explains how invasive plants like Himalayan balsam and rhododendron are playing havoc with ecosystems where they are introduced