ITV News in Antarctica: We see first hand the impact of shocking sea ice melt
Welcome to the ITV News digest bringing you the best of our original journalism, insight and analysis from across the nation, regions and the world.
Welcome from Antarctica. I'm Martin Stew, the Science Correspondent for ITV News, and I am writing this from onboard the RRS Sir David Attenborough - the ship you may have known once as Boaty McBoatFace.
We're half-way through a unique trip with British scientists trying to understand how and why sea ice around Antarctica is melting so fast. No British research ship has been this far south this late in the polar winter since Shackleton's Endurance which got crushed by pack ice and sank in 1915.
The fact our journey has been relatively plain sailing is a visceral indication of the fact we have lost an area of sea ice six times the size of the UK over the past 30 years ago. What happens here matters around the world.
My colleague Rachel has been to the Bahamas to meet the people facing the full impact of melting polar ice (see below), whilst Sangita has been looking at the impact closer to home with the acidification of the sea off Devon.
There's serious science to report on but also a glimpse into the dark and frozen world scientists endure to collect data.
If you look close enough, there's even some good news, humpbacks are making a comeback since the whaling ban.
Proof changing our actions really can make a difference.
You can watch our special 30-minute report from Antarctica on ITVX here.
There’s more from Martin, including:
Paradise nearly lost: Rising oceans threaten The Bahamas
As a journalist, writes ITV News Correspondent Rachel Younger, there aren’t many assignments more welcome than a trip to the Bahamas.
But there is no escaping what this ocean nation has lost. The rainbow colours of the reef are gone. Rising sea temperatures, the direct result of climate change, have bleached the coral, making it more susceptible to disease.
Watch Rachel’s report from the Bahamas on ITVX. And, Bahamas prime minister Philip Davis tells us about his fears for the future.
ITV News is covering the impact of climate change on the planet in a series of reports, including:
40 seconds and everything was gone: The Swiss village wiped out by shifting glacier
Worrying levels of acid in oceans is threatening marine life
John Kerry calls on experts to ‘put their science on the line’ to save Antarctica
Exclusive: At least 95 women were killed by men known to police over the course of five years
“I told you this was going to happen.” Shannon Tierney says she warned police her sister Regan was at risk from an abusive partner who went on to kill her.
ITV News Calendar reporter Amelia Beckett has been investigating dozens of murders of women killed by men that were known to police.
She has found that at least 95 women were killed by men known to police over the course of five years.
In 20 of those cases, police failings were identified, while at least 14 cases are still under review.
Her film is available to watch on ITVX.
Spending review: Extra cash for NHS, defence and a promise to end asylum hotels by 2029
Rachel Reeves’ spending plans have been revealed - and they’re pinned on economic growth.
The chancellor woke on Thursday to the news the economy shrank in April - further adding weight to her critics’ assertions that she will have to come back in the autumn budget and raise taxes to pay for her spending commitments.
“I’m not going to write the budget now,” she told ITV News, “the world is in an uncertain place.”
Exclusive: World Rowing criticised for failing to remove historical videos of topless women
World Rowing has been criticised for failing to remove a video from its website in which women were filmed sunbathing topless by a river during a World Cup women’s race, ITV News can reveal.
The footage, which was still available on the governing body’s official website on Wednesday afternoon, was filmed during a race in Munich in the 1990s.
World Rowing was alerted to the existence of the video almost a week ago by Alan Sinclair, a former Team GB Olympic rower, and European Champion, who was reviewing old race footage as part of his job as a coach.
When first reporting the video to World Rowing, Sinclair cited ITV News’ investigation into serious allegations at the world’s oldest club, urging the governing body to act quickly.
Mother of girl groomed by Neo-Nazi believes lessons must be learned
“She was just such a loving child. She was funny. You couldn’t have wanted for better really.”
Emily Carter is heartbroken at the death of her youngest daughter, Rhianan, aged just 15. Compounding her grief is the belief that if authorities had listened, Rhianan could still be alive.
Rhianan was groomed by far right extremists in the US. She was later arrested and charged under terrorism laws in the UK. The case was dropped but Rhianan was haunted by the experience and took her own life in 2022.
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Stolen to order: theft gangs exposed
Millions of pounds of goods are stolen from shops every year, and police are admitting this crime wave is being driven by more than just the cost of living crisis.
Increasingly, shoplifting is being executed by organised criminal gangs. In a two-part ITV News investigation, reporter Antoine Allen examines the rise of “stolen to order” - from shoplifting to tool thefts.
The inspiring story of the topless marathon runner
Louise Butcher is on a mission to raise awareness of breast cancer.
She ran the London Marathon last year topless - having undergone a double mastectomy following a breast cancer diagnosis in 2022.
Louise, from Devon, tells ITV News West Country that running topless feels liberating - and has also helped her accept her body and be proud of it.
What’s coming up…
Saturday June 14: Trooping the Colour, to mark the King’s (official) birthday
Sunday June 15: G7 summit. Leaders from the G7 nations – the UK, US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan along with the EU will be at the summit in Canada
Wednesday June 18: 50th anniversary of the first oil pumped from the North Sea, delivered via Scotland, to a refinery in England
And finally… Bringing picture books to life
Reading a book a bedtime to your children is one of life’s greatest pleasures.
But those who are blind or visually impaired, getting the full experience is super challenging.
The Living Paintings charity in Hampshire has a team of volunteer craftspeople who create wooden illustrations, which are then turned into plastic 3D sheets and painted, before being put into books the kids can ‘feel’ characters on the page come to life.
ITV News Meridian’s Mel Bloor went along to see the magic happen…