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Single-use plastics are the new ozone layer, says UN environment chief

Single-Use Plastics Are the New Ozone Layer, Says UN Environment Chief | GZERO World

If you get caught with a plastic bag in Nairobi these days, you're on the hook for $1,000. That's because Kenya has signed up to a "circular economy" that bans single-use plastics, so there's no choice but to recycle. UN Environment Programme Executive Director Inger Andersen says more nations are finally responding to growing public awareness about plastic pollution, which she thinks could drive policy change like the hole in the ozone layer did decades ago.

Watch this episode of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer: Surviving a warming planet

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Colombian presidential candidate Abelardo De La Espriella of the political movement Defenders of the Homeland gestures as he addresses supporters after the results of the first round of the presidential election, in Barranquilla, Colombia, on May 31, 2026.
REUTERS/Charlie Cordero

Far-right candidate Abelardo de la Espriella won Colombia’s presidential election's first round, beating left-wing Senator Ivan Cepeda. Because neither cleared the 50% threshold, the two will lock horns in a head-to-head runoff on June 21.

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SoftBank surpassed the Japanese carmaker after pledging over the weekend to invest as much as €75 billion ($87 billion) to build Europe’s largest AI facility in France.