Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, got to the point in his presidential address last night: “Another state,” he said, was “joining the war against Ukraine”. He was referring to the growing intelligence that shows elite soldiers from North Korea are in Russia preparing to join what has become a fight that, in effect, extends all the way across Asia.

The effect will be greater than the numbers believed to be involved. On Friday, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) reported that 1,500 members of Pyongyang’s special forces had crossed the border to Vladivostok in Russia’s far east to begin training and some degree of participation in the war in Ukraine.

In the past, isolated North Korea has sent pilots to Egypt, where they fought against Israel in the 1973 Yom Kippur war, and to Vietnam, where some flew sorties in secret against the US forces. But Pyongyang has never deployed such a large number of its troops abroad.

They represent the first element of what could be a 12,000-strong, four-brigade deployment, which represents a meaningful commitment – though still modest against the roughly 600,000 Russian troops already inside Ukraine. Given that Russia is losing an estimated 1,200 fighters a day in killed and wounded casualties during its autumn eastern offensive, the North Koreans could be quickly expended on the frontline.

It is not known what the North Koreans will do, though given Russia’s frontline tactics, which remain relatively careless of human lives, it is hard to imagine they would be dispatched into a winter effort to take Pokrovsk or another key location on Ukraine’s eastern front.

But Sam Cranny-Evans, of the Royal United Services Institute thinktank, says the North Korean troops could be used in a variety of other roles: near the frontline “to support logistics and engineering – moving ammunition, digging fortifications” or deeper to the rear or inside Russia to free more of the Kremlin’s own troops, or simply to go “on a training rotation” where they would “simply be gaining combat knowledge”.

There is plenty for North Korea’s forces to learn, including on how cheap £300-£400 drones are shaping the battlefield in Ukraine, preventing concentrations of forces, and reducing the possibility of surprise.

But there are also evident political advantages for both parties, most notably a significant tightening of the relationship between two members of the “Axis of Upheaval” – the Russia, China, Iran and North Korea grouping whose members, to varying degrees, want to challenge western military hegemony.

“Russia has offered the kind of political support to Pyongyang that previously was seen only in Beijing, and emboldens the North [of Korea]. It may also be providing missile technology and possibly submarine technology,” said Richard Fontaine, the chief executive of the Center for a New American Security, a US thinktank, arguing that the Kremlin was using the war in Ukraine as an accelerant to bring the two countries together.

But South Korean intelligence has touched on something more significant, at least for Russia. The NIS believes it has monitored 70 shipments of munitions – shells, missiles and anti-tank rockets – going from North Korea to Russia since August last year, transporting on its estimate 8m rounds of arms, including Russian 152mm and 122mm shells so crucial for Moscow’s destructive frontline assaults.

If correct, these are significant quantities, and come at a time when the US election means it is unclear if military aid – gifts of weapons – to Ukraine from the world’s remaining superpower will continue. Europe continues to struggle to ramp up its own munitions production, with the EU acknowledging that at the end of August it had only delivered 650,000 shells out of the 1m it had promised to send before April.

A $50bn loan for Ukraine from G7 countries funded from the interest accrued on Russian assets frozen by the west is expected to be confirmed as the World Bank and IMF meet later this week, which may help offset some of the pressure. But Russia’s relentless focus on prosecuting the war and deepening its relationship with one of the few allies willing to help it shows that the challenge faced by Kyiv remains intense.

Israeli police and the Shin Bet domestic intelligence agency say they have arrested a network of Israeli citizens spying for Iran who allegedly provided information on military bases and conducted surveillance of individuals.

The investigators claimed the network had been active for about two years. According to reports in the Israeli press, the suspects are accused of photographing and collecting information about Israeli bases and facilities, including the defence headquarters in Tel Aviv, known as the Kirya, and the Nevatim and Ramat David airbases.

The Nevatim base was targeted by Iran’s two missile attacks this year, and Ramat David has been targeted by Hezbollah.

“This is one of the most serious security cases investigated in recent years,” state prosecutors said. Police said the group had carried out 600 missions over two years.

News of the alleged network, which includes two minors, follows the arrest in September of an Israeli businessman accused of spying for Iran. According to the allegations against him he had travelled twice to Iran to discuss the possibility of assassinating the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, the defence minister, Yoav Gallant, or the head of the Shin Bet domestic intelligence agency, Ronen Bar.

Reports described the individuals arrested as Jewish immigrants from Azerbaijan living in the Haifa area, some related, who were arrested just over a month ago and are expected to be charged with helping an enemy in wartime.

According to a statement released on Monday, the seven Israeli citizens were arrested for gathering sensitive information on Israel Defense Forces (IDF) bases and energy infrastructure.

According to Haaretz, the suspects allegedly received hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash transfers from Russian intermediaries, as well as in cryptocurrencies.

Three of the suspects were apprehended while allegedly photographing sensitive sites in southern Israel, and the police discovered dozens of documents in their possession.

“Investigations revealed that over a period exceeding two years, the suspects executed multiple security missions under the direction of two Iranian intelligence agents known as ‘Alkhan’ and ‘Orkhan’,” said a statement.

“The network members were aware that the intelligence they provided compromised national security and could potentially aid enemy missile attacks. The network conducted extensive reconnaissance missions on IDF bases nationwide, focusing on air force and navy installations, ports, Iron Dome system locations, and energy infrastructure such as the Hadera power plant.

“These activities were financially compensated with payments totalling hundreds of thousands of dollars, often facilitated through cryptocurrencies,” the statement added, suggesting those arrested had been motivated by “greed”.

“The operation involved photographing and documenting strategic sites, with the collected data being transferred to Iranian agents. Network members utilised advanced equipment procured specifically for these tasks under Iranian guidance.”

“There was a system,” said one of the investigating police officers, Yaron Binyamin. “They collected dozens of documents that noted the exact site to photograph, what information to gather and how much money they would be paid. A real price list.

“The method was first to receive the mission to film a base, then travel there, unload the equipment and find a vantage point, then deliver the photos via encrypted software to their Iranian handlers.”

Those arrested were also allegedly tasked with collecting intelligence on several Israeli citizens at the behest of Iranian agents.

This included conducting surveillance on targeted individuals. Some members were apprehended while attempting to gather intelligence on an Israeli citizen residing near their location, with security assessments indicating potential Iranian plans to harm this individual.

The latest arrests suggest Israel’s well-developed intelligence operations targeting Iran, Gaza and Hezbollah have not been a one-way street, with Iran and its proxies also running operations in Israel.

Israel’s state attorney suggested other cases yet to be disclosed may be under investigation.

Transport for London (TfL) could be forced to pay back millions of pounds in low emission zone fines issued to Dutch lorry drivers after agreeing they had been issued unlawfully.

The body said it had agreed to settle a claim regarding the Ulez fines after a company representing dozens of Dutch haulage companies launched a legal challenge into the ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) and low emission zone (Lez) fines earlier this year.

The settlement comes as TfL is under increased scrutiny over its Ulez charging policy and several European governments have accused it of wrongly fining hundreds of thousands of EU citizens after illegally obtaining their details.

The company, Transport in Nood BV (TNBV), launched a judicial review against TfL in the high court this year after claiming that as much as €7.5m (£6.25m) in Ulez and Lez fines could have been wrongly issued to the Dutch companies it represents.

Antonio Oliveira, the owner of TNBV, said at the time that the fines would bankrupt some of the companies, with one transporter of flowers racking up nearly 400 fines, totalling €400,000 (£330,000).

The Ulez, which was doubled in size in August last year to cover all 32 London boroughs, requires vehicles that do not comply with emissions standards to pay a £12.50 daily charge, or else face a fine of up to £180 for non-payment.

The Lez also applies across London and charges highly polluting heavy goods vehicles for travelling in the city, hitting companies that fail to pay with fines of up to £3,000.

TNBV launched the judicial review on the grounds that the fines were unlawfully denominated in euros, which goes against UK legislation indicating that all fines should be given in pounds.

It claimed that an excessively high exchange rate was used to calculate the levies, including drivers being charged €3,600 (£3,200) for Lez fines, when the maximum penalty should be £3,000.

It also found that a 5% administrative fee was being added to each fine by TfL’s contractor Euro Parking Collection (EPC).

TNBV said TfL had conceded that these fines should have been sent in pounds and no charges should have been added.

A TfL spokesperson said: “We have agreed to settle a claim, which relates solely to a number of penalty charges issued to haulage companies based in the Netherlands. This agreement is subject to approval by the court.”

Despite the decision to settle, the two organisations are still in dispute over the amount that should be refunded, with TfL looking to only refund the additional 5% fee on each fine, rather than the full fines. The level of refunds will be decided at the next high court hearing, scheduled for 5 November.

The settlement comes as TfL and EPC are under increased pressure over how they administer fines to individuals and businesses based on the continent.

The Guardian revealed earlier this year that TfL has been accused by five EU countries of illegally obtaining the names and addresses of their citizens in order to issue more than 320,000 penalties.

Since Brexit, the UK has been banned from automatic access to personal details of EU residents, but transport authorities in Belgium, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands allege that TfL obtained these details illegally through EPC.

These claims came after some EU residents were hit with bills of up to £11,000 after being caught in the London clean air zones.

TfL said at the time that despite an absence of individual data-sharing agreements with EU countries, “local laws” allowed authorities to share vehicle owner information with the UK for the enforcement of traffic regulations.

Commenting on the Dutch settlement, Oliveira said: “We had long suspected that something was not right … EPC has been adding an illegal surcharge of at least 5% to every fine they have ever issued.

“This discovery highlights the importance of collectively challenging such practices as a group. It is clear that these unlawful actions must not go unopposed.”

Moldovans have voted by a razor-thin majority in favour of joining the European Union, nearly final results showed on Monday after a pivotal referendum clouded by allegations of Russian interference.

On Sunday, Moldova held key votes in a presidential election and a referendum on EU membership, marking a critical moment in the continuing struggle between Russia and the west for control over the small, landlocked nation in eastern Europe, home to 2.5 million people.

After nearly 99% of votes were counted in the referendum that asked voters to choose whether to enshrine in the country’s constitution a path toward the EU, the “yes” vote crept into first place with 50.18% of a total 1.4 million ballots cast, according to the Central Electoral Commission.

The separate presidential election results showed the incumbent pro-western president, Maia Sandu, topped the first round of the vote with 41.91%. She will face her closest competitor, Alexandr Stoianoglo, a former prosecutor backed by the pro-Russian Socialists, in the second round in two weeks.

The double vote in one of Europe’s poorest countries was seen as a crucial test of Sandu’s pro-European agenda, as she had urged Moldovans to vote yes in the referendum to affirm EU accession as an “irreversible” constitutional goal. The tight referendum result will disappoint Sandu’s supporters and her allies in Brussels.

Pre-election surveys indicated that Sandu held a comfortable lead over Stoianoglo and other candidates, while polls suggested that about 60% of voters supported the pro-EU path in the run-up to the referendum.

Moldova applied to join the EU after Russia’s full-scale invasion of neighbouring Ukraine, which was condemned by Sandu and many in the country as tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees fled to its capital, Chișinău. Moldova officially began EU accession negotiations in June, though scepticism remains high about the country’s ability to implement the necessary democratic and judicial reforms in the near future.

Observers believe that a weakened Sandu could face a tricky second-round runoff against a united pro-Moscow opposition front led by Stoianoglo.

The two ballots were held amid claims by Moldovan authorities that Moscow and its proxies had orchestrated an intense “hybrid war” campaign to destabilise the country and derail its path towards the EU.

The allegations against Moscow included funding pro-Kremlin opposition groups, spreading disinformation, meddling in local elections and backing a major vote-buying scheme.

As votes were being counted on Sunday, Sandu blamed “foreign forces” for orchestrating an “unprecedented assault on our country’s freedom and democracy”.

“We have clear evidence that these criminal groups aimed to buy 300,000 votes – a fraud of unprecedented scale,” Sandu added. “Their objective was to undermine a democratic process.”

In particular, officials in Moldova have accused the fugitive pro-Russian businessman Ilan Shor, a vocal opponent of EU membership, of running a destabilising campaign from Moscow.

Earlier this month, the national police chief, Viorel Cernăuțanu, accused Shor and Moscow of establishing a complex “mafia-style” voter-buying scheme and bribing 130,000 Moldovans – almost 10% of normal voter turnout – to vote against the referendum and in favour of Russia-friendly candidates in what he called an “unprecedented, direct attack”.

Last week, law enforcement agencies said they had also uncovered a programme in which hundreds of people were taken to Russia to undergo training to stage riots and civil unrest.

Shor, who is based in Moscow and denies wrongdoing, has openly offered on social media to pay Moldovans to convince others to vote in a certain way and said that was a legitimate use of money that he earned. In the early hours of Monday, he claimed Moldovans had voted against the referendum.

Sandu, meanwhile, told her supporters on Sunday evening that she “will not back down from defending democracy and freedom”.

“We are waiting for the final results, and we will respond with firm decisions,” she added.

Hurricane Oscar has become the 10th hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic season, battering the Turks and Caicos Islands on Saturday night and the far southern Bahamas on Sunday.

The disturbance that eventually became Oscar was initially given a low chance of tropical development by the US National Hurricane Center. It began on 10 October as a tropical wave across western Africa, bringing thunderstorms and gusty winds to the Cabo Verde Islands, before moving westwards over the Atlantic. However, it struggled to become sufficiently organised at it progressed, as dry air inhibited further thunderstorm development.

By early on 19 October, the disturbance had travelled to the north of Puerto Rico, and the chance of further development remained low. However, over the next 12 hours, thunderstorm activity became sufficiently strong and organised for the system to be classified as a tropical storm and named Oscar.

Hurricane hunters flew into the storm and detected a small area of hurricane-force winds, leading to Oscar’s upgrade to hurricane status. Oscar will affect eastern Cuba on Monday, and is then expected to track northwards and rapidly transition to a powerful extratropical cyclone, potentially bringing wind gusts above 70mph to parts of south-eastern Canada later in the week.

Elsewhere in the tropics, the remnants of tropical storm Nadine are expected to redevelop into a new tropical system to the south of Mexico during the early part of this week – tracking westwards with no significant impacts to land.

In Australia, temperatures have continued to trend above average in October, after the warmest August and fourth-warmest September on record. In the past week, large parts of the south and east have had daily highs reaching the high 30s and low 40Cs, several degrees above the October average.

On Thursday, South Australia suffered its highest temperature in 29 years when the town of Coober Pedy reached 43.7C, while temperatures in parts of Queensland at the weekend reached as much as 11C above average. This heat has fuelled several outbreaks of heavy showers and thunderstorms.

Conditions were particularly severe across New South Wales and Victoria on Friday, with torrential downpours causing some flash flooding – one town in Victoria received 50mm of rain in 45 minutes – alongside damage from strong wind gusts, hail stones as large as gold balls, and about half a million lightning strikes.

Over the coming week, heatwave conditions will shift across the continent to northern parts of Western Australia, where night-time temperatures are expected not to drop below 30C in places later this week.

Humanity is “on the precipice” of shattering Earth’s limits, and will suffer huge costs if we fail to act on biodiversity loss, experts warn. This week, world leaders meet in Cali, Colombia, for the Cop16 UN biodiversity conference to discuss action on the global crisis. As they prepare for negotiations, scientists and experts around the world have warned that the stakes are high, and there is “no time to waste”.

“We are already locked in for significant damage, and we’re heading in a direction that will see more,” says Tom Oliver, professor of applied ecology at the University of Reading. “I really worry that negative changes could be very rapid.”

Since 1970, some studies estimate wildlife populations have declined on average by 73%, with huge numbers lost in the decades and centuries before. Passenger pigeons, the Carolina parakeets and Floreana giant tortoises are among the many species humans have obliterated. “It’s shameful that our single species is driving the extinction of thousands of others,” says Oliver.

The biodiversity crisis is not just about other species – humans also rely on the natural world for food, clean water and air to breathe. Oliver says: “I think we will, certainly, in the next 15 to 20 years, see continued food crises, and the real risk of multiple breadbasket failures … that’s in addition to a lot of the other risks that might impact us through fresh-water pollution, ocean acidification, wildfire and algal blooms, and so on.”

Oliver, who is working with the UK government to identify “chronic risks” to the world, was involved in a 2024 report that showed nature degradation could cause a 12% loss to UK GDP. Disease outbreaks, loss of insects to pollinate crops, collapse of fisheries and flooding were among the risks identified. He says we are in an era of mass extinction with “huge uncertainty in where the safe limits are”.

Scientists say human activity has pushed the world into the danger zone in seven out of eight indicators of planetary safety. Under a business-as-usual scenario, biodiversity loss will accelerate, with more species surviving only in zoos.

Environmental breakdown is driving inequality, conflict and injustice. Dr Andrew Terry, director of conservation and policy at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), says: “Already, we have witnessed environmentally driven famine in Madagascar and mass migration. We will see increased conflict for access to dwindling resources, particularly water and food. We will see increases in major health issues, particularly [due to] urban heat as temperatures increase to intolerable levels and pollution rises.”

Experts warn that ecosystems are starting to approach tipping points – where they shift into a new, degraded state that further reduces their resilience. Terry says: “This will see once rich, wet tropical areas become dry savannahs, or warming ocean currents completely change. This is where we will see massive functional shifts that will impact humanity.”

A loss of connection to the Earth

All over the world, people are noticing nature and species disappearing in the space of a few generations. Tonthoza Uganja is a land restoration expert from Yesaya village in central Malawi, a forest-dependent community with people traditionally eating mushrooms and berries from the wood for sustenance, and using trees for shelter. “We relied on a biodiverse ecosystem to thrive,” says Uganja. But in the past few generations this abundance of nature has dramatically declined. “If you see the changes, they are tremendous. It’s insane,” says Uganja, who is completing a PhD on farming systems and climate change at Bangor University in Wales.

“People’s livelihoods are at the centre of this,” she says. “Biodiversity loss looks complex, but at the end of the day, it comes back to life. As we lose biodiversity, it’s essentially losing parts of ourselves as human beings as well.”

Her comments were echoed in a report by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (Ipbes), which found a market-based focus on economic growth meant the wider benefits of nature – including spiritual, cultural and emotional value – had been ignored.

If we don’t act, Uganja says, “it will be a planet where we have lost our history, because our nature is our history. We’ve lost not just key species – we’ve lost our connectivity to the Earth.”

In central Malawi, Uganja says threats are multiplying, with changing weather systems making crop failures more common. “Climate change has devastating effects. It is bringing a huge shock wave in communities.

“We are on the precipice of shattering Earth’s natural limits – we have not gone there yet, but we are right on the edge.”

A need for urgency

Scientists say the biodiversity crisis must be treated as urgently as climate. There is up to eight times more media coverage of the climate crisis relative to biodiversity loss, but Alexandre Antonelli, the director of science at Kew’s Royal Botanic Gardens in London, believes a shift is occurring. “Every company leader and politician I talk to today, from many countries and backgrounds, seems to recognise the urgency of halting biodiversity loss, and appears genuinely interested in doing something concrete about it. This wasn’t the case five years ago.”

For many, Cop16 is an opportunity for global leaders to meet and compare their proposed actions to protect biodiversity. So far, governments have never met any of their self-imposed targets on nature loss, and experts say that must change urgently. There is “no time to waste”, says Mike Hoffman, ZSL’s head of wildlife recovery. “We cannot just sit by and document loss; we have to act, working with governments, other NGOs, the private sector and communities, to disrupt that trajectory of loss.”

Key issues to be discussed at Cop16 include whether wealthy countries will meet their target of contributing a minimum of $20bn annually for low and middle-income countries by 2025, as well as all nations outlining their domestic targets to protect biodiversity – less than 20% had done so ahead of the meeting.

Oliver believes the root causes of biodiversity loss lie in our worldviews – and this is also where he believes the solutions will be. Changing the “juggernaut” of destruction means changing the way our economy is run and how the education system works, right down to our mindsets and the way we see ourselves as “locked into this degradation”.

“I think the only way we can start to address that mass extinction is if we have more humility in our relationship as part of just one other species in the web of life,” he says. “We have lost that bedrock of pro-nature values … We need to restore that so we don’t have this casual attitude to ecocide.”

Nature restoration not a ‘nice to have’

Many governments are failing to prioritise nature restoration. In August, a study found that butterflies, bees and bats were among wildlife being boosted by the UK’s nature-friendly farming schemes. The following month it was revealed the Labour government would be slashing the nature-friendly farming budget in England by £100m to help fill what ministers say is a £22bn shortfall.

Prof Rob Brooker, head of ecological sciences at the James Hutton Institute, says it is frustrating to see governments deprioritise nature conservation because of financial constraints. “Biodiversity is not a ‘nice to have’ – it is a critical element of delivering action on climate change, health and wellbeing, and sustainable food production,” he says. “Without action, our planet will be further depleted in the decades to come. We will have more hungry people living in a world with a less stable climate, and more extreme weather events.”

Prof Rick Stafford from Bournemouth University, who is chair of the British Ecological Society policy committee, says he has watched the decline of key species he studies in his own lifetime. He first went diving with sharks on the reefs of Indonesia 20 years ago. Now, “they’ve completely vanished, not just in Indonesia but other places”. Their absence is the “new normal”, he says, but it can have cascading effects for marine ecosystems.

Coral reefs are important fish nurseries and help feed more than 500 million people worldwide. Stafford agrees that biodiversity is not just “a ‘nice to have’ thing”. “It’s actually an essential thing,” he says.

He says people don’t understand the urgency of it. “We are very close to those sort of critical limits where we are not going to be able to recover that biodiversity, and it has really big effects on society – it is not just about being able to see some butterflies.”

Moldova’s pro-western president, Maia Sandu, blamed an “unprecedented assault on our country’s freedom and democracy” by “foreign forces” on Sunday night, as a pivotal referendum on EU membership remained too close to call with most votes counted.

Moldovans went to the polls earlier in the day to cast their vote in a presidential election and an EU referendum that marked a key moment in the tug-of-war between Russia and the west over the future of the small, landlocked south-east European country with a population of about 2.5 million people.

With almost 84% of the vote counted, the no vote was ahead on 53%, according to data shared by Moldova’s electoral commission. But the results could yet change as votes are still being counted among the large Moldovan diaspora, which is favourable to joining the EU.

The separate presidential election results showed that incumbent president Sandu topped the first round of the vote with about 38%, but she will now face her closest competitor, Alexandr Stoianoglo, a former prosecutor backed by the pro-Russian Socialists, in the second round.

The double vote in one of Europe’s poorest countries was seen as a crucial test of Sandu’s pro-European agenda, as she had urged Moldovans to vote “yes” in the referendum to affirm EU accession as an “irreversible” constitutional goal.

The narrow results will disappoint Sandu’s supporters and her allies in Brussels. Pre-election surveys indicated that Sandu held a comfortable lead over her main rival, Stoianoglo, and other candidates, while polls suggested that about 60% of voters supported the pro-EU path in the run-up to the referendum.

Sandu, a 52-year-old former World Bank adviser, was first elected president in November 2020, riding a wave of popularity as an anti-corruption reformer with a pro-European agenda.

Since the breakup of the Soviet Union, Moldova has gravitated between pro-western and pro-Russian courses, but under Sandu it had accelerated its push to escape Moscow’s orbit, especially as Russia launched its war in neighbouring Ukraine.

The two ballots were held amid claims by Moldovan authorities that Moscow and its proxies had orchestrated an intense “hybrid war” campaign to destabilise the country and derail its EU path.

“Moldova has faced an unprecedented assault on our country’s freedom and democracy, both today and in recent months,” Sandu told supporters in the capital, Chișinău, on Sunday as votes were being counted, adding that “criminal groups” had tried to “undermine a democratic process”.

“We are waiting for the final results, and we will respond with firm decisions,” she added.

The allegations against Moscow included funding pro-Kremlin opposition groups, spreading disinformation, meddling in local elections and backing a major vote-buying scheme.

In particular, officials accused the fugitive pro-Russian businessman Ilan Shor, a vocal opponent of EU membership, of running a destabilising campaign from Moscow.

Earlier this month, the national police chief, Viorel Cernăuțanu, accused Shor and Moscow of establishing a complex “mafia-style” voter-buying scheme and bribing 130,000 Moldovans – almost 10% of normal voter turnout – to vote against the referendum and in favour of Russia-friendly candidates in what he called an “unprecedented, direct attack”.

On Thursday, law enforcement agencies said they had also uncovered a programme in which hundreds of people were taken to Russia to undergo training to stage riots and civil unrest.

In total, Moldovan officials claimed Russia had spent about $100m this year on Moldova’s electoral processes.

Moldova applied to join the EU after Russia’s full-scale invasion of neighbouring Ukraine, which was harshly condemned by Sandu and many in the country as tens of thousands of Ukranian refugees fled to Chișinău.

Moldova officially began EU accession negotiations in June, though scepticism remains high about the country’s ability to implement the necessary democratic and judicial reforms in the near future.

Observers believe Sandu could now be facing a tricky second-round runoff against a united pro-Moscow opposition front led by Stoianoglo.

Stoianoglo, a former prosecutor general who was dismissed by Sandu, urged people to boycott the referendum or vote “no”, describing it as a “cynical” move to boost Sandu’s popularity.

In an earlier interview with the Guardian, Stoianoglo denied that he was working on behalf of Russia. But he declined to criticise the Kremlin for its invasion of Ukraine and called for improved relations with Moscow.

Australia could toughen the rules regarding the acceptable levels of key PFAS chemicals in drinking water, lowering the amount of so-called forever chemicals allowed per litre.

The National Health and Medical Research Council on Monday released draft guidelines revising the limits for four PFAS chemicals in drinking water.

PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), a class of several thousand compounds, are sometimes referred to as “forever chemicals” as they persist in the environment for long periods of time and are more difficult to destroy than substances such as sugars or proteins. PFAS exposure is wide and not limited to drinking water.

The draft guidelines set out recommendations for PFAS limits in drinking water over a person’s lifetime.

Under the draft, the limit for PFOA – a compound used to make Teflon – would be lowered from 560 ng/L to 200 ng/L, based on evidence of their cancer-causing effects.

Based on new concerns about bone marrow effects, the limits for PFOS – previously the key ingredient in the fabric protector Scotchgard – would be cut from 70 ng/L to 4 ng/L.

In December last year, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified PFOA as cancer-causing to humans – in the same category as drinking alcohol and outdoor air pollution – and PFOS as “possibly” carcinogenic.

The guidelines also propose new limits for two PFAS compounds based on evidence of thyroid effects, of 30ng/L for PFHxS and 1000 ng/L for PFBS. PFBS has been used as a replacement for PFOS in Scotchgard since 2023.

NHMRC chief executive, Prof Steve Wesselingh, said in a media briefing that the new limits were set based on evidence from animal studies. “We currently don’t believe there are human studies of sufficient quality to guide us in developing these numbers,” he said.

The proposed PFOS limit would be in line with US guidelines, while the Australian limit of PFOA would still be higher.

“It’s not unusual for guideline values to vary from country to country around the world based on different methodologies and endpoints used,” Wesseleigh said.

The US aims for zero concentrations of carcinogenic compounds, while Australian regulators take a “threshold model” approach.

“If we get below that threshold level, we believe that there is no risk of that substance causing the problem identified, whether they be thyroid problems, bone marrow problems or cancer,” Wesseleigh said.

The NHMRC considered setting a combined PFAS drinking water limit but deemed it impractical given the numbers of PFAS chemicals. “There are very large numbers of PFAS, and we don’t have toxicological information for the great majority of them,” Dr David Cunliffe, principal water quality adviser for the SA health department, said. “We’ve taken this path of producing individual guideline values for those PFAS where there is data available.”

PFAS management is shared between the federal government and the state and territories, which regulate water supply.

Dr Daniel Deere, a water and health consultant at Water Futures, said Australians had no need to be concerned about PFAS in public drinking water unless specifically notified. “We are fortunate in Australia in that we have hardly any water that is affected by PFAS, and you should only be concerned if directly advised by the authorities.

Unless advised otherwise, there was “no value in using alternative water sources, such as bottled water, household water treatment systems, benchtop water filters, local rainwater tanks or bores,” Deere said in a statement.

“Australians can continue to feel confidence that the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines incorporate the latest and most robust science to underpin drinking water safety,” Prof Stuart Khan, head of the School of Civil Engineering at the University of Sydney, said in a statement.

NHMRC prioritised a review of the Australian guidelines on PFAS in drinking water in late 2022. The guidelines had not been updated since 2018.

The draft guidelines will remain out for public consultation until 22 November.