WeekDay AM: 10 Things you need to know this morning
Election 2024, Israeli isolation, and the surprising origins of the cockroach

 
today's politics story

Sunak fires general election starting gun

What happened 
Rishi Sunak has called a surprise general election for 4 July declaring that "now is the moment for Britain to choose its future".

Who said what
In the pouring rain and without an umbrella, the prime minister said he was the man to ­protect Britain in "the most uncertain of times", promising never to "leave the people of this country to face the ­darkest of days alone".

After the announcement Labour leader Keir Starmer posted a video on X saying it was "time for change" and urging Britons to vote Labour. "Stop the chaos, turn the page, start to rebuild."

Sunak's announcement has "stunned the country", said Politico. Veteran pollster Sir John Curtice said the PM had taken an "enormous gamble".

The Telegraph said Sunak had "bravely defied the received wisdom in Westminster". If he is to win he must now show similar courage to offer a "conservative message of hope, justified by a solid and inspiring policy platform".

Yet the timing of his announcement demonstrates that Sunak thought "the worst was yet to come", said The Guardian's deputy political editor Jessica Elgot. The only really compelling reason for calling a snap election is that by doing so he will turn the "government's multiple crises" into "Starmer’s atrocious inheritance" even sooner than if had he waited.

What next? 
Current polls have Labour 21 points ahead of the Conservatives, putting the party on course for a large majority on 4 July. Barring a "historic turnaround" – or substantial polling error – the Tories face a "1997-style wipeout", said The Times.

 
 
today’s international story

US worried about Israel's growing isolation

What happened
The US is concerned by Israel's growing diplomatic isolation, Joe Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan said after Ireland, Norway and Spain yesterday announced they would formally recognise Palestinian statehood.

Who said what
A "growing chorus of voices", including those that had previously supported Israel, are now "drifting in another direction", Sullivan said at a White House briefing.

Biden "has been on the record supporting a two-state solution", he added, but the administration's position is that goal should be achieved through a negotiated agreement involving Palestinians and Israelis rather than through "unilateral recognition" of the kind announced by Ireland, Norway and Spain.

What next?
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said his government was recalling its ambassadors from the three European nations, accusing them of "attempting to send a message to the Palestinians and the whole world: terrorism pays".

Israel is only going to become more isolated, predicted Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris, who said he anticipates that other countries will also recognise a Palestinian state "in the weeks ahead".

 
 
Today’s nature story

The surprising origins of the German cockroach

What happened
The German cockroach, the world's most prevalent indoor pest, has long puzzled scientists over its origins and spread – until now.

A team of scientists has discovered that the German cockroach (blattella germanica) evolved from the Asian cockroach (blattella asahinai) about 2,100 years ago, likely adapting to human settlements in India or Myanmar.

Who said what
Genomic analysis of DNA from 281 cockroaches across 17 countries mapped its global spread.

"We found an early spread route from around 1,200 years ago, which was from eastern India westwards", said Theo Evans of the University of Western Australia, who co-authored the study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

But German cockroaches only arrived in Europe about 270 years ago, then spread to the rest of the world about 120 years ago, "probably from faster transportation on steamships". 

Edward Vargo, co-author of the study, said the German cockroach was essentially "a creation of human-made environments".

What next?
Researchers now want to find the genes that have allowed German cockroaches to thrive in urban environments so they can better manage it and other pests.

 
 

It's not all bad

Conservation charity African Parks has launched an ambitious plan to rewild 2,000 southern white rhinos across Africa over the next 10 years, starting with relocating 40 of the animals to Munywana Conservancy, South Africa. This follows its purchase of the Platinum Rhino farm, previously owned by South African businessman John Hume, which housed the world’s largest private rhino collection. The rewilding effort aims to bolster conservation as the 2,000 rhinos represent roughly 15% of the global white rhino population.

 
 
under the radar

What are rogue waves and what causes them?

For centuries reports by seafaring folk of terrifyingly huge waves that appeared out of nowhere were dismissed as fantasy by those on dry land.

Now the existence of these "real sea monsters" that have "swallowed up dozens of ships" is widely accepted, said Metro, and experts are working to understand what causes them and whether climate change is making them more common.

Rogue waves are "giant colossi of the sea", wrote Alessandro Toffoli, professor in ocean engineering at the University of Melbourne, on The Conversation. The "notorious phenomenon" sees "unimaginable mountains of water as tall as 10-storey buildings" appear "seemingly out of nowhere".

A study published in Science Direct, based on media reports, recorded just 210 rogue waves worldwide between 2011 and 2018, but the "real number is thought to be much higher", said BBC Science Focus.

Some scientific studies have found that wave heights could increase as a result of climate change, so experts are scrambling to understand them better.

A study on phys.org found that extreme wave heights in many places are likely to grow by between 5% and 8% by 2100, depending on how much carbon dioxide humans "pump into the atmosphere over the coming decades".

Although it's "difficult" to predict when rogue waves will strike, as "understanding grows" scientists could use modelling techniques to make "more accurate long-term predictions".

 
 
on this day

23 May 1934

Bonnie Parker and Clyde Champion Barrow, described by the FBI as the "most notorious crime couple in American history", are ambushed and shot by police in Lousianna's Bienville Parish. Their deaths were the culmination of "one of the most colourful and spectacular manhunts the nation had seen". The couple's story has inspired multiple creative interpretations since, but one of the latest, a musical theatre show set to tour the UK, was cancelled this week due to poor ticket sales.

 
 
Today’s newspapers

"Sunak bets the house" says The Times as the papers lead on the prime minister calling a general election for 4 July. "Things can only get wetter" says The Telegraph, a pun on the 1997 Labour anthem which was blasted out by a protester as Sunak gave his speech in the rain. "Little Miss Twaddle" says the Daily Star as it mocks up a postbox into a Mr Men character with the face of the former Post Office boss, Paula Vennells, who has been "accused of talking absolute tosh" at the Horizon inquiry.

► See the newspaper front pages

 
 
tall tale

Fiery dispute

An unlikely showdown between a mariachi band and a fire-breather in the Mexican city of Morelia took place on Sunday. Wearing traditional dress and carrying guitars, the musicians chased after the fire-breather, who threw flames their way in retaliation. The brawl quickly unfolded in front of a taco restaurant called "El Inferno". The spat was reportedly over competition for sought-after performing space in the city as entertainers seek to earn lucrative tips from the public.

 
 

Morning Report was written and edited by Arion McNicoll, Sorcha Bradley, Julia O'Driscoll and Chas Newkey-Burden, with illustrations by Julia Wytrazek.

Image credits, from top: Wiktor Szymanowicz / Anadolu via Getty Images; Schellhorn / Ullstein Bild via Getty Images; Kamil Krzaczynski / AFP via Getty Images.