Your Thursday Briefing

Fossil fuel plans threaten the Paris Accord

Fifteen countries, among them the U.S., Norway and Russia, plan to dramatically increase their production of oil, gas and coal in the decades ahead, potentially undermining pledges to curb emissions in line with the Paris Accord, according to a U.N.-backed report released Tuesday.

World leaders will gather later this month at a major climate summit in Glasgow to discuss how to reduce their countries’ planet-warming emissions. But environmentalists say that governments also need to focus on future plans for fossil fuel extraction so that they are more closely aligned with proposals to sell more electric vehicles or install more renewable power sources.

By the numbers: By 2030, the report found, the world’s nations are planning to produce 240 percent more coal, 57 percent more oil and 71 percent more natural gas than would be needed to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

In other environment news:

• Dozens of people have been killed across India and Nepal by unseasonably heavy rainfall and floods.

• U.S. companies have used a mix of tactics to avoid responsibility for pollution from “forever chemicals.”

• We looked at how the Dixie fire in California created its own weather system.

• Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, said he would not attend the U.N. climate summit in Glasgow this month.

Navalny wins top human rights award

The Russian political dissident Aleksei Navalny, who survived an assassination attempt and is now in a Russian prison, was awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, the E.U.’s top human rights award.

The prize was as much a recognition of Navalny’s decade-long role leading the Russian political opposition as it was a stinging rebuke of Vladimir Putin. Navalny has accused Putin of subverting his country’s post-Soviet democracy to remain in power, as well as of ordering his assassination.

Despite repeated arrests and attacks, Navalny has remained an unflinching critic of Putin, whom he alleges skimmed Russia’s oil profits to enrich his friends and his entourage in the security services and then used that influence to keep a hold on power.

Quotable: “He has fought tirelessly against the corruption of Vladimir Putin’s regime,” David Sassoli, president of the European Parliament, said of Navalny. “This cost him his liberty and nearly his life.”

Britain resists new coronavirus restrictions

Amid rising numbers of cases, the British government has rejected calls to reimpose coronavirus restrictions, while warning that such measures might be needed if the rollout of vaccine booster shots fails to contain the worsening situation. Britain, which administered vaccines early, is now reporting one of the highest rates of new cases in the world as the vaccines’ effectiveness wanes.

“We will do what it takes to make sure that this pressure does not become unsustainable, and we won’t allow the N.H.S. to become overwhelmed,” said Sajid Javid, the health secretary, referring to Britain’s National Health Service, which is already under pressure. He warned that new cases could surge to 100,000 a day.

The British government’s contingency plan would reimpose some restrictions that were scrapped in England in July, including mask-wearing rules and urging people to work from home. Those visiting nightclubs and other venues could be required to show proof of their vaccination status or of a recent negative test.

Analysis: Experts believe cases in Britain are rising because large numbers of children are unvaccinated and schools do not require face coverings. Mask wearing is less prevalent than in some other parts of Europe, where masks are often required indoors and where cases per capita are much lower.

Data: Britain has reported over 40,000 new cases for seven consecutive days, and 869 patients were admitted to hospitals on Saturday. The daily death toll rose to 223 on Tuesday, the highest number since March, before falling to 179 on Wednesday.

Here are the latest updates and maps of the pandemic.

In other developments:

• The Biden administration laid out its plans to vaccinate children, anticipating that regulators will approve shots for 5- to 11-year-olds in the coming weeks.

• As the Covid death toll and case numbers soar, Russia will shut down for a seven-day “nonworking” period starting Oct. 30.

• The Olympic torch arrived in Beijing on Wednesday, beginning a countdown to a Winter Games overshadowed by Covid worries.

THE LATEST NEWS

News From the U.S.

• Republicans blocked action for the third time this year on legislation to bolster voting rights, leaving Democrats few options outside of changing the Senate filibuster rule and passing the voting measure over G.O.P. opposition.

• Dozens of Netflix employees walked out in protest of a comedy special by Dave Chappelle that critics have said promotes bigotry against transgender people.

• PayPal has offered to buy Pinterest, the digital pinboard company. If the $45 billion deal is completed, it would be one of the largest consumer internet purchases in recent history.

Around the World

• Queen Elizabeth II has canceled a trip to Northern Ireland because of illness, Buckingham Palace said on Wednesday. The 95-year-old “has reluctantly accepted medical advice to rest for the next few days.”

• The Islamic authorities in Malaysia want to imprison Nur Sajat, a transgender entrepreneur and media personality, for wearing a hijab at a religious event. She announced on Monday that she had fled to Australia.

• The longtime German central bank chief Jens Weidmann will step down amid disagreements over low-interest-rate policies.

What Else Is Happening

• Scientists have decisively pinned down when Norse explorers were in North America: A.D. 1021.

• Henry Louis Gates Jr., the Harvard literary scholar, will collaborate with the publisher Penguin on a series of books on Black figures, each by a leading contemporary author.

A Morning Read

Afghanistan’s female judges are now jobless and in hiding after the Taliban seized power this year. Many of them are under threat after Taliban officials recovered their personal information from court records, while some have had their bank accounts frozen.

“I lost my job, and now I can’t even go outside or do anything freely,” said one former justice. “A dark future is awaiting everyone in Afghanistan, especially female judges.”

ARTS AND IDEAS

An online game tries to reach young and old

If you have a child, you’ve probably heard of Roblox, an online platform populated by colorful, blocky characters that features millions of games, from exploring virtual worlds to fostering digital pets. Roblox has more than 43 million daily users — many of them between 9 and 12 years old.

As it looks to expand, the site is trying to balance attracting an older audience while maintaining a safe environment for its younger users, Kellen Browning reports.

Dave Baszucki, who is the company’s chief executive and has a background in educational software, said mixing various ages on his platform was “a challenge.” There have been re-creations of mass shootings, games depicting virtual strip clubs and recruiting efforts by extremist groups.

But Roblox has been more active than many tech companies in trying to build a safe online world. It reviews game content, offers parental controls and profanity-blocking filters and has banned depictions of romance or discussion of political parties.

The efforts, Kellen writes, can be instructive for other internet outfits — like Facebook — that hope to attract a younger audience.

PLAY, WATCH, EAT

What to Cook

You don’t need a wok for this caramelized Brussels sprout stir-fry.

What to Watch

“Queens,” a musical drama starring Eve and Brandy, follows the members of a ’90s rap group who reunite.

What to Read

Nadifa Mohamed’s novel “The Fortune Men,” a finalist for the Booker Prize, is a story about a false accusation and the tragedy that resulted.

Now Time to Play

Here’s today’s Mini Crossword, and a clue: Eel with a second set of jaws in its throat (!?!) (five letters).

And here is the Spelling Bee.

You can find all our puzzles here.

That’s it for today’s briefing. Thanks for joining me. — Natasha

P.S. The science reporter Carl Zimmerjoined Crooked Media’s “America Dissected” podcast to discuss his reporting on CRISPR.

The latest episode of “The Daily” is about President Biden’s climate plan.

Sanam Yar wrote today’s Arts and Ideas. You can reach Natasha and the team at [email protected].