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Routine domestic activities could expose people to a cloud of plastic particles so small that they can be inhaled deep into the lungs, according to research seen exclusively by Sky News.The study at the University of Portsmouth found a fitness workout on a synthetic carpet could result in up to 110 plastic fibres or fragments being breathed in every minute. Folding clothes made from fabrics such as polyester, and even just sitting down on a foam-filled sofa, also produced a plume of microscopic particles in the surrounding air.The researchers say the findings underline the urgency of talks by the United Nations this week to agree a global treaty to reduce plastic pollution. Image: There is no direct evidence that microplastics cause ill health...

The body of an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi who went missing in Abu Dhabi has been found, Israel has said.Zvi Kogan, the Chabad representative in the United Arab Emirates, went missing on Thursday. A statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office on Sunday said Mr Kogan was murdered, calling it a "heinous antisemitic terror incident"."The state of Israel will act with all means to seek justice with the criminals responsible for his death," it said.On Saturday, Israeli intelligence agency Mossad said it was investigating the disappearance.The Emirati government gave no immediate acknowledgment that Mr Kogan had been found dead.The rabbi lived in the UAE with his wife Rivky, who is a US citizen.Mr Kogan's disappearance comes as Iran has threatened to retaliate against Israel after the t...

Ireland's Taoiseach Simon Harris says he is setting aside "significant funds" to protect the country from any economic shock under Donald Trump's presidency.But the Fine Gael leader, whose party is seeking a historic fourth consecutive term in Friday's general election, remains hopeful of retaining good trade relations. President-elect Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on EU imports and appointed a commerce secretary who has vowed to entice US multinationals back from Ireland. In the first of Sky News' leader interviews ahead of the election, Mr Harris said: "I think president Trump does mean what he says in terms of his position in relation to trade and tariffs. "And I think president Trump has received a very large mandate in terms of the outcome of the US presidential election....

Russia is prepared to launch a wave of cyber attacks on Britain - and can "turn the lights off for millions of people", a minister will warn.Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden will tell a NATO conference next week allies must "not underestimate" the threat Moscow poses in its "hidden war". Russia has targeted British energy infrastructure and "won't think twice" about taking aim at businesses, he will say, as part of an attempt to degrade states supporting Ukraine."With a cyber attack, Russia can turn the lights off for millions of people. It can shut down the power grids," he will say in remarks first reported by The Sunday Telegraph."Be in no doubt: the United Kingdom and others in this room are watching Russia. "We know exactly what they are doing, and we are countering t...

The COP29 climate talks have reached a last ditch deal on cash for developing countries, pulling the summit back from the brink of collapse after a group of countries stormed out of a negotiating room earlier.The slew of deals finally signed off in the small hours of Sunday morning in Azerbaijan includes one that proved hardest of all - one about money. Eventually the more than 190 countries in Baku agreed a target for richer polluting countries like the UK, EU and Japan to drum up $300bn a year by 2035 to help poorer nations both curb and adapt to climate change.It is a far cry from the $1.3trn experts say is needed, and from the $500bn that vulnerable countries like Uganda had said they would be willing to accept.But in the end they were forced to, knowing they could not afford to live w...