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A ‘dream team’ of scientists scaled Mount Lico and found a wealth of new species

Standing in a pit in the red soil of a mountaintop forest in northern Mozambique, Dr Simon Willcock was dirty but very excited. “Undisturbed forest is incredibly rare,” he said. “That is why we scaled a 125-metre-tall cliff with a pickaxe.” Willcock, from Bangor University in Wales, knew of no other rainforest in Africa that scientists can confidently say has not been disturbed by humans. “It’s a unique site in Africa,” he said, plunging the axe down into the chest-deep hole with a whump.

Like a villain’s fortress in an old James Bond movie, Mount Lico rises vertically from the land around it, the ancient centre of a volcano with the forest nestled in its crater. It was discovered by Dr Julian Bayliss, who examined satellite imagery looking for an undisturbed tropical rainforest. When he spotted Lico on Google Earth, he said, the forest on top “was isolated and appeared totally undisturbed”. With a smile, he added: “That makes it very exciting.”

Related: The secret rainforest hidden at the heart of an African volcano - in pictures

Ambassadors theatre, LondonThe actor-playwright finds rich drama in the interaction of war and weather in a show with a powerful contemporary resonance

“How can the weather ever be boring?” asks the hero of David Haig’s fascinating play. Admittedly the character is a meteorologist but he has a point: other countries have a climate whereas we in Britain have weather. But finally catching up with Haig’s much-travelled play, first seen in Edinburgh in 2014, I was struck by how it expands to acquire meanings beyond its immediate subject.

Haig has seized on the historical fact that there was much tension surrounding the timing of the D-day landings in Normandy in June 1944. General Eisenhower, in charge of European operations, had set a precise date of 5 June. However, James Stagg, chief meteorological adviser to the allies, arrives at the HQ at Southwick, Hampshire, and warns of severe weather conditions on the appointed day. If he is right, the invasion will be a disaster leading to massive loss of life. But he is vehemently opposed by his American counterpart, Colonel Krick, and Eisenhower is left to make the crucial decision as to whether to delay the operation.

I was even reminded of the debate about climate change where wilful denial is confronted by inescapable fact

IPCC says ‘rapid and far-reaching’ measures required to combat climate change

The world is on track to exceed 1.5C of warming unless countries rapidly implement “far-reaching” actions to reduce carbon emissions, according to a draft UN report leaked to Reuters.

The final draft report from the UN’s intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC) was due for publication in October. It is the guiding scientific document for what countries must do to combat climate change.

Related: Climate change an 'existential security risk' to Australia, Senate inquiry says

Related: Climate change 'will make rice less nutritious'

The Australian Environment Foundation has secured a former prime minister to speak. But what does it actually do?

Securing a former prime minister to speak at your organisation is no doubt a coup for many groups.

Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy recently got Kevin Rudd. Australia’s Nelson Mandela Day committee has snaffled Julia Gillard for their next annual lecture.