UK, Japan and Italy partner to create warplane

The sixth-generation fighter jet will carry the latest weapons. [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [View in your browser]( [Top of The World]( --------------------------------------------------------------- What The World is following UK, Japan and Italy partner to create sixth-generation warplane [Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak gestures during his visit to RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, England, Dec. 9, 2022.] Credit: Joe Giddens/Pool Photo via AP UK-Japan-Italy The United Kingdom, Japan and Italy are partnering together to build a [sixth-generation fighter jet](. It’s designed to surpass warplanes owned by China and Russia — though their joint statement didn’t mention the two countries by name. The combat aircraft, known as the [Tempest jet](, could even eclipse that of their mutual ally the US, which is the world’s preeminent warplane maker. The Global Combat Air Program (GCAP) hopes to develop the aircraft by 2035 and it will carry the latest weapons. Lebanon Lebanon has failed for a [ninth consecutive time]( to elect a new leader. The country has been without a president for more than a month, with legislators unable to agree on who should lead the nation amid a severe financial crisis. The impasse is also [holding up a range of initiatives](, including a program with the International Monetary Fund. The country’s state-owned television channel has even been unable to broadcast the World Cup games. Lebanon’s political system is structured on a complex sectarian power-sharing model. Canada The International Union for Conservation of Nature has announced at a UN conference in Montreal that nearly 10% of marine life is now [threatened with extinction](. That includes populations of the dugong marine mammal species, numerous species of abalone and a type of Caribbean coral. The IUCN said that the [major threats]( to the dugong include unintentional capture in fishing gear, boat collisions and loss of its seagrass food supply. --------------------------------------------------------------- From The World [WNBA star Brittney Griner prisoner swap raises questions about how hostage deals are made]( [President Joe Biden announces WNBA star Brittney Griner's release in a prisoner swap with Russia, Dec. 8, 2022.]( Credit: Patrick Semansky/AP WNBA star Brittney Griner has been freed in a [prisoner swap]( with Russian arms-dealer Viktor Bout. The World spoke with Hugh Dugan, a former State Department hostage negotiator who has worked on deals to bring back Americans from abroad, to discuss how the agreement was made. We still need 394 listeners to donate $100 to unlock our $67,000 challenge match. Can we count on you? We are so grateful to listeners like Gina from Washington, who shared why she supports The World: “I really appreciate the variety and depth of your international stories. You take me to places I have loved and to so many I will likely never be able to visit. Thank you! Or Tania, from Oregon, who said: “Thanks for sharing news and stories that I do not hear about in other media sources. I especially appreciate the reporting on climate change and arts and culture. The episode on the former Yugoslavia war crimes case was riveting. Sarah Birnbaum channeling David Attenborough made me chuckle in the car. Froggy ice crystals!” If you, like Gina and Tania, rely on The World to take you to new places and into stories you won’t hear anywhere else, please support our nonprofit newsroom by making [making your gift today](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Double take Experts say that there’s been an increase in awareness of the financial and environmental impacts of food waste. So now, restaurants, grocers, farmers and food companies are increasingly [turning to chemistry and physics]( to tackle the problem. Some examples of efforts to prolong the shelf-life of food include testing spray-on peels or chemically-enhanced sachets that can slow the ripening process in fruit or developing digital sensors that can tell how long meat is safe to consume. [Apples are washed and inspected at the BelleHarvest packing and storage facility, in Belding, Mich., Oct. 4, 2022.] Credit: Carlos Osorio/AP In case you missed it on The World --------------------------------------------------------------- Don't forget to subscribe to The World's Latest Edition podcast using your favorite podcast player: [RadioPublic](, [Apple Podcasts](, [Stitcher](, [Soundcloud](, [RSS]( [The World logo]( [The World on Facebook]( [The World's Twitter account]( [Donate]( | [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [Edit your subscription]( | [Unsubscribe]( | [View in your browser]( Top of the World is written weekday mornings by the team at [The World](. [The World]( is produced by [PRX]( and [GBH](.