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Britain’s biggest biofuel plant could close over impact of UK-US trade deal
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ABF threatens to shut Vivergo site in Hull in September amid warnings bioethanol industry could collapse Business live – latest updates The owner of Britain’s biggest bioethanol plant is threatening to close the Hull site by mid-September, putting 160 jobs at risk, after it warned that concessions made in the recent US trade deal would wipe out the industry in the UK. Associated British Foods (ABF) said that it had entered formal negotiations with the government over the future of the Vivergo plant but had begun consultations with staff “to effect an orderly wind-down”, given the outcome of talks with ministers was “uncertain”. Continue reading...
UK schools and offices not equipped for impact of global heating, report warns
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Exclusive: UK Green Building Council calls for adaptation of millions of buildings and warns of flood threats to towns The UK’s schools, care homes and offices are not equipped for the effects of global heating and face lengthy heatwaves even in optimistic scenarios, according to a groundbreaking report that calls for climate resilience to be declared a national emergency. The report by the UK Green Building Council also predicts that towns including Peterborough and Fairbourne will be uninhabitable by the end of the century because of flooding. The appointment of a minister for resilience within the Cabinet Office A new legal objective to ensure all planning decisions deliver climate safety. A more ambitious future homes standard to protect against increasing climate hazards – overheating, flooding and water scarcity. A comprehensive retrofit strategy to make homes and buildings climate safe. The protection of all communities with trees, parks and ponds. Continue reading...
Shell has ‘no intention’ of making offer to buy BP after £60bn takeover rumours
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Shell doubles down on denials after media reports of early talks with rival BP to create £200bn UK oil company Business live – latest updates Shell has said it has “no intention” of making an offer for the rival fossil fuel company BP after speculation it had been planning a £60bn takeover, ruling out a formal approach for the next six months. In an official statement to markets on Thursday, the company doubled down on the previous day’s denials that it was planning a bid, after media reports that it was in early talks with its competitor to create a £200bn UK oil supermajor. Continue reading...
Meta wins AI copyright lawsuit as US judge rules against authors
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Writers accused Facebook owner of breach over using books without permission to train its AI system Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta has won the backing of a judge in a copyright lawsuit brought by a group of authors, in the second legal victory for the US artificial intelligence industry this week. The writers, who included Sarah Silverman and Ta-Nehisi Coates, had argued that the Facebook owner had breached copyright law by using their books without permission to train its AI system. Continue reading...
UK businesses plead for no more tax rises; Shell says it has ‘no intention’ of bidding for BP – business live
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Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news Britain has focused too much on trying to sign major trade deals with other countries, ministers have said, as they lay out the case for a big shift in post-Brexit trade policy. The change forms the heart of the government’s new trade strategy, which ministers are publishing today. In response to recent media speculation Shell wishes to clarify that it has not been actively considering making an offer for BP and confirms it has not made an approach to, and no talks have taken place with, BP with regards to a possible offer. This is a statement to which Rule 2.8 of the Code applies and accordingly Shell confirms it has no intention of making an offer for BP. As a result Shell will be bound by the restrictions set out in Rule 2.8 of the Code. Continue reading...
Shipping is one of the world’s dirtiest industries – could this invention finally clean up cargo fleets?
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Freighters emit more greenhouse gases than jets, but a tech startup believes a simple and effective technique can help the industry change course An industrial park alongside the River Lea in the London suburb of Chingford might not be the most obvious place for a quiet revolution to be taking place. But there, a team of entrepreneurs is tinkering with a modest looking steel container that could hold a solution to one of the world’s dirtiest industries. Inside it are thousands of cherry-sized pellets made from quicklime. At one end, a diesel generator pipes fumes through the lime, which soaks up the carbon, triggering a chemical reaction that transforms it into limestone. Continue reading...
China breaks more records with surge in solar and wind power
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Between January and May, China added 198 GW of solar and 46 GW of wind, enough to generate as much electricity as Indonesia or Turkey China’s installations of wind and solar in May are enough to generate as much electricity as Poland, as the world’s second-biggest economy breaks further records with its rapid buildup of renewable energy infrastructure. China installed 93 GW of solar capacity last month – almost 100 solar panels every second, according to an analysis by Lauri Myllyvirta, a senior fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute. Wind power installations reached 26 GW, the equivalent of about 5,300 turbines. Continue reading...
Antarctic ice has grown again – but this does not buck overall melt trend
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Study shows ice sheet gained mass from 2021 to 2023, due to extreme snowfall that was also an effect of climate crisis A new study shows that after decades of rapid decline, the Antarctic ice sheet actually gained mass from 2021 to 2023. This is a reminder that climate change does not follow a smooth path but a jagged one, with many small ups and downs within a larger trend. The research, published in the journal Science China Earth Sciences, showed that while the ice sheet lost an average of 142bn tonnes each year in the 2010s, in the 2021 to 2023 period it gained about 108bn tonnes of ice each year. Continue reading...
MPs urge Amazon and eBay to tighten controls on ebike and charger sales
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Online marketplaces this week found to be selling items that can exceed legal power or speed limits MPs are calling on Amazon and eBay to tighten controls on the sale of ebikes and chargers after it emerged the online marketplaces are selling unsafe items that can exceed legal power or speed limits. This week Amazon and eBay were selling bikes and chargers from the Chinese brand Ridstar that are identical to, or very similar to, three items that were last week identified by the UK government’s Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) as posing a serious fire risk because of substandard electrical components and charging equipment. Continue reading...
The world wants China’s rare earth elements – what is life like in the city that produces them?
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More than 80% of China’s rare earth reserves are located in Baotou, an industrial hub of 2.7 million people that abuts the Gobi desert Central Baotou, an industrial hub of 2.7 million people that abuts the Gobi desert in north China, feels just like any other second-tier Chinese city. Large shopping malls featuring western chains including Starbucks and KFC stand alongside street after street of busy local restaurants, where people sit outside and children play late into the evening, enjoying the relative relief of the cooler temperatures that arrive after dark in Inner Mongolia’s baking summer. But a short drive into the city’s suburbs reveal another typical, less hospitable, Chinese scene. Factories crowd the city’s edges, with chimneys belching white plumes of smoke. As well as steel and silicon plants, Baotou is home to China’s monopoly on rare earths, the metallic elements that are used in oil refining equipment and car batteries and that have become a major sticking point in the US-China trade war. Continue reading...
Post-Brexit Britain ‘too focused’ on major trade deals, ministers say
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New strategy to focus on ‘more agile’ modest agreements, as opposed to wide-ranging deals Britain has focused too much on trying to sign major trade deals with other countries, ministers have said, as they lay out the case for a big shift in post-Brexit trade policy. The change forms the heart of the government’s new trade strategy, which ministers will publish on Thursday. Continue reading...
The welfare cuts rebellion – Politics Weekly UK
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Keir Starmer is vowing to push ahead with plans to cut disability payments. But with more than 100 Labour MPs threatening to rebel, could he be forced into another U-turn? Kiran Stacey asks Labour’s Rebecca Long-Bailey and the Guardian’s Heather Stewart. Plus, in the age of Trump, does the UK still matter on the world stage? Labour peer and former EU chief diplomat Catherine Ashton joins Kiran to discuss the conflict in the Middle East and how much influence Britain really has. -- Get tickets to the Politics Weekly live event here: crossedwires.live/podcast/guardian-politics-weekly Continue reading...
Anthropic did not breach copyright when training AI on books without permission, court rules
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Judge says firm made ‘fair use’ of literature but storage of pirated books in central library constituted infringement A US judge has ruled that a tech company’s use of books to train its artificial intelligence system – without permission of the authors – did not breach copyright law. A federal judge in San Francisco said Anthropic made “fair use” of books by the writers Andrea Bartz, Charles Graeber and Kirk Wallace Johnson to train its Claude large language model (LLM). Continue reading...
Overfishing has caused cod to halve in body size since 1990s, study finds
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Evolutionary change driven by intensive fishing led cod to ‘shrink’ from average 40cm length in 1996 to 20cm in 2019 Overfishing has led to a collapse in the eastern Baltic cod population, but over the past three decades the size of the fish themselves has also been dramatically and mysteriously shrinking. Now scientists have uncovered genomic evidence that intensive fishing has driven rapid evolutionary changes that have contributed to these fish roughly halving in average body length since the 1990s. Continue reading...
It’s also a ‘new era’ for share prices in the defence sector
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Nato’s spending splurge has made Babcock hot – a sign fundamental change in dull income defence stocks is happening It’s a miracle. Babcock International, the defence contractor with a specialism in kitting out the UK’s nuclear submarines, has emerged from the depths. After about half a decade in which the story was mostly about cost overruns, acquisition indigestion, accounting woes, pension deficits and too much debt, Babcock is suddenly back in the FTSE 100 index and is a hot stock. The share price has more than doubled this year. Of course it’s not really a miracle because the performance is easily explained. A fix-the-basics strategy was started in 2020 under ex-Cobham boss David Lockwood and has worked. The last of the badly performing major contracts – to build first-of-a-kind Type 31 frigates for the Royal Navy – is no longer spitting out provisions. Continue reading...
The Guardian view on China, Africa and disappearing donkeys: an unexpected crisis offers a clue to perils ahead | Editorial
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The surging export of hides created domestic tensions – and shows how globalisation plays out in unexpected ways What can help to protect women’s health, boost the incomes of impoverished families and thus allow girls to avoid early marriage? What – when it disappears – can set back children’s education, damage mental wellbeing, drive conflict within communities and become a vector for racial hatred? The humble donkey has rarely been in the spotlight. Yet Chinese demand for its skin proved so destabilising that African governments agreed to a continent-wide ban on the slaughter of the animal for its hide last year. This week, officials are meeting in Ivory Coast to discuss implementation. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...
British Business Bank back in the spotlight with £10bn UK growth mandate
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Louis Taylor, CEO of state-owned lender, targets investment in eight key UK sectors as he prepares defence at Covid inquiry Louis Taylor is caught between two eras. The chief executive of the British Business Bank (BBB) has spent much of his tenure attempting to revive the state-owned lender’s image after a battering from the fraud-hit pandemic loan scheme under the last government, and will soon have to defend its actions at the Covid inquiry. But until then, he can focus on the BBB’s gleefully landed fresh £10bn mandate linked to the centrepiece industrial strategy Labour hopes will boost a flagging economy as it nears the end of its first year in power. Continue reading...
Shell in early talks to buy rival BP to create oil giant – reports
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Reported megamerger between supermajors would create British oil company worth more than £200bn Shell is in early talks with BP over a historic £60bn deal that could create one of the world’s largest oil and gas companies, according to reports. The so-called oil supermajors are reported to be in talks over a potential deal following speculation earlier this year that Shell was considering a bid for its struggling rival. Continue reading...
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez arrive in Venice for divisive wedding
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Nuptials of Amazon founder and former TV journalist to kick off on Thursday as activists continue to protest against event Tell us: are you getting married in Venice this weekend? The billionaire Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, and the former TV journalist Lauren Sánchez have arrived in Venice as they prepare to tie the knot in a lavish three-day celebration that has divided the lagoon city. Scores of celebrities and other members of the world’s super-rich will also join the pair in Italy, arriving on superyachts and private jets. Continue reading...
Meta boss praises new US army division enlisting tech execs as lieutenant colonels
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Longtime Zuckerberg lieutenant Andrew Bosworth calls donning fatigues with Palantir and OpenAI brass ‘great honor’ Meta’s chief technology officer has called it “the great honor of my life” to be enlisted in a new US army corps that defence chiefs set up to better integrate military and tech industry expertise, including senior figures from top tech firms that also include Palantir and OpenAI. Andrew Bosworth, a long-term lieutenant to Mark Zuckerberg known widely as “Boz”, is one of several senior Silicon Valley executives commissioned to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the corps, called Detachment 201, which the US army says will “fuse cutting-edge tech expertise with military innovation”. Continue reading...
A week off from PMQs can’t save Starmer from awkward questions over welfare bill | John Crace
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Ange takes the reins in Westminster, as the prime minister gets a quizzing at Nato summit There are worse days for a prime minister to be otherwise engaged at a Nato summit and miss his weekly midday clash with the leader of the opposition in the Commons. In fact, Keir Starmer will have been thrilled with the timing. OK, he may have to swallow his pride and indulge in the by now obligatory Sunbed God idolatry to which every Nato leader has now signed up. But at least he didn’t have to face the embarrassment of a 120-and-growing rebellion by his own backbenchers over the welfare bill. Weirdly, cutting benefits to people unable to wash themselves wasn’t the reason why many Labour MPs went into politics. So, for the second week running, Starmer’s duties were transferred to the more than capable hands of Angela Rayner. Though she may feel that the prime minister must now owe her a favour or three given the circumstances. Ange might have known exactly what was coming at her but that didn’t mean she had to enjoy it, even if she could allow herself one of her favourite pleasures of taking the piss out of the Tories. Although it is a bit like stealing sweets from children given the current state of the Conservative party. Continue reading...
Dating app Bumble to lay off hundreds of staff amid turnaround bid
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Company is cutting 30% of its global workforce as part of an effort to return to a ‘start-up mentality’ Dating app Bumble announced plans to lay off almost a third of its workforce as part of a bid to return to a “start-up mentality” as it fights to revive growth. The Austin, Texas-based company is cutting about 240 roles, or 30% of its global staff, amid a turnaround effort. Its stock has tumbled since the firm went public in 2021. Continue reading...
How and why is Britain obtaining access to nuclear gravity bombs?
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UK purchase of F-35A squadron means US nuclear warheads are likely to be stored on British soil once again Britain is to obtain air-launched nuclear weapons by buying a squadron of 12 F-35A fighter jets, which are capable of carrying the US B61-12 gravity bomb as well as conventional arms, Keir Starmer has announced at the Nato summit. Continue reading...
Hot asphalt, ‘corn sweat’ and floods: midwest swelters as heatwave grips the US
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Millions seek relief from a severe heat dome that’s led to lake drownings, leaking methane gas and affected farmers At a splash pad on the banks of the Great Miami River in downtown Dayton, Michelle Winston, her partner and their daughter have come to cool off from the brutal heat. “It’s our first time down here this year, but because it’s so hot, we’ll be coming back for sure,” she says as she helps her daughter clear water from her eyes. Continue reading...
Universal theme park deal secured with UK pledge to spend £500m on transport
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Attraction at site of former brickworks in Bedford could boost UK economy by £50bn and create 28,000 jobs The deal to build Universal’s new theme park in Bedford was secured with a package of support that included £500m of public investment in rail and road infrastructure, it has emerged. Comcast, the parent company of Universal, is in negotiations over the final scale of the overall government assistance package, which could be expanded beyond infrastructure investment. Continue reading...
Mirrors in space and underwater curtains: can technology buy us enough time to save the Arctic ice caps?
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A conference in Cambridge this week will explore a raft of geoengineering ideas to cool the region down – and attempt to address the fears of those who argue the risks outweigh the benefits When the glaciologist John Moore began studying the Arctic in the 1980s there was an abundance of suitable sites for him to carry out his climate research. The region’s relentless warming means many of those no longer exist. With the Arctic heating up four times faster than the global average, they have simply melted away. Forty years on, Moore’s research network, the University of the Arctic, has identified 61 potential interventions to slow, stop and reverse the effects of the changing climate in the region. These concepts are constantly being updated and some will be assessed at a conference in Cambridge this week, where scientists and engineers will meet to consider if radical, technological solutions can buy time and stem the loss of polar ice caps. Continue reading...
Chinese exports to UK rise as firms seek to avoid US tariffs
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Data shows 16.1% jump as Bank of England suggests influx of cheaper goods could bear down on inflation Chinese exports to the UK jumped in May, according to data from Beijing, raising the prospect of a flood of cut-price goods as firms look for alternative markets to avoid Donald Trump’s tariffs. Data published by the Chinese government showed a 16.1% increase in exports to the UK in May compared with the same month last year – hitting the highest level since February 2022. Continue reading...
PMQs: Rayner confirms welfare cuts vote will go ahead next week – video
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Speaking at PMQs, the deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, said the government would proceed with a vote on its welfare bill next Tuesday. The bill has been subject to a standoff between the government and more than 100 Labour backbenchers, with many MPs concerned about the impact of proposed cuts on their most vulnerable constituents UK politics live Continue reading...
Eurostar facing severe delays after huge cable theft in France
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Passengers urged to reschedule trips, with disruption close to Nato summit in the Netherlands Business live – latest updates Passengers booked on Eurostar train services have been urged to cancel or delay their trips after a huge theft of cable in France, which threatened to disrupt the Nato summit in the Netherlands. Engineers are scrambling to repair the high-speed line after 600m of cable was stolen or cut at Lille Europe station, the key interchange for trains between London and Paris and between Paris and Brussels and Amsterdam. Continue reading...
Asda owner slumps to near £600m loss as sales fall
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Group battles heavy debts and problems transferring IT systems from former parent Walmart The owner of Asda slumped to a near £600m loss last year as sales at the supermarket group fell and the cost of servicing its debt pile increased. The retail group dropped £599m into the red in the year to 31 December, before tax payments, down from a £180m profit in 2023, according to accounts for Bellis Finco, the retailer’s holding company. Sales at established stores slid by 3.4%. Continue reading...
Purdue Pharma plan moves forward despite challenge from opioid victim
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Plaintiff says company’s bid to exit bankruptcy omits US government plan to seize $225m that should go to victims A New York bankruptcy judge approved a disclosure statement last week laying out Purdue Pharma’s proposed reorganization plan – despite an objection alleging the disclosure omits information about the US government’s plan to seize Purdue money that could be used to compensate prescription opioid victims under the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act instead. It’s been five years since Purdue Pharma pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy in a New Jersey federal court, including for unlawfully dispensing opioid products without a legitimate medical purpose. In a press release at the time, the Department of Justice emphasized that the convictions were part of a strategy to defeat the opioid crisis. Continue reading...
‘It’s death by a thousand cuts’: marine ecologist on the collapse of coral reefs
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David Obura believes humans have been using nature for free, and tipping points at some reefs have already passed The Kenyan marine ecologist David Obura is chair of a panel of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the world’s leading natural scientists. For many decades, his speciality has been corals, but he has warned that the next generation may not see their glory because so many reefs are now “flickering out across the world”. Continue reading...
Second study finds Uber used opaque algorithm to dramatically boost profits
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US academics say computer code systematically raised fares at expense of drivers and passengers A second major academic institution has accused Uber of using opaque computer code to dramatically increase its profits at the expense of the ride-hailing app’s drivers and passengers. Research by academics at New York’s Columbia Business School concluded that the Silicon Valley company had implemented “algorithmic price discrimination” that had raised “rider fares and cut driver pay on billions of … trips, systematically, selectively, and opaquely”. Continue reading...
Pretty, profane or pulled up? How socks became cool – and controversial
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Twenty years ago, it looked as if it was all but over for the humble accessory. Then, during the pandemic, everything changed On a bright summer’s day recently I found myself facing a quandary. Choosing a top and trousers to wear wasn’t a problem, but my whole outfit was in danger of being derailed by a mis-step: the wrong socks. Should it be a pair that matched the rest of my outfit, or with a pattern that stood out? Did a frill look fussy, or bring just the right amount of detail? Was the fact they didn’t have a four-letter word on them going to expose me as woefully out of touch? The only thing I was certain of is that they should be on show. Continue reading...
UK graduates facing worst job market since 2018 amid rise of AI, says Indeed
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Job search site says number of roles advertised for recent graduates is at lowest level in seven years Business live – latest updates University graduates in the UK are facing the toughest job market since 2018 as employers pause hiring and use AI to cut costs, figures suggest. The number of roles advertised for recent graduates is down 33% compared with last year and is at the lowest level in seven years, according to the job search site Indeed. Continue reading...
Tesla’s EU sales slump continues; China’s premier warns global trade tensions ‘intensifying’ – business live
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Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news After several turbulent sessions, the financial markets seem calm this morning, as the Israel-Iran ceasefire holds. London’s FTSE 100 share index has just opened 0.1% higher, up 10 points at 8768, despite reports that the US bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities may only have set the nuclear program by a few months. ‘’Optimism about the fragile ceasefire holding between Iran and Israel has bubbled through markets, lifting equities, but more doubts are now creeping in about the truce holding. Wall Street rose in a relief wave, pushing the S&P 500 close to record highs. Sentiment has held up in Asia and European indices largely look set for a positive start to trading. Nevertheless, a little more uncertainty is seeping in. A leaked report from US Intelligence casting doubt on the effectiveness of the US strikes in crippling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities, has led to some worries that military action could resume. “There is increasing recognition of the need to invest in defence capability and energy security, both to safeguard populations and to drive economic growth.” “Nations are increasingly focused on securing national sovereignty and industrial resilience, prioritising equipment and infrastructure modernisation, evolving technologies and the need to work in partnership with industry. These trends are likely to drive significant defence spending and increased investment in the civil nuclear sector for the foreseeable future.” Continue reading...
The world’s richest Jeff had his wedding plans interfered with by Italian busybodies! Oh no! | First Dog on the Moon
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Why do people hate vulgar displays of extreme wealth by people whose business interests are burning the planet to the ground? Sign up here to get an email whenever First Dog cartoons are published Get all your needs met at the First Dog shop if what you need is First Dog merchandise and prints Continue reading...
‘Yuck factor’: eating insects rather than meat to help the planet is failing, study finds
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People are disgusted by the idea of eating bugs despite their lighter planetary cost compared to traditional livestock Recent efforts to encourage people to eat insects are doomed to fail because of widespread public disgust at the idea, making it unlikely insects will help people switch from the environmentally ruinous habit of meat consumption, a new study has found. Farming and eating insects has been touted in recent years as a greener alternative to eating traditional meat due to the heavy environmental toll of raising livestock, which is a leading driver of deforestation, responsible for more than half of global water pollution, and may cause more than a third of all greenhouse gases that can be allowed if the world is to avoid disastrous climate change, the new research finds. Continue reading...
Government did not want to ‘harass’ Post Office victims by chasing up claims
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At least £600,000 relating to Horizon IT scandal remains unclaimed, with officials reluctant to recontact victims Post office operators yet to claim compensation of at least £600,000 relating to the Horizon IT scandal have not been chased up by officials because the government did not want to “harass” them with letters, it has emerged. In a report criticising the speed and handling of payouts after the Post Office scandal, the House of Commons public accounts committee (PAC) said the government is taking “insufficient action” identifying all the operators eligible to claim some of the £1.7bn being paid out across four compensation schemes. Continue reading...
Tory peer Liam Booth-Smith takes job at AI firm he encountered at No 10
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Rishi Sunak’s ex-chief of staff lands role at Anthropic, which has memorandum of understanding on working with government A former chief of staff to Rishi Sunak who was made a Conservative peer has taken a job as “external affairs” chief at an artificial intelligence company that he encountered while working at No 10. Liam Booth-Smith, who entered the House of Lords last year, has joined Anthropic, which recently signed a memorandum of understanding about working with the government on AI. Continue reading...
Country diary: A butterfly with a touch of the Elizabeth Taylors | Amy-Jane Beer
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Hickling Broad, Norfolk: The glamorous decoration, paparazzi tracking its every move – the swallowtail is just another reason to visit this remarkable reserve It’s happenstance that I glance up from a corner of the Pleasure Boat Inn in Hickling on a quiet Sunday evening and see the Guardian natural history writer Patrick Barkham at the bar. When he tells me that the pub is owned by Norfolk Wildlife Trust, I wonder briefly if one of us has drunk unwisely. But he is, after all, president of the trust, and when he explains that it already owned the surrounding land, that the purchase has both restored a cherished community asset and created opportunities to introduce an entirely new demographic to the wildlife of the Norfolk Broads, it starts to make sense. At Patrick’s suggestion, the following morning I take a walk through the managed mosaic of nearby Hickling Broad Nature Reserve. Where a path emerges from a small woodland, I find myself flanked by a shoulder-high bramble hedge. Mundane and maligned bramble may be, but in full bloom, intertwined with flowering honeysuckle, it looks beautiful, smells amazing and is humming with life. I let my focus drift (the same trick required for those “magic eye” images of the 1990s), and everywhere there is movement: many species of bee, assorted sawflies, dozens of different hoverflies, darting damselflies. Continue reading...
Rare heath fritillary butterflies surge in number on Exmoor after sunny spring
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More than 1,000 of one UK’s rarest butterflies seen around Holnicote Estate thanks to grazing cattle and good weather The combination of sunny spring weather and habitat improved by a herd of red Devon cattle has led to a surge in numbers of one of the UK’s rarest butterflies on moorland in the English west country. As well as increasing in established pockets on Exmoor, the heath fritillary is spreading to new areas, which experts say is highly unusual. Continue reading...
How Lisbon made itself irresistible to tourists – and became the least affordable city in Europe | Agustín Cocola-Gant
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Tourists stay in short-term rentals and foreigners buy second homes, while residents of the city rent rooms, not apartments In this series, writers discuss the causes of – and solutions to – the housing crisis in key European cities Over the past decade, Lisbon has undergone a dramatic transformation – from one of the most affordable capitals in Europe to the most unaffordable. Between 2014 and 2024, house prices in the city rose by 176%, and by more than 200% in its central historic districts. The home price to income ratio, a key indicator of housing affordability, reflects this shift with stark clarity: today, Lisbon tops Europe’s housing unaffordability rankings. This trend extends to the national level. In 2015, Portugal ranked 22nd out of 27 EU countries for housing unaffordability. Today, it ranks first. In a country where 60% of taxpayers earn less than €1,000 a month, finding a rental below that price in the Portuguese capital is only possible if you’re willing to live in 20 sq metres – or less. Continue reading...
Nairobi’s lions are almost encircled by the city. A Maasai community offers a key corridor out
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Maasai pastoralists living by the national park in Kenya’s capital are helping wildlife with a crucial migratory route through their land – at great risk to their cherished cattle Nairobi national park in Kenya is the only large wildlife conservation area to fall within a capital city. It is hemmed in on three sides by human development, and unfenced only on its southern boundary – this gap providing a crucial wildlife passageway, linking the park’s animals to other populations of wildlife and wider gene pools. The gap, however, is also home to a small Maasai community, where farmers face an agonising choice between protecting livestock and making space for the predators that prey on their cattle. Continue reading...
Rise in legal challenges over carbon credit schemes
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Scrutiny of how companies plan to meet climate commitments is growing, with many successful legal challenges Judges across the world are proving sceptical of companies’ attempts to offset their greenhouse gas emissions by buying carbon credits, a report has found. In an analysis of nearly 3,000 climate-related lawsuits filed around the world since 2015, the latest annual review of climate litigation by the London School of Economics found action against corporations in particular was “evolving”, with growing scrutiny of how companies plan to meet their stated climate commitments. Continue reading...
Adults in Great Britain now spending more time on mobiles than watching TV
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Daily average for watching all types of screen is now almost 7.5 hours, annual survey for IPA finds The amount of time adults in Great Britain spend using their mobile phones has finally overtaken that spent watching TV, according to a report that calculates the daily average for watching all types of screen is now almost 7.5 hours. For the first time a typical person aged 15 or over spends longer each day on their mobile (three hours and 21 minutes) than on watching a traditional set (three hours and 16 minutes), the annual TouchPoints survey found. Continue reading...
UK can reach net zero by 2050, climate report finds
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Climate Change Committee says current targets could be met provided country takes ‘steps forward’ to achieve them The UK can reach its net zero targets for 2050, and its interim carbon budgets for 2030 and beyond, the government’s statutory climate advisers have reported, in an unusual vote of confidence in green policy. But difficult decisions cannot be ducked, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) added in its annual progress report to parliament – including a pressing need to overhaul the way energy is taxed in order to make electricity much cheaper than gas. Continue reading...
Widespread Labour dissent over welfare bill is sign things are going very badly for Starmer
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Prime minister deployed ministers to contain rebellion after more than 100 Labour MPs signed amendment to bill When a prime minister is forced to deploy his cabinet to try to contain a rebellion, it is not a sign that things are going well. For one with a working majority of 165 MPs, it suggests that things are, in fact, going very badly. This was the scenario Keir Starmer faced on Tuesday after more than 100 Labour MPs signed an amendment to his welfare bill which could blow up his attempts to reform the disability benefits system. Continue reading...
Interest-only mortgage could make comeback as regulator revisits rules
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Financial Conduct Authority looks at whether the product it once called a ‘ticking timebomb’ can support home ownership They were once called a “ticking timebomb” but interest-only mortgages could become easier to get hold of as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) looks at ways to support home ownership. Interest-only mortgages were hugely popular but almost became extinct following the 2007-08 financial crisis, with some viewing them as one of the worst examples of irresponsible lending. Continue reading...