14 h. ago UK must prepare buildings for 2C rise in global temperature, government told

Climate advisers warn that current plans to protect against extreme weather are inadequateBritain must prepare for global heating far in excess of the level scientists have pegged as the limit of safety, the government’s climate advisers have warned, as current plans to protect against extreme weather are inadequate.Heatwaves will occur in at least four of every five years in England by 2050, and time spent in drought will double. The number of days of peak wildfire conditions in July will nearly treble for the UK, while floods will increase in frequency throughout the year, with some peak river flows increasing by 40%. Continue reading...

Politics

16 h. ago US and China begin collecting port fees on each other’s vessels amid trade war

A return to an all-out trade war appeared imminent last week, after China announced a major expansion of its rare earths export controls

Events

22 h. ago Trump says list of ‘Democrat programs’ to be released on Friday as shutdown drags into third week – live

President says programs to be cut are ‘never going to come back’ as Congress remains at an impasse on stopgap funding bill to reopen governmentJohnson says ‘I don’t have anything to negotiate’ as US shutdown drags onChina has hit back at accusations from the US that it is trying to hurt the world economy, as the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies appeared to re-escalate, amped up by aggressive rhetoric on both sides.China’s commerce ministry said on Tuesday that the US was “threatening to intimidate” with the prospect of new tariffs on Chinese exports, “which is not the right way to get along with China”. Its spokesperson said that China would “fight to the end” in trade talks. Continue reading...

Politics

25 h. ago House speaker defends White House using research funding to pay military during government shutdown – live

Mike Johnson says Trump administration has ‘every right’ to move around ‘duly appropriated dollars from Congress to Department of Defense’China has hit back at accusations from the US that it is trying to hurt the world economy, as the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies appeared to re-escalate, amped up by aggressive rhetoric on both sides.China’s commerce ministry said on Tuesday that the US was “threatening to intimidate” with the prospect of new tariffs on Chinese exports, “which is not the right way to get along with China”. Its spokesperson said that China would “fight to the end” in trade talks. Continue reading...

Events

27 h. ago House speaker defends administration’s move to keep military paid during government shutdown – US politics live

Mike Johnson says Trump administration has ‘every right’ to move around ‘duly appropriated dollars from Congress to Department of Defense’China has hit back at accusations from the US that it is trying to hurt the world economy, as the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies appeared to re-escalate, amped up by aggressive rhetoric on both sides.China’s commerce ministry said on Tuesday that the US was “threatening to intimidate” with the prospect of new tariffs on Chinese exports, “which is not the right way to get along with China”. Its spokesperson said that China would “fight to the end” in trade talks. Continue reading...

Events

29 h. ago House speaker says shutdown ‘barreling towards one of longest on record’ as it enters day 14 – US politics live

Mike Johnson speaks on federal government shutdown as it enters 14th day with little end in sightChina has hit back at accusations from the US that it is trying to hurt the world economy, as the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies appeared to re-escalate, amped up by aggressive rhetoric on both sides.China’s commerce ministry said on Tuesday that the US was “threatening to intimidate” with the prospect of new tariffs on Chinese exports, “which is not the right way to get along with China”. Its spokesperson said that China would “fight to the end” in trade talks. Continue reading...

Events

62 h. ago China's exports to US drop in September, while rise in global shipments hits a 6

China has reported its exports to the United States fell 27% in September from the year before, even though growth in its global exports hit a six-month high

Events

62 h. ago China exports accelerate as Xi and Trump raise stakes in trade war

Latest figures likely to give Beijing confidence as it steps up negotiations with Washington

Politics

4 d. ago Don’t fall for the authoritarian hype – Reform and the hard right can be stopped in their tracks | Gordon Brown

From the US to Europe and Asia, grievances are being exploited to gain power. But moderate voices are still in tune with the majorityGordon Brown was UK prime minister from 2007 to 2010Nigel Farage portrays his Reform UK party as a unique phenomenon that has burst on to the global stage, its meteoric rise an exceptional epochal event. But this week, in every one of Europe’s major countries and from India and Thailand to the US and Argentina, hard-right, anti-immigrant, anti-globalisation parties like his are also ahead in the opinion polls.In last Saturday’s Czech elections, the rightwing, pro-Putin populist Andrej Babiš toppled prime minister Petr Fiala. National Rally, which has just brought down yet another French prime minister, is leading the polls for both the French presidency and parliament. In Germany, the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) is currently the most popular party. Hungary’s Fidesz party, Robert Fico’s pro-Russian Slovakian coalition and the Brothers of...

Culture

5 d. ago The Guardian view on an AI bubble: capitalism still hasn’t evolved to protect itself | Editorial

Warnings about inflated tech stocks suggest investors never learn and central bankers learn too lateThe message from global regulators this week was blunt: the AI boom is driving stocks to dotcom-bubble highs – and the world is finally listening. With so much cash riding on so few firms, any loss of faith could send shares tumbling and drag down the wider economy. China’s proposed export controls on rare earths add a fresh threat: not just to sentiment, but to advanced chip supply chains themselves. It’s a long way down from such dizzying heights if gravity reasserts itself.Warnings from the past abound in Charles Kindleberger’s history of financial crises, Manias, Panics and Crashes, which begins with tulip mania in 1636. What commonly happens, he wrote, is “that some event changes the economic outlook. New opportunities for profits are seized, and overdone.” Once the mistake is realised, there’s a panicked exit with a crash in the price of “whatever has been the subject of the man...

Politics

6 d. ago China tightens grip on rare earths export amid US trade tensions

Sweeping restrictions mark first expansion of Beijing’s jurisdiction over its materials used abroad

Events

6 d. ago China outlines more controls on exports of rare earths and technology

China has outlined new curbs on exports of rare earths and related technologies, extending controls over the use of the elements critical for many products

Politics

8 d. ago Theme park says it may have to euthanise 30 beluga whales unless it is allowed to export them to China

The Marineland park near Niagara Falls asked the Canadian government on Friday for emergency funding to feed and care for its whales, saying euthanasia is otherwise imminent.

Politics

8 d. ago Britain's phone theft kingpins: Gang who export HALF of UK's snatched handsets and made a fortune shipping 40,000 to China is smashed in dramatic raids  

Scotland Yard's commissioner hailed the series of raids as the 'biggest counter-phone theft operation in the world.'

Events

1 week ago Canada denies Marineland's request to export its remaining beluga whales to China

Canada’s last captive whales will remain at the Marineland zoo and amusement park for now after the federal government denied its request to ship 30 belugas to China

Politics

2 w. ago ‘A life of captivity’: Canada refuses marine park’s request to export its whales to China

Fisheries minister says rehoming Marineland’s cetaceans in China would only ‘perpetuate the treatment’ the whales have enduredCanada’s government has refused a request by the beleaguered Marineland theme park to export its remaining 30 beluga whales to China due to concerns that the whales will face further mistreatment.Marineland, an amusement park, zoo and aquarium in Niagara Falls, has one of the largest captive whale populations in the world, and has long been mired in controversy amid reports of poor conditions for the animals on display. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago FTSE 100 Live 30 September: Royal Mail strikes PayPoint deal, ASOS shares drop

A sharp slowdown in the UK economy was today confirmed in updated figures for the second quarter.

Economics

2 w. ago US lawmaker backs renegotiating global economic rules to reflect China's rise

A U.S. lawmaker visiting China has backed renegotiating global economic rules due to China's rise

Economics

3 w. ago US tariffs disrupting Chinese exports as retailers delay orders

Donald Trump's tariff hikes have been affecting manufacturing exports from China to the US, Inspecs told investors

Politics

4 w. ago Sixteen games including Hades join Xbox Game Pass in its second September drop

More games are coming to Xbox Game Pass this month, with Hades and Frostpunk 2 are joining the service in a truly heaving drop.

Sport