49 h. ago Germany boosts Nato’s eastern flank with new Baltic brigade amid threat from Russia – Europe live

Friedrich Merz visits Lithuania to mark the official formation of Germany’s first permanent overseas military unit since the second world warPortugal wants European energy regulators’ agency ACER to lead an independent investigation into the causes of the huge power outage that brought most of Spain and Portugal to a standstill last month, its acting energy minister told Reuters.Maria da Graça Carvalho said prime minister Luís Montenegro wants an independent investigation led by the European Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators to complement the technical report being prepared by the European network of transmission system operators ENTSO-E. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Readers reply: If you were prepping, what would your top five items be?

The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical concepts. This week’s followed the Spain/Portugal outagesIf you were prepping, what should be your top five things to hoard in light of the recent power outages in Spain and Portugal? Alina Ahmad, JohannesburgSend new questions to nq@theguardian.com. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago England squad handed triple boost but Lauren James injury a concern

Georgia Stanway, Lauren Hemp and Alex Greenwood are back in the England squad for the games against Portugal and Spain

Events

1 week ago England: Tottenham star Ella Morris earns first senior Lionesses call

Lionesses take on Portugal and Spain before the focus shifts to defence of their European crown

Politics

2 w. ago Spanish island hit by power outage as thousands left in the dark

The island was not affected by the massive blackout that hit most of Spain and Portugal on April 28

Events

2 w. ago 'Cash rule' warning for UK tourists in Spain, France and Portugal amid power outage threats

Holidaymakers have been urged to ensure they are carrying physical cash

Events

2 w. ago Spain's train network grinds to a halt after vital signalling cables stolen in ‘act of sabotage'

It comes just a week after Spain and Portugal suffered an unprecedented and unexplained power blackout

Politics

3 w. ago Jet2 announces new destinations from Manchester Airport in Spain, Portugal and more

The holiday operator has added four new destinations as part of its citybreak programme

Politics

3 w. ago Power on British tourist hotspot fully restored following mass blackout

The blackout comes just days after Spain and Portugal were brought to a standstill

Politics

3 w. ago British tourist hotpot hit by mass blackout days after Spain and Portugal outage

The blackout comes just days after Spain and Portugal were brought to a standstill

Events

3 w. ago Key information issued for people going on holiday to Portugal and Spain after countries plunged into chaos

The European Union's cyber security wing ruled out that the power outage was the result of a hack

Events

3 w. ago ‘Blackouts can happen anywhere’: how power systems worldwide can collapse

After Europe’s biggest blackout in over 20 years, experts warn that while such incidents are rare, no grid is infallibleEurope’s biggest blackout in over 20 years on the Iberian peninsula unleashed hours of chaos for people in Spain, Portugal and parts of France earlier this week. But in the aftermath it has raised a common question for governments across the continent: could the same happen here?Europe’s political leaders and energy system operators have given assurances that such blackouts are extraordinarily rare, and that European power grids are some of the most stable in the world. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago RICHARD LITTLEJOHN: As Ed Miliband doubles down on his Net Zero madness  Disaster, my friend, is blowin' in the wind

Ed Miliband is ramping up his Net Zero zealotry, despite the blackout chaos that the failure of wind and solar brought to Spain and Portugal this week.

Events

3 w. ago Ruben Amorim shows true colours as he picks out Man Utd mistake in brilliant Bilbao win

Manchester United have put one foot into the Europa League final by beating Athletic Bilbao 3-0 in Spain but their Portuguese manager is cautious of being too confident ahead of the second leg

Politics

3 w. ago EVs could power homes if UK suffers major power cut – think thank

The Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit said 60% of an EV’s battery is capable of providing nearly six days of electricity for a typical UK home.

Politics

3 w. ago ‘No one knew what to do’: power cuts bring chaos, connection and revaluation of digital dependency

People share their experiences of Monday’s massive power outage across Spain, Portugal and parts of France that upended modern life“It felt like chaos,” said Iñigo, a doctor at a hospital in northern Spain.With no electricity from noon on Monday, the building’s emergency generators were kept for the critical areas, leaving staff without access to patient data, broken communications due to no telephone signal or email, and colleagues unable to carry out some of their duties, he said. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Britain’s electricity system is ‘highly resilient’, says minister

Michael Shanks said the UK was not affected by the power cuts in Spain and Portugal but the Government continues to prepare for ‘all eventualities’.

Politics

3 w. ago Solar storm warning over risk of nuclear disaster 'worse than Chernobyl'

The monster power outage in Spain and Portugal this week saw nuclear plants automatically stopped.

Events

3 w. ago Spanish PM calls on private energy firms to help find cause of massive power cut

Pedro Sánchez says changes needed to guarantee ‘supply and future competitiveness’ of electricity after blackout Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has called on private energy operators to help his government establish the cause of Monday’s unprecedented power cut across the Iberian peninsula, and said changes and improvements must be made to guarantee “the supply and future competitiveness” of the country’s electrical system.Spain and Portugal suffered a massive power loss that began just after 12.30pm on Monday and lasted into the night. At least five people are thought to have died in Spain as a result of the blackout, which left people trapped on paralysed trains and in the static lifts of apartment blocks and offices. Continue reading...

Economics

3 w. ago Minister says UK is preparing for blackouts after Spain power cuts

The UK is ‘constantly looking at our own resilience’, the environment secretary said

Politics