45 h. ago Serious pollution incidents from water firms up 60% last year, watchdog says

The Environment Agency revealed poor performance from all nine water and sewerage firms in England despite expectations for incidents to decrease.

Politics

46 h. ago Serious pollution incidents by English water companies rose 60% last year

Environment Agency records 75 serious incidents among total of 2,800, with Thames Water being worst offenderSerious pollution incidents by water companies were up 60% last year compared with the year before, data has revealed.These incidents are the most environmentally damaging and indicate that the sewage spill or other pollution incident has a serious, extensive or persistent impact on the environment, people or property. They could, for example, result in mass fish deaths in rivers. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Thames Water still in ‘crisis mode’ as turnaround set to take a decade

The UK’s largest water supplier also revealed a sharp increase in pollution incidents over the past year.

Events

1 week ago Is Trump tariff deal really a win for Vietnam – or a way of punishing China?

US exports account for third of Vietnam’s GDP and 40% tariff on so-called transshipments – products with Chinese input – means uncertainty for manufacturersAs news spread that Vietnam would become just the second nation to reach an initial tariff agreement with Washington, shares in the clothing companies and manufacturers that have a large footprint in the country rose with optimism.Just hours later though, they declined sharply, as it became clear that the devil would be in the detail, and the most striking part of the deal might in fact be aimed at Vietnam’s powerful neighbour China. Continue reading...

Economics

2 w. ago Fed chair Jerome Powell blames Trump tariffs for failure to cut US interest rates this year – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsUS dollar has worst first half in more than 50 years amid Trump tariffsSainsbury’s has recorded its strongest growth since last summer after its Argos chain recorded a big step up in sales as shoppers sought out paddling pools and fans during recent hot weather.The retail group said Argos, its catalogue shop, was able to achieve growth of 4.4% in the three months to 21 June, up from 1.9% in the previous quarter. Comparable group sales, excluding fuel, rose 4.7% on a year earlier.Companies have now expanded production slightly for the fourth month in a row, order intake has ceased to fall, and slightly longer delivery times also indicate that demand is picking up a bit.Against the backdrop of numerous uncertainties - US tariffs, the crisis in the Middle East, and Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine - this can certainly be seen as a sign of resilience. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Mum slams 'nightmare' Corfu hotel with 'no English food' and '€1.50 water charge'

Susan Edwards said her holiday was 'horrendous' from the minute she arrived at the Greek island of Corfu with her daughter and three other family members

Society