3 h. ago 'One rule for them and another for us': Ed Miliband is blasted by Brits who are being forced to object to energy plant plans near their homes AGAIN

Householders in Walsall, West Midlands say it is 'one rule for them and another for us' as a potentially explosive energy system is set to come to green belt near them.

Economics

10 h. ago ‘Too many people lost work’: doubts in South Africa’s coal belt over ‘just energy transition’

The country wants to cut greenhouse gas emissions without destroying livelihoods, but progress is slow – and the residents of a small town are in the crosshairsCooling towers and smokestacks still loom over the single-storey houses of Komati, but the winter sky is clear: smoke hasn’t billowed from the vast concrete chimneys of the South African town’s power station since it stopped burning coal in 2022, 61 years after its inauguration.While the state power company Eskom didn’t fire any permanent employees, the end of coal generation and earlier job losses in nearby mines have fuelled doubts in the small town and wider coal belt that there are any benefits to South Africa’s “just energy transition” to renewable power. Continue reading...

Politics

10 h. ago ‘We are just sitting here’: South African coal belt town split over green transition

The country wants to cut greenhouse gas emissions without destroying livelihoods, but progress is slow – and the residents of a small town are in the crosshairsCooling towers and smokestacks still loom over the single-storey houses of Komati, but the winter sky is clear: smoke hasn’t billowed from the vast concrete chimneys of the South African town’s power station since it stopped burning coal in 2022, 61 years after its inauguration.While the state power company Eskom didn’t fire any permanent employees, the end of coal generation and earlier job losses in nearby mines have fuelled doubts in the small town and wider coal belt that there are any benefits to South Africa’s “just energy transition” to renewable power. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago You can oppose Israel’s policies without killing Jewish people | Jo

The majority of US Jews overwhelmingly oppose Netanyahu’s policies. But subtleties get lost and truly unleashed people reactIt happened again. The third time this year that Jewish people were attacked with murderous intent in a major US city under the guise of the assailant caring about the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza. It’s the second time that fires were set. The first happened when an attacker – a US citizen – broke into the official residence of Pennsylvania’s governor in Harrisburg, on the evening of Passover and set fire to the residence. The only thing that saved governor Josh Shapiro and his family was a quick response from security guards, leaving only some Passover Haggadahs, the text that charts Jewish hopes for freedom and liberation from one generation to the next, to burn on the tables still set from dinner.About two weeks ago, there was the murder of two innocent Jewish Israeli embassy workers who were attending an event hosted by the The American Jewish Committ...

Events

7 d. ago Electricity firm wants to build battery energy storage plant on green belt site

If approved, 13 battery containers, each more than three metres in height would be installed on land currently used for livestock grazing

Science

1 week ago Google and Home Depot drop Pride Toronto sponsorship amid Trump’s DEI war

Organizer points to president’s anti-diversity push as companies join Adidas and Clorox in withdrawing supportIn another blow to one of the largest celebrations of LGTBQ+ people in North America, Pride Toronto has unexpectedly lost two more major corporate sponsors, just weeks before the festival in a setback the festival’s organizer says is direct result of Donald Trump’s campaign to eradicate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the US.Google and Home Depot both announced their plans to abandon the festival in the form of one-line emails, said Kojo Modeste, the executive director of the Canadian event. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump’s mass federal cuts disrupt LA wildfire recovery: ‘It’s coming tumbling down’

Doge has gut staff at Fema, EPA and the army corps, who are crucial for helping survivors get back on their feetOn 13 April, Tess McGinley was working in her Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) cubicle in Los Angeles, calling people who had lost their homes in the January wildfires, when her team was told to stop what they were doing and leave the office immediately.McGinley, a 23-year-old team leader for AmeriCorps, the US agency for national service and volunteerism, was helping Fema by reviewing wildfire survivors’ cases to ensure they received housing assistance. Over the past six weeks, she and her seven teammates had reviewed more than 4,000 cases and made hundreds of calls to survivors. Now, even as the team drove home after their jobs were cut, their government phones kept ringing. “Survivors just kept calling us And we weren’t able to help,” McGinley said. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago The Guardian view on rising sea levels: adaptation has never been more urgent | Editorial

Stark warnings about threatened coastal areas should prompt fresh efforts to protect those most at riskIn his classic study of the 17th-century Dutch golden age, The Embarrassment of Riches, the art historian Simon Schama showed how the biblical story of Noah’s ark resonated in a culture where catastrophic floods were an ever-present threat. The history of the Netherlands includes multiple instances of storms breaching dikes, leading to disastrous losses of life and land. These traumatic episodes were reflected in the country’s art and literature, as well as its engineering.In countries where floods are less of a danger, memories tend to be more localised: a mark on a wall showing how high waters rose when a town’s river flooded; a seaside garden such as the one in Felixstowe, Suffolk, to commemorate the night in 1953 when 41 people lost their lives there. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Two people die attempting to cross English Channel as hundreds more migrants arrive in small boats

The pair reportedly lost consciousness on a boat carrying nearly 80 people

Events

2 w. ago Firefighter who died in Bicester blaze hailed as 'true definition of a hero'

The 38-year-old was among three people who lost their lives after a fire broke out at the ex-RAF base

Events

2 w. ago Tell us about a poem that reminds you of someone you’ve lost

We would like to hear about the poem that invokes memories of someone you loved and lost• ‘He lived inside poetry’: Toby Jones and Helena Bonham Carter perform poems in memory of lost loved onesIn the Guardian’s new video series “Poems to remember” (published in collaboration with “Celebration Day”, an initiative that honours people who have died), actors including Helena Bonham Carter, Toby Jones, Stephen Mangan have read poems in memory of people they’ve lost. Now we would like to hear from you.You can tell us about a poem that reminds you of someone you’ve lost – and why – below and we’ll include a selection in our Bookmarks newsletter. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Mexican navy ship crashes into Brooklyn Bridge leaving two people dead

Three of the ship’s masts could be seen snapping and partially collapsing after they brushed the bridge in New York CityA Mexican navy sailing ship hit the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday during a promotional tour in New York City, the top of its mast brushing the iconic span as it sailed through the East River.New York City mayor Eric Adams said two people were killed in the incident – another 19 people were injured, including two critically. There were 277 people aboard the ship – the Cuauhtémoc – when it lost power and struck the bridge, Adams said. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Opportunity to improve people’s health and happiness comes to Central Scotland

Slimming World is inviting people who’ve successfully lost weight at a local Slimming World group – either former or current members – to run their own weight loss group.

Politics

3 w. ago Governor warns Pennsylvanians will lose health care, hospitals will close under GOP cuts to Medicaid

Gov. Josh Shapiro is warning that cuts to Medicaid health care that Congress is considering would mean billions of dollars in lost federal aid to Pennsylvania, hundreds of thousands of people losing access to the program and more rural hospitals shutting their doors

Events

3 w. ago Microsoft to lay off 6,000 workers despite streak of profitable quarters

Cuts follow push to slim management ranks, despite headcount still being up year-on-year in MarchMicrosoft says it is laying off nearly 3% of its entire workforce.The tech giant didn’t disclose the total amount of lost jobs, but it will amount to about 6,000 people. Microsoft employed 228,000 full-time workers as of last June, the last time it reported its annual headcount. About 55% of those workers were in the US. Continue reading...

Economics

3 w. ago Former Premier League star Dean Windass reveals additional diagnosis after heartbreaking dementia revelation

Windass later spoke out on his diagnosis via social media, stressing that he is 'ok' but keen to ensure 'other families get the help that they want for the people they have lost'.

Politics