Wednesday briefing: Why was the UK so poorly prepared for extreme flooding?

27/11/2024 06:42 The Guardian

In today’s newsletter: Our environment reporter on what went wrong following Storm Bert and whether widespread flooding might make the government to face up to the country’s leaky defences• Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning.Storm Bert brought heavy rain, gale-force winds and snow across the country last weekend, overwhelming flood defences already described as being in disrepair. Parts of south Wales and south-west England, where a month of rain pummelled sodden towns and villages, fared particularly badly.Middle East | A highly anticipated ceasefire aimed at ending the 14-month-old war between Israel and Hezbollah officially came into effect early on Wednesday morning, hours after Joe Biden hailed the “historic” agreement. The ceasefire officially began at 4am in Lebanon after the heaviest day of raids on Beirut by Israel including a series of strikes in the city centre.Health | Plans to end the deepening crisis in access to NHS dental care are failing, leaving patients unable to get treatment, according to a warning from the National Audit Office. A pledge to provide an extra 1.5m treatments in England this year is in disarray amid falls in both the number of dentists doing NHS work and people receiving help from them.Russia | Russia said it was expelling a British diplomat for alleged spying as tensions between London and Moscow rose after Ukraine starting using British weapons to strike deeper into Russia. The Kremlin has also banned cabinet ministers including Angela Rayner, Yvette Cooper and Rachel Reeves from entering the country under sanctions announced by Moscow’s foreign affairs ministry.World | Keir Starmer’s national security adviser is to travel to Washington as the UK government tries to persuade Donald Trump not to rip up the Chagos Islands agreement.Business | The owner of Vauxhall has plans to close its van factory at Luton, in a decision that will put 1,100 jobs at risk of cuts or moving location. Stellantis will shift van production to another factory at Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, blaming the UK’s economic conditions and the government’s zero-emission vehicle mandate. Continue reading...

Continua a leggere su "The Guardian"
Altre notizie da "The Guardian"
BREAKING NEWS
06/05 17:59 - ‘Climate solutions will bring down bills and restore nature’: green issues and May elections 06/05 17:56 - Middle East crisis live: Iran’s top negotiator says US aiming to force Tehran’s ‘surrender’ 06/05 17:47 - How the Fight Over Israel Is Playing Out Inside MAGA 06/05 17:32 - Trump's hopes for an Iran peace deal come with caveats 06/05 17:24 - Macron Wants U.S. and Iran to Open Strait While They Negotiate 06/05 17:09 - Trump tells Iran to accept deal or face new wave of US bombing 06/05 16:58 - Oil prices fall as Trump says strait of Hormuz ‘open to all’ if Iran accepts deal 06/05 16:35 - Pussy Riot protest at Venice Biennale forces Russian pavilion to briefly close 06/05 16:30 - Oil Prices Fall on Hope U.S.-Iran War Turmoil in the Gulf May Be Easing 06/05 16:20 - Lib Dems accuse Badenoch of being willing to ‘put Farage in No 10’ after she hints she would approve council pacts – as it happened 06/05 16:20 - News24 | Iran conflict may have motivated Trump dinner shooting suspect, US intelligence report finds 06/05 16:18 - Guido Reichstadter Comes Down From Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge After 6 Days 06/05 16:14 - 'Significant threat to local ecosystem: Israel's war on Lebanon generated 16 million tons of rubble' 06/05 16:13 - Pope Leo rejects claim he supports nuclear weapons after Trump tirade 06/05 16:11 - Oil prices drop and stock markets rise after reports of deal to end Iran war 06/05 16:01 - ‘Putin only cares about parades’: fury as Russia rains missiles on Ukraine during 24-hour truce 06/05 15:58 - CNN legend Christiane Amanpour expresses concern about Ellison take-over 06/05 15:51 - Another day, another pivot as Trump flails in an Iran trap of his own making 06/05 15:32 - India 'funds organisations behind terror activities in Pakistan': Bilawal Bhutto Zardari 06/05 15:25 - Norwegian government attacked over decision to reopen North Sea gasfields 06/05 15:08 - Global aviation shock harbinger of broader crisis – Putin envoy 06/05 15:04 - Three people evacuated from hantavirus-hit ship as Spain says vessel can dock 06/05 14:43 - From Eurovision to the Venice Biennale, culture contests are being overshadowed by politics 06/05 14:13 - Oil and gas prices fall sharply, driven by hopes of strait of Hormuz reopening – as it happened 06/05 13:47 - Araghchi in Beijing: How China could shape the direction of the US-Iran war 06/05 13:47 - Araghchi in Beijing: How China could shape the direction of the US-Iran war 06/05 13:42 - Russian drone hits kindergarten in Ukraine 06/05 13:42 - Russian drone hits kindergarten in Ukraine 06/05 12:59 - War in Ukraine: Russia attacks east and south Ukraine with over 100 drones 06/05 12:55 - What to Know About the Mideast Standoff 06/05 12:39 - What is the FDD, the pro-Israel think tank shaping Trump’s Iran policy? 06/05 12:39 - What is the FDD, the pro-Israel think tank shaping Trump’s Iran policy? 06/05 12:37 - Trump’s commerce chief Lutnick to face Epstein grilling in closed-door interview – US politics live 06/05 12:33 - Airlines among companies using fuel surcharges to cover surge in costs, UK survey shows 06/05 12:01 - Lessons from the war: A call for strategic reckoning in West Asia 06/05 12:01 - Lessons from the war: A call for strategic reckoning in West Asia 06/05 12:00 - Alaska’s 2025 mega tsunami highlights risk to cruise lines as glaciers retreat 06/05 11:59 - Robot wars - what an operation in Ukraine tells us about the battlefield of the near future 06/05 11:58 - Heyyyyy Ladies, We're Dying To Know What Is Something You Had To Learn The Hard Way That You Wish Your Sex Ed Teacher Warned You About 06/05 11:53 - Russia ignores Ukraine's unilateral ceasefire and attacks kindergarten 06/05 11:52 - Cruise passengers tell of life on board stranded ship after hantavirus outbreak 06/05 11:41 - China calls for a ‘complete’ end to war on Iran 06/05 11:41 - China calls for a ‘complete’ end to war on Iran 06/05 11:31 - "I Can't Keep Doing This": People Are Opening Up About The Everyday Things That Feel Like Recession Warning Signs 06/05 11:20 - Operation Epic Fury has ended: Is the Iran war over? 06/05 11:20 - Operation Epic Fury has ended: Is the Iran war over? 06/05 11:20 - Arms deliveries and Africa Corps training: How Russia is bolstering its presence in Madagascar 06/05 11:17 - JD Wetherspoon issues third profit warning this year as costs climb 06/05 11:13 - Sudan blames Ethiopia, UAE for recent drone attacks: What we know 06/05 11:13 - Sudan blames Ethiopia, UAE for recent drone attacks: What we know 06/05 10:49 - Venice Biennale: Boycotts and threats over participation of Russia & Israel 06/05 10:30 - This is what superpowers must learn from the US war against Iran 06/05 10:11 - Kyiv says Russia broke unilateral ceasefire with drone and missile attacks 06/05 09:50 - Putin said to be 'hiding in bunkers' as his popularity erodes 06/05 09:39 - Pro-Kremlin lawyer’s turn against Putin reveals rift in Russian power circles 06/05 09:35 - Russia launches deadly attack in Ukraine: At least 28 killed 06/05 09:33 - Venice Biennale faces outcry over Israel and Russia's participation 06/05 09:31 - People Are Sharing Everyday Habits That Seemed Totally Fine Until They "Completely Wrecked" Their Lives — And Now They're Warning Everyone 06/05 09:27 - Colombia tourist jewel plagued by violence 06/05 09:27 - Colombia tourist jewel plagued by violence 06/05 09:27 - In Romania, Living With Weapons of War Spilling Into NATO Territory 06/05 08:52 - US petrol prices 50 percent higher than before war on Iran 06/05 08:52 - US petrol prices 50 percent higher than before war on Iran 06/05 08:43 - Next to hike prices by up to 8% outside Europe due to Iran war costs 06/05 08:35 - ‘A stress test’: US-Germany rift widens as Iran war drags on 06/05 08:35 - ‘A stress test’: US-Germany rift widens as Iran war drags on 06/05 08:11 - Man arrested over alleged offensive shirt outside royal commission venue – as it happened 06/05 08:07 - 'Unconscionable to keep them on cruise ship’: WHOs Gostin warns against repeating COVID-era mistakes 06/05 07:43 - US greenlights bomb deal for Ukraine 06/05 07:25 - Iran war day 68: Trump talks about progress in talks; Rubio says war ‘over’ 06/05 07:25 - Iran war day 68: Trump talks about progress in talks; Rubio says war ‘over’ 06/05 07:04 - Airlines hike fares, cut millions of seats as Iran war drives up fuel costs 06/05 07:04 - Airlines hike fares, cut millions of seats as Iran war drives up fuel costs 06/05 06:20 - Late Night Cringes at Trump’s Chatter in Front of Children 06/05 06:00 - Apps, activists and an ‘air war’: Essex campaign is test of Reform UK’s professionalisation 06/05 05:51 - In Gaza, the simplest of weddings are barely affordable 06/05 05:51 - In Gaza, the simplest of weddings are barely affordable 06/05 05:47 - Wednesday briefing: How Trump’s attempt to reopen to strait of Hormuz brought war closer again 06/05 05:30 - Ukraine reports Russian drone, missile attacks after Kyiv-declared ceasefire begins 06/05 05:27 - Germany was never fully ‘denazified’ after WWII – Medvedev 06/05 05:11 - Horrified Wagga residents call for proper sanitation at homeless camp where baby was found dead 06/05 04:55 - China calls for end to Iran war and Hormuz to reopen during Araghchi visit 06/05 04:55 - China calls for end to Iran war and Hormuz to reopen during Araghchi visit 06/05 04:00 - Four in five Britons worried Iran war will make food more expensive, poll finds 06/05 03:35 - News24 | How child soldiers in Sudan become influencers on TikTok 06/05 03:33 - News24 | Hezbollah pays a heavy price for war with Israel, ‘pride and sovereignty’ at stake 06/05 03:20 - Primary elections: crucial showdowns set in Ohio; Indiana races yield ‘big night for Maga’ as Trump asserts control of party – as it happened 06/05 01:39 - China’s sanctions pushback marks a new phase in the oil war with Washington 06/05 01:21 - Trump and Rubio Insist Iran War Is Over, Even as Missiles Fly During Cease-Fire 06/05 01:14 - US petrol prices hit highest level in years – as it happened 06/05 00:43 - ‘Avatar’ Suit Focuses on Hot Topic in A.I. Age: A Character’s Face 06/05 00:31 - Vance Campaigns in Iowa as G.O.P. Fears Rise Ahead of Midterms 06/05 00:06 - Middle East war live: French firm says container ship was 'target of attack' in Strait of Hormuz 06/05 00:00 - Iran war live: Trump says Hormuz operation paused amid US, Tehran talks 06/05 00:00 - Iran war live: Trump says Hormuz operation paused amid US, Tehran talks 05/05 23:24 - Finding soldier Tom: Solving family mystery of WW2 Soviet prisoner of war 05/05 23:01 - Reinstate windfall tax on banks after surge in profits, TUC urges 05/05 22:39 - Rubio says US military completed offensive operations in Iran 05/05 22:27 - Deadly Russian Strikes Rip Into Ukrainian Cities 05/05 22:17 - Offensive stage of Iran war is over, US Secretary of State Rubio says