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...

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‘Woke Europe not facing civilisational erasure,’ says EU’s Kallas after Rubio’s Munich speech – Europe live

EU’s foreign policy chief says many countries still ‘want to join our club’EU’s Kallas appears to be slightly sceptical about the idea of appointing an EU envoy for talks on ending the Russian invasion of Ukraine.She earlier said that “what matters more than having a seat at the table is k...

15/02/2026 10:43 The Guardian

Cooper says UK and allies ‘exposed barbaric Kremlin plot’ over Navalny’s death – UK politics live

Foreign secretary interviewed on the morning shows after UK and other countries accused Kremlin over Putin critic’s deathYvette Cooper is asked in her Sky News interview whether she agrees with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s assessment that the supposed rules-based world order has collapsed....

15/02/2026 09:29 The Guardian

New Zealand officials warn more flooding could hit north island as man killed after heavy rain

Worst weather forecast to hit late on Sunday, a day after floods caused power outages, road collapses and home evacuationsNew Zealand’s weather bureau has warned more flooding could hit the country’s North Island, a day after floods caused power outages, road collapses, home evacuations and caus...

15/02/2026 06:42 The Guardian

US pressure on Greenland is ‘totally unacceptable’, says Danish PM – as it happened

Mette Frederiksen tells Munich Security Conference that Denmark is willing to work with the US, but ‘there are, of course, things that you cannot compromise on’Rubio insists that the US “do not seek to separate, but to revitalise an old friendship.”He says “we do not want allies to rationa...

14/02/2026 20:49 The Guardian

Four new astronauts arrive via SpaceX rocket at International Space Station

ISS now fully crewed after a medical issue forced the evacuation of four astronauts in JanuaryThe International Space Station (ISS) returned to full strength with Saturday’s arrival of four new astronauts to replace colleagues who bailed early because of health concerns.SpaceX delivered the US, Fr...

14/02/2026 20:43 The Guardian

Nobel laureate transferred to prison in northern Iran without warning

Concern grows over Narges Mohammadi’s health, family says, after reports of ‘life-threatening mistreatment’Iranian authorities have without prior warning transferred Nobel peace prize laureate Narges Mohammadi to a prison in the north of the country as concern grows over her health, her family...

14/02/2026 20:02 The Guardian

Ukraine wants 20-year US security guarantee to sign peace deal

Speaking in Munich, Volodymyr Zelenskyy also called for a clear date for his country to be allowed to join the EUUkraine wants security guarantees for a minimum of 20 years from the US before it can sign a peace deal with dignity, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said ahead of talks with Russia and the US schedu...

14/02/2026 18:44 The Guardian

‘Nothing says love like chemicals’: Valentine’s roses often covered in pesticides, testing finds

Bouquets imported to Europe found to be heavily contaminated, often with chemicals banned in EU and UKStay away from roses this Valentine’s Day, environmental campaigners have warned after testing revealed them to be heavily contaminated with pesticides.Laboratory testing on bouquets in the Nether...

14/02/2026 15:00 The Guardian

Russia killed Alexei Navalny with frog toxin, UK and four European allies say

Intelligence agencies say deadly toxin in skin of Ecuador dart frogs found in Navalny’s body and highly likely resulted in his death• What is dart frog toxin, which is said to have been used to kill Alexei Navalny?Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader, was killed by dart frog poison admi...

14/02/2026 14:03 The Guardian

Rubio tells Europe US wants renewed alliance – but on Trump’s terms

Secretary of state calls the US ‘a child of Europe’ and urges continent to back a new world orderMunich security conference live: Europe must be ready to fight Russia as ‘warning signs are there’, says StarmerThe US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has described America as “a child of Euro...

14/02/2026 10:21 The Guardian

Trump sends second aircraft carrier to Middle East in effort to increase pressure on Iran

USS Gerald R Ford will take about three weeks to sail to region, amid push for Iran to curb its nuclear ambitionsDonald Trump has ordered the world’s largest aircraft carrier to sail from the Caribbean Sea to the Middle East in an effort to increase pressure on Iran amid discussions over curbing i...

13/02/2026 22:15 The Guardian

Macron swipes at Trump tariffs and Greenland threats; Zelenskyy has strong words for Russia – as it happened

This live blog is now closed.If you need a primer on what’s on the agenda for the next three days, I spoke with the MSC’s head of policy Nicole Koenig, the author of the European part of their security report published ahead of the meeting.I asked her what is most likely to be the focus of this...

13/02/2026 20:49 The Guardian

ICE plans to spend $38.3bn converting warehouses to detention centers, documents show, as DHS shutdown looms – US politics live

Centers would have capacity for tens of thousands of people to be held; talks over funding bill stall hours before shutdown The annual rate of US inflation eased in January, according to the latest data consumer price index report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Over the last 12 months,...

13/02/2026 20:47 The Guardian

ICE to spend $38bn turning warehouses into detention centers, documents show

US homeland security eyeing 24 buildings, some as ‘primary locations’ for deportations, in escalation of Trump agendaUS Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) expects to spend an estimated $38.3bn on a plan to acquire warehouses across the country and retrofit them into new immigration det...

13/02/2026 20:00 The Guardian

US ‘not powerful enough to go it alone’, Merz tells Munich conference

German chancellor rebuts idea of American unilateralism and says ‘democracies have partners and allies’The US acting alone has reached the limits of its power and may already have lost its role as global leader, Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, warned Donald Trump at the opening of the Mun...

13/02/2026 19:47 The Guardian

AOC accuses Trump of trying to usher in ‘age of authoritarianism’ at Munich conference

Congressperson says US president and Marco Rubio are tearing apart transatlantic allianceAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez has accused Donald Trump of tearing apart the transatlantic alliance with Europe and of seeking to introduce an “age of authoritarianism”, as she condemned his administration’s for...

13/02/2026 19:10 The Guardian

Original Bramley apple tree ‘at risk’ after site where it grows is put up for sale

Tree has never been granted preservation order to protect it under law and prevent it from being cut downThe future of the original Bramley apple tree, which is responsible for one of the world’s most popular cooking apples, is at risk now that the site where it grows has been put up for sale, cam...

13/02/2026 18:19 The Guardian

Bitter dispute between Trump and EU over Gaza’s future breaks out into the open

EU’s head of foreign policy claims ‘Board of Peace’ is vehicle for Trump with no accountability to Palestinians or UNA bitter dispute between Europe and the US over the future of Gaza has broken out into the open, with the EU’s head of foreign policy, Kaja Kallas, warning that Donald Trump...

13/02/2026 17:51 The Guardian

Calls mount for release of Palestinian protester held by ICE for nearly a year

Leqaa Kordia was taken into custody last March, nearly a year after being arrested at a protest at ColumbiaCalls are mounting for the release of a Palestinian woman who has been held in immigration detention for nearly a year following her arrest at a pro-Palestine protest last year, with several el...

13/02/2026 17:00 The Guardian

Trump’s immigration agenda worsening childcare crisis, lawmakers warn

Democrats questioned White House about immigration policies exacerbating childcare shortages and costsDemocratic lawmakers, led by the senators Elizabeth Warren and Tammy Duckworth and the representative Mike Quigley, are demanding answers about how Donald Trump’s immigration policies are exacerba...

13/02/2026 14:57 The Guardian

Dual nationals to be denied entry to UK from 25 February unless they have British passport

New border controls require ‘certificate of entitlement’ to attach to second nationality passport that costs £589Dual British nationals have been warned they may be denied boarding a flight, ferry or train to the UK after 25 February unless they carry a valid British passport.The warning by the...

13/02/2026 14:07 The Guardian

Arctic blast to bring snow, hail and icy conditions across UK this weekend

Met Office issues new weather warning for potential travel disruption until Sunday morningAn Arctic blast of very cold air will this weekend bring snow, sleet, hail, freezing rain and icy conditions across most of the UK, forecasters have said.The Met Office issued new yellow warnings for wintry con...

13/02/2026 13:13 The Guardian

Weather tracker: cyclones hit Australia and Madagascar and -40C cold snap in northern Europe

Western Australia and Madagascar struck by destructive winds and rain, while Finland and Norway have coldest January since 2010Tropical Cyclone Mitchell hit the coast of Western Australia last week. It initially developed as a weak tropical low over the Northern Territory in early February, then tra...

13/02/2026 11:41 The Guardian

Ex-cabinet secretary condemns Starmer’s sacking of Chris Wormald as ‘shabby’ – UK politics live

Gus O’Donnell urges Starmer to ‘get a grip’ of ‘disastrous’ advisers as PM heads to Munich Security ConferenceReform UK’s showcase council in Kent faces “extreme risk” and “instability”, opposition politicians have warned, after it passed its first budget. Ben Quinn has the story...

13/02/2026 09:35 The Guardian

Reform UK’s Kent council faces ‘extreme risk’ after passing first budget

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13/02/2026 08:19 The Guardian

Israeli journalists fear for press freedom if UK billionaire sells TV channel stake

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13/02/2026 07:00 The Guardian

‘Everything is frozen’: bitter winter drags on for Kyiv residents as Russia wipes out power

Kremlin’s repeated targeting of infrastructure has left thousands without heating, reliant on shelters and desperate home hacksNatalya Pavlovna watched her two-year-old son, Danylo, play with Lego. “We are taking a break from the cold,” she said as children made drawings inside a warm tent. Ad...

13/02/2026 05:00 The Guardian

Criminals exploit ‘stigma and embarrassment’ to sell fake erectile dysfunction drugs

UK officials have seized almost 20m fake pills since 2021, many containing incorrect doses or toxic ingredientsMen have been warned against buying illegal erectile dysfunction pills online after nearly 20m pills – enough to fill two doubledecker buses – were seized in the last five years.The “...

13/02/2026 00:01 The Guardian

Break in the grey as Aberdeen sees sunshine for the first time in 21 days

Glimpse of sun after weeks of unrelenting rain marks end of longest sunless period in area since records began Aberdeen has finally had some sunshine, for the first time in 21 days – marking the end of the longest sunless period in the area since Met Office records began in 1957. Residents of th...

12/02/2026 23:08 The Guardian

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