‘We’re proud to be pioneers’: inside Spain’s community energy revolution 14. November 2025 (06:00) From Taradell to Galicia, cooperatives are supplying cheap, clean electricity to homes and helping tackle fuel povertyIt began in the small Catalan town of Taradell as a plan to provide local people with allotments where they could grow their own food.Four activists came together with the aim of promoting good environmental practices in local agriculture and business, as well as supplying renewable energy. The project, however, was about much more than growing vegetables. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Plan for Australia’s largest carbon capture project near Darwin criticised as creating ‘dumping ground’ 14. November 2025 (05:29) Climate advocates fear the project, proposed by Japanese oil and gas giant Inpex, would turn the area into the ‘world’s largest carbon dumping ground’Sign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter hereOil and gas giant Inpex has proposed Australia’s largest carbon capture facility in waters off the Northern Territory, which climate advocates have warned could turn Darwin into a carbon dumping ground.The Bonaparte carbon capture and storage (CCS) project proposes to pipe and store 8m to 10m tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) into an underground aquifer located about 250km offshore west of Darwin, according to documents lodged with the federal environment department. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Two hours a night: Japan PM’s sleep schedule prompts concerns about work-life balance 14. November 2025 (05:19) Takaichi caused a stir last week after she summoned aides to her office for a 3am meeting to prepare for a budget committee hearingJapan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, has said she gets by on just two to four hours sleep a night – prompting concern over her commitment to a better work-life balance among the country’s fatigued employees.Pointing to the bags beneath her eyes, Takaichi told MPs that she survives on minimal sleep – a habit she shares with her political hero Margaret Thatcher – after being asked how she would tackle Japan’s notoriously long working hours. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Russia attacks ‘every district’ of Kyiv, sparking fires across Ukrainian capital 14. November 2025 (04:12) Pictures posted on social media showed different sites in flames and residents gathering in rubble-strewn streets outside apartment buildingsRussia unleashed a massive combined attack on Kyiv early Friday, sparking fires and scattering debris across many districts of the capital, mayor Vitali Klitschko said. At least 11 people were injured as emergency crews responded to multiple strikes, he said in a statement.Five people were hospitalised, including one man in critical condition and a pregnant woman, after a series of powerful explosions sounded in the city and air defences were activated. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Florida kills man on death row in state’s 16th execution this year 14. November 2025 (02:56) Bryan Frederick Jennings, convicted over rape and murder of young girl in 1979, given three-drug lethal injectionA man found guilty in the 1979 rape and murder of a six-year-old girl was executed in Florida on Thursday.Bryan Frederick Jennings was pronounced dead at 6.20pm local time after being administered a three-drug lethal injection. Jennings was sentenced to death for the killing of Rebecca Kunash, whom he drowned in a canal, according to reports. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
US justice department joins lawsuit to block California’s new electoral map 14. November 2025 (02:44) Move escalates legal battle over a redistricting effort designed to help Democrats flip House seats in 2026The justice department on Thursday joined a lawsuit brought by California Republicans to block the state’s new congressional map, escalating a legal battle over a redistricting effort designed to give Democrats a better chance of retaking the House of Representatives next year.The lawsuit, filed in federal court in California, challenges the congressional map championed by Gavin Newsom, the state’s Democratic governor, in response to a Republican gerrymander in Texas, sought by Donald Trump. The justice department’s intervention in the case sets up a high-profile showdown between the Trump administration and Newsom, one of the president’s chief antagonists and a possible 2028 contender. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Lanlan Yang pleads not guilty to all charges over crash of $1.5m Rolls Royce SUV in Sydney’s east 14. November 2025 (01:58) Case has attracted attention from Chinese Australian community and on social media due to her lavish wealth and speculation about her backgroundFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe high-profile Sydney Chinese woman Lanlan Yang has pleaded not guilty to all charges relating to a crash in Sydney’s eastern suburbs in July that left a driver for FM radio host Kyle Sandilands with serious injuries.The 23-year-old was accused of being at the wheel of a $1.5m Rolls-Royce SUV when it collided with a Mercedes driven by George Plassaras on New South Head Road in Rose Bay on 26 July. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Multiple ACT schools shut after alert over asbestos in coloured sand products 14. November 2025 (01:44) Testing and remediation to take place in 15 schools after a consumer safety recall was issued for coloured sand used in sensory play and arts and craftsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastMore than a dozen primary and preschools in the ACT have shut their doors, and a special school in Brisbane has made a snap closure, after an asbestos warning was issued for a range of colourful children’s sand products imported from China and sold at leading Australian retailers.On Friday , the ACT’s education minister, Yvette Berry, confirmed 15 schools and seven preschools would be fully closed, up from three earlier in the morning. Six schools would be partially closed to multiple cohorts while testing and remediation took place. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Rachel Reeves to abandon plans to raise income tax rates in budget 14. November 2025 (01:19) Labour had laid the ground to break a manifesto pledge on taxes for working people but has now made a U-turnRachel Reeves is set to abandon a plan to raise income tax in her budget with the chancellor reportedly “ripping up” the main measures in the wake of turmoil in the party.A source told the Guardian that plans to break the manifesto pledge on income tax had been ditched by the prime minister, Keir Starmer, and the chancellor. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Rare bronze and iron age log boats reveal details of Cambridgeshire prehistory 14. November 2025 (01:01) Well-preserved oak and maple boats used for transport and fishing to be displayed in PeterboroughAfter lying undisturbed in mud for more than 3,000 years, three rare bronze and iron age log boats have emerged to offer fresh insights into prehistoric life.The boats were among nine discovered in a Cambridgeshire quarry 13 years ago – the largest group of prehistoric boats found in the same UK site. Most were well preserved, with one still able to float despite its long incarceration. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
