Most of UK’s essential food supply grown in drought-risk areas, report warns

At least one person killed and nearly 150,000 households lost electricity from North Carolina to New EnglandA strong, deadly storm known as a nor’easter battered the US’s east coast over the weekend, bringing power outages, flooding, damaging winds and hazardous ocean conditions.Trees and power lines were knocked down across the region, at least one person was killed and hundreds of thousands were left without electricity as officials cautioned that conditions could deteriorate further. Continue reading...

Airport chiefs say 2035 operations deadline unachievable as critics say new delay makes case for project ‘even more dubious’Plans for a third runway at Heathrow are once again up in the air after the prime minister refused to say whether he backs the “contested” project which is delayed by up to four years.Over the weekend it emerged that ​Heathrow no longer expects to meet the original 2035 deadline. Instead, the airport hopes to secure planning permission by 2029 and then open the runway “within a decade”, meaning it would not be operational until 2039. Continue reading...

Sinn Féin leaders join those on streets opposing decision to allow Garvaghy Road parade for first time since 1998Portadown march: latest updatesHundreds of protesters spent the day blocking the route of a hugely contentious parade in Northern Ireland after a court gave late-night clearance for the Orange Order to march on a historically significant road for the first time in nearly 30 years.The loyalist Drumcree parade along the mainly nationalist Garvaghy Road in Portadown was given the go ahead by the Parades Commission for the first time since 1998, a decision denounced as “madness” by Sinn Féin. Continue reading...

The PM oozes confidence and easy-going charm as he tells Laura Kuenssberg the hill he’ll die on is fixing social careUK politics live – latest updatesIn recent weeks there has been much speculation in some parts of the media that Andy Burnham would be calling an early general election. Speculation that existed largely in the heads of those writing the stories, as even the most favourable polls suggest that Labour would lose its huge majority and become the largest party in a coalition government. But to stop the chatter dominating his party conference, Burnham made it clear there would be no early election. His reward? Headlines in the rightwing press that he had bottled it. By not calling an election he had never planned to call. Sometimes you just can’t win.There again, you might call this a first-world problem for the prime minister. This time last year, Burnham had been hanging around the fringes of the conference as he and his allies attempted one of the most half-arsed coups in living memory. One that fizzled out almost before it had started and became the butt of many jokes among Keir Starmer’s inner circle. Andy looked to have blown himself up on the runway, leaving Keir safe for the duration of the parliament. Continue reading...

Outcome of meetings of Reserve Bank on Monday and Tuesday will affect Australian mortgage rates, household budgets and house pricesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia’s key interest rate is expected to hit its highest level since 2011, drag down house prices and add more than $100 to typical monthly mortgage repayments.The Reserve Bank board is poised to hike the cash rate from 4.35% to 4.6% on Tuesday, which would be the fourth increase in 2026 and push typical home loan interest rates to 6.5%. Continue reading...

‘People care about the songs, books and pictures that influence the critical moments in their lives,’ says the architect of the fightback in the UKGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastIf you want to state the case against copyright reform in Australia, get Kylie Minogue’s phone number.If there is one lesson to be learned from a similar battle in the UK, high-profile members of the creative industries make a difference. They get your argument on the front of newspapers, in the news bulletins and on social media. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Documents seen by Guardian Australia show that Kelvin Morton has also clashed with party HQ staff and Brisbane volunteersGet our new political email, free app or daily news podcastOne Nation’s general manager, Kelvin Morton – brought in by the party to improve its vetting processes – referred to David Farley as an “asshole” just days before Farley’s historic Farrer byelection win for the party in May.In a series of text messages seen by Guardian Australia, Morton responds to a news article published in the Sydney Morning Herald about infighting among senior party figures over Farley’s previously undeclared support for the Labor party.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s Politics, really newsletter here Continue reading...

70% vote against tightening centuries-old neutrality, which far right said was eroded by sanctions against RussiaSwiss voters have decisively rejected a proposal for a strict definition of neutrality that would have required Switzerland to curb cooperation with Nato and abandon sanctions against Russia.All cantons and about 70% of voters rejected the proposal for a strictly defined version of neutrality to be ⁠written into the Swiss constitution, final results from the Federal Statistical Office showed. The motion had been promoted by the far-right Swiss People’s party (SVP). Continue reading...

US-owned firm says average monthly users at its UK arm surged to 700,000 with sales up by a thirdLove them or hate them, Lime ebikes are an increasingly common sight on England’s roads with new figures showing annual profits more than doubling thanks to a surge in riders.Lime’s average number of monthly users jumped 31% to approaching 700,000 as it added more than 4,500 ebikes and scooters to its fleet, taking the total to almost 38,000, the company’s UK arm said in accounts filed at Companies House. Continue reading...

Firms manipulating process to avoid emission controls and scrutiny of their projects, environmental groups warnDatacenter developers are manipulating the EPA’s air pollution permitting process to avoid emission controls and scrutiny of their projects, environmental advocates allege.Companies need federal permits to emit a range of pollutants. In their permit applications, some in big tech are avoiding “major” reviews by dividing their emissions sources into separate, multiple “minor” sources that require less regulatory oversight, the advocates say. Continue reading...

Research draws upon reporting and witness testimony, while a permanent memorial is planned for LondonThe “complex and unsettling” story of what Britain knew during the Holocaust is being explored amid plans to create a new permanent national memorial.An exhibition highlighting how news of the atrocity reached Britain much earlier than is commonly understood will tour the country after being viewed privately by MPs at Portcullis House on the parliamentary estate at Westminster in September. Continue reading...