River

Theems bij Ham aangewezen als een van 13 nieuwe zwemgebieden in Engeland waar de waterkwaliteit wordt gemonitord

• De maand behoort tot de droogste ooit, met een neerslag die volgens cijfers van het Met Office 23% lager lag dan gemiddeld • Een van de droogste aprils ooit voor centraal en zuidelijk Engeland heeft geleid tot rivierstanden die lager zijn dan normaal, wat in sommige gebieden zorgen wekt over droogte tijdens de zomer • Het nieuwste hydrologische onderzoek in het VK – dat rivier- en grondwaterstanden bijhoudt – suggereert dat centraal en zuidelijk Engeland en oost-Schotland de komende drie maanden merkwaardig lage rivierafvoeren zullen ervaren, wat zorgen baart over waterschaarste als het droge weer aanhoudt. Lees verder...

• China Daily benadrukt dat het Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), 's werelds grootste vrijhandelsakkoord, steeds belangrijker wordt voor het verankeren van groei in Azië te midden van wereldwijde onzekerheden. • RCEP beslaat 30% van het wereldwijde BBP en de wereldbevolking en faciliteert een diepere integratie van toeleveringsketens en tariefverlagingen tussen 15 lidstaten, waaronder China, Japan, Zuid-Korea, de ASEAN-landen en Australië. • De uitbreiding van de handelsregels binnen het pact ondersteunt de veerkracht tegen handelsoorlogen en economische vertragingen, waardoor de intra-Aziatische handel in keysectoren naar schatting met 10-15% stijgt.

• Autofabrikant had ‘talrijke verklaringen afgelegd om bestuurders gerust te stellen dat dit niet zou gebeuren’, aldus de procureur-generaal van Californië

Delivery truck driver emerged with minor injuries after underside of jet hit tractor trailer in New Jersey on SundayThe driver of a delivery truck emerged with only minor injuries after his tractor trailer was struck by a passenger jet landing in New Jersey’s busy Newark airport on Sunday afternoon, officials said.New Jersey state police said a landing tire and the underside of a United Airlines plane arriving from Venice, Italy, hit the truck in question. The Boeing 767 aircraft also clipped a light pole, which in turn struck a Jeep. Continue reading...

Proposal includes cutbacks for three years as negotiations over future of shrinking reservoirs have been unsuccessfulThe states of California, Arizona and Nevada have proposed voluntary water-saving measures for the next three years aimed at buying time while negotiations remain deadlocked over the future of shrinking reservoirs filled by the Colorado River.The Colorado River provides water to some 40 million people in the American west. But the two massive reservoirs filled by the river, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, both stand at historically low levels, after consistent overdrawing coupled with reduced snowpack and warming from climate change. Continue reading...

Vehicle was travelling through Juvisy-sur-Orge when it veered off the road and fell in the riverFour people have been rescued from the Seine near Paris after a bus driven by a trainee driver collided with a parked vehicle before plunging into the river.The bus was travelling through the town of Juvisy-sur-Orge south-east of the French capital when it veered off the road and fell into the Seine, prosecutors said. Continue reading...

Lawyers for Avara Foods and Freemans of Newent say legal claim backed by 1,300 people is ‘entirely inferential’Lawyers for one of the country’s biggest producers of industrially farmed chicken have attacked a claim that they are responsible for pollution in the River Wye and River Usk.More than 1,300 people have signed up to sue Avara Foods, its subsidiary Freemans of Newent and the local sewage company Welsh Water for extensive and widespread pollution in the rivers and their catchment areas. Continue reading...

Secondhand car buyers urged to carefully inspect vehicles, while owners told to beware tests that are suspiciously quickRise of the ‘ghost owner’: 18,000 UK vehicles in use without proper recordsYou have just bought a secondhand car. It was older than you wanted, but were reassured because it had recently passed its MOT.Within a few days, you notice a problem with the steering and take it into a garage to be checked. As well as that issue, they find the tread depth of the tyres is so low it should not have passed the test. Continue reading...

Students aged 12 to 15 steered bus to safety and called for help after driver lost consciousness from asthma attackMiddle school students in Mississippi acted quickly to halt their school bus from crashing after their driver passed out while on a highway, prompting the operator to declare: “They saved my life.”The bus in question had just left the Hancock middle school in the Mississippi community of Kiln on Wednesday when the driver, Leah Taylor, suffered an asthma attack and lost consciousness. Continue reading...

As domestic sales slow manufacturers are investing in AI and seeking growth in technology and in overseas marketsAt the world’s biggest car fair, which opened in Beijing on Friday, there were hundreds of manufacturers, more than 1,000 vehicles, hundreds of thousands of enthusiasts – and hardly anyone behind a wheel.China’s car companies have cornered the domestic electric vehicle market, and are increasingly visible on the global stage. Now they’re turning their attention to what they are betting is the future of mobility: autonomous driving. Continue reading...

Family found creature under a bridge and are documenting its recovery in a fish tank on TikTokAn injured axolotl is on the road to recovery after being rescued from a river in Wales. “Dippy” was found under Dipping Bridge on the River Ogmore near Bridgend, south Wales, by a family who had stopped for a break while travelling on holiday last week.Evie Hill, 10, told the BBC she lifted up a discarded mat in the shallows of the river, and nestled in the rocks was a 9in (22cm) axolotl, an aquatic salamander native to Mexico. It was pale in colour, with speckles, and had injuries to its tail and stomach believed to have been caused by a predator. Continue reading...

NSW and Queensland governments ‘severely underdelivered’ on promised infrastructure to improve water flows, independent review findsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastTwo state governments have drastically underdelivered more than $160m in infrastructure measures to improve river health in the northern Murray-Darling basin eight years since they were promised, a major independent review has found.This includes failure by the New South Wales government to secure any of the private land access needed to improve water flows over floodplains in the state’s Gwydir region where scientists had to scramble to rescue turtles in dried up wetlands last week. Continue reading...

Drivers booted off the platform say they have little recourse to appeal as rideshare giant increasingly relies on automated systemsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastMichael Thorn thought he’d suffered enough after his Uber passenger punched him in the head, sending him to hospital. But then the ride-share platform deactivated his account.“It’s even worse than getting belted,” Thorn said. Continue reading...

• Egypt's Ministry of Water Resources announced Friday that the Nile River has reached its lowest water level in five decades, threatening agricultural production for 105 million people and jeopardizing regional hydroelectric power generation. • The drought, attributed to prolonged upstream precipitation failures and upstream dam construction by Ethiopia, could reduce Egypt's wheat harvest by 18% this season, prompting emergency grain imports. • Egypt's government appealed to the UN and international donors for humanitarian assistance, warning of potential food security crisis and mass displacement in rural farming communities by summer.

Two men died at the scene after head-on motorway collision near Kincross, police sayTwo drivers have died in a motorway crash in Scotland involving a car apparently travelling in the wrong direction on the carriageway, police have said.The two men died at the scene of the collision on the M90 near Kinross, a town in Perth and Kinross, at 10.30pm on Friday. Continue reading...

UK motoring group fined £4.2m for not showing full price of lessons at time of bookingThe AA has been fined £4.2m and ordered to make payments to more than 80,000 learner drivers for not showing the full price of lessons at the time of booking, an illegal practice known as “drip pricing”.The UK competition watchdog, which launched an investigation into the practices employed by the AA Driving School and BSM Driving School last year, said that the AA-owned businesses must repay more than £760,000 as a result. Continue reading...

Follow the day’s news liveAlbanese didn’t return with shiploads of diesel. That doesn’t mean his Singapore visit wasn’t a successGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Australian government is launching a new advertising campaign to encourage the public to minimise their use of fuel amid the global crisis caused by the US-Israel war on Iran.The TV, digital and billboard campaign, which will begin rolling out on Monday, is called “Every little bit helps” and is part of the second level of the government’s four-tier fuel security plan.…lays the groundwork for Australians to understand what to do now as fuel supplies hold up. It also signals that instructions will be communicated if and when we move to future levels.This campaign will help communicate the Government’s plan to the public and outline what actions they can take to help.The global fuel shortage is affecting us all and every little bit helps. From running errands in fewer trips to only filling up with the fuel you need, this will help us keep essential services moving. Continue reading...

Alleged drunk driver in custody after 11 people transported by ground and two by air during Lao New Year paradeMore than 20 people were injured on Saturday after an alleged drunk driver plowed into pedestrians at a Louisiana parade celebrating the Lao New Year, according to KADN-TV (Fox 15).The driver, who has not been publicly identified, is in custody, according to a statement from the Iberia parish sheriff’s office. Some of the injuries are believed to be serious, authorities said. Continue reading...

Shop around, coast downhill, band together – drivers tell of how they’re dealing with the costliest gas in the USJack Nooney has pretty much made peace with the traffic since moving to Los Angeles five years ago, but recent soaring gas prices have certainly added another layer of insult to his daily commute. The musician and full-time grocery deli employee drives from his San Fernando Valley apartment to Santa Monica daily. While it’s just nine miles each way, with LA traffic that often equates to a whole gas-burning hour.Nooney, who makes $20/hour, says it’s become glaringly clear that fuel costs will eat up more of his already tight budget. Angelenos are now paying on average nearly $5.90 a gallon – and some stations are charging a shocking $8 a gallon. The outsized prices are directly related to the Iran war, which has created the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market, according to the International Energy Agency. Continue reading...

Bank holiday traffic predicted to peak on Thursday, as petrol and diesel prices surge from fallout of Iran warBusiness live – latest updatesDrivers are being urged to hunt for the cheapest petrol and “to fill up as usual” as UK travellers prepare to make 21.7m journeys on what is expected to be the busiest Easter on the roads in four years.The average price of a litre of unleaded petrol rose by 20p from 132.83p on 1 March to 152.83p by the end of the month, raising concerns about the cost of filling up for Easter journeys, as rising oil prices triggered by the US-Israel war with Iran translated to higher prices at the pumps. Continue reading...

Homes evacuated in Lurgan as police carry out controlled explosion on device, which man was forced to carry in ‘terrifying ordeal’Gunmen hijacked a car, placed a device inside and forced the occupant to drive the vehicle to a police station in Northern Ireland on Monday, prompting a security alert and the evacuation of about 100 homes.Some streets in Lurgan, County Armagh, remained shut on Tuesday morning as police investigated the scene. Continue reading...

Campaigners criticise frequent use of storm overflows when parts of the country were in drought for monthsRaw sewage was discharged into rivers and seas almost 300,000 times last year after the driest spring for more than 100 years and the sunniest and warmest year on record in England.Water companies released raw sewage into rivers and seas from storm overflows – designed to be used in extreme wet weather conditions – 291,492 times. This was a 35% reduction on record spills in 2024. Average discharges were 20.5 spills for each overflow, compared with 31.8 in the previous year. Continue reading...

Man wielding knife also tried to slash tires and taken into custody, with two transit officers and police officer injuredSix people were brought to the hospital after a man wielding a butcher knife threatened to stab a bus driver, tried to slash tires at a Boston transit station Friday before being taken into custody, authorities said.Among those injured were two transit officers, a Boston police officer and the suspect in the case, said Richard Sullivan, superintendent of police for the Massachusetts Bay transportation authority. Sullivan, who briefed reporters at a news conference, said he wasn’t aware of the other two reported as injured by Boston’s emergency medical services agency. Continue reading...

Britons are likely to have little loyalty to the car park operator as it goes into administration with a £305m debt burdenNearly a century old and once host to London fashion week, the NCP car park in Brewer Street in London’s Soho is facing an uncertain future. Its former glories – which at one time included separate rooms for chauffeurs and changing rooms for theatregoers – have long given way to complaints about a lack of security and high parking charges, but this week things got worse.National Car Parks, one of the UK’s biggest car park operators, which dates back to 1931, filed for administration at the high court in London after struggling to pay its rents and buckling under a £305m mountain of debt. This means the future of 340 car parks across the UK, in town and city centres, at hospitals and airports, is uncertain along with the fate of 682 people who work for the Japanese-owned business. Continue reading...

• A UC Riverside-led study analyzing thousands of samples from unrelated studies found that no places in the ocean remain completely untouched by human chemical impacts. • Researchers combined consistent, high-resolution mass spectrometry methods across multiple laboratories with computational tools to create a unified dataset revealing the extent of human chemical alterations to marine environments. • The study reveals significant data gaps, with heavy concentration in North America and Europe while the Southern Hemisphere and regions like Southeast Asia, India, and Australia remain largely understudied, limiting full understanding of global ocean impacts.

Exclusive: Racial discrimination alleged after police withdrew indecent act charge a year after officer was recorded talking about ‘fucking Indians’WARNING: this article contains offensive languageQueensland police investigated a Punjabi man for a year – over charges that were eventually withdrawn – despite knowing one of the arresting officers had been caught on camera describing Indians as a “bunch of fucking perverts”.The rideshare driver named Singh, who asked that his first name not be used because of the distress caused by the case, has now launched legal action against the force due to the alleged racial discrimination he suffered during the investigation that led to him being charged with committing an indecent act, according to his statement of claim. Continue reading...

Carmaker’s decision to drop NissanConnect EV app on relatively recent cars fuels warnings from expertsOwners of some Nissan Leaf electric vehicles are angry after the carmaker announced it would shut down an app that lets them remotely control battery charging and other functions.Drivers of Leaf cars made before May 2019 and the e-NV200 van (produced until 2022) have been told that the NissanConnect EV app linked to their vehicles will “cease operation” from 30 March. This means they will lose remote services, including turning on the heating, and some map features. Continue reading...