Last week’s heatwave across western Europe shattered national June records and set new all-time highs. The UK recorded a provisional high of 37.7C at Lingwood in Norfolk on Friday 27 June, smashing the previous June record of 35.6C, set in 1976. Such a margin is exceptionally rare: temperature records are typically broken by 0.1C or … Read more
When the body of an 11-year-old girl was found in a disused grain silo on a farm in the Gers region of south-west France last month, the news sent shockwaves across the country. Lyhanna had been missing for nearly a week. Members of the public had been out combing the area. Suspicion quickly focused on … Read more
Two real-life climate-themed movies are playing in parallel across the globe. They are about the world today, but they are also a snapshot of the future. The first is a slow-building horror story; the second, a feelgood summer hit. Both are worth watching. Horror films are suddenly box-office gold, so let’s start there. The World … Read more
The EU’s car industry has called for the UK to be fully included in new “made in Europe” rules that threaten to shut out British manufacturers from their biggest export market. The European Automobile Manufacturers Association (Acea) on Wednesday urged Brussels to give the UK, Turkey and Morocco “justified, targeted exemptions” to the rules, which … Read more
The EU has halved the amount of duty-free steel it will accept from abroad, but has agreed higher import volumes for more than a dozen trading partners, including Britain. However, some steel producers have been hit harder than others with Tata Steel UK, Britain’s biggest producer, revealing its duty-free exports have been slashed by 60%. … Read more
If Andy Burnham is lucky, he will get some time to adjust to the pace of life as prime minister before dealing with his first international crisis. It won’t be long. Donald Trump is an engine of constant turmoil. Aftershocks from his recent military adventure in the Middle East will be felt for years. None … Read more
If Giorgia Meloni thought that she could put her April spat with Donald Trump over the pope’s criticism of the US war on Iran behind her, she had not banked on the US president’s capacity to bear a grudge. Trump reignited tensions by telling an Italian TV journalist that the Italian PM had “begged” him … Read more
On first hearing, it is a position that sounds reasonable. “When our share of global emissions is less than 1%,” Rishi Sunak argued when he was the UK prime minister in 2023, “how can it be right that British citizens are now being told to sacrifice even more than others?” Sunak is not the only … Read more
What was it like? Is the question I am often asked when I return from working in Ukraine, where I have been travelling regularly since 2022. There’s an understanding implicit in the question that the answer will not – not quite – lie in the accumulation of reporting. For good reasons the reporter keeps her … Read more
Why should a surge in sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in Europe be a concern across Africa or for people who don’t consider themselves to be at risk? Because it points to a bigger problem: the ease with which drug-resistant infections are now spreading, and not just in hospitals but within the community too. The speed … Read more