Thames Water bidder says it is offering £1bn extra cash injection 17. November 2025 (09:47) Castle Water says restructuring plans do not go far enough and extra funds will help resolve pollution crisisBusiness live – latest updatesA bidder for Thames Water has said it would inject £1bn more into the struggling utility company than rival proposals if it gained control.John Reynolds, the chief executive of the independent water retailer Castle Water, said the current plans under discussion with creditors to rebuild Thames Water’s finances does not go far enough and does not properly address its environmental crisis. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘Damned if we do but completely stuffed if we don’t’: heatwaves will worsen longer net zero is delayed 17. November 2025 (09:00) A new study suggests heatwaves will not revert back towards preindustrial conditions for at least 1,000 years after emissions target reachedSign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter hereHeatwaves will become hotter, longer and more frequent the later net zero emissions is reached globally, new research suggests.Scientists at the ARC Centre of Excellence for 21st Century Weather and Australia’s national science agency, the CSIRO, simulated how heatwaves would respond over the next 1,000 years, examining the differences for each five-year delay in reaching net zero between 2030 and 2060. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Brad Battin faces spill after group of Victorian Liberal MPs say they have lost confidence in his leadership 17. November 2025 (08:35) Sources say shadow treasurer Jess Wilson has received enough support to test leadership of the party a year out from state pollGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA group of Victorian Liberal MPs have told the party leader, Brad Battin, they no longer have confidence in his leadership, paving the way for a vote on whether to replace him.The intervention on Monday afternoon – delivered almost one year before the state goes to the polls – could trigger a ballot on his position as early as Tuesday morning. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Former police officer’s destruction of body-worn video and use of excessive force was serious misconduct, report finds 17. November 2025 (08:30) Four NSW officers who failed to report former constable’s confessions also found to have engaged in serious misconduct, independent commission saysGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA former NSW constable who used excessive force on six separate occasions and destroyed incriminating body-worn video evidence has been found to have engaged in serious misconduct, alongside four officers he confessed to who didn’t report him.The findings, released by the state’s independent Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (Lecc) on Monday, could lead to a criminal investigation and potential jail time for the former New South Wales police officer. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
At least 98 Palestinians have died in custody since October 2023, Israeli data shows 17. November 2025 (08:00) Exclusive: Real toll likely substantially higher as hundreds of detainees from Gaza are missing, says NGO Physicians for Human Rights - IsraelIsraeli data shows at least 98 Palestinians have died in custody since October 2023, and the real toll is likely substantially higher because hundreds of people detained in Gaza are missing, an Israel-based human rights group has said.Physicians for Human Rights – Israel (PHRI) tracked deaths from causes including physical violence, medical neglect and malnutrition for a new report, using freedom of information requests, forensic reports and interviews with lawyers, activists, relatives and witnesses. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
South African man’s visa cancelled after neo-Nazi rally outside NSW parliament 17. November 2025 (07:35) Home affairs minister says ‘if you are on a visa you are a guest’ as Matthew Gruter has visa cancelledGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA South African man who took part in a neo-Nazi group’s anti-Jewish lobby protest outside the New South Wales state parliament has had his visa cancelled and will be forced to leave Australia.The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, cancelled the visa of South African national Matthew Gruter on Monday, more than a week after the demonstration. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Rape victims in Scotland will be protected when giving evidence, says lord advocate 17. November 2025 (06:00) Supreme court ruled ‘rape shield’ laws to limit intrusive cross-examination may breach men’s right to fair trialScotland’s most senior law officer has moved to reassure victims of sexual abuse that they will be protected after a supreme court ruling warned that Scottish laws designed to limit intrusive cross-examination could be breaching men’s right to a fair trial.In a strongly worded statement, the lord advocate, Dorothy Bain KC, said: “I would like to make clear that I understand sexual abuse inflicted upon women and children to be the single greatest challenge our justice system faces. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
With neonicotinoid pesticide ban, France’s birds make a tentative recovery - study 17. November 2025 (06:00) Analysis shows small hike in populations of insect-eating species after 2018 ruling, but full recovery may take decadesInsect-eating bird populations in France appear to be making a tentative recovery after a ban on bee-harming pesticides, according to the first study to examine how wildlife is returning in Europe.Neonicotinoids are the world’s most common class of insecticides, widely used in agriculture and for flea control in pets. By 2022, four years after the European Union banned neonicotinoid use in fields, researchers observed that France’s population of insect-eating birds had increased by 2%-3%. These included blackbirds, blackcaps and chaffinches, which feed on insects as adults and as chicks. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Moderates rally around Sussan Ley as Liberal leader says she has been underestimated for much of her life 17. November 2025 (05:25) Factional powerbrokers issue statement contradicting media reports that moderates could swing behind conservative Andrew HastieGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastSenior Liberal moderates are rallying around Sussan Ley after speculation that members of the faction could withdraw support for her struggling leadership in the fallout to the decision to dump a net zero emissions target.Factional powerbrokers Anne Ruston and Maria Kovacic issued a statement on Monday disputing reports in The Australian that moderates could swing behind the West Australian conservative Andrew Hastie in a potential challenge against Ley. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Why Labour is going Danish on immigration – podcast 17. November 2025 (04:00) Danish journalist Nilas Heinskou and Syrian refugee Agob Yacoub discuss Denmark’s harsh immigration and asylum policies – reportedly the inspiration for changes to be announced by the UK government this weekThe home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, is expected to announce a radical overhaul of the UK’s asylum and immigration system, modelled in part on what Denmark has done over the past decade.Since 2019 Denmark’s centre-left government has been trying something new: its normal social democratic manifesto, alongside a series of harsh policies around immigration and asylum – even bulldozing estates deemed to contain too many residents of “non-western” origin. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
