The EU invited Ukraine to join the club, but will it ever happen? 12. November 2025 (16:53) Zelenskyy wants admission before 2030, but with a growing far-right, anti-enlargement contingent and budgetary fears mounting, some countries are hiding behind a Hungarian veto• Don’t get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereVolodymyr Zelenskyy may be a wartime leader, but he is fighting to deliver peacetime ambitions, too: he wants Ukraine to become an EU country – soon.Ukraine’s tireless president is ramping up pressure on EU governments to accelerate the slow process of joining: he sees the collective sacrifice of his people as a struggle “for the Ukrainian future, the future of Ukraine in the European Union”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Stakes rise as Trump deploys world’s largest aircraft carrier to the Caribbean 12. November 2025 (16:38) Expert says military action may be ‘imminent’ in Venezuela, while others suspect deployment is a negotiating tacticWhen Donald Trump started sending warships, marines and reaper drones to the Caribbean in August to torment Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s president, the US’s former ambassador in Caracas, James Story, suspected the deployment was largely for show: a spectacular flexing of military muscle supposed to force the authoritarian leader from power.But in recent days, as the world’s largest aircraft carrier and its strike group powered towards the region and the US president continued to order deadly airstrikes on alleged narco-boats, the diplomat’s thinking has shifted. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Western US states fail to agree on plan to manage Colorado River before federal deadline 12. November 2025 (16:31) Stakeholders have spent months ironing out disagreements over how to distribute water from the sprawling basinState negotiators embroiled in an impasse over how to manage the imperiled Colorado River were unable to agree on a plan before a federally set deadline on Tuesday, thrusting deliberations deeper into uncertain territory.Stakeholders have spent months working to iron out contentious disagreements over how to distribute water from this sprawling basin – which supplies roughly 40 million people in seven states, 5.5m acres of farmland, dozens of tribes and parts of Mexico – as the resources grow increasingly scarce. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Italian ‘mystic’ faces fraud trial over claim Virgin Mary statue wept blood 12. November 2025 (15:58) Gisella Cardia allegedly made €365,000 in donations from pilgrims to shrine in lakeside town near RomeA self-styled mystic who drew hundreds of pilgrims to a town near Rome by claiming a statue of the Virgin Mary wept tears of blood has been sent to trial for alleged fraud.Gisella Cardia, who also claimed the statue was transmitting messages to her, will be tried along with her husband, Gianni Cardia, in April next year. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Dire warnings over aid and hunger following RSF’s capture of Sudanese city 12. November 2025 (15:37) Fears rise for displaced civilians as UN reports deteriorating situation and MSF warns of ‘staggering’ malnutritionThere are grave fears for civilians who survived the capture of El Fasher by a Sudanese paramilitary group last month, as the UN warned relief operations were on the brink of collapse and an aid group said malnutrition in displacement camps had reached “staggering” levels.The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) captured El Fasher – the capital of North Darfur state and the last urban centre outside of its grasp in the wider Darfur region – on 26 October. Survivor accounts and video and satellite evidence suggest more than 1,500 people were killed in ethnically targeted massacres in the immediate aftermath. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
New bridge in south-west China collapses into mountainside 12. November 2025 (15:31) No casualties reported after section of 758-metre structure helping to link Sichuan province to Tibet falls to piecesA newly opened bridge in south-west China collapsed on Tuesday, sending slabs of concrete and plumes of dust into the mountainside and water below. No casualties were reported.Videos of the collapse of part of Hongqi Bridge, in the mountainous Sichuan province, were shared widely on Chinese social media. Authorities had closed the 758-metre-long bridge on Monday after cracks appeared on nearby roads. A landslide on Tuesday caused part of the bridge to collapse completely. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Pakistan opens investigation into Islamabad terror attack 12. November 2025 (15:18) Pakistani ministers attribute deadly suicide attack to Indian state terrorism but India denies claimPakistan has opened an investigation into the suicide attack that killed 12 people outside district court buildings in Islamabad, after the prime minister made unsubstantiated claims that “Indian state terrorism” was behind the blast.The attack took place in the middle of the day on Tuesday as the area was thrumming with people. The bomber made several attempts to get inside the buildings before detonating a device next to a police car, killing 12 people and injuring 27. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
The Liberals’ so-called ‘founding principles’ underpinning their decision to dump net zero fail the credibility test 12. November 2025 (15:00) The party’s imminent move to abandon the 2050 climate goal makes the environment the loser and Labor the biggest winnerGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastFronting the media after a marathon party room meeting on Wednesday, shadow energy minister Dan Tehan said the Liberals’ imminent move to dump net zero policies was built on two foundational principles.The first was that Australia must have a stable and reliable energy grid with affordable power for households and business. The second required emissions to be reduced in a responsible and transparent way that “ensures Australia does its fair share”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Government using machine learning to help create draft plans for NDIS participants, documents reveal 12. November 2025 (15:00) Exclusive: NDIA defines machine learning as a subset of AI that uses algorithms to learn from data and make decisions or predictionsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastNational Disability Insurance Agency staff are using machine learning to help create draft plans for NDIS participants, documents obtained by Guardian Australia reveal.Documents related to NDIA’s use of AI released under freedom of information laws showed 300 staff participated in a six-month trial of Microsoft’s Copilot AI from January last year. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Florida air force base orders residents to take down Christmas decor 12. November 2025 (14:48) Families say the housing contractor’s strict timing rules dampen holiday spirit on the baseMilitary families living on an air force base in Florida have been ordered to dismantle their Christmas decorations under a strictly enforced regulation that tells them when and where they are allowed to celebrate.Residents of Tyndall air force base received a tersely-worded memo from their landlords, private housing contractor Balfour Beatty Communities, informing them that a de facto patrol of the installation had uncovered infractions of their lease agreements in the form of early holiday inflatables, lights and other festive adornments. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
