Autoworkers face uncertain future in an era of electric cars

Wales: Man plants flowers in potholes near his home This article contains affiliate links, we may receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more Sign up for FREE for car tips every driver needs to know SUBSCRIBE Invalid email We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info Several motorists on the border of Birmingham and Worcestershire have been caught out by the pothole that is longer than a car. Local residents have now hit out at Birmingham City Council for failing to deal with the issue. Related articles Fury over Sadiq Khan’s plans to expand ULEZ across London Wives voted as the most annoying car passengers - full list The pothole is located at the junction between Gannow Green Lane and Boleyn Road. The … [Read more...] about Pothole the size of a small car spotted in Birmingham – ‘Dangerous!’

More than 1,700 Ukrainian soldiers defending the Azov steel plant in Mariupol have been taken into Russian custody since May 16, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. Wounded soldiers were among them, some of whom were taken to Novoazovsk, in the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic, for treatment. Ukraine officials have offered assurances that soldiers held could return home through an exchange, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also expressed hope of saving the soldiers' lives, saying: "Ukraine needs living Ukrainian heroes." Death penalty for Azov fighters? However, Russia has not rushed to negotiate an exchange . The chairman of the State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, has even gone so far as to claim that Ukrainian prisoners of war — whom he described as "Nazi criminals" — cannot be handed over. On May 26, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation is scheduled to rule on designating the Azov Battalion a "terrorist organization," which would mean a ban in Russia. The … [Read more...] about Prisoners of war from Azov: Do the fighters face the death penalty in Russia?

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute has painted a vast and worrying picture in its latest report, entitled "Environment of Peace: Security in a New Era of Risk." The independent research institute, or SIPRI, which has received worldwide recognition for its annual tracking of international arms exports, warns of a global emergency. "A compound environmental crisis and a darkening security horizon are feeding each other in dangerous ways," SIPRI's researchers write. Felled forests , melting glaciers and polluted oceans are occurring simultaneously with an rise in the number of conflict-related deaths, arms expenditures and increasing numbers of people at risk of starvation . Pandemics pose further dangers. Somalia provides an example of such simultaneous emergencies. The East African country is dealing with a two-year drought, poverty and attacks from the terror group al-Shabab. Similar problems have arisen in Central America. Crop failures linked … [Read more...] about SIPRI: From climate to war, world entering a critical era

Former Human Rights Minister of Pakistan Shireen Mazari was arrested on Saturday, according to her daughter and a fellow former minister. Her daughter Imaan Mazari said anti-corruption police detained and manhandled Mazari near her Islamabad home. "My mother was illegally abducted," said told reporters. "If they the government think that the women are soft targets, they are mistaken," she said. Later on Saturday night, Shireen Mazari was released from police custody and the Islamabad High Court instructed the government to conduct an inquiry into her arrest. Mazari was a cabinet-level minister in the administration of ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan . Former Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, who also served under in Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, told Geo TV that Mazari was manhandled during the arrest. Local broadcasters aired footage of female police officers detaining Mazari. Pakistani police confirmed she had been arrested, but said: "news of any … [Read more...] about Pakistan: Former human rights minister arrested, triggering outcry

One thing that many people will be thinking about this Earth Day is how to be more sustainable - with many cutting down on their car usage. Half of journeys in towns and cities must be walked or cycled by 2030 as part of a £26 billion programme to cut the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions. Electric cars will not “solve all our problems”, the Government said in the first comprehensive document revealing how it plans to meet targets to reduce net carbon emissions to 78 per cent by 2035. In October 2021, the Government admitted more investment and regulation would be necessary to meet the target, but said its Net Zero strategy put the UK on the path to decarbonisation. A £2 billion “active travel” fund will invest in bike lanes and low-traffic neighbourhoods, with walking and cycling becoming the “natural first choice”, it says. A new £620 million fund will continue to provide grants for electric vehicles as well as new on-street charging stations to help those without their … [Read more...] about Net zero strategy: The key policies in the Government’s ambitious plan to be more sustainable

By Tiffanie Turnbull Published 10 May Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Related Topics Australia election 2022 When Australia - long considered a climate policy laggard - heads to the polls on 21 May, the outcome could be significant for the planet's future. Still reliant on coal for most of its electricity, it is one of the dirtiest countries per capita - making up just over 1% of global emissions, but only 0.3% of the world's population. It's a massive global supplier of fossil fuels, and once that is factored in, it accounts for 3.6% of the world's emissions . But it's also one of the nations most at risk from climate change. In recent years, Australia has suffered severe drought, historic bushfires, successive years of record-breaking floods, and six mass bleaching events on the Great Barrier Reef. And it's racing towards a future full of … [Read more...] about Australia election 2022: What will the vote mean for climate policies?

Samuel Rickitt is among the many green energy entrepreneurs trying to meet the Government’s call for a boom in green electricity generation. But as he sets out trying to set up a new 49.9MW solar park in Staffordshire, he has come up against a problem: several other new energy projects are in the works nearby, and the local substation needs to be upgraded so they can safely join the electricity grid. Mr Rickitt, director of operations at RevolutionNRG, has been told that on current plans those upgrades won’t be ready for more than five years and possibly as long as seven, an uncertain and costly outlook against which he now has to plan his project and manage other processes such as planning permission. It might even turn out that he is asked not to export all of his power all of the time, due to the system constraints. “If you are trying to run a business, these are impossible parameters, and it's not value for money for the consumer,” he said. Mr Rickitt is very far from … [Read more...] about Blow to wind power revolution as grid struggles to keep up

Switzerland is the inflation time warp envied across Europe. Surrounded by countries struggling to stop price pressures boiling over, the Alpine nation is a bastion of the benign price rises typical of the pre-Covid era. On its northern border, Olaf Scholz is coming under pressure to outline more support after German inflation hit a 40-year high of almost 8pc. To the west, the cost of living crisis was the top issue for voters in the recent French presidential elections with inflation above 5pc. And to the south, Mario Draghi’s government has outlined multibillion euro aid as prices in Italy rise by more than 6pc. In Switzerland, inflation is steep by the country’s standards and at a 13-year high, but at 2.5pc is still a fraction of its neighbours’ levels. Economists are also confident the peak is close and will be nowhere near the eurozone or UK levels as some prices, including healthcare costs, even fall. Nadia Gharbi, economist at Geneva-based Pictet, says the cost of … [Read more...] about The Alpine nation where inflation may have peaked already – and how they did it

‘Worse than Robert Maxwell”, “the unacceptable face of capitalism”, and somebody “who behaves like Napoleon” – just some of the ways that Frank Field MP has described arch-nemesis Sir Philip Green since the implosion of BHS. The BHS saga was devastating to the reputation of Green. Long-considered untouchable, he is now damaged goods, as the brilliant journalist Oliver Shah says in his new book about the once-feted “king of the high street”. Still, with an estimated £2bn in the bank and the tycoon seemingly unrepentant, few tears will be shed for Green. Much more worrying is how damaging BHS’s collapse, which led to 10,000 job losses, has been to the reputation of the wider business world. Sadly, the chain’s spectacular demise, together with the bankruptcy of Carillion, and a handful of other scandals, has reinforced the misconception that reckless corporate behaviour is widespread in Britain. The truth is it is not. These are isolated cases. For the large majority of companies, … [Read more...] about Don’t be fooled. BHS was an isolated case. Business is a force for good

Evening briefing: Today's essential headlines Nato expansion | Turkey vetoed a Nato decision on whether to accept Finland and Sweden into the military alliance. At a "classified" meeting of Nato ambassadors in Brussels, the Turkish representative stopped a vote on their applications, which were officially submitted earlier in the day, according to sources with knowledge of the discussion. Read what happens now and more on Ukraine in the Around the World section. Rape arrest | Sir Keir Starmer backs calls for Tory MP to be named Julian Assange | He should not be extradited to US, Europe tells Patel Pavement parking | Scrap it or net zero drive will fail, charity warns 'Blood rain' | Red Saharan dust cloud to mix with thunderstorms Watch | Morrison channels inner Johnson as he rugby tackles child The big story: Large mortgage warning amid inflation Homeowners have already felt the impact of inflation surging to a 40-year high on their energy … [Read more...] about Wednesday evening UK news briefing: Inflation nightmare just beginning