Six people were killed in the shooting, and three bodies of the suspect's family members were found at their home.

The Greek coastguard says it has rescued 18 people, all of whom were Sudanese nationals.

The billionaire tech executive finds himself mired in a personal and national security scandal.

Adoration for the US tech giant’s CEO Jensen Huang has been labelled “Jensanity”, but can his reputation survive the news of his affair?

A reliable water supply, electricity when we need it and a home protected from flooding. These are the foundations of everyday life. When the infrastructure behind them fails, households bear the consequences. As leaders gather for COP31, global progress on climate action means protecting those essential services must be central to the discussion. Investing in resilience is a national and economic security priority, and the decisions we make now will shape how well our homes, communities and essential services withstand disruption for decades to come. Recent UK government advice urges households to ‘Be Ready’ and prepare for disruptions. It is a practical reminder of how much daily life depends on infrastructure we rarely notice until it stops working. Following the UK’s hottest summer on record, and with El Niño expected to strengthen into a very strong event, the need to prepare is clear. The costs are already substantial. In the UK, we are particularly susceptible to flooding, and this year proved that we are not immune to heatwaves and drought. Flooding costs the UK an estimated £2.3 billion annually,1 while the five heatwaves between May and July 2026 were estimated to have caused more than £4.4 billion in lost productivity.2 For households, the consequences can include damage to their homes and disruption to work and daily life. Investing in resilience can reduce that disruption, protect essential services and support Britain’s long-term prosperity. Flooding costs the UK an estimated £2.3 billion annually, while the five heatwaves between May and July 2026 were estimated to have caused more than £4.4 billion in lost productivity For Lloyds Banking Group, serving households and businesses across Britain, this connects the infrastructure we help finance with the services our customers rely on. Progress will depend on filling the £11 billion annual gap in UK adaptation investment identified by the UK Climate Change Committee, with the government, infrastructure owners and financial institutions each having a role in turning that shared interest into practical investment. The Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Programme illustrates how long-term finance can support that goal, with replacement infrastructure designed to last for over 100 years. The approximately £3 billion program is replacing six tunnel sections of an aqueduct that supplies drinking water to around 2.5 million people across Cumbria, Lancashire and Greater Manchester. A £300 million National Wealth Fund credit-enhancement facility, backed by a HM Treasury guarantee, helped reduce financing risk and attract private investment. Scottish Widows is supporting the program as a senior lender, with Lloyds providing banking services. Most importantly, households will benefit from a continued, reliable water supply for generations to come. Public support and private finance can work together to fund essential infrastructure, with clear responsibilities for delivery and benefits for the communities it serves. Investment elsewhere should start with where disruption is most likely, how businesses can prepare and what protection suits local needs. The priority is fewer interruptions to daily life and the essential services communities rely on. Insurance has an important role in making resilience investment work for households as well as businesses. Insurers’ understanding of physical climate risks can help owners, lenders and investors assess where protection is needed and the value of reducing exposure. Working with the government, the industry can explore how investment in prevention and longer-term approaches to risk can help sustain access to cover. The aim should be to reduce both the damage people experience and the financial strain that follows rather than relying on insurance alone after an event. Businesses need to adopt commercially pragmatic mindsets that answer honestly how their assets and operations are designed for climate conditions that are already disrupting how we live and operate. Those answers carry real financial consequences: insurance costs and availability, access to capital, asset valuations, financing terms, and long-term competitiveness. Preparedness is the difference between an organization’s short-term viability and long-term prosperity. Better data can help lenders, investors and insurers understand where infrastructure is exposed and assess the value of measures to protect it. Climate risk varies from place to place, so investment decisions need to reflect local conditions. The task is to make that understanding a routine part of financing, valuation and insurance decisions by directing investment toward the resilience needs of communities instead of waiting for disruption to reveal them. Businesses need to adopt commercially pragmatic mindsets that answer honestly how their assets and operations are designed for climate conditions that are already disrupting how we live and operate Finally, the public and private sectors must finance nature-based and engineered solutions together, because truly resilient infrastructure depends on both. Nature is one of our greatest assets: nature-based solutions such as wetland restoration can help protect communities from extreme weather, lower long-term costs, and generate wider economic, environmental and social value. When we look beyond individual megaprojects and take a holistic approach that includes the natural world, we can most effectively protect the critical functions of society, nature and economy alike. The UK has deep expertize in finance and insurance. The challenge is to turn that expertize into more reliable services for households and more resilient places to live and work. The government can provide clear frameworks that support long-term investment. Infrastructure owners should plan for future climate conditions. Lenders, investors and insurers should use their understanding of physical risks to inform where and how capital is deployed. COP31 is an opportunity to focus attention on that task. The priority is investment that helps keep water running, power available and homes better protected from flooding.  References 1 2 Verdant (2006), The Cost of Heat Summer 2026 Heatwave: an economic update

BRUSSELS — The European Union will send representatives from the Commission and Council to Ukraine peace talks kicking off on Tuesday in Abu Dhabi, according to two EU officials. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen confirmed in a post on X that the EU would have representatives at the talks between Ukraine, Russia and the U.S., writing that “the EU will be present alongside our partners.” In addition to the EU representatives — von der Leyen’s chief of staff Bjoern Seibert for the Commission and Anna-Maria Boura, chief foreign policy adviser to Council President António Costa — national security advisers from France, Germany and the U.K. will be present at the talks, according to a German official and two EU diplomats. It’s unclear whether the European contingent will be inside the room for the talks. The German official told POLITICO the format of negotiations would “be determined as the discussions progress.” An EU official, granted anonymity to discuss sensitive preparations, as were others spoken to for this article, said the Europeans would not be inside the room.  EU leaders have been at loggerheads over how Europe should be represented at the talks. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wrote to Costa last week criticizing the changing format of talks with Russia. Her message won support from Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski for a wider group, including representatives from EU institutions, to be involved in peace talks.

The number of signatures requires the British parliament to consider the topic for debate.

A fourth round of peace talks in 2026 takes place this week, with security guarantees high on the agenda.

Lawsuit filed last year against IBM, Atos and Leonardo after delays to delivery to troubled new systemThe EU has filed a lawsuit against IBM and two other companies involved in its troubled border-management system, an internal document has revealed.The bloc’s IT agency, EU-Lisa, filed a case last year against IBM, the French IT company Atos and Italian defence contractor Leonardo, the three members of a consortium to implement and maintain the EU’s entry/exit system, which was launched in October 2025. Continue reading...

Terrorism investigation was opened after attacker opened fire in a market squareAFP has a quick snap that Ukraine is to hold “separate” meetings with Europeans and Nato in Abu Dhabi. The Kremlin earlier insisted no other European nations would be involved. The US-mediated talks are expected to start tomorrow.Canada is expanding ⁠its ⁠Russia-related sanctions ​to target ⁠another 38 ⁠entities ​and ‌24 ‌individuals, including actors ‌involved in ballistic missile ‌technology development and cyber ​activities, Reuters reports. Continue reading...

The American and Russian leaders have both launched failed wars. Will Xi Jinping learn the right lesson?

Bavarian conservative Ilse Aigner expected to succeed Frank-Walter Steinmeier in March

From November 9 to 20, the international community is gathering in Antalya, Turkey, for the UN COP31 conference. At a time when the energy crisis linked to the war in the Middle East has forced countries to confront their dependence on fossil fuels, this new round of climate negotiations is starting off with a new goal: to push for a massive shift toward electricity.

The Venetian lagoon is home to "barene" – salt marshes made of vegetation and mud, which play an important role against the effects of climate breakdown. They absorb CO2 and can store it long term in the soil, even more efficiently than land forests. But erosion and rising sea levels are threatening these natural ramparts. Today, scientists and environmental associations are trying to save these unique ecosystems. Our Italy correspondent Natalia Mendoza reports.

Regional governor Ndeye Nguenar Mbodj says four more bodies were found this morning, raising the death toll from 35. Twenty-three victims have been identified by their families.

President Donald Trump in his first major interview since his party lost control of the House and Senate in the midterm elections said he thinks his administration was too aggressive on deportations and that he thinks he can work with Democrats in the new Congress on some kind of immigration deal.