China’s CO2 emissions have been flat or falling for past 18 months, analysis finds

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World’s biggest polluter on track to hit peak emissions target early but miss goal for cutting carbon intensity

China’s carbon dioxide emissions have been flat or falling for 18 months, analysis reveals, adding evidence to the hope that the world’s biggest polluter has managed to hit its target of peak CO2 emissions well ahead of schedule.

Rapid increases in the deployment of solar and wind power generation – which grew by 46% and 11% respectively in the third quarter of this year – meant the country’s energy sector emissions remained flat, even as the demand for electricity increased.

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NHS staff who visit patients at home say St George’s flags can mean ‘no-go zones’

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Black and Asian staff left feeling ‘deliberately intimidated’, according to chief executive of one NHS trust

NHS staff who care for patients in their own homes fear some areas have become “no-go zones” for them because of the presence of St George’s flags, health leaders have said.

Black and Asian staff have been left feeling “deliberately intimidated” as a result of the flags that were put up in many parts of England during the summer, according to the chief executive of one NHS trust in England, who asked to remain anonymous.

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Councillors in England face suspensions for misconduct as part of government overhaul

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Local authorities to be given powers to suspend rule-breaking officials and to withhold allowances

Mayors and councillors in England face suspensions of up to six months for serious misconduct and repeated rule breaches as the government seeks to overhaul standards in local government.

Under plans unveiled on Tuesday, local authorities will be handed powers to suspend rule-breaking councillors and mayors, including those found guilty of bullying and assault, and to withhold their allowances.

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Data centers meet resistance over environmental concerns as AI boom spreads in Latin America

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An expert describes how communities in some of the world’s driest areas are demanding transparency as secretive governments court billions in foreign investment

This Q&A originally appeared as part of The Guardian’s TechScape newsletter. Sign up for this weekly newsletter here.

The data centers that power the artificial intelligence boom are beyond enormous. Their financials, their physical scale, and the amount of information contained within are so massive that the idea of stopping their construction can seem like opposing an avalanche in progress.

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Netanyahu and Kushner meet as Gaza ceasefire’s first phase winds down – AP News

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  1. Netanyahu and Kushner meet as Gaza ceasefire’s first phase winds down  AP News
  2. Netanyahu, Kushner discuss Gaza plan amid standoff over trapped Hamas terrorists  The Times of Israel
  3. PM Benjamin Netanyahu meets with Kushner to discuss Gaza war  The Jerusalem Post
  4. Netanyahu and Kushner Meet in Israel, Discuss Disarming Hamas and Demilitarizing Gaza  Haaretz
  5. US mediator Kushner meets Netanyahu for talks on Trump’s Gaza plan  Al Jazeera
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US declares partial suspension of sanctions on Syria after historic meeting

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Ahmed al-Sharaa and Donald Trump hold first White House summit between a US and Syrian leader since 1946

The US has announced a partial suspension of sanctions on Syria after a historic meeting in Washington DC between its new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, and Donald Trump.

Monday’s meeting was the first summit between a US and Syrian leader at the White House since 1946. The meeting is part of a remarkable turnaround in US-Syrian relations after the fall of Bashar al-Assad, who had prosecuted a deadly civil war in the country from 2011 until his forces collapsed in December 2024.

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Angry Democrats call on Schumer to resign after eight vote to end shutdown

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Some lawmakers and progressive groups blame minority leader after eight senators defect

Democrats are seething after news emerged on Sunday that eight members of their Senate caucus had collaborated with Republicans on crafting a compromise to end the longest government shutdown in US history, without winning any healthcare concessions that they had sought.

But one name is coming in for more opprobrium than any other: Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader who had led the Democrats’ weeks-long stand against reopening the government without an extension of tax credits that lower premiums for Affordable Care Act (ACA) health plans.

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UK commentator detained by ICE after Israel criticism to be released, family says

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Sami Hamdi’s visa was revoked in what appeared to be retaliation for criticism of Israel while touring the US

The family of British political commentator Sami Hamdi, who was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in late October while on a speaking tour in the US, say he is set to be released and will be able to “return home soon”.

“The government has agreed to release Sami,” the family said in a statement on Monday. “He will be able to return home soon insha’Allah.”

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Two dead after small plane on hurricane relief trip to Jamaica crashes in Florida

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Aircraft headed to island on Hurricane Melissa aid mission crashed into a pond in a neighborhood in Coral Springs

A small turboprop plane on a hurricane relief mission to Jamaica crashed into a pond in a gated residential neighborhood of the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Coral Springs, killing two people shortly after takeoff and narrowly missing homes, authorities and a local resident said.

The Coral Springs police department confirmed the deaths in a statement Monday afternoon. But police did not provide further details about the occupants of the plane and did not immediately return messages seeking more details.

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Russia’s oil empire stumbles as Lukoil halts output in Iraq under U.S. sanctions pressure – Meduza

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  1. Russia’s oil empire stumbles as Lukoil halts output in Iraq under U.S. sanctions pressure  Meduza
  2. Race to Run Lukoil Assets Heats Up With Days to Sanctions Cutoff  Bloomberg.com
  3. Russian oil firm’s multibillion-dollar assets overseas at risk as US sanctions begin to bite  CNN
  4. Trump Administration Blocks Gunvor Takeover of Russian Oil Assets - WSJ  The Wall Street Journal
  5. Lukoil operations face fallout from Trump sanctions, Gunvor drops bid  Reuters
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At least 27 inmates killed by ‘asphyxiation’ in southern Ecuador in wave of prison violence – CNN

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  1. At least 27 inmates killed by ‘asphyxiation’ in southern Ecuador in wave of prison violence  CNN
  2. Dozens of inmates found hanged in Ecuador prison  BBC
  3. At least 31 dead and 30 injured after riot breaks out in Ecuador prison  The Independent
  4. Ecuador transfers 300 high-risk inmates to new maximum-security prison  Reuters
  5. Ecuador Prison Violence Spirals as Dozens of Inmates Hanged  Bloomberg.com
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Agenda for Cop30 agreed as crucial climate talks begin – as it happened

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Ministers and high-ranking officials from nearly 200 countries have gathered in the Amazonian city of Belem, with Brazil insisting this will be ‘the Cop of implementation’

Hundreds lined up for Cop30 on opening morning, with some in Indigenous headdresses and others in trouser suits, writes Dharna Noor, fossil fuels and climate reporter for the Guardian US.

The conference is being held in a massive temporary building in Belem’s Parque da Cidade area. It was still under construction just days ago, but now seems to be ready to use.

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Saudi Arabia’s Dystopian Futuristic City Project Is Crashing and Burning – Gizmodo

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  1. Saudi Arabia’s Dystopian Futuristic City Project Is Crashing and Burning  Gizmodo
  2. Is NEOM’s ‘The Line’ Still the Future of Cities or Just a Mirage in the Desert?  parametric-architecture.com
  3. "Neom promised radical urbanism but is delivering sterile desert suburbia"  Dezeen
  4. You’ll Never Guess What Happened to Saudi Arabia’s 100-Mile Skyscraper  Futurism
  5. End of The Line? Saudi Arabia scales back plan for wildly ambitious 100-mile-long megacity in the desert  The Independent
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