Our wildlife series Young Country Diary is looking for articles written by children, about their summer encounters with nature
Once again, the Young Country Diary series is open for submissions! Every three months, as the UK enters a new season, we ask you to send us an article written by a child aged 8-14.
The article needs to be about a recent encounter they’ve had with nature – whether it’s a thriving rock pool, a day fruit-picking, or a compost heap full of bugs.
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06/03/2025 - 05:17
06/03/2025 - 05:03
Keir Starmer expected to confirm result of 15-year search for investment at UK-France summit next month
Business live – latest updates
UK ministers could give the go-ahead to the new Sizewell C nuclear power plant in Suffolk within weeks, according to reports.
Keir Starmer is expected to give the final nod to begin construction of Britain’s second new nuclear power project in a generation, alongside the French nuclear developer EDF, at a Franco-British summit next month.
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06/03/2025 - 05:01
Future of troubled supplier in doubt as US private equity group says it cannot proceed with acquiring £4bn stake
Water industry in England and Wales needs ‘fundamental reset’
Business live – latest updates
The US private equity group KKR has pulled out of a deal to inject fresh equity into Thames Water, leaving the troubled supplier’s future in doubt and increasing the prospects of a temporary nationalisation.
The UK’s biggest water supplier had picked KKR as its preferred partner, but the company “indicated that it will not be in a position to proceed”, Thames Water said. MPs said Thames was now in a “perilous position”.
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06/03/2025 - 03:18
Report finds ‘deep-rooted, systemic’ failures that need stronger regulation, but critics say it is not bold enough
Thames Water bidder pulls out of rescue deal
Business live – latest updates
The “deep-rooted, systemic” problems in the water industry in England and Wales are the fault of companies, the government and industry regulators, according to a much-anticipated review, which was immediately criticised for failing to recommend bold action by sewage pollution campaigners.
An interim review into the water industry written by Sir Jon Cunliffe, a former deputy governor of the Bank of England, and commissioned by the government found there was “no simple, single change, no matter how radical, that will deliver the fundamental reset that is needed for the water sector”.
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06/03/2025 - 02:00
A new point in history has been reached, entomologists say, as climate-led species’ collapse moves up the food chain even in supposedly protected regions free of pesticides
Daniel Janzen only began watching the insects – truly watching them – when his ribcage was shattered. Nearly half a century ago, the young ecologist had been out documenting fruit crops in a dense stretch of Costa Rican forest when he fell in a ravine, landing on his back. The long lens of his camera punched up through three ribs, snapping the bones into his thorax.
Slowly, he dragged himself out, crawling nearly two miles back to the research hut. There were no immediate neighbours, no good roads, no simple solutions for getting to a hospital.
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06/02/2025 - 23:49
Climate minister says greenlighting North West Shelf project until 2070 is not the leadership Pacific countries expect as Australia seeks to host summit
Vanuatu’s climate minister has expressed disappointment over Australia’s decision to extend one of the world’s biggest liquefied natural gas projects and said it raises questions over its bid to co-host the Cop31 summit with Pacific nations.
The UN is expected to announce which country will host the major climate summit in the coming weeks, with Australia pushing for the event to be held in Adelaide as part of a “Pacific Cop”.
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06/02/2025 - 17:35
Doug Burgum says Biden order that banned drilling in 23m-acre National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska will be reversed
Millions of acres of Alaska wilderness will lose federal protections and be exposed to drilling and mining in the Trump administration’s latest move to prioritize energy production over the shielding of the US’s open spaces.
Doug Burgum, the interior secretary, said on Monday that the government would reverse an order issued by Joe Biden in December that banned drilling in the remote 23m-acre National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A), the New York Times reported.
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06/02/2025 - 09:00
Using passive design and local materials such as ice cream buckets, these modern community spaces offer a respite from urban heat and hustle
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06/02/2025 - 07:00
The Emmy award winning comic teams up with renowned scientist Michael Oppenheimer for a new video campaign
David Cross is many things: a famed comic, an Emmy award winner, and a New York Times bestseller. But he is not a climate scientist.
That fact might make him the perfect person to communicate the urgency of global heating to mass audiences.
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06/02/2025 - 07:00
The president’s funding cuts and bullying are about dividing Americans and tightening his grip on power
The author and environmentalist Wallace Stegner called our national parks “America’s best idea”.
Certainly, these jewels – 85m acres of parkland throughout all the 50 states – are beloved by the public. So are America’s public libraries, arts organizations and museums.
Margaret Sullivan is a Guardian US columnist writing on media, politics and culture
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