This Month
Make university free, but beware the professional student
Readers’ letters on the downside of fee-free uni; supermarket competition; the US election result; lessons for a future female US president; approvals for renewables; and the impact of extreme weather.
Thousands of Spaniards protest bungling of flood response
Huge numbers of angry flood survivors marched in the streets and clashed with riot police to demand the resignation of Valencia’s regional political leader.
- Paolo Santalucia and Joseph Wilson
‘Murderers’: Spain’s furious flood survivors hurl mud at king
Locals threw mud at political leaders and the Spanish king over a string of failures that left them helplessly exposed to a deadly deluge.
- David Melero and Jospeph Wilson
Thousands of volunteers aid Spain flood recovery
Spanish citizens flocked to Valencia to ease the devastation as the floods became a political flashpoint.
- Lynsey Chutel and José Bautista
Spain flood death toll surpasses 200, rescuers struggle to reach some parts
Rescuers have opened a temporary morgue and battled to reach areas still cut off in Europe’s worst weather disaster in five decades.
- David Latona and Charlie Devereux
Spain flooding death toll rises to at least 158 lives
More horrors emerged from the debris and mud left by the walls of water behind the nation’s most deadly natural disaster in living memory.
- Alberto Saiz, Joseph Wilson and Teresa Medrano
October
Australians can expect more hot days, more often
Australians are in for longer, hotter heatwaves this century, and greater risk of dangerous fires.
- Tom Rabe
Climate change is killing buildings in slow motion
It’s not just the brute impact of wind, flood and hail; there’s also the insidious, ongoing creep of damage to infrastructure that’s triggered by changing climates.
- Patrick Sisson
- Opinion
- USA
Americans are moving closer to climate risk. This is why
Individuals and businesses have been willing to ignore the longer-term financial and human risk of extreme weather in favour of the short-term gains.
- Rana Foroohar
Do you know this week’s news? Answer these 10 questions
Have you been paying attention this week? Test your knowledge across politics, business and world news.
- Daniel Arbon
Hurricane-hit Florida reels from $148b damages bill
The US state has woken up to power outages, flooding and destruction, as Kamala Harris accused rival Donald Trump of trying to politicise the devastation.
- Isabella Volmert and Darlene Superville
China to restart Australian lobster trade
Anthony Albanese says Beijing will restart rock lobster imports; Kevin Rudd accused of spending $90k on drag queen celebration; Early budget points to likely federal election dates. How the day unfolded.
- Updated
- Lucy Slade
- Updated
- USA
Hurricane Milton claims lives, leaves millions without power
The hurricane slammed into the Florida coastline, hurling twisters and fierce winds as officials urged residents to “hunker down”.
- Updated
- Matthew Cranston
- Updated
- Joe Biden
Florida residents flee monster hurricane as time runs out
Milton, one of the most intense Atlantic hurricanes on record, is threatening a stretch of Florida’s densely populated west coast still reeling from Helene.
- Updated
- Julio-Cesar Chavez and Octavio Jones
Insurers’ Hurricane Helene loss estimates leap to more than $20b
Private market insured loss estimates from Helene have climbed higher as insurers prepare for more devastation from Hurricane Milton.
- Alexandre Rajbhandari
Florida readies mass evacuation as new hurricane takes aim
The most likely path suggests the hurricane could make landfall on Wednesday local time in the Tampa Bay area and remain a hurricane as it moves across central Florida.
- Jeff Martin and Freida Frisaro
September
Hurricane Helene kills 64 in US, leaves $37b damage bill
Hurricane Helene has killed dozens of people and knocked out power to millions across several US states, as the threat of flooding and dam bursts continues.
- Stephen Smith, Kate Payne and Heather Hollingsworth
Death toll mounts in Central Europe floods
The flooding has swamped parts of Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland and Romania as a low-pressure system crossing the region has unleashed record-high rains.
- Karel Janicek and Monika Scislowska
Dozens of flights cancelled as 100,000 residents without power
At least 26 domestic flights departing from Sydney Airport have been cancelled as residents in three states battle major power outages.
- Updated
- Lucy Slade
August
Three dead, factories shut as typhoon hits Japan’s Kyushu
Major vehicle makers, including Toyota and Nissan, suspended operations in domestic factories, while chipmaker Renesas temporarily halted production.
- Updated
- Kaori Kaneko