Ofwat to be abolished as ministers look to create new water regulator

England and Wales’ embattled water regulator will be abolished under recommendations from a government-commissioned review due out on Monday, the Guardian understands.Ministers will announce next week a consultation into creating a new regulator, to coincide with the results of a review into the water industry directed by former Bank of England deputy governor Sir Jon Cunliffe.This consultation is likely to conclude with the abolition of Ofwat, the watchdog that polices how much water companies can charge for services in England and Wales, sources said.Ofwat has faced intense criticism over its failure to prevent sewage spills, hefty payments of dividends, and ballooning debts across England and Wales’s water companies. The review will recommend a new regulatory system

BP agrees to sell US onshore wind business as it shifts back to oil

BP has agreed a deal to sell off its onshore wind business in the US as the oil multinational turns its back on renewable energy after a failed attempt to go green.The company said it would sell its share of 10 windfarms, which generate enough clean energy to power more than 500,000 US homes, to the New York-headquartered LS Power.The terms of BP’s deal with the power and energy infrastructure company were not disclosed. However, the value of the windfarms, nine of which are operated by BP, is understood to be lower than the $2bn (£1.5bn) valuation estimated for BP’s onshore wind business in the past

Risk of undersea cable attacks backed by Russia and China likely to rise, report warns

The risk of Russia- and China-backed attacks on undersea cables carrying international internet traffic is likely to rise amid a spate of incidents in the Baltic Sea and around Taiwan, according to a report.Submarine cables account for 99% of the world’s intercontinental data traffic and have been affected by incidents with suspected state support over the past 18 months.Analysis by Recorded Future, a US cybersecurity company, singled out nine incidents in the Baltic Sea and off the coast of Taiwan in 2024 and 2025 as a harbinger for further disruptive activity.The report said that while genuine accidents remained likely to cause most undersea cable disruption, the Baltic and Taiwanese incidents pointed to increased malicious activity from Russia and China.“Campaigns attributed to Russia in the North Atlantic-Baltic region and China in the western Pacific are likely to increase in frequency as tensions rise,” the company said

Inside Elon Musk’s plan to rain SpaceX’s rocket debris over Hawaii’s pristine waters

Texas has long been under threat from the launches and explosions of SpaceX rockets. Now Hawaii is emerging as another possible victimThe north-west Hawaiian island of Mokumanamana is said to be touched by the gods. Bisected by the Tropic of Cancer latitude line, it is deep in the Pacific Ocean, about 400 miles from Honolulu. The island’s steep rocky cliffs give way to indigo blue waters dotted with monk seals and stony coral. No humans have lived on Mokumanamana, but it has the world’s highest density of ancient Hawaiian religious sites

My message to the Lions: own the experience and convert it into your fuel | Ugo Monye

There is nothing that can compare to running out for a British & Irish Lions Test for the first time. I was speaking to Andy Farrell this week and I was getting goosebumps just thinking about it. Running out on to the field, the noise, the energy, the stakes – it’s completely different from anything those players will have experienced before. It’s a new chemical stimulus and in conversation with Farrell I was immediately transported back to Durban and 2009.For all the sports psychology, visualisation and every bit of preparation you can do, it’s still different

Australia enter Lions’ din with no guarantees that this circus will return

State of domestic rugby union is at crossroads and the 2037 Lions tour operators may end up having their heads turnedThe chatter may be mostly coming from British press, but its volume and repetition has made it impossible to ignore. About whether the Wallabies are worthy adversaries for the British & Irish Lions ahead of the first Test in Brisbane on Saturday. Whether Australia – especially without the injured duo Rob Valetini and Will Skelton – will muster much, if any, resistance.Whether the mostly one-sided warm-up matches have provided the preparation the Lions would have liked or the spectators deserved. Whether, even, Lions officials should entertain interest from continental Europe, or South America, before committing to another tour to Australia in 2037