The British Indian Ocean Territory flag is flying in New Palace Yard today, as we mark the annual British Indian Ocean Territory Day.

Sorry, feminists. This great Iron Age monarch probably wasn’t a woman telegraph.co.uk/gift/c92bf76…

Mars may not be geologically dead after all. 🔴 Our ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter has detected hydrogen chloride above volcanic fissures in the Alba Mons region, which scientists suggest could be linked to dormant volcanic activity beneath the surface. Read more: new.esa.int/articles/news-me…

“It is a truth universally acknowledged…” Emma Corrin and Jack Lowden star in Pride and Prejudice, a series by Dolly Alderton. Premieres December 3.

Fintan Slye in front of the Lords Select Committee He starts with a weak mea culpa on the Eversheds report but repeats the grid was secure blah blah.... Why did you breach grid constraints and run out of reserve then? @Bill_Esterson asking softball questions... Does Fintan need to be higher profile? No he needs to resign Now Fintan is blaming "the market" for there not being enough flex in the market. Nothing to do with @neso_energy. Or in fact constraints are probably the actual answer to the question being asked Moving on to does NESO have too many responsibilities. Great question! NESO has grown headcount 3x in 2 years from 1000 to 3000 people. Are we getting value from this? Fintan thinks so but NESO is failing on most metrics Next question... You're not managing these responsibilities well? Another great question from @melanie_onn Is CP2030 still achievable? Fintan hedging. Being pressed. Fintan says it's incredibly challenging but NESO is "absolutely focused" on it (so not focused on security then 🤔) Now @CatherineFookes asks why did people whistleblow if there wasn't a problem. Fintan says allegations weren't substantiated but NESO "completely committed" to fixing the cultural issues raised. Funny how a minute ago the commitment was to CP2030. Now they're working with trade unions and outside experts to make sure people's "lived experience" is they can raise issues and be listened to. Is pretending the problem is giving feedback to show how concerns were dealt with. Thats NOT consistent with the reports or what staff have told the media Follow up question how will you improve and what has been done already? They've set up an engineering forum so control room can raise concerns. Also set up operability committee of exec to deal with issues at the highest level. Will regularly update board. Repeats rubbish about the feedback loop... People aren't leaking recordings of your meetings to the @thetimes if it's just a question of feedback Kayte O'Neill asked the same question. Waffles about trust and any whistleblower is one too many Asked how high levels of operational stress in the control room are dealt with. Apparently the "guys and girls" in the control room are very open about challenges and where they need support. Maybe she could start by talking about them with more respect and not like they're children 🙄 Says the engineers are complaining about lack of system visibility. That's absolutely key. She hasn't said it's being fixed Bill back asking why it took whistleblowers and review to address these problems. Fintan says they were addressing them already, it's a young organisation, they were being proactive blah blah blah Bill mentions NESO being safety critical. Points out the big difference between the theory of being able to engage with exec vs trust they will be listened to, respected and not penalised. How are they making sure it's a success. Fintan waffles. People need to feel heard. Says people who were interviewed by Eversheds were happy to raise issues but the feedback loop was the issue.... Really? So why did so few staff speak to Eversheds?? Bill... Are you and the exec going to talk more to staff at all levels. Fintan says he does this all the time. Really? Engineers told the Times he treats them like "pond life"

Today's balancing costs are already over £20 million That's staggering Wind is forecast to drop off this afternoon so the costs should normalise later, but with this much so early it's going to be another expensive day Still don't understand why @neso_energy doesn't curtail the wind before the DA auction so gas can self-dispatch at lower cost and there would be no need to reverse interconnector trades Plus for goodness sake ditch Connect and Manage so we don't make this any worse @Miatsf @mgshanks @AndrewBowie_MP @ClaireCoutinho @harrietc @ColinMoynihanUK @drlukeevans @ashley7fox @TiceRichard @cmackinlay @DavidGHFrost @mattwridley @Iromg @AllisonPearson @MerrynSW @EdConwaySky @afneil @mattotele @jonathan_leake @julietsamuel @energygovuk

Walter Koenig, actor vividly remembered as navigator of USS Enterprise Pavel Chekov in Star Trek telegraph.co.uk/gift/a85c50d…

China consumed more coal in the last four years (2022–2025) than the entire world consumed throughout the 19th century.

The approval of the Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea will boost Britain's domestic gas output by 6% at peak—enough to heat 1.4 million homes. Yet critics continue to repeat two persistent myths. First, that domestic gas won't lower prices because of "global markets." In reality, as energy analyst Kathryn Porter notes, British gas isn't sold on a mythical global market at a uniform price. Supplying the UK system directly displaces far more expensive imported Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), reducing costs for consumers. Second, that domestic supply harms the environment. Data from the North Sea Transition Authority shows UK gas has an emissions intensity of 27 kg CO2 per unit, compared to 85 kg for LNG. Chilling gas, shipping it across oceans, and regasifying it generates massive unnecessary emissions. In fact, analysis by Stifel shows relying on North Sea gas over LNG saved Britain £2.5 billion in 2025 alone. Blockading domestic production in the name of climate activism doesn't stop gas consumption—it merely exports emissions and inflates energy bills. Pragmatism, not performance, must guide UK energy policy.

‘4,000 people minding our own business’: four decades on, Falklands again face a hostile Argentina | Falkland Islands | The Guardian share.google/GpPGZHaJL534LJm…

Warning: Do not eat before watching the disgusting Whalefall telegraph.co.uk/gift/2f1dbc5…

A new mural depicting one of the most celebrated naval battles in US history has been painted close to where it was fought on the Yorkshire coast. bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c680…

Blocking Jackdaw and Rosebank ‘would cost Britain £11bn’ telegraph.co.uk/gift/dabfd1b…

UK asks Interpol to reject Argentina’s ‘politically motivated’ requests for Falklands oil arrests | Falkland Islands | The Guardian share.google/Y1kjNMP3K2gBxRY…

theguardian.com/uk-news/2026… HT @militaryhistori