China’s SAIC plans to build first EU car plant in Spain’s Galicia

Tom Steyer, the billionaire environmental activist and one of the Democratic party’s biggest political donors, has announced his bid for California governor, joining a rapidly expanding field looking to replace the termed-out Gavin Newsom. Steyer, who previously ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, said he is entering the race to tackle what he calls the state’s “intractable affordability crisis”.A billionaire activist with deep political rootsSteyer, 68, built his fortune in finance after founding Farallon Capital Management in 1986, turning it into one of the world’s most influential hedge funds. But he left the firm in 2012 to devote himself full-time to political and environmental causes. He went on to create NextGen America, a youth-focused voter mobilisation organisation centred on climate change, reproductive rights and progressive policy.He has since become one of the largest donors to Democratic candidates and initiatives across the US, spending millions on ..

Source: UNESCO Our planet is more unpredictable and more fascinating than most of us imagine. Most countries have one dominant climate, which is maybe a hot desert or a wet rainforest. Australia breaks that rule completely. Travel a few hundred kilometres, and you could step from sun-baked dunes straight into dense, dripping forest. The country manages extremes like few others. From the parched interior to the lush northeast, Australia is a place of contrasts. Experts say its size, latitude, and unique weather systems make it possible. It’s not just a scenic quirk. It tells a story about geography, climate, and life adapting in extreme ways. For travellers, it feels like seeing two planets in one.How geography shapes Australia’s extreme landscapes
The country’s unusual geography is the main reason. A large central landmass sits under high-pressure zones. Rain can barely reach it. That’s why deserts dominate the interior. Meanwhile, moist winds blow in from the Pacific Ocean. They hit t..

AdvertisementHong Kong’s Tai Po fire tragedyHong KongSociety‘Grieving and exhausted’: Hong Kong fire victims call for centralised relief platform‘Now all the information is here and there and we have to spend a lot of time searching and filling it in one by one,’ a survivor says
Reading Time:3 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPJiang ChuqinPublished: 9:42am, 2 Dec 2025Victims of Hong Kong’s worst fire in decades have called for a unified platform to access funds and resources, as some elderly people say they feel “exhausted” having to travel around and repeatedly provide their personal information to different parties for support.
Several people who lost their homes in the Tai Po fire, which had claimed 151 lives as of Monday, told the Post that while retrieving new identity cards and other documents from the Immigration Department was a smooth process, they faced difficulties navigating funds and other forms of support dispersed across various locations.
The Immigration Department said on M..