Today is Thursday, Feb. 5, the 36th day of 2026. There are 329 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On Feb. 5, 1994, white separatist Byron De La Beckwith was convicted in Jackson, Mississippi, of murdering civil rights leader Medgar Evers in 1963 and was sentenced to life in prison.
Also on this date:
In 1917, the U.S. Congress passed the Immigration Act of 1917 over President Woodrow Wilson’s veto, an act that severely curtailed Asian immigration and mandated immigrant literacy testing.
In 1918, more than 200 people were killed during World War I when the Cunard liner SS Tuscania, which was transporting over 2,000 American troops to Europe, was torpedoed by a German U-boat off the coast of Ireland.
In 1971, Apollo 14 astronauts Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell stepped onto the moon’s surface in the first of two lunar excursions.
In 1973, services were held at Arlington National Cemetery for U.S. Army Col. William B. Nolde, the last official American combat casualty in the Vietnam War before a ceasefire took effect.
In 1993, President Bill Clinton signed the Family and Medical Leave Act, granting workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for family emergencies.
In 2008, an outbreak of 87 tornadoes fired up across nine states, killing 57 people in Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama during a span of 12 hours. One Arkansas twister left a 122-mile path of damage along the ground.
In 2017, Tom Brady led one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history, highlighted by a spectacular Julian Edelman catch that helped lift New England from a 25-point deficit against the Atlanta Falcons to the Patriots’ fifth Super Bowl victory, 34-28; it was the first Super Bowl to end in overtime.
In 2020, the Senate voted to acquit President Donald Trump in his first impeachment trial. Most senators expressed unease with Trump’s pressure campaign on Ukraine that prompted the impeachment, but just one Republican, Mitt Romney of Utah, broke party ranks and voted to convict. In 2021, the Senate acquitted Trump in a second trial for allegedly inciting the violent Jan. 6 siege of the Capitol.
In 2023, Beyoncé won her 32nd Grammy to become the most decorated artist in the history of the award.
Morning opening: Trilateral talks on Ukraine war in Abu Dhabi get back under way
Jakub Krupa
Ukraine-Russia talks have restarted this morning, after Russian president’s envoy Kirill Dmitriev reported “positive movement forward” last night.
Members of the US, Russian and Ukrainian delegations attend the second round of trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Photograph: Uae Ministry Of Foreign Affairs/Reuters
“The warmongers from Europe, from Britain, are constantly trying to interfere with this process, constantly trying to meddle in it. And the more such attempts there are, the more we see that progress is definitely being made,” he claimed.
The talks continue in a trilateral format of consultations, Ukraine’s lead negotiator and former defence minister Rustem Umerov said.
Separately, Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk is in Kyiv today to express his solidarity with the wartorn country amid continuing energy, heat outages. Last week Poland was one of the EU countries which sent heat and power generators to the Ukrainian capital.
His visit comes just days after Nato’s secretary general Mark Rutte visited Ukraine.
Separately, EU leaders António Costa and Ursula von der Leyen are expected in Paris today for talks with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, about the upcoming EU summit on competitiveness on 12 February.
Macron, somewhat sidelined by the seemingly growing German-Italian partnership, will want to put on the table his ideas on how to fix the bloc.
Lots for us to cover.
It’s Thursday, 5 February 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
A partial government shutdown has recently come to an end, but another one may be on the horizon if Democrats and Republicans can’t hammer out an agreement on potential restrictions to put on immigration enforcement tactics that have been put in the spotlight after two fatal shootings by federal law enforcement in Minneapolis last month.
A day after House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and the overwhelming majority of his caucus voted against a funding deal Senate Democrats had struck with the White House, Democratic leaders presented a unified message as they laid out their demands for reform at the Department of Homeland Security — calling on Republicans to “get serious” as lawmakers face a Feb. 13 deadline to fund the agency.
“The House and Senate are completely and totally on the same page in terms of Democrats,” Jeffries told reporters Wednesday. “Leader Schumer and I had a close, positive conversation yesterday about the path forward.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, flanked by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Rep. Katherine Clark, House minority whip, speaks to reporters during a news conference at the Capitol, Feb. 4, 2026.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said they “had a really good and productive meeting, and we’re on the same page.”
As Jeffries and Schumer steady themselves for bipartisan negotiations, both leaders appeared eager to capitalize on the public backlash against the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement actions.
Democrats called to separate the DHS funding following the deaths of Renee Good, a mother of three who was fatally shot by an immigration enforcement officer in Minneapolis on Jan. 7, and became more urgent after the death of Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse, who was killed in a shooting involving federal law enforcement in Minneapolis on Jan. 24.
Sixty-two percent of Americans say current efforts by ICE to deal with unauthorized immigration go too far, according to polling conducted by Ipsos Jan. 30 to Feb. 1.
Democrats lay out 10 key demands for DHS funding
In a letter Wednesday to Republican leaders, Jeffries and Schumer laid out 10 key demands from Democrats on DHS funding, including calling for judicial warrants before agents can enter private property, a ban on Immigration and Customs Enforcement wearing face masks, requiring the use of body cameras and new laws for use-of-force standards.
“Furthermore, there are steps that the Trump administration has the power to take right now to show good faith, including fully ramping down the surge in Minnesota and removing Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem from her position,” Jeffries and Schumer wrote in the letter.
In remarks earlier Wednesday, Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democratic appropriator in the upper chamber, said “Democrats are at the table. We are focused on getting a bill, but it has to be a bill that reins in the abuses that we are seeing by ICE and CBP.”
Still, bipartisan negotiations did not commence Wednesday, and Speaker Mike Johnson sent the House on recess a day early on Wednesday afternoon.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer joined by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and House Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson, speaks at a press conference on Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding at the Capitol, Feb. 4, 2026.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
“The bottom line is we’re ready to sit down and negotiate,” Schumer said earlier. “If [Republicans are] not serious and they don’t put in real reform, they shouldn’t expect our votes. Plain and simple.”
In earlier remarks, Schumer and Jeffries seemed unsure whether they’re negotiating with President Donald Trump or congressional Republicans — with Schumer reporting that Senate Majority Leader John Thune told Democrats to talk to the White House.
“Both are afraid of their shadows, and they’re getting a lot of blowback and pressure from their left,” Thune said of Jeffries and Schumer, according to Bloomberg, with Thune adding he hadn’t received an offer from Democratic leaders as of Wednesday morning.
“Thune is scared of his own shadow,” Jeffries told reporters early Wednesday afternoon. “We are negotiating because we want to try to achieve an outcome, but the changes that are enacted with respect to the way in which the Department of Homeland Security is conducting itself need to be bold, meaningful and transformative.”
The GOP response
Johnson said that Democrats “want to have a judicial warrant on top of the immigration judge warrant. And we can’t do that,” noting time constraints.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks to reporters after the House passed legislation to reopen and fund the government at the Capitol, Feb. 3, 2026, in Washington, D.C.
Aaron Schwartz/Getty Images
Johnson has signaled a “good faith” willingness to compromise on body cameras, but was adamant that Republicans would not support a ban on face masks for agents.
“When you have people doxing them and targeting them, of course, we don’t want their personal identification out there on the streets, and so we’ve got to work through this in a meaningful way, in a thoughtful way that comports with common sense,” Johnson said Sunday.
Exit ramps
So far, Democrats have not put their proposal into legislative text.
Republicans have also not crafted any legislation so far to address next week’s deadline.
“Let’s hope that over the next two weeks, we can negotiate and get this done,” Johnson told reporters on Tuesday. “[Democrats] say they want a real negotiation with President Trump and Republicans over immigration enforcement policy, and we are happy to have that debate.”
The Capitol is visible through the Cannon House Office Building, Feb. 3, 2026.
Mariam Zuhaib/AP
Jeffries told reporters that he is a “hard no” on a continuing resolution for Homeland Security through the end of the fiscal year.
“We need to resolve this issue by Feb. 13,” Jeffries said. “American citizens are being killed in the streets. Children are being kidnapped. Houses of worship, schools and hospitals are being stormed. We need to get this done and get this done immediately.”
Democrats predicated that Republicans are setting the stage for a shutdown.
“Mike Johnson has articulated unreasonable positions,” Jeffries said. “He’s actually supporting the notion that masked and lawless ICE agents should be deployed in communities throughout America. That’s Mike Johnson’s position. That’s contrary to what the American people believe should be taking place.”
Johnson told reporters that he was heading to the White House later Wednesday to talk to the president.
“We’ll see how it all develops,” Johnson said.
What is the impact of shutting down DHS next week?
The DHS appropriations bill funds far more than ICE, despite ICE getting most of the attention in this current standoff. The bill also funds Transportation Security Administration, FEMA, the Coast Guard and the Secret Service, among other federal agencies.
While there is some FY2026 funding for ICE, the agency received a $75 billion infusion of funding over the next decade through the already-passed “Big Beautiful Bill,” so a lapse in funding at DHS would not cease operations there.
“What they’ll be shutting down is FEMA operations, as we’re cleaning up from the winter storm. They’ll be shutting down TSA, which is obviously necessary to keep the country moving through our airports. Coast Guard operations,” Johnson said of Democrats’ actions. “I mean, so many important functions in the Department of Homeland Security is what will be adversely affected by these partisan games. Let’s hope and pray that they don’t do that. Let’s hope that over the next two weeks, we can negotiate and get this done.”
The engines are still 1.6-litre V6 turbo hybrids, as they have been since 2014, but one of the two electrical motors that recovered energy has been removed.
The total amount of electrical energy has been increased by a factor of three, but the battery is more or less the same size. If the battery is fully depleted, the engine loses 350kw (470bhp), leading to potentially dramatic speed differentials.
Drivers will be backing off towards the end of straights – and being careful about when they apply the throttle – to ensure the most efficient energy usage, even on a qualifying lap.
The cars are also smaller and lighter, have less downforce and have ‘active aerodynamics’ – where both front and rear wings open on the straights to increase speed and the possibility for energy recovery.
Norris said the new car “certainly feels more powerful and quicker” on the straight.
“The biggest challenge at the minute is battery management and knowing how to utilise that in the best way,” he said.
“It’s not simple. You can explain it in quite simple terms. It’s just you have a very powerful battery that doesn’t last very long, so knowing how to use it in the right times, how much energy, how much of that power you use, how you split it up around the lap…
“The biggest challenge is how you can recover the batteries as well as possible, and that’s when it comes down to using the gears, hitting the right revs.
“Obviously, you’ve got some turbo lag now, which we’ve never really had before. All of these little things have crept back in, but I don’t think that changes too much.
“In a perfect world, I probably wouldn’t have [all] that in a race car, but it’s just F1. Sometimes you have these different challenges.”
His team-mate Oscar Piastri said the cars were “not as alien as I think we might have feared” and insisted he “didn’t think F1 had lost its identity at all”.
The Australian added: “There’s going to be some things to get used to but in terms of some of the fears that maybe we had before we got on track, a significant majority of those have been alleviated now.
“There’ll be some differences, but I think fundamentally they’re still the fastest cars in the world.”
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-NC) is seeking to subpoena Bill Gates after seeing his ex-wife’s reaction to disturbing accusations against the Microsoft co-founder made in the latest batch of Jeffrey Epstein’s emails.
The congresswoman revealed her intentions in a Wednesday social media post, saying she asked House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-KY) to subpoena the Microsoft co-founder “immediately” after she watched Melinda Gates’ Tuesday interview on NPR’s Wild Card podcast.
In a later post, Mace said, “We’re calling for Bill Gates to testify under oath on his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein in front of the Oversight Committee.”
“[Three] million pages of Epstein documents were just released by the DOJ and the allegations are SICK. If these allegations are false, Bill Gates should have no problem saying so under oath before Congress,” the congresswoman continued. “Nobody is above the law. Not billionaires. Not the powerful. Nobody.”
The recent trove of Epstein files released by the Department of Justice (DOJ) showed the late sex predator claiming in a 2013 email that Bill caught an STD after “sex with Russians girls,” and wanted to secretly slip antibiotics to Melinda instead of telling her.
As Breitbart News’s Alana Mastrangelo reported, the email was sent only to Epstein himself but appeared to be notes that the billionaire financier drafted for Bill’s longtime adviser, Boris Nikolic.
A 2017 email published by the Wall Street Journal in 2023 also appeared to show Epstein threatening to expose Bill’s alleged affair with Russian bridge player Mila Antonova, supposedly because the tech mogul refused to join a charitable fund the disgraced financier had started.
Melinda shared her dismay at the allegations on Wild Card, saying Bill and other Epstein associates “need to answer to those things.”
“I think we’re having a reckoning as a society,” she told host Rachel Martin. “No girl should ever be put in the situation that they were put in by Epstein and whatever was going on with all of the various people around him.”
Bill and Melinda jointly announced their divorce in 2021 after 27 years of marriage and three children, saying, “[W]e no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives.”
“It’s beyond heartbreaking. I remember being those ages those girls were; I remember my daughters being those ages,” Melinda added on the podcast.
“So, for me, it’s personally hard whenever those details come up because it brings back memories of some very, very painful times in my marriage, but I have moved on from that,” she continued, before saying “whatever questions” that remain on the Epstein debacle “are for those people, and even my ex-husband.”
“They need to answer to those things, not me,” Melinda added. “And I am so happy to be away from all the muck.”
A spokesperson for Bill responded to the allegations in the 2013 email in a statement to Business Insider, saying, “These claims are absolutely absurd and completely false.”
“The only thing these documents demonstrate is Epstein’s frustration that he did not have an ongoing relationship with Gates and the lengths he would go to entrap and defame,” the spokesperson added.
It remains unclear whether the 2013 emails were ever sent to Bill himself.
Olivia Rondeau is a politics reporter for Breitbart News based in Washington, DC. Find her on X/Twitter and Instagram.
The New York City Police Department released body camera footage showing the moment an officer shot a mentally ill man who was allegedly charging him with a knife amid calls from NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani for mental health treatment instead of criminal charges.
Jabez Chakraborty, 22, was holding a large kitchen knife and charged at officers who responded to an emergency call from his family in Queens on Jan. 26, according to the NYPD.
The footage, released by the NYPD on Tuesday, shows an officer entering the living room of the home, where Chakraborty was allegedly brandishing a knife. Officers are heard attempting to de-escalate the situation, repeatedly ordering him to “put the knife down,” but Chakraborty continued to move toward the officer, according to the NYPD.
A woman is seen in the footage attempting to block Chakraborty with her arm, but he continued to step forward while carrying the knife. The footage shows the NYPD officer reposition himself in the home’s vestibule and closing the door between himself and the living room.
REPLACE COPS WITH SOCIAL WORKERS, ‘TRANSIT AMBASSADORS’ ON SOME 911 CALLS: MAMDANI
Newly released NYPD bodycam footage shows an officer shooting a man allegedly carrying a knife during an emergency response inside a Queens home.(NYPD)
According to the NYPD, Chakraborty then pushed through the door and stepped toward the officer with the knife.
The officer discharged his weapon, hitting Chakraborty four times. He was taken to the hospital, where he remains in intensive care in stable but critical condition.
The clip released by the NYPD begins with audio of a 911 call from “a civilian witness” reporting that Chakraborty was experiencing a mental health episode and had thrown a glass against the wall. The caller requested EMS, not police, asking for an ambulance so that Chakraborty could be taken involuntarily to the hospital.
The incident is being investigated by the Queens District Attorney’s office, with preliminary reports suggesting prosecutors are looking at potentially seeking an indictment for attempted murder.
Mamdani, however, said at a news conference on Tuesday that Chakraborty should receive mental health treatment and not face criminal charges.
“In viewing this footage, it is clear to me that what Jabez needs is mental health treatment, not criminal prosecution from a district attorney, and we are talking about a family that is enduring the kind of pain that no family should and an individual that has lived with schizophrenia for many years,” the mayor said.
“A person experiencing a mental health episode does not always have to be served first or exclusively by a police officer. It is important for us to have all of the options available,” he added.
MAMDANI SIGNALS DISBANDING NYPD PROTEST UNIT, CALLS FOR HIGHER TAXES ON TOP 1% AMID BUDGET RECKONING
Jabez Chakraborty, 22, was allegedly holding a large kitchen knife and charged at the officers who responded to the emergency call from the family.(NYPD)
Mamdani said he met with Chakraborty’s family, who had criticized him for his initial response to the shooting. The mayor said hours after the shooting that police had “encountered an individual wielding a knife,” and that he was “grateful to the first responders who put themselves on the line each day to keep our communities safe.”
Chakraborty’s family released a statement Wednesday accusing law enforcement of causing the situation to “escalate quickly and unnecessarily.”
“Rather than de-escalate the situation, the officer instead further escalated by drawing his gun and yelling orders at Jabez,” the family wrote. “Within a minute of NYPD’s arrival, Jabez was shot multiple times and almost killed, while he was calmly eating food just minutes earlier.”
The family called on the Queens DA’s office to “drop the prosecution against our son,” and for the NYPD to release additional body camera footage from the incident.
The family argued that police officers should not be responding to medical support calls.
The NYPD released bodycam video showing the moments leading up to a police shooting during a mental health crisis response.(NYPD)
“Given our experience, and that of many other families, we call on the Mayor for systems where we can call for responders who are not police,” the family wrote. “We call for changes where the needs of families in the aftermath of such incidents are centered rather than further traumatized over and over.”
Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry said in a statement to Fox News Digital that the body camera footage “makes it clear that these police officers walked into an unpredictable, fast-moving and dangerous situation.”
“There was no time or space for them to de-escalate the situation before they were forced to act,” he added. “They did their job professionally and with restraint under terrible circumstances.”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Fox News Digital has reached out to the NYPD for comment.
Fox News Digital Landon Mion contributed to this report.
Welcome to your Morning Rundown from Sky News – the key stories shaping the day ahead. Tap any headline to read the full story.
PM in ‘precarious position’ after Mandelson files climbdown
Sir Keir Starmer is facing growing anger from Labour MPs and heightened speculation about his future after a backbench rebellion forced him to publish files about his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as US ambassador.
The PM is expected to face the media this morning after he gives a speech about plans for investment in the UK’s most deprived communities – follow live updates in the Politics Hub.
Rigby: PM in ‘sticky situation’ after Mandelson files vote
Email appears to contradict Andrew’s claims about photo
An email seemingly sent by Ghislaine Maxwell appears to contradict claims by Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor that a photograph of him with his sexual abuse accuser Virginia Giuffre is not real.
The authenticity of the picture, which shows Andrew with his arm around Ms Giuffre, had previously been questioned by the former Duke of York, but an email from Maxwell to Jeffrey Epstein, part of the latest files release by the US Department of Justice, appears to confirm the circumstances of the picture.
The former prince has vigorously denied any accusations against him with relation to Epstein
Will Andrew testify in the US?
US-Russia nuclear treaty expires today
The last remaining treaty capping the arsenals of Russia and the US will expire today.
It means, for the first time in more than half a century, there will be no legal limits on their missiles and warheads, and there are fears we are on the brink of a new arms race.
‘Danger’ of fresh nuclear arms race
Savannah Guthrie makes emotional plea to mother’s captors
US TV host Savannah Guthrie has pleaded for the return of her mother and said the family is “ready to talk” to her captor – but asked them to provide proof she is alive.
Trump orders 700 immigration agents out of Minnesota
Donald Trump has said he’s ordered hundreds of immigration officers to leave Minnesota – although around 2,000 will remain in the state.
The pullback comes amid fury over the deaths of two protesters in altercations with federal officials.
Trump: ‘Maybe we could use a softer touch’
What’s in the papers?
A bruising day for Sir Keir Starmer and uncertainty about his future as prime minister dominates the front pages.
Pep Guardiola’s men will face Arsenal in the final at Wembley next month.
And British number one Emma Raducanu has staged a remarkable comeback in the quarter-finals of the Transylvania Open, roaring back from five games down in the first set to secure a straight-sets win.
To follow the latest on these stories and more through the day, download the Sky News app and follow us on WhatsApp.
US TV host Savannah Guthrie has pleaded for the return of her mother and said the family is “ready to talk” to her captor – but asked them to provide proof she is alive.
In an emotional video message posted on social media, the NBC anchor, flanked by her siblings, said: “We are ready to talk. However, we live in a world where voices and images are easily manipulated.
“We need to know without a doubt that she is alive and that you have her. We want to hear from you, and we are ready to listen. Please reach out to us.”
Image: Savannah Guthrie and her siblings Annie (L) and Cameron (R). Pic: Instagram/@savannahguthrie
Nancy Guthrie was last seen at her home near Tucson, Arizona, on Saturday evening. The 84-year-old was reported missing the following day after she failed to appear at church.
Investigators said they had found signs of forced entry at her home and believe she was taken against her will.
Several media organisations reported receiving apparent ransom notes earlier this week that they handed over to police. Authorities are yet to confirm if these are legitimate.
No suspect or person of interest has been identified, according to Pima County sheriff Chris Nanos.
Image: Nancy Guthrie. Pic: Pima county sheriff’s department
Mr Nanos previously said the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, who has limited mobility and requires daily medication, was not “dementia related”.
“She’s as sharp as a tack,” he said. “The family wants everyone to know that this isn’t someone who just wandered off.”
In the video clip, a tearful Savannah Guthrie, joined by her sister Annie and brother Cameron, said: “Our mum is our heart and our home. She is 84 years old. Her health, her heart, is fragile. She lives in constant pain. She is without any medicine. She needs it to survive, she needs it not to suffer.
“Mummy, if you are hearing this, you are a strong woman. You are God’s precious daughter.”
Trump sends message of support
Shortly after the video was posted, Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social: “I spoke with Savannah Guthrie, and let her know that I am directing ALL Federal Law Enforcement to be at the family’s, and Local Law Enforcement’s, complete disposal, IMMEDIATELY.
“We are deploying all resources to get her mother home safely. The prayers of our Nation are with her and her family. GOD BLESS AND PROTECT NANCY!”
Read more from Sky News: Email appears to contradict Andrew’s claims about photo Trump orders 700 immigration agents out of Minnesota
Savannah Guthrie co-hosts Today, the morning show on NBC News, the US sister network of Sky News.
She often brought her mother on as a guest. Speaking on the show in 2022 on Nancy Guthrie’s 80th birthday, she said: “She has met unthinkable challenges in her life with grit, without self-pity, with determination and always, always with unshakeable faith.
“She loves us, her family, fiercely, and her selflessness and sacrifice for us, her steadfastness and her unmovable confidence is the reason any of us grew up to do anything.”
When structural engineers design a building, they aren’t just stacking floors; they are calculating how to win a complex battle against nature. Every building is built to withstand a specific “budget” of environmental stress – the weight of record snowfalls, the push of powerful winds and the expansion caused by summer heat.
To do this, engineers use hazard maps and safety codes. These are essentially rulebooks based on decades of historical weather data. They include safety margins to ensure that even if a small part of a building fails, the entire structure won’t come crashing down like a house of cards.
The problem is that these rulebooks are becoming obsolete. Most of our iconic high-rises were built in the 1970s and 80s – a world that was cooler, with more predictable tides and less violent storms. Today, that world no longer exists.
Climate change acts as a threat multiplier, making the consequences of environmental stress on buildings much worse. It rarely knocks a building down on its own. Instead, it finds the tiny cracks, rusting support beams and ageing foundations and pushes them toward a breaking point. It raises the intensity of every load and strain a building must weather.
To understand the challenge, I have been studying global hotspots where the environment is winning the battle against engineering.
The 2021 collapse of Champlain Towers South in Miami, Florida, killed 98 people. While the 12-storey building had original design issues, decades of rising sea levels and salty coastal air acted as a catalyst, allowing saltwater to seep into the basement and garage.
When salt reaches the steel rods inside concrete that provide structural strength (known as reinforcement), the metal rusts and expands. This creates massive internal pressure that cracks the concrete from the inside out — a process engineers call spalling. The lesson is clear: in a warming world, coastal basements are becoming corrosion chambers where minor maintenance gaps can escalate into catastrophic structural failure.
While the Miami case affected a single building, the historic coastal city of Alexandria, Egypt, is more widely at risk. Recent research shows that building collapses there have jumped from one per year to nearly 40 per year in the past few years.
Not only is the sea rising, the salt is liquefying the soft ground beneath the city foundations. As the water table rises, saltwater is pushed under the city, raising the groundwater level. This salty water doesn’t just rust the foundations of buildings; it changes the chemical and physical structure of soil. As a result, there are currently 7,000 buildings in Alexandria at high risk of collapse.
The historic city of Alexandria, Egypt, is widely affected by the retreating coastline. muratart/Shutterstock
In Hong Kong during Super Typhoon Mangkhut in 2018, wind speeds hit a terrifying 180 miles per hour. When strong winds hit a wall of skyscrapers, they squeeze between the buildings and speed up — like water sprayed through a narrow garden hose.
This pressure turned hundreds of offices into wind tunnels, causing glass windows to pop out of their frames and raining broken glass onto the streets below. With 82 deaths and 15,000 homes destroyed across the region, skyscrapers became “debris machines”, even if they didn’t fully collapse.
Supercomputer simulations of Japan’s river systems show that in a world warmed by 2°C, floods of today’s “once in a century” magnitude could recur about every 45 years. With 4°C of warming, they could be every 23 years. These surges in water volume will expand flood zones into areas previously considered safe, potentially overflowing sea walls and flood defences. In a critical region like Osaka Bay, storm surges could rise by nearly 30%.
In the US, a study of 370 million property records from 1945 to 2015 found over half of all structures are in hazard hotspots. Nearly half are facing multiple threats like earthquakes, floods, hurricanes and tornadoes. In the UK, climate-driven weather claims hit £573 million in 2023, a 36% rise from 2022. Annual flood damage to non-residential properties in the UK is also projected to nearly double from £2 billion today to £3.9 billion by the 2080s.
Maintenance is our best defence
Much of the world’s building stock is therefore entering its middle age under environmental conditions it was never designed to face. Instead of panicking or tearing everything down, the solution is to adapt and treat building maintenance as a form of climate resilience – not as an optional extra.
Mid-life building upgrades can help protect our skylines for the next 50 years. Our hazard maps must look at future climate models — not just historical weather — to set new safety standards. Regular structural health monitoring is essential – by using sensors to track invisible stresses in foundations and frames before they become fatal, dangerous situations can be foreseen.
Buildings can stay strong by focusing retrofits on the weakest and most vulnerable parts. This includes glass facades, the underground drainage, the foundation piles and corrosion protection.
Climate change isn’t rewriting the laws of engineering, but it is rapidly eating away at our margins of safety. If we want our cities to remain standing, we must act now – before small, invisible stresses accumulate into irreversible failure.
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Ofsted carried out an ‘unannounced’ inspection at the nursery in January
Ofsted carried out an inspection at the pre-school in January.(Image: Getty Images)
A nursery has suddenly closed after Ofsted raised concerns about children potentially being at “risk of harm”. Ofsted carried out an inspection at the Smarties Pre-School and After School Club in Hay Street, Steeple Morden, on January 15.
Following the inspection, Ofsted suspended the nursery’s registration, meaning it has temporarily stopped running. Inspectors said they believed children could be at risk of harm in the nursery.
An Ofsted spokesperson said: “We don’t comment on individual providers. But, I can confirm that we suspended this pre-school’s registration, which is our standard procedure when we have reason to believe children are potentially at risk of harm.”
A Smarties spokesperson confirmed an “unannounced” inspection was carried out in January. The spokesperson added: “We can confirm that the registration of Smarties Pre-School and After-School Club (Smarties) was suspended by Ofsted on January 16, following an unannounced inspection on January 15.
“We fully support Ofsted’s role in ensuring that providers maintain robust safeguarding arrangements and eliminate any risk of harm to children. Following the inspection, Ofsted identified areas where safeguarding arrangements required strengthening.
“The committee is working closely with the local authority to address these matters and to complete the necessary actions as quickly and thoroughly as possible.”
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