‘Little progress’ in stopping drug drones at HMP Manchester, watchdog says

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Chief inspector for England and Wales says prison remains in ‘precarious state’ more than year after urgent notification

The Prison Service has made “very little progress” in enforcing a formal demand to stop drones from delivering drugs into one of its worst performing jails, a watchdog has concluded.

Charlie Taylor, the chief inspector of prisons for England and Wales, said HMP Manchester remained in a “precarious state” after a failure to fix broken windows and install security to stop contraband being delivered to gangs.

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UK households to be urged to use more power this summer as renewables soar

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Incentives to absorb surplus wind and solar energy could help balance the grid and lower bills

Households will be called on to boost their consumption of Great Britain’s record renewable energy this summer to help balance the power grid and lower energy bills.

Under the new plans, people could be encouraged to run dishwashers and washing machines or charge up their electric vehicles when there is more wind and solar power than the electricity grid needs.

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Cultural venues in England to share £130m under Arts Everywhere scheme

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Galleries, theatres, museums and libraries to benefit from largest cash injection into the arts for a decade

More than 100 cultural venues, museums, and libraries will share £130m extra funding as part of the largest cash injection into the arts for a decade, ministers have announced.

The investment forms part of the Arts Everywhere Fund, a £1.5bn package to support cultural infrastructure projects over the course of this parliament, which was announced by the culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, earlier this year. The fund aims to save more than 1,000 arts venues, museums, libraries and heritage buildings across England.

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Starmer’s ‘corrosive complacency’ on defence has put UK in peril, says ex-Nato chief

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George Robertson says Iran war should be wake-up call to address military underfunding in scathing remarks

The British government has shown a “corrosive complacency towards defence” and put the UK “in peril”, according to a government adviser, in fierce criticisms of Keir Starmer’s military policy.

The former Nato secretary general and author of the government’s strategic defence review, George Robertson, believes Starmer was “not willing to make the necessary investment”, the Financial Times has reported.

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NSW promises more fast chargers and electric trucks in revamped EV policy

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Premier Chris Minns says policy will give road users a ‘real alternative’ that’s cheaper than petrol

Electric truck development and building more stations to charge them will be core pillars of a state’s revamped electric vehicle strategy designed to ease the pressure of rising fuel costs.

The New South Wales government unveiled its 2026 EV strategy on Tuesday in an effort to give confidence to motorists hesitant about switching from their increasingly pricey petrol cars.

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North Korea tests cruise and anti-ship missiles from naval destroyer – Reuters

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  1. North Korea tests cruise and anti-ship missiles from naval destroyer  Reuters
  2. North Korea Tests New Weapons, Drawing Lessons from Iran War  The New York Times
  3. North Korea fires missiles toward sea after ridiculing South’s hopes for better ties  AP News
  4. North Korea launches a second projectile in 2 days, Seoul says  Politico
  5. North Korea Holds 3 Days of Major Weapon Tests, Missile Launches  USNI News
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Spain PM Pedro Sanchez’s wife charged with corruption after years-long probe – France 24

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  1. Spain PM Pedro Sanchez’s wife charged with corruption after years-long probe  France 24
  2. Spanish PM's wife charged with corruption after two-year probe  BBC
  3. Spanish PM Sanchez' wife charged with corruption  DW.com
  4. Wife of Spanish prime minister charged with corruption  RTE.ie
  5. Spanish Premier Pedro Sanchez’s Wife Charged With Corruption  Bloomberg.com
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