Government revises plans to tackle prison overcrowding amid pressure from MPs and victims but domestic abusers and killers could still be released early
Some 86,495 people were in prison in England and Wales as of 3 August, according to the latest data published by the Ministry of Justice.
This is 2,026 below the record high of 88,521 reached on 6 September 2024, just before the current early release scheme began.
Continue reading...Trump’s former personal lawyer appears on track to become attorney general despite reservations over deal withdrawing ‘anti-weaponization fund’
Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog.
President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer Todd Blanche appears on track to become the next US attorney general after two Republican senators drop their opposition to his nomination.
Trump declined to call for Rep Max Miller’s resignation following allegations of domestic abuse from his ex-wife, Emily Moreno. Trump said he has always known Miller as “a good person” and called the situation “a very sad thing.”
In an 89-4 vote, the Senate voted to take up a measure that would temporarily keep the government funded and help avoid a shutdown in the fall. The measure, known as a continuing resolution, would maintain government funding at current levels through 11 December, with some adjustments for specific programs. The Senate is slated to debate the funding bill and move it closer to a final vote.
A coalition of 25 US states sued the Trump administration over new tariffs pegged at 10% to 12.5% on goods from 60 trading partners, calling them a pretext for replacing import taxes struck down by the supreme court in February. The states are asking the US Court of International Trade to halt the tariffs, declare them unlawful and order refunds of duties that have already been paid. More here.
Trump accused US attorney Jeanine Pirro of having “folded like an umbrella” amid reports that he was considering removing her from her post. Trump criticized Pirro on Monday after she dropped vandalism charges against a former Olympian accused of damaging the recently renovated Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool. More here.
Continue reading...Progressive Abdul El-Sayed leads in polls against centrist Haley Stevens as party looks to regain control of US Senate
The Democratic party faces a crucial test of its direction today as voters in the midwestern swing state of Michigan decide whether to nominate for US Senate a progressive candidate advocating for universal healthcare or an-establishment-backed moderate.
The state’s Democratic primary is the latest high-profile battle over the party’s future, as it seeks to chart a course back to power in Washington following Donald Trump’s victory in 2024.
Continue reading...Luis Carlos Rúa revealed himself to be Elefante blanco just three days before election for ‘his own safety’. Now he is tackling graft from senate floor
When 102 senators were sworn in for Colombia’s latest parliamentary session, they included 32 women, 69 men – and one cartoon elephant.
He had some difficulty making his way down the narrow central aisle of Congress’s ceremonial chamber, weaving past fellow senators in sharply tailored suits and dresses, before taking the oath in his pot-bellied white plush costume.
Continue reading...Levy could raise £19bn to help pay for Andy Burnham’s support for those struggling with bills, say campaigners
Campaigners have renewed calls for a windfall tax on UK banks that could raise £19bn towards Andy Burnham’s cost of living agenda, after HSBC raked in $10.1bn (£7.5bn) worth of profits in the second quarter of the year.
Bosses at HSBC reported on Tuesday that profits rose 60% year on year in the three months to the end of June, helped by fees from wealth management and insurance business, as well as higher interest rates, which allow the bank to charge more for loans and mortgages.
Continue reading...US president hits out at ExxonMobil and Chevron, saying they should ‘give some of that back to the public’
Donald Trump has criticised oil companies for “making too much money” from the global energy market disruption caused by his war on Iran.
Brent crude had been trading at about $70 (£52) a barrel before the first US-Israeli strikes at the end of February, but by the end of April it had soared as high as $126 and is now trading at about $85 a barrel.
Continue reading...Justice secretary says blocking more would have caused prison system to ‘break’ but admits impact on grieving relatives such as those of PC Andrew Harper
About 1,000 fewer prisoners will be released early after Andy Burnham’s intervention to exclude those convicted of rape, serious child sexual offences and grooming from the scheme.
The justice secretary, Alex Norris, said 5,000 prisoners would be released over 10 months from October in England and Wales, down from the government’s original plan for 6,000 from September.
Continue reading...National Foreign Trade Council ‘disappointed’ at move to expand News Bargaining Incentive but Australian experts say government is not going far enough
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A major US trade body has rubbished the Albanese government’s plan to make more big tech platforms pay for Australian journalism, issuing a veiled warning about how Donald Trump may respond to the “deteriorating trend”.
The National Foreign Trade Council said it was “disappointed” at the Australian government’s move to expand its News Bargaining Incentive (NBI) to take in Microsoft’s LinkedIn, amid trade tensions between Washington and Canberra including newly increased tariffs on Australian goods.
Continue reading...Journalist’s son says his mother was examining leak from Electrogas, part owned by Yorgen Fenech who is on trial
Daphne Caruana Galizia was investigating suspected corruption by the businessman Yorgen Fenech and members of Malta’s government when she was killed, a jury has heard.
The heir to one of Malta’s biggest fortunes, Fenech is on trial for murder, accused of commissioning and paying for Caruana Galizia’s killing in a car bombing in October 2017.
Continue reading...Energy company’s $5.73bn quarterly profits come after Shell posted second highest quarterly earnings on record
BP has reported its highest quarterly profits since the first year of Russia’s war on Ukraine because of rising oil and gas prices caused by the Middle East crisis.
The oil company’s quarterly profits more than doubled to $5.73bn (£4.27bn) in the three months to the end of June, up $2.5bn from the quarter before, as the ongoing conflict in the Middle East continued to disrupt energy exports from the Gulf.
Continue reading...Rapists, child abusers and groomers will not leave prison early but some of those serving sexual or violent offences will now leave after half their sentence
Rapists, child sexual abusers and groomers will be excluded from early release plans to ease critical prison overcrowding in a major intervention by Andy Burnham.
The prime minister said on Monday evening that he would delay the planned early release of thousands of prisoners across England and Wales by a month until October.
Continue reading...Most of the zoo’s 16 lions have struggled to cope with high humidity this summer
Three lions from a Tokyo zoo have died from suspected heatstroke and others are undergoing treatment, a spokesperson said on Tuesday, as the big cats struggle in Japan’s high levels of humidity.
Japan sweltered through its hottest summer on record last year and parts of the country have hit 40C in recent weeks, qualifying for the new “cruelly hot day” designation.
Continue reading...Large tabby cat that wiped out dozens of rare pāteke, or brown teal, has been killed after eluding trappers with its ‘very erratic’ behaviour
A notorious feral cat given the name “Nine Lives” because it eluded trappers for three years has been caught and killed in New Zealand, ending its devastating rampage against one of the country’s rare duck populations.
The cat, a large grey tabby, is estimated to have killed dozens of New Zealand’s rarest mainland duck – or 1% of its population – plus a host of kiwi chicks, native geckos and other native wildlife during the three years it was known to be roaming the Purerua peninsula, near the top of the North Island.
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