Sources & Citations
1 sourceThe Guardian (World)[1]
Jake Richard acknowledges ‘unimaginable pain’ of Harper’s family but says government faces an ‘unenviable position’Good morning and welcome to the UK politics blog.Ministers continue to defend the release of PC Andrew Harper’s killers as part of the government’s early prisoner release scheme, despite a potential legal challenge from the Police Federation.Well, look, we understand that people are angry. The Harper family are, of course, angry. The police are angry too.We’re angry that we’re in this situation where we face the unenviable position of having to make sure that we have a sustainable prison system, which is so vital to a functioning law and order system in our country, but also that we do right by victims as far as possible.Because without a functioning prison system, it means it’s difficult for police to make arrests, it’s difficult for our courts to try cases, and it could mean to the collapse of law and order in this country.We cannot be in that situation, so that is the challenge that we face as government ministers and the prime minister faces ultimately.I feel sick to my stomach, if I’m really honest with you. I’ve had a gut wrenching feeling in my stomach the past couple of weeks with this, and it doesn’t go away.And arguably, I would say that many of my members across Thames Valley also have this gut wrenching feeling, even at the prospect of these two killers being released in the space of weeks, potentially.Ministers will scrap the requirement for companies to prove their green and progressive values before they are awarded government contracts, and instead ask firms to prove they will help young people back into work.Women should not feel pressurised into experiencing an “ideal birth”, the new health secretary, Yvette Cooper, has said, promising a root-and-branch reform of standards after several damning maternity scandals.An official investigation has been launched into charities in England and Wales donating funds to illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine.Andy Burnham has inherited a Labour membership that is sceptical about increased welfare spending, supportive of higher defence spending, and ranks the climate crisis as one of the country’s biggest challenges, according to new polling.BP’s chief executive has urged Andy Burnham to make use of the UK’s oil and gas resources even as the oil company prepares to sell its North Sea business after 60 years in the ageing basin.The Conservative party leader, Kemi Badenoch, has defended the selection of a former neo-Nazi activist as a candidate for a local election in Somerset despite him being jailed in 2016 after he was convicted of racially aggravated harassment of the former Labour MP Luciana Berger.Pupils in Scotland’s schools received their exam results this morning, with exam pass rates at all levels having risen this year, including a record number of National 5 passes. Continue reading...
More Stories
• An internal power struggle is unfolding within Iran as factions debate how to handle the ongoing 47-year conflict with the United States. • Pragmatists within the government argue that the window to settle the conflict from a position of strength is rapidly closing.
Read original · edition.cnn.comNationwide research also shows average 14% premium for housing in national landscapes of England and WalesHousebuyers are paying a premium of almost a quarter to own a property located within a UK national park, with the New Forest the most expensive national park to live in, according to Britain’s biggest building society.Nationwide found that a property located within a national park cost 24% more on average than a similar property elsewhere, while buyers were also stumping up a 6% premium for homes within three miles of a national park. Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.comAs Russia hits another ammunition warehouse, killing at least 38, locals put blame on poorly placed depotsIt is a day and a half since a Russian jet-powered drone smashed into an ammunition dump in Myla, a village 15 miles outside central Kyiv. Volodymyr, 61, a security guard, leads visitors from his family’s badly damaged home, its roof blown off, back windows shattered, through the garden towards the impact site 300 metres away.The garden, like so many in Ukraine’s villages and suburbs, is a sizeable allotment. But today the greenhouse is shattered, a vegetable patch is blackened and crisp underfoot. Several metres of grapevine have been destroyed. Even so, Volodymyr finds two surviving bunches to hand to the Guardian. Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.comWill the UK ever rejoin the EU? Who is funding Andy Burnham? And will the bedroom tax be scrapped? In a special episode, Kiran Stacey and Peter Walker answer some of your questionsPlease keep sending your comments and questions to Pippa and Kiran at [email protected] Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.comInmates would take over ‘basic’ road maintenance duties, allowing skilled crews to focus on fixing 500,000 potholesFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastVictorian prisoners will be put to work on road maintenance as part of Labor’s plan to fix the state’s potholes if re-elected.The state’s premier, Ben Carroll, outlined the plan on Monday off the back of an announcement on Sunday that the government would be increasing the road maintenance budget by $352m to fix 500,000 potholes by the end of January. Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.comSmartglasses with cameras can benefit the vision impaired but companies might pit ‘accessibility benefits against safety and privacy’, eSafety saysFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia’s online safety regulator has urged smartglasses companies to automatically blur people’s faces filmed on the devices, and make it clearer when someone is filming, as the federal government faces pressure to ban the technology.In advice to industry published on Monday, the office of the eSafety commissioner warned that while smartglasses with cameras, such as Meta’s Ray-Ban, can offer accessibility benefits to low vision or blind people, companies might pit “accessibility benefits against safety and privacy considerations”, and noted there was already a backlash to the technology. Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.comDozens evacuated after flash-flood event near Bright Angel Canyon and Phantom Ranch, officials sayAt least 15 people may be missing or unaccounted for after a major flash flood swept through the Grand Canyon national park in Arizona on Saturday afternoon, according to the National Park Service.The flash-flood event occurred in the area of Bright Angel Canyon and the Phantom Ranch, where park staff and the Arizona department of public safety have evacuated more than 60 people as of Sunday morning. Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.comTrump officials shuttering three projects on foodborne parasite, two defunded by Congress, Politico reportsThe Trump administration is shuttering two of the three US Department of Agriculture research projects studying cyclospora after the foodborne parasite has sickened tens of thousands of Americans during the summer, Politico reported on Sunday.The two projects were defunded by Congress earlier in the year, while the third is due to be moved in coming months from Maryland to Iowa as part of a broader USDA reorganization, according to the report. Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.comUS says attack was response to Revolutionary Guards preparing rockets to launch sea mines into strait US forces have struck two Iranian launchers on Iran’s Larak island on Sunday, a US official said, marking the first known American strikes since late July.“I can confirm that earlier today US forces struck two Iranian launchers on Larak island. Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps forces were observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into the strait of Hormuz,” the official said. Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.comNepali and Chinese authorities confirmed an updated death toll of at least 810 on Sunday. Follow the day’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe government will send $3 million in additional aid to Nepal, the foreign affairs minister Penny Wong has announced, bringing the total package to $8 million.Of this additional aid, the Australian defence force will coordinate $2m worth of hygiene kits, solar lighting and other emergency supplies following a request from Nepal’s government.The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) will transport the first of these supplies from Queensland in the coming days. Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.comLos Angeles were already Super Bowl favoritesDefensive tackle was 10-time Pro Bowler with Rams35-year-old aiming to win second Super Bowl in LAAaron Donald, one of the greatest defensive players in NFL history, is coming out of retirement to rejoin his only professional team, the Los Angeles Rams.During a 10-season career with the Rams, who drafted him with the 13th overall pick in 2014, Donald was a three-time defensive player of the year and an eight-time first team All-Pro. He won a Super Bowl with the Rams at the end of the 2021 season before announcing his retirement in March 2024 at the age of 32. Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.comFather of former boxer and NRL star Anthony Mundine succumbed to a heart attack on SundayWarning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains images and names of Indigenous Australians who have diedIndigenous Australian boxing great Tony Mundine has died, aged 75.The father of former boxer and NRL star Anthony Mundine succumbed to a heart attack on Sunday. Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.com