Author: damazah@gmail.com

The government is spending £110m on creating more cells in existing prisons in England and Wales as part of its plans to tackle overcrowding. The money, which has been “fast-tracked from existing budgets”, will be used to speed up the construction of hundreds of new prison places, the Ministry of Justice has said.Existing space within prisons, such as unused office space, laundry rooms and storage areas, will be converted into cells.The announcement comes at a time of crisis for the prison system, which is close to maximum capacity, with the government being criticised for its handling of an early release…

Every week, it seems, a fresh opinion poll leads to shocking headlines: never have people been more afraid of the future, believed that their children won’t be as well off as them, or thought that their country is going in the wrong direction.Feelings of gloom about what lies ahead are particularly rife in the Western world. At first glance, this makes sense: there are plenty of reasons to be worried, from the prospect of war to an artificial-intelligence apocalypse and climate change.AI has a democracy problem — here’s whyIn 2026, two out of five US respondents told pollsters that they…

, Michael VoepelCloseMichael VoepelESPN Senior WriterMichael Voepel is a senior writer who covers the WNBA, women’s college basketball and other college sports. Voepel began covering women’s basketball in 1984, and has been with ESPN since 1996., Kareem CopelandMultiple AuthorsAug 31, 2026, 07:05 PM ETBasketball fans woke to stunning news Monday with the announcement that A’ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum will not participate in the upcoming FIBA Women’s World Cup due to health issues.Plum’s absence isn’t entirely surprising; she has been limited to 17 games this summer while dealing with a lower leg injury and appeared in just five contests since being traded…

Big Brother Naija (BBNaija) Season 11 housemates Aikou and Flora have been stripped of their roles as gambits and are now eligible to compete for the ₦160 million prize. “Flora and Aikou are officially out of Gambit mode. Biggie has reinstated them as full #BBNaija housemates, making them eligible to compete for the prize money,” organisers announced via social media Monday. The two housemates could now face eviction if nominated. “If nominated, their fate now rests with the voting public,” organisers said. Host of the Sunday eviction show, Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, announced the “Operation Release the Gambit” twist, handing viewers the…

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The new Airbus A220-300 aircraft acquired by Ibom Air, a commercial airline owned by the Akwa Ibom State Government, is among the 10 ordered by the administration of former Governor Udom Emmanuel in 2021. “The aircraft, registered 5N-CDC, was formally handed over to Ibom Air at the Airbus A220 final assembly facility in Mirabel, Canada, following the signing of the Transfer of Title documents by the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Ibom Air, George Uriesi,” Aniekan Essienette, group manager, marketing and communication, Ibom Air, said in the statement on 26 August. By Tuesday, a few hours from today, the Akwa…

A weak orangutan was found laying on the ground in Ketapang, West Kalimantan on Borneo island.Indonesia has intensified efforts to contain haze from wildfires across six provinces in Borneo and Sumatra islands.The wildfires have destroyed part of the habitat of hundreds of orangutans and risking the survival of the species.”The situation is quite critical”, said Karmele Llano Sanchez, CEO of the wildlife foundation Yayasan Inisiasi Alam Rehabilitasi Indonesia (YIARI). Sanchez said the fires are “leaving [the orangutans] without any food or water”.The orangutan found will be moved to a rehabilitation centre to get more treatment and will be released back…

Crowds of pedestrians cross a road outside the Taikoo Li Sanlitun shopping complex on August 22, 2026, in Beijing, China. Cheng Xin | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesHi, this is Evelyn, writing to you from Beijing. Welcome to the latest edition of The China Connection — a snapshot of what I’m seeing and hearing from local businesses.As more Chinese companies than ever look outside China, foreign businesses wonder whether they should stay. A consulting giant has some unconventional reasons for why the answer is yes.The big storyChina is not headed for Japan-style stagnation — or about to see major…

A well-known, pro-AI super political action committee is behind a new group that plans to blast voters in key battleground states with ads advocating for data centers, several outlets are reporting. That new group, called Build American AI, wants to convince citizens of the virtues of having data centers in their backyards. It says it is affiliated with Leading the Future (LTF), a super PAC heavily funded by VCs Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, along with OpenAI President Greg Brockman. Build American AI told Bloomberg it will focus its ads on Kansas, Ohio, and Wisconsin, where concerns about data centers…

Andy Burnham will drive home his pledge to bring more essential services back into public control, telling MPs in the Commons on Tuesday that it will be the only way to improve growth across the country.Burnham will address the house for the first time in 16 years from the frontbench, and six weeks since he became prime minister, after spending the summer recess announcing a slew of policies that will now be put before MPs.He will use the statement to put public control of services at the heart of his priorities for the coming months, sources told the Guardian, saying…