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August 11: Colombia Earthquake and Europe’s Drought Emergency
In UK justice
A colleague of PC Andrew Harper has condemned plans that could allow Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers to leave prison halfway through their 13-year manslaughter sentences. Harper was killed in 2019 when he was dragged by a vehicle as the pair fled the theft of a quad bike. Downing Street had said individual offenders could not be excluded from the early-release scheme, but the Justice Secretary is now considering ways to keep more serious offenders in custody.
Europe’s heat and drought
Western Europe has recorded its hottest June and July on record. France has imposed water restrictions across about 70% of the country, where the prolonged heatwave has been linked to more than 5,700 excess deaths. Cities are increasingly treating extreme heat as an immediate infrastructure and public-health problem, rather than a forecast to file away for later.
The UK is heading toward a fifth summer heatwave, with temperatures forecast to reach 36°C, alongside drought, water restrictions and wildfire risks. In Spain’s Huelva province, a major wildfire has forced about 800 evacuations and burned roughly 20,000 hectares.
Security around Ukraine
Russian attacks killed six people in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, while a children’s hospital in Kyiv was also struck, according to Ukraine’s emergency service.
In Poland, attackers accessed a combined heat and power plant through a private cellular network used for remote grid equipment, shutting down a steam turbine and water-treatment system. The plant, which supplies heat to about 50,000 residents, began recovering while the intruders were still active, and customers did not lose service. German investigators, meanwhile, found DNA traces after an explosive drone was discovered near Ukrainian Antonov aircraft at Leipzig Airport.
In Colombia
Rescuers are searching damaged areas after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake killed at least 132 people and injured about 570. The quake caused extensive damage in and around Cali, Pereira and Caldas, where authorities imposed nighttime curfews to deter looting and keep routes open for emergency crews. Hundreds remain missing.
In U.S. courts
Massachusetts has removed its 24-week abortion limit, leaving decisions on later-pregnancy procedures to doctors. The state is now among roughly 10 with no gestational cutoff.
A federal judge also approved the Trump administration’s request to dismiss criminal charges against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani.
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