Only days after winning the United Kingdom’s July 4th election, ending 14 years of conservative government, the new Labor government announced the early release of thousands of prisoners to avert an overcrowding crisis. Labor’s Justice Minister Sabana Mahmood, blamed the crisis on outgoing Tory Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for ignoring the crisis as a “dereliction of duty.”
(“Thousands of Prisoners in UK to be Freed to Ease Overcrowding,” July 12, 2024; “Could Britain Solve its Prison Problem by Going Dutch,” The Guardian, July 12, 2024)
A wave of youth-driven protests in Kenya has upended a regressive government tax increase plan mandated by International Monetary Fund austerity measures. Kenya’s President William Ruto was forced to withdraw the tax hike after protesters stormed into parliament, after which he fired his cabinet and initiated talks with the protesters.
(“Zacchaeus Climbs Down,” The Economist, July 9, 2024; “Kenya’s Youth Driven Protest Movement At a Crossroads,” Guardian, June 29, 2024)
Predictions over winners and losers in the swing state of Arizona, with 11 electoral votes, changed immediately after Arizona’s Supreme Court upheld an 1864 territorial era law which outlawed abortion, with an exception when a mother’s life was at risk – and enabled courts to sentence abortion providers to prison. A majority of Arizonans were outraged, and the state Republican party split between MAGA extremists and moderates. Only three Republican joined Democrats in the state legislature to overturn that decision. Arizonans will likely have a chance to vote on a referendum protecting abortion rights in November, which is favored to pass.
(“Will Arizona be MAGA Last Stand?” The Nation, July 2, 2024)
