For the love of dog

XL Bully dogs were banned in England from this week, although there is an exemption for animals which are neutered, registered, insured and kept on leads and muzzled in public. Some other things that have been banned this week:

– Parking on the pavement in Edinburgh.

– Importing disposable vapes in Australia.

– Selling new homes with gas boilers in the Australian state of Victoria.

– Displaying toys in Californian shops under male and female sections. A gender neutral section must now be included.

– English councils trying to charge for disposing of waste from DIY projects.

– Withdrawals in dollars from banks in Iraq.

– Imports of Russian diamonds to G7 countries.

Banged up

Fewer prisoners with short sentences will be jailed, under plans to reduce pressure on prisons. What is the record of prisoners after release?

Reoffending rate (within a year)  25.4%

Housed on release from jail          83.3%

Employed six weeks after release 16.4%

Employed six months after release 26.4%

Source: Ministry of Justice

Risky business

What were the best and worst FTSE100 shares you could have picked last year?

Best

Rolls-Royce                                    +214%

Marks & Spencer                            +112%

3i                                                      +77.3%

Sage                                                 +57.5%

Associated British Foods            +57.4%

Worst

Anglo American                             -43.7%

St James Place                                -38.5%

Fresnillo                                           -37.8%

Burberry                                          -29.2%

British American Tobacco           -25.4%

S.O.S.

What sort of people join the regular armed forces? Last year:

– 11.7% of recruits were an ethic minority.

– 12.3% were female.

38.8% declared themselves to be of no religion.

– 92.6% were aged 18-29.

– 7.4% were aged over 30.

– Only 31.2% chose to declare their sexuality, with the Ministry of Defence deciding that the sample was too small to publish a meaningful breakdown.

Source: Ministry of Defence

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