After making deals with the president to avoid punitive executive orders, Paul Weiss and Kirkland & Ellis are helping the Commerce Department.

Tigres star expected to join NWSL side before MondayFee surpasses Arsenal deal for Olivia SmithLizbeth Ovalle is expected to join the Orlando Pride from Mexico’s Tigres UANL on a record transfer fee of $1.5m (£1.1m), a person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press on Wednesday.The deal is expected to be completed by the National Women’s Soccer League’s transfer deadline on Monday. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the agreement had not yet been formally signed. Continue reading…

UK government is facilitating evacuation of scholarship recipients after campaign by MPs and university leadersNine students in Gaza with full scholarships to study at British universities have been told the UK government is working to facilitate their evacuation.The students – who have all been awarded Chevening scholarships, funded by the Foreign Office in recognition of their potential as future leaders – welcomed the development on Wednesday, but dozens more Palestinians in Gaza with university places are still awaiting news. Continue reading…

Celtic still have plenty of work to do to reach the Champions League after drawing a blank in the first leg of their playoff against Kairat at Parkhead.In Brendan Rodgers’s 800th match as a manager, there was no traditional early onslaught by the hosts as the accomplished Kazakhstani side more than matched their hosts. However, with Yang Hyun-jun on for Adam Idah and Daizen Maeda moving to centre-forward at the start of the second half, Celtic stepped up the pace and piled on the pressure in the later stages but could not find a way through despite 10 added minutes. Continue reading…

Administrator was appointed after parent company State Oil was given new information about £783m loan The Prax Lindsey oil refinery collapsed after “material irregularities” were discovered in a complex £783m loan facility that funded the wider group, it has emerged.The refinery on the Humber estuary in northern England – one of just five left in the UK, – was suddenly plunged into administration in late June, prompting calls from furious government ministers for an investigation into Winston Soosaipillai, Prax Group’s oil tycoon owner. Continue reading…

Palace play in Conference League playoff on ThursdayEze closing in on Spurs move; Guéhi linked to LiverpoolOliver Glasner has confirmed that Eberechi Eze and Marc Guéhi will both start in the first leg of Crystal Palace’s Conference League playoff on Thursday and insisted that the England pair remain committed to the club despite continuing doubts about their futures.It is understood that Tottenham remain in talks over signing Eze and are edging closer to agreeing a fee for the 27-year-old. Liverpool, meanwhile, are leading the race to sign Guéhi but have yet to meet Palace’s valuation of £40m for their captain, whose contract at Selhurst Park expires next year. Continue reading…

Court is shown proposal to secure operations of SSUK, which employs 1,450 peopleBusiness live – latest updatesMinisters have lined up special managers to run Liberty Steel’s South Yorkshire operations if they are put into administration, according to a revelation at the high court in London.The development shows that the government is ready to step in immediately to secure the continued operations of the Speciality Steel UK (SSUK), which employs 1,450 people at the group’s operations in Rotherham and in Stocksbridge. Continue reading…

Culture minister says government will propose ending the 25% rate, the highest in the world, in its budget billDenmark is to stop charging VAT on books in an attempt to get more people reading.At 25%, the country’s tax rate on books is the highest in the world, a policy the government believes is contributing to a growing “reading crisis”. Continue reading…

Shut the System says its supporters carried out actions at offices of JP Morgan Chase, Allianz and BarclaycardThe City of London police are investigating claims by environmental activists to have carried out acts of sabotage on the offices of major insurers and financial institutions.Activist group Shut the System said its supporters had cut cables and glued electrical service cabinets at JP Morgan Chase and Allianz, in what it described as the start of “a period of sustained sabotage” against fossil fuel finance. Continue reading…

Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov dismisses European diplomacy as ‘clumsy effort to sway Trump’Russia-Ukraine war – live updatesMoscow has said it must be part of any international talks on Ukraine’s security, as Russia continues to stall on Donald Trump’s push for a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said on Wednesday that Moscow must be included in any talks on Ukraine’s security guarantees, dismissing European diplomacy as “aggressive escalation” and a “clumsy effort to sway Trump”. Continue reading…