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‘Trump baby' returns, Keir Starmer in a pub and Brad Pitt – photos of the weekend

‘Trump baby' returns, Keir Starmer in a pub and Brad Pitt – photos of the weekend

The Guardian9 hours ago

Britain's King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince William, Prince of Wales, Catherine, Princess of Wales, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace as part of the Trooping the Colour parade to honour Britain's King Charles on his official birthday Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters
Ottawa, CanadaThe UK prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, and the prime minister of Canada, Mark Carney, drinking beer while watching an ice hockey game on television between Edmonton Oilers v Florida Panthers at the Royal Oak pub Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA
Demonstrators gather before a mockup of Jerusalem's Dome of the Rock Shrine during a rally in solidarity with the government against Israel's attacks on Iran and to mark Eid al-Ghadir Photograph: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images
Brad Pitt and Jimmy Fallon filming a segment for the Tonight Show in Riverside Park Photograph: XNY/Star Max/GC Images
A child inspects military hardware at one of the booths set up on the National Mall during the army 250th anniversary parade Photograph: Matthew Hatcher/AFP/Getty Images
A demonstrator conducts a live broadcast in front of Los Angeles county sheriffs on horseback during a protest Photograph: Noah Berger/AP
People holding umbrellas reading 'Save democracy' take part in the 'No Kings' protest Photograph: Aurélien Morissard/AP
Relatives mourn beside the body of a person killed following reported Israeli attacks on aid queues in the Sudaniya area Photograph: Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP/Getty Images
An overturned car lies amid debris after heavy overnight rains affected the area Photograph: Javier Cebollada/EPA
Concrete and rubble fall from a damaged building as Israeli soldiers search for survivors in a residential area hit by a missile fired from Iran Photograph: Ariel Schalit/AP
Drivers take part in the 'Race the Waves' beach race along a 200-yard course Photograph: Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty Images
US customs and border protection agents detain a man outside the US immigration and customs building during a protest Photograph: Jenny Kane/AP
A woman sits inside her damaged house following the Israeli strikes on Iran Photograph: Majid Asgaripour/Reuters
A 'Trump baby' balloon floats over demonstrators taking part in the 'No Kings' protest against Donald Trump's policies
Photograph: Daniel Cole/Reuters

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Canada agrees to ratify Britain's accession to major trans-Pacific trade pact
Canada agrees to ratify Britain's accession to major trans-Pacific trade pact

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  • Rhyl Journal

Canada agrees to ratify Britain's accession to major trans-Pacific trade pact

Ottawa will seek to introduce legislation to its parliament this autumn to formally approve Britain's entry to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). The UK joined the bloc in 2024, but Canada is yet to ratify its accession – meaning Britain still faces pre-CPTPP trade barriers in exporting to the country. Following a bilateral meeting between the Prime Minister and his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney on Sunday, Downing Street said: 'Prime Minister Carney confirmed that Canada would ratify the UK's accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), seeking to introduce legislation to their parliament in the autumn. 'This will bring huge benefits to UK businesses by lowering tariffs when buying from and selling to Canada. 'They also agreed to set up a joint taskforce to turbocharge progress on other areas of mutual benefit, including technology and artificial intelligence – in support of shared growth and our national security. 'The taskforce will also look to make progress on the wider UK-Canada Free Trade Agreement.'

Full-term abortion ‘to become legal' under change planned by MPs
Full-term abortion ‘to become legal' under change planned by MPs

Telegraph

time43 minutes ago

  • Telegraph

Full-term abortion ‘to become legal' under change planned by MPs

Women will be able to abort their pregnancies for any reason at any point up to birth without facing prosecution under law changes to be considered by MPs on Tuesday, according to a legal opinion. In the biggest proposed changes to the abortion law for nearly 50 years, two rival amendments would enable women to terminate their pregnancy on the basis of the sex of the foetus without the risk of prosecution, the legal opinion claimed. But while both amendments would decriminalise abortion for women, one would retain criminal prosecutions for doctors who facilitated late abortions in such circumstances. The second would only see medics face disciplinary sanctions by making the 1967 Abortion Act 'obsolete,' according to the legal assessment. The opinion, by Stephen Rose KC, a leading criminal barrister, was commissioned by Sir Edward Leigh, the Father of the House, who has previously voted against moves to liberalise abortion laws. On Tuesday MPs will debate the amendments to the Government's Crime and Policing Bill. MPs will be given a free vote on the basis that abortion is a matter of conscience. Six women have been prosecuted in the past three years for ending or attempting to end their own pregnancies outside abortion law, a crime that carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The first proposal put forward by Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi would amend the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act – which outlaws abortion – so that it would no longer apply to women ending their own pregnancies. It would not affect the 1967 Act which allows abortions after 24 weeks, agreed by two doctors and where there is a risk to the woman's physical or mental health, or of the child being born with severe abnormalities. A second amendment, known as NC20, proposed by Labour MP Stella Creasy would repeal the sections of the 1861 Act prohibiting abortion and defining the offence of concealing the birth of a child. Ms Creasy would also amend the Abortion Act of 1967 to create a 'human rights framework ' to ensure women had safe access to abortion rights and to maintain the 24-week time limit for a termination. Carry out own abortion In his legal opinion, Mr Rose said Ms Antoniazzi's amendment would mean that it would no longer be illegal for a woman to carry out her own abortion 'at home, for any reason, at any gestation, up to birth' but would still retain criminal prosecution for a medical professional who assisted in a late termination. However, he said Ms Creasy's amendment would go further in rendering the 24-week time limit 'obsolete' in respect of the prosecution of women who undertook terminations 'in typical circumstances'. He suggested it would create a 'a hybrid situation characterised by uncertainty'. 'While the registered medical practitioner would no longer face prosecution for the repealed offences, it seems they may face professional discipline,' he added. 'It is foreseeable that this amendment might contribute to an increase in the incidence of medical termination after the 24-week period.' In his legal opinion on Ms Antoniazzi's amendment, Mr Rose said it ' would not be illegal for a woman to carry out her own abortion at home, solely on the basis that the foetus is female'. However, it would remain illegal for a doctor to assist. On Ms Creasy's amendment, he said: 'The effect of the amendment is that a woman who terminated her pregnancy solely on the basis that she believed the child to be female would face no criminal sanction in connection with that reason, or at all.' Only one amendment may be allowed Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons speaker, will have to decide whether the amendments can be debated and subject to votes on Tuesday. Ms Antoniazzi's amendment has the support of more than 180 MPs, while Ms Creasy has the backing of more than 100. It is thought Sir Lindsay may only allow one vote on the issue. More than 70 per cent of MPs agree that women should not be liable for prison sentences if they have abortions outside the set rules, according to a YouGov poll of 100 MPs. There is, however, strong public opposition to changing the abortion time limits with only three per cent backing extending it to birth. A third amendment proposes a law change to ban the unsupervised use of abortion 'pills by post' to prevent women being coerced into terminations. Nearly 30 MPs including former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith are backing an amendment which would crack down on the pills-by-post scheme to prevent it being abused by coercive partners or result in mistaken terminations. Catherine Robinson, of Right to Life UK, said: 'The abortion lobby is pushing to decriminalise abortion to cover up the disastrous effects of its irresponsible pills-by-post scheme, which endangers women by removing the requirement for in-person consultations to reliably verify a woman's gestational age and assess any health risks, or the risk of coercion, before abortion pills may be prescribed.'

UK ‘woefully' ill-protected against Chinese and Russian undersea cable sabotage
UK ‘woefully' ill-protected against Chinese and Russian undersea cable sabotage

The Guardian

timean hour ago

  • The Guardian

UK ‘woefully' ill-protected against Chinese and Russian undersea cable sabotage

China and Russia are stepping up sabotage operations targeting undersea cables and the UK is unprepared to meet the mounting threat, according to new analysis. A report by the China Strategic Risks Institute (CSRI) analysed 12 incidents where national authorities had investigated alleged undersea cable sabotage between January 2021 and April 2025. Of the 10 cases in which a suspect vessel was identified, eight were directly linked to China or Russia through flag-state registration or company ownership. The involvement of 'shadow fleet' commercial vessels in these incidents is consistent with China and Russia's broader 'grey zone' strategy – a space between war and peace – which aims to coerce adversaries while minimising opportunities for response, the report claims. The patterns of activity – such as the involvement of Chinese vessels in suspicious incidents in the Baltic Sea, and Russian vessels near Taiwan – suggest possible coordination between Moscow and Beijing on undersea cable attacks, it said. It is estimated that up to 99% of intercontinental data transmission takes place through submarine cable systems, playing a vital role in civilian and defence infrastructure. Without undersea cables, much of the economy – from international banking and cloud computing to virtual communications and global logistics – would cease to function. The UK acts as a key hub in Euro-Atlantic cable infrastructure and is likely to become a frequent target for future sabotage operations. But a UK government submission to parliament's joint committee on the national security strategy admitted that it has limited capabilities to monitor commercial maritime traffic around undersea cables. The joint committee is mounting an investigation into the threat posed to the underseas cables and the possibility of more secure alternatives. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology submission to the committee noted that 'the UK has limited capabilities for monitoring general maritime and white [commercial] shipping traffic, as coastal radar only covers about 22% of the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) around the UK. 'The high volume of maritime traffic makes it challenging to identify every instance of abnormal maritime activity. As a result, the current capabilities cannot fully guarantee that all vessels adhere to UK laws and regulations, especially around sensitive infrastructure like undersea cables.' Andrew Yeh, the executive director of CSRI and author of the report, said: 'Undersea cables underpin prosperity and security in the digital age. We cannot afford to be naive about the unprecedented threat that China and Russia's grey-zone operations pose to the UK's undersea infrastructure. 'While well set up to deal with conventional threats, the UK's defence infrastructure is woefully inadequate in protecting against grey-zone tactics. The UK must bolster its monitoring and surveillance capabilities, while looking to partners such as Taiwan who have a wealth of experience in countering grey-zone threats.' The recent strategic defence review admitted that underwater cables were becoming an increasingly vulnerable maritime domain. Sign up to This is Europe The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment after newsletter promotion The UK is the landing point for 60 undersea cable systems, including nine out of the 15 undersea cables connecting North America to Europe. Only this month a Taiwanese court sentenced the Chinese captain of a ship to three years in jail after finding him guilty of intentionally damaging cables off the island in February. Proof of intent, as opposed to carelessness, is one of the difficulties in pursuing these cases in court. In the Taiwanese case, the Chinese captain said it was a case of negligence. Much of the law of the sea in relation to these highly sophisticated cables carrying hi-tech data is governed by the Cable Convention passed in 1884. Baltic Nato countries meeting in January vowed to boost patrol missions after several telecom and power cables were severed in the Baltic Sea in recent months, with experts and politicians accusing a Russian 'shadow fleet' of sabotage.

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