Police warn against violence as Trump prepares to tour his Scottish golf courses
Protesters held large rallies against Trump when he visited in July 2018 and one paraglider flew over a no-fly zone at one of his golf courses with a banner that read: 'Trump: well below par'.
The police plan, called Operation Roll, is estimated to require 5000 officers to be on duty over the five days, with some coming from Northern Ireland.
Public protests against the war in Gaza have intensified in Britain in recent weeks amid global concern about Israeli forces killing Palestinians trying to get food at aid distribution points.
Australia this week joined a coalition of 28 nations calling for an immediate end to the war and condemning Israel over the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians seeking aid.
The British parliament voted to proscribe Palestine Action on July 2 after the government decided it should be branded a terrorist group, after members broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged aircraft.
'Any support for Palestine Action, be that in terms of clothes worn, be that in terms of banners held, is now an offence under the Terrorism Act and people are liable to arrest for those offences,' Bond said.
The assistant chief constable suggested wearing a shirt declaring support for Palestine Action could meet the threshold for an arrest.
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Trump will open a new 18-hole golf course during his visit at his existing resort on the North Sea coast at Menie, north of Aberdeen. The course will be named after his mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, who was born on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland's north-west.
While the coming visit is personal rather than official business, the president will be backed by the usual security detail and will be flown between the two properties on Marine One, the presidential helicopter.
The state visit in September will include a ceremonial welcome and a state dinner at Windsor Castle, where Trump and his wife, Melania, will stay as guests of King Charles.
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West Australian
31 minutes ago
- West Australian
Australia, UK solidify AUKUS deal as Pentagon review raised at high-level Australia-UK talks in Sydney
Despite fears the Trump administration could abandon AUKUS, Australia and the UK have pressed ahead, preparing to sign a 50-year agreement they hope will cement the submarine pact. Defence Minister Richard Marles, Foreign Minister Penny Wong, and their UK counterparts John Healey and David Lammy unveiled the new treaty during the annual AUSMIN meeting in Sydney. The Pentagon's review of the trilateral submarine plan had been raised during the high-level talks on Friday, Mr Marles said. Both defence ministers sought to ease concerns, welcoming the still-ongoing review, with Mr Marles cushioning it as 'the most natural thing in the world' for a new government to reassess such a major deal. 'We've welcomed the review, which is being undertaken by the Trump administration. We spoke today about how both of us — both countries — can contribute to the review,' he said. 'When we came to Government back in 2022, we undertook the Defence Strategic Review. When the UK Government came to power, they, in turn, undertook a review. This is a very, very natural step.' Australia had spearheaded the AUKUS pact in 2021 under then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison, after recognising the country needed to rapidly upgrade its defence capabilities. Labor then agreed to continue it. But Mr Trump's return to the White House in January has sparked new doubts over the pricey pact, as Washington slaps controversial tariffs on multiple countries, including close allies UK and Australia. Australia has also been pressured to increase defence spending in line with the NATO agreement for governments to raise their expenditure to 5 per cent of their country's GDP by 2034. While Australia currently spends about two per cent of its GDP on defence — on track to rise slightly above 2.3 per cent by the end of the decade — Washington has signalled that may not be enough. The UK's increase to 2.5 per cent of GDP by the end of the decade, equivalent to an extra £75 billion, was announced at last month's NATO summit and welcomed by US officials. The Coalition welcomed the UK-Australia treaty but called for defence spending to be increased, urging the Albanese Government to show greater commitment to the US. 'The Albanese Government must urgently demonstrate the same clarity and commitment with the United States,' a joint statement by shadow ministers Michaelia Cash and Angus Taylor said: 'Particularly in light of the Pentagon review, to reassure our partners that Australia can deliver on its contributions and, in turn, secure continued US backing for the agreement. 'Australia must do what we can to ensure AUKUS' longevity and success.' 'At a time of rising global instability, sustained underfunding risks weakening Australia's deterrence and damaging trust in our alliances,' they said. 'The Government must match its rhetoric with investment, and we stand ready to support a bipartisan pathway to deliver the capabilities our nation needs.' Australian Strategic Policy Institute senior analyst Euan Graham said it could be contributing to current alliance tensions. The pressure comes ahead of summit season, where the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hopes to land his first meeting with Donald Trump. The Prime Minister has dodged questions on when he'll meet the US President after their planned G7 meeting fell through, with Opposition Leader Sussan Ley attacking the lack of progress during the first sitting of the new Parliament this week. Dr Graham said while the UK could support long-term ambitions, Australia still faced a near-term capability gap it would need the US to fill. He said Australia still had an interim reliance on US-made Virginia-class submarines — set to be acquired in the early 2030s, while waiting for the AUKUS subs to be delivered in the 2040s. 'It doesn't solve the issue of the gap between now and when those submarines start being delivered,' he said. 'That's where the American Virginia class gap-filling really comes into play.' But he reiterated that the AUKUS arrangement was a three-nation pact and can be reinforced by each side, saying if confidence dips in one party, strengthening ties with the others can help balance it out. 'This is a clear commitment from the UK to honour its side of the bargain, and I think hopefully that should steady some of the nervousness around Washington's commitment levels,' he said. Greens Senator David Shoebridge blasted the new treaty, calling it a backward step that enriches foreign arms companies and damages regional ties. 'Australia needs to look to our region, not tie our future to a dying empire a world away. All this will do is line the pockets of foreign arms companies and alienate our neighbours,' Senator Shoebridge said. But Dr Graham said Australia must pay to play, and it was necessary to offshore work because Australia lacks the technology to produce the subs on its own. 'If Australia wants capability, it has to buy it. It can't produce it itself,' he said. 'As part of that, Australia is committed to directly investing in the defence industrial base of both countries. 'That's money that's going to leave Australia and go into other countries, but those other countries are providing a service. It's like anything else.' Mr Marles expressed the importance of Australia's 'oldest relationship' with Britain amid global uncertainty and a 'great power contest' in the region. UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy labelled the AUSMIN talks as ' focused and constructive' and the pact a 'landmark treaty' which was necessary in a 'turbulent world'. 'It's clear that the UK-Australia relationship is an anchor in what is a very volatile world, providing stability in troubled waters and a relationship that holds steady,' he said. 'Whichever way the geopolitical winds are blowing . . . I think we're sending a clear signal, a signal of the UK's commitment to this region of the world.' He said the UK was determined to keep the Indo-Pacific 'free and open'. Senator Wong said the relationship was rooted in shared values and interests, but it was important to 'modernise' the partnership to meet current global challenges. 'We all know we face the most challenging, strategic circumstances since World War II. More conflict, more contest, a multilateral system under strain,' Senator Wong said. 'And against that backdrop, the partnership between our nations matters even more. And we are determined to work together to modernise our partnership, to take the world as it is, but to work together to shape it for the better. 'We've had an excellent set of discussions today.' Both parties will travel to Mr Marles' Geelong electorate tomorrow, where the agreement is expected to be officially signed. Mr Marles and Ms Wong will also join their UK counterparts in Darwin on Sunday for the visit of the UK Carrier Strike Group, the first such deployment to Australia since 1997, taking place during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025.
SBS Australia
37 minutes ago
- SBS Australia
Trump praises Australia lifting restrictions on US beef imports
Trump praises Australia lifting restrictions on US beef imports Published 25 July 2025, 9:00 am US President Donald Trump has seized on Australia's move to relax restrictions on beef imports and is now pressuring other nations to do the same. The Australian government maintains the call had no link to tariff negotiations, but warned there cannot be a return to what it called "the law of the jungle".
West Australian
an hour ago
- West Australian
Why France is recognising Palestinian statehood
French President Emmanuel Macron has announced he will recognise Palestinian statehood, drawing angry rebukes from Israel and the United States and opening the door for other major nations to perhaps follow suit. WHAT DID MACRON SAY? Macron published a letter sent to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas confirming France's intention to press ahead with recognition and work to convince other partners to do the same He said he would make a formal announcement at the United Nations General Assembly next month France is now the first major Western country to shift its diplomatic stance on a Palestinian state, after Spain, Ireland and Norway officially recognised one last year WHY IS THIS SIGNIFICANT? The decision to recognise Palestinian statehood is mostly symbolic but it makes Israel appear more isolated on the international stage over the war in Gaza WHY DID MACRON DO THIS? Macron decided to do it ahead of a UN conference co-hosted by France and Saudi Arabia on the matter next week to try to sway other countries considering that step, or those that are wavering WHAT IMPACT COULD IT HAVE ON FRENCH TIES WITH ISRAEL Ahead of Macron's announcement, Israeli officials had spent months lobbying to prevent what some had called "a nuclear bomb" for bilateral relations Sources familiar with the matter say Israel's warnings to France had ranged from scaling back intelligence-sharing to complicating Paris' regional initiatives - even hinting at possible annexation of parts of the West Bank WHO COULD BE NEXT? The decision by France, which is home to Europe's largest Jewish and Muslim communities alike, could fuel a movement so far dominated by smaller nations generally more critical of Israel The decision will put pressure on major countries like Britain, Germany, Australia, Canada and Japan to follow suit In the immediate term, Malta and Belgium could be the next countries within the European Union to do so WHO ELSE HAS RECOGNISED PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD? Last year, Ireland, Norway and Spain recognised a Palestinian state with its borders to be demarcated as they were prior to the 1967 Middle East war, when Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem About 144 of the 193 member states of the United Nations recognise Palestine as a state, including most of the global south as well as Russia, China and India Only a handful of the 27 European Union members do so, mostly former Communist countries as well as Sweden and Cyprus The UN General Assembly approved the de facto recognition of the sovereign state of Palestine in November 2012 by upgrading its observer status at the world body to "non-member state" from "entity" HOW DID THE UNITED STATES, ISRAEL, AND PALESTINIANS REACT? Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the decision by France, one of Israel's closest allies and a G7 member, saying such a move "rewards terror and risks creating another Iranian proxy" US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States "strongly rejects (Macron's) plan to recognise a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly" "This reckless decision only serves Hamas propaganda and sets back peace," Rubio posted on X The Palestinian Authority's Vice President Hussein Al Sheikh said Macron's decision reflected "France's commitment to international law and its support for the Palestinian people's rights to self-determination and the establishment of our independent state"
