Mounted Life Guards hit the beach — and other news in pictures
A guest takes a selfie with Larry, the Downing Street cat, outside No 10 during a reception to mark Armed Forces Week, which celebrates the contributions of service personnel and their families across the UK
THOMAS KRYCH/STORY PICTURE AGENCY
Clive Myrie and Sir Mo Farah take part in the academic procession to the Sheldonian Theatre before Oxford University's annual Encaenia ceremony, where honorary degrees are awarded
JACOB KING/PA
A defiant protester in front of a burning barricade in central Nairobi during a demonstration marking one year since the storming of Kenya's parliament, the deadliest day of anti-government unrest
LUIS TATO/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Fog drifts over farmland in the Kaipara Hills, softening the ridgelines and trees in the rural landscape north of Auckland, New Zealand
FIONA GOODALL/GETTY IMAGES
DUNCAN MCGLYNN
Children cool off in fountains during the Benton Harbor Department of Public Safety's Spray & Play event at Pete Mitchell City Center Park in Michigan
DON CAMPBELL/THE HERALD-PALLADIUM/AP
A policeman grapples with a cyclist as Extinction Rebellion protesters block the A12 highway in the Hague during a demonstration against the Nato summit, which is being hosted in the Netherlands for the first time
SEBASTIAAN BAREL/EPA
XNY/STAR MAX/GC IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES
Liziano Ostiana performs a free running flip above Siebe van de Spijker, left, and Dez Maarsen during a media preview of Elements of Freestyle by ISH Dance Collective at the Sydney Opera House
DON ARNOLD/WIREIMAGE/GETTY IMAGES
Kristi Noem, the US secretary of homeland security, boards the Coast Guard cutter Escanaba in Panama City for a meeting on drug interception during a regional visit focused on immigration and security partnerships in Central America
ANNA MONEYMAKER/GETTY IMAGES
Myo Min Aung, a veterinarian, tends to ten-month-old baby elephant Kyaw Pearl at Wingabaw Elephant Camp in Phayargyi, Myanmar, after the calf was rescued with injuries from the wild
SAI AUNG MAIN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Flamingos fly over pink salt flats in the Camargue region of southern France, their dark shadows trailing across the patterned ground below. The vivid colour of the landscape comes from Dunaliella salina, a pink microalgae found in the salt lakes and evaporation ponds
Nadia El-Nakla, a councillor and wife of the former Scottish first minister Humza Yousaf, examines Palestinian dresses at V&A Dundee as part of Thread Memory: Embroidery from Palestine, an exhibition marking 45 years of the city's twinning with Nablus
JANE BARLOW/PA
A visitor takes a leap from a 50-metre crane at Coram's Fields in central London, where new electric car brand Leapmotor is offering free bungee jumps alongside test drives in an unusual marketing ploy
WILL IRELAND/SWNS
Mae Ann Jorolan and Luke Brady take centre stage with the cast during the curtain call for Disney's Hercules at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London's West End
DAVE BENETT/GETTY IMAGES
Two black-necked cranes mirror each other in a territorial display on a wetland in Ladakh, India, raising their heads and calling out to defend their nesting site in the high-altitude landscape
HEMANT KUMAR/SOLENT NEWS
Nick Park, creator of Wallace and Gromit, poses with sculptures from Gromit Unleashed 3 during the launch event in Bristol, where a heritage steam train delivered characters designed in collaboration with Pixar, Lucasfilm, Sir Paul McCartney and others for a public art trail across the city
FINNBARR WEBSTER/GETTY IMAGES
Brothers Leo, 2, and Raphey Almeida, 3, explore a neon-painted T-Rex named King Rexford the Great by artist Laura Alp, part of a vibrant dinosaur trail at Furzey Gardens in the New Forest featuring 50 prehistoric installations among the plants
SIMON CZAPP/SOLENT NEWS
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Edinburgh Reporter
2 hours ago
- Edinburgh Reporter
Marking Armed Forces Day in Edinburgh
In Edinburgh, a parade led by The Highland and Lowland Bands of The Royal Regiment of Scotland marched along George Street on Saturday morning, stopping at a saluting dais at the Assembly Rooms before assembling in St Andrew Square to mark Armed Forces Day. Armed Forces Day is always held on the last Saturday of June and is an annual opportunity to show support and gratitude for the Armed Forces community, including serving personnel, veterans, reservists, cadets, and their families. A selection of WWII vehicles, including some tracked tanks, also processed along George Street with the bands and veterans. The British Army in Scotland includes The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards at Leuchars Station, the 39 Engineer Regiment at Kinloss Barracks, and The Royal Regiment of Scotland at Fort George, representing a diverse range of combat and support capabilities. The government said that its Strategic Defence Review emphasises the importance of Scotland's industrial base. At Rosyth, Babcock is constructing the Royal Navy's new fleet of five Type 31 frigates, a multi-billion-pound programme supporting hundreds of skilled jobs and sustaining a world-class shipbuilding industry. This Armed Forces Week, 8,200 members of the UK Armed Forces will be deployed overseas, serving on 52 operations in 38 countries. Hundreds more personnel are working to protect our skies, shores and seas at home. Secretary of State for Scotland Ian Murray said:'I'm immensely proud of all our Scots servicemen and women and I'd like to thank them for the extraordinary work they do to keep us safe all day, every day in the UK and around the world. National security is a UK Government priority and we will always stand up for our military. I look forward to the whole country uniting for today's Armed Forces Day to show our support for currently serving troops, service families, veterans and cadets.' This year, the town of Cleethorpes in Lincolnshire will host the Armed Forces Day national event and is expected to welcome 200,000 visitors to the celebrations this weekend. The Ministry of Defence has also announced that the bidding process for next year's Armed Forces Day national event will open next week, on Tuesday 1 July. Local authorities can apply for up to £50,000 in funding to host the official Armed Forces Day national event. This follows the government's decision to bring back the Armed Forces Day national event for the first time since 2023. The winning town or city will also receive support from the Ministry of Defence such as military musicians, air displays and flypasts. © 2025 Martin McAdam © 2025 Martin McAdam © 2025 Martin McAdam © 2025 Martin McAdam © 2025 Martin McAdam © 2025 Martin McAdam © 2025 Martin McAdam © 2025 Martin McAdam © 2025 Martin McAdam © 2025 Martin McAdam © 2025 Martin McAdam © 2025 Martin McAdam © 2025 Martin McAdam © 2025 Martin McAdam © 2025 Martin McAdam © 2025 Martin McAdam © 2025 Martin McAdam © 2025 Martin McAdam © 2025 Martin McAdam Like this: Like Related
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
Home Office staff concerned about ‘absurd' Palestine Action ban, says senior civil servant
Home Office staff are concerned about the 'absurd' decision to ban Palestine Action under UK anti-terrorism laws, a senior civil servant has said. On Monday the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, announced plans to ban the group, which would make membership of it, or inviting support for it, a criminal offence under the Terrorism Act, carrying a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison. It would be the first time a direct action protest group has been classified as a terrorist organisation, joining the likes of Islamic State, al-Qaida and National Action. The move has been condemned as draconian by many other protest groups, civil society organisations and politicians of different stripes. A senior Home Office official, who requested anonymity as they are not allowed to speak to the press, said concerns about proscribing Palestine Action extended into the home secretary's own department. 'My colleagues and I were shocked by the announcement,' they said. 'All week, the office has been a very tense atmosphere, charged with concern about treating a non-violent protest group the same as actual terrorist organisations like Isis, and the dangerous precedent this sets. 'From desk to desk, colleagues are exchanging concerned and bemused conversations about how absurd this is and how impossible it will be to enforce. Are they really going to prosecute as terrorists everyone who expresses support for Palestine Action's work to disrupt the flow of arms to Israel as it commits war crimes? 'It's ridiculous and it's being widely condemned in anxious conversations internally as a blatant misuse of anti-terror laws for political purposes to clamp down on protests which are affecting the profits of arms companies.' In September last year, the UK announced it was suspending some arms export licences to Israel because of a 'clear risk' they may be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law. But critics have said it does not go far enough. A court case in which the UK is accused of selling F-35 parts that could be used by Israel to attack Gaza is awaiting judgment. After Palestine Action claimed it had broken into RAF Brize Norton a week ago and sprayed paint on two military aircraft, it said Britain continued to 'send military cargo, fly spy planes over Gaza and refuel US and Israeli fighter jets'. On Friday, counter-terrorism policing south-east said it had arrested four people in connection with the protest. Cooper said the protest was part of a 'long history of unacceptable criminal damage committed by Palestine Action'. Palestine Action said the arrests of three of the four on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism showed that 'proscription is not about enabling prosecutions under terrorism laws – it's about cracking down on non-violent protests which disrupt the flow of arms to Israel during its genocide in Palestine'. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion The Home Office is not the only government department where there has been discontent among staff recently. This month, more than 300 Foreign Office staff were told to consider resigning after they signed a letter raising fears that the government had become complicit in Israel's alleged war crimes in Gaza. The reply to the letter, sent by the permanent under-secretary, Oliver Robbins, and Nick Dyer, the second most senior civil servant in the Foreign Office, said: 'If your disagreement with any aspect of government policy or action is profound, your ultimate recourse is to resign from the civil service. This is an honourable course.' The proscription order will be laid before parliament on Monday and, if passed by MPs, is likely to come into effect on Friday. When approached for comment, the Home Office referred the Guardian to Cooper's statement from Monday.
The Guardian
6 hours ago
- The Guardian
Greens call for investigation into NSW police arrest that injured former candidate
A Greens MP is demanding an independent investigation into NSW police arrests at a protest that resulted in a former candidate being taken to hospital with serious facial injuries. Sue Higginson is calling for a critical incident to be declared after Hannah Thomas – who ran against Anthony Albanese in the Sydney electorate of Grayndler – sustained facial injuries during arrest at a Friday protest outside a business in Belmore accused of 'supplying electroplating and surface coating services for a variety of applications including aerospace and defence technology' to Israel. In a letter sent to the state's police watchdog, commissioner for police, and minister for police on Saturday – seen by Guardian Australia – Higginson labelled the policing of the protest 'excessive, unnecessary, and potentially constitute an unlawful exercise of authority to intimidate'. She called for an investigation 'to avoid further horrific instances of innocent people being seriously injured'. 'Having witnessed the grievous injuries caused by the police to Hannah Thomas, spoken to on ground witnesses who witnessed what occurred, and with the knowledge that Hannah has experienced serious injuries and hospitalisation, I am calling for a critical incident to be declared urgently,' the letter said. Police on Friday said Thomas, 35, sustained facial injuries during the arrest and was taken to Bankstown hospital for treatment. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email A photo of Thomas online showed her eye swollen shut and with blood on her face before she was taken for surgery. Video of the incident, which Higginson shared on social media on Friday afternoon, showed multiple police dragging one of the protesters, as onlookers repeatedly shouted 'get off her' and 'let go of her'. In a statement on Friday, police said: 'As police attempted to arrest the protesters who were not complying with the directions, a scuffle ensued between police and protesters, during which a police body worn camera was taken by an unknown protester.' Higginson had on Friday said the protest was peaceful and claimed Thomas was the 'victim of brutal excessive force by the police'. 'The prognosis provided to family earlier was that they could not tell the extent of her injuries until there was a full examination because the swelling was too severe and that it was possible she may lose vision in that eye.' 'That she may have sustained injuries to the bones of her face, but nothing has been confirmed at this point.' According to police, officers issued a move-on direction to the protesters at about 5.30am on Friday. The force alleged the protest, which attracted between 50 and 60 people, was 'unauthorised', as those involved had not given advanced notice nor submitted a form that protected them from being charged under anti-protest laws. Thomas allegedly declined to comply with the order and was forcibly removed and arrested. In NSW, people who wish to stage a protest must lodge paperwork – known as a 'notice of intention to hold a public assembly' – with the police commissioner in advance of the demonstration for it to be considered lawful. The state's permit system has previously come under fire for being 'undemocratic', with the Minns Labor government urged to scrap it for a human rights charter like those which exist in Victoria and Queensland. Higginson's Saturday letter suggested the incident occurred 'due to the political decisions taken by the Minns Government, in continuing to pass unnecessary laws that target and vilify peaceful protest and non-violent civil disobedience'. 'This has caused officers of the NSW police to feel empowered and protected to go beyond the powers that the law bestows on them,' she wrote. All five people arrested on Friday were granted conditional bail to appear before Bankstown local court on 15 July. NSW police, the NSW law enforcement conduct commission (Lecc) and the office of the state minister for police were contacted for comment. Earlier this year an international campaign urged F-35 fighter jet producing nations to stop supplying Israel. SEC Plating told Guardian Australia on Friday that: 'we have no involvement in providing plating services for various parts used in the F-35 Jet program'. 'We do not have any business servicing F-35 components,' they added. 'We do have business servicing some Australian defence manufactures however F-35 components are not part of this.'
