Lawmakers Vote to Decriminalize Abortions for Women in England and Wales
British lawmakers voted on Tuesday to prevent women from being prosecuted for having an abortion in England and Wales, a landmark decision that sets the country on a diverging path from the United States on an emotive social issue. In effect, the vote will largely decriminalize terminating pregnancies that are later than 24 weeks, the current limit, although medical professionals who aid the process could still be prosecuted. Britain’s Parliament, by a vote of 370 to 137, approved an amendment to a bill that would change Victorian-era laws governing abortion. The vote comes at a time of intense debate over abortion in the United States, where the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion in 2022 and threw it to the 50 states to legislate their own laws. By contrast, surveys suggest that the vast majority of the British population — consistently around 88 percent, according to YouGov, a polling agency — say they believe that women should have the right to an abortion.
Source:The Times
June 18, 2025 06:07 UTC
British high commissioner meets Omar in Delhi, National Conference terms it courtesy call
British high commissioner to India, Lindy Cameron, with Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar AbdullahReplyReply allForwardSRINAGAR: The British high commissioner to India, Lindy Cameron, met Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah along with her team in New Delhi on Monday.The CM’s office posted on X about the meeting, but did not divulge anything about the nature of discussions. Tanvir Sadiq, the chief spokesperson of governing National Conference (NC) who was present at the meeting, described it as a “courtesy call. The first such visit took place on Jan 1, 2020, when most political leaders, including Omar, Lone and Mehbooba Mufti, along with hundreds of others, were detained under the Public Safety Act and were lodged in different sub-jails.On Feb 10-11, 2020, envoys from 25 countries, mostly from the European Union, visited Srinagar. The third such visit took place in Feb 2021, when a large number of European diplomats visited Kashmir, and met journalists and elected DDC representatives. On Aug 22, 2023, US diplomats led by Graham Mayer met LG Manoj Sinha at Raj Bhavan in Srinagar.
Source:The Times
June 18, 2025 05:23 UTC
Review finds UK police and councils covered up ethnicity of grooming gangs for fear of being called racist
Representative ImageLONDON: A rapid national audit of grooming gangs ordered by UK PM Keir Starmer in February 2025, following pressure from Elon Musk and published late Monday, has found that UK police and councils deliberately concealed the Asian ethnicity of the perpetrators to avoid “appearing racist” and to avoid “raising community tensions”.In two-thirds of cases of “group-based child sexual exploitation”, no ethnicity was even collected. The audit by Baroness Casey found that a 2020 home office report claiming the majority of predators were white had used flawed data.Casey found that after examining data held by three police forces that did have ethnicity collected, the men of “Asian ethnicity” were “over-represented” as perpetrators of grooming gangs, which warranted further examination.“More often than not, the official reports do not discuss the perpetrators, let alone their ethnicity or any cultural drivers. There is a palpable discomfort in any discussion of ethnicity in most of them. Where ethnicity is mentioned, it is referred to in euphemisms such as ‘the local community’, or it is buried deep in the report,” she wrote.“It is not racist to want to examine the ethnicity of offenders,” she said and, in her report, called for it to be made mandatory for the police to record the ethnicity and nationality of all suspects in grooming gang cases.It was not just white vulnerable girls who are victims, she found. He has agreed to implement all 12 recommendations.The report also found that in current live cases a “significant number” of men running grooming gangs are non-UK nationals and asylum seekers.Home secretary Yvette Cooper announced that henceforth “anyone convicted of sexual offences be excluded from the asylum system and denied refugee status”.
Source:The Times
June 18, 2025 04:29 UTC
British Navy's F-35 still stuck in Kerala, CISF posts man to guard it
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The British Royal Navy F-35 fighter jet that made an emergency landing Saturday night remains stranded at Thiruvananthapuram airport. A snag in the hydraulic system of the aircraft is delaying its departure.The fighter jet is from the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales, sailing around 100 nautical miles off the Kerala coast. Technicians arrived by a British Navy MJS-101 helicopter from the aircraft carrier the same night.Sources said the fighter jet, which was ready to leave Tuesday after repairs, was further delayed. The aircraft was attended to by Royal Navy personnel in past two days. "As he was the only personnel with the aircraft, he wanted to stay within sight of it.
Source:The Times
June 18, 2025 01:27 UTC
UK sanctions hit two residents accused of sending tech to Russia
Live EventsBritain announced new sanctions on people and groups it said were linked to Russian finance, energy and military operations on Tuesday, including two UK residents it accused of sending high-end electronics to Moscow for the war in Ukraine.The two - a Ukrainian and a Polish national living in Britain - had operated "a shadowy network of shell companies" to funnel more than $120 million of technology to Russia, Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office said.Six entities had been added to the sanctions list, it added, as well as 20 ships from Russia's so-called "shadow fleet" - vessels that Western powers say are being used to help Russia evade price caps and other limits on its crude oil.Britain imposed sanctions on two companies it accused of crewing and managing the vessels. The penalties would also target the Russian GUGI military agency responsible for underwater intelligence, a move that would protect Britain's subsea infrastructure from attack, Starmer's office added. "These sanctions strike right at the heart of Putin's war machine, choking off his ability to continue his barbaric war in Ukraine," Starmer said in a statement.Russia's embassy in London did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Russia has previously called Western sanctions illegal and said they destabilise global energy markets.Starmer is expected to talk about the sanctions later on Tuesday at the G7 summit in Canada.He will say he wants "to work with all of our G7 partners to squeeze Russia's energy revenues and reduce the funds they are able to pour into their illegal war," according to advance excerpts of his remarks released by his office.Britain has already imposed sanctions on more than 2,300 individuals, entities and ships since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.Starmer's office said the electronics sent to Russia included many Common High Priority items - advanced components including microelectronics deemed by the US and European Union as likely to be used for Russia's war in Ukraine.The two people named in the British statement could not immediately be reached for comment.
Source:The Times
June 17, 2025 17:50 UTC
‘A Little Windy’: Trump Drops U.S.-Britain Trade Papers
“OK, thank you very much. We all know the great prime minister of the U.K., and we just signed a document. This is — sorry about that.” “A very important document.” “A little — a little windy out here. Give me that. We just signed it, and it’s done.”
Source:The Times
June 17, 2025 16:19 UTC
UK nurses ‘not isolated’ from global health issues
The head of an international nursing body has called on nurses from all countries to pay attention to global crises like climate change and war, no matter how far removed they may seem. Howard Catton, chief executive of the International Council of Nurses (ICN), spoke to Nursing Times on the final day of the organisation's 2025 congress in Finland last week about his reflections on the global meeting of nurses. "I don't think that there are nurses who are isolated from global events" Howard CattonThe event hosted more than 7,000 nurses from over 140 countries from across the world, where they shared expertise and knowledge. Mr Catton said he was pleased by the way national nursing associations, such as the Royal College of Nursing in the UK, provided a “strong voice” on these issues throughout the ICN event. Mr Catton said the headline topics mentioned at congress, and others like non-communicable diseases, mental health, diversity and equity, should be on the forefront of nurses’ minds regardless of where they live.
Source:The Times
June 17, 2025 16:13 UTC
Cricket star’s daughter, 21, ‘could have been saved’ having visited hospital ‘multiple times’, rules inquest
Bethan Amy James, 21 , daughter of ex-England and Glamorgan batsman Steve James, died from sepsis after being sent home from hospital multiple times in the days before her death. By the time she was finally seen in hospital, Bethan was gravely ill and died within hours. "On balance, I find that had this direct admission to resus and prompt recognition and treatment occurred, then cardiac arrest would not have occurred when it did," Ms Morgan said. A post-mortem found Bethan died from a combination of sepsis, pneumonia and Crohn’s disease. Delivering a narrative conclusion, Ms Morgan said Bethan had visited hospital multiple times between January 27 and February 6 - but was sent home again and again.
Source:The Times
June 17, 2025 15:03 UTC
Sir Sadiq Khan to pedestrianise Oxford Street ‘as quickly as possible’
Oxford Street is one of the world’s busiest shopping areas, with around half a million visitors each day. A previous attempt by Sir Sadiq to pedestrianise that part of Oxford Street was blocked by then-Conservative run Westminster City Council in 2018. Sir Sadiq said: “Oxford Street has suffered over many years, so urgent action is needed to give our nation’s high street a new lease of life. “We want to rejuvenate Oxford Street; establish it as a global leader for shopping, leisure and outdoor events with a world-class, accessible, pedestrianised avenue. “Since 2022, Oxford Street has roared back to life after the pandemic.
Source:The Times
June 17, 2025 11:14 UTC
Nuclear boss drove to hospital with foot injury after drinking wine
The officer told the defendant he was concerned about the manner of driving and Teasdale said he had a cut to his foot and was driving to hospital. Teasdale was arrested and taken to West Cumberland Hospital. “He opened a bottle of wine to drink between 7pm and midnight,” Mr Hazeldean told the court. He stood on a wine glass he had been drinking from.”Mr Hazeldean said there was a large shard of glass lodged into Teasdale’s foot, causing injury. “He accepts he made an unwise decision to not ring an ambulance and drive to West Cumberland Hospital,” the solicitor said.
Source:The Times
June 17, 2025 11:02 UTC
As Starmer and Trump agree a trade deal, what about steel?
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Source:The Times
June 17, 2025 09:27 UTC
ICC ready for 4-day Tests in 2027-29 WTC cycle; India, Australia, England to still play 5-day matches: Report
Live Events(You can now subscribe to our(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channelLondon: The International Cricket Council ICC ) is ready to sanction four-day Tests for smaller nations in the 2027-29 World Test Championship cycle but India, Australia and England can still play the traditional five-day matches , according a report here.The move to reduce matches by one day would be a significant change and can help smaller nations to play more Tests and longer series. "During discussions last week at the WTC final at Lord's, the ICC chair, Jay Shah , is understood to have expressed his support for four-day Tests, with a view to sanctioning them in time for the 2027-29 WTC cycle," a report in "The Guardian' newspaper said. "England, Australia and India would still be permitted to schedule five-Test series of five-day matches for the Ashes, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and the newly named Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, the first iteration of which begins with the first Test between England and India at Headingley on Friday. "The ICC first sanctioned four-day Tests for bilateral contests in 2017. ""In four-day Tests the playing hours are extended to mandate a minimum of 98 overs per day rather than 90 overs to mitigate the time lost," it said.
Source:The Times
June 17, 2025 09:09 UTC
UK may rethink non-dom inheritance tax as wealthy foreigners exit
Live EventsThe UK government is reviewing its recent move to impose inheritance tax on global assets of non-domiciled residents , following a wave of departures among high-net-worth individuals and lobbying from the City of London . According to one City financier familiar with Reeves’ stance, the government is seeking a way to “backtrack without backtracking” on the inheritance tax changes . Another City executive said, “There will most likely be some tweaks to inheritance tax to stop the non-dom exodus.”The abolition of the non-dom tax regime and the closure of offshore trust loopholes have already triggered relocations to lower-tax destinations such as the UAE, Italy, and Switzerland. Alongside the non-dom issue, the removal of VAT exemptions for private school fees and inheritance tax amendments have raised alarm among financial professionals. Legal experts have flagged this as a fresh cause for business owners to leave the UK.
Source:The Times
June 17, 2025 08:11 UTC
Hart: N.J. must build recycling policy on facts, not assumptions
OPINIONAs someone who spent nearly 30 years at the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), I learned time and time again that environmental policy is a science, not an art. That’s why, as state lawmakers look to reform and strengthen our recycling system, a legislative proposal to conduct a statewide recycling needs assessment (A.4902/S.3815) is exactly the kind of smart, Jersey-first approach we need. Maryland, for example, launched a similar statewide recycling needs assessment before crafting its EPR legislation this year. The statewide recycling needs assessment puts us on the right path. I urge all state lawmakers to support the recycling needs assessment bill and get this done the right way.
Source:The Times
June 17, 2025 07:52 UTC
TSB’s Spanish owner considers sale of UK banking business
Bidders for the bank could include NatWest, Barclays and Santander UK (Gareth Fuller/PA)The lender posted pre-tax profits of £101.3 million for the first quarter, up from £53.4 million a year ago. The Financial Times reported that potential bidders for TSB could include Barclays, NatWest, Santander UK and HSBC. The potential disposal comes as Sabadell seeks to rebuff a potential hostile takeover by Spanish rival BBVA. The potential sale of TSB is the latest in a flurry of recent dealmaking moves in the UK banking sector. Meanwhile, Santander has reported pushed back bids from NatWest and Barclays to buy its UK retail bank.
Source:The Times
June 17, 2025 07:20 UTC