ICYMI: In today’s newsletter: As Israel escalates its offensive and Tehran weighs its response, the US president appears to be paving the way for military action
Good morning. In Alberta, Canada yesterday, leaders of six of the G7 countries set out their stalls on the conflict between Iran and Israel. Keir Starmer insisted that de-escalation was still the plan; Emmanuel Macron said that “the biggest mistake that can be made today is to try to change the regime in Iran by military means”. But more than 3,000km away in Washington DC, the G7 leader who matters most was charting his own course – and bringing the US closer to entering the war.
Within 24 hours Donald Trump shifted from promises that a deal could be done to demands for Tehran’s “unconditional surrender”. To his supporters this was a genius strategic manoeuvre and all part of the plan; to residents of the Iranian capital it is a much more ominous shift.
Abortion rights | British MPs have voted to decriminalise abortion, marking the biggest step forward in reproductive rights in almost 60 years. The change means that women who terminate their pregnancy outside the existing legal framework, for example after the time limit or by buying pills online, will no longer face arrest or prison.
Tariffs | Donald Trump is threatening to keep 25% tariffs on UK steel imports unless it gives specific guarantees over the Indian-owned steelmaking plant at Port Talbot in south Wales, sources have told the Guardian. The US is seeking assurances that raw materials for the plant will not be imported from overseas.
Ukraine | Russia launched a sustained missile and drone attack on Kyiv in the early hours of Tuesday, killing at least 16 people in what the Ukrainian president called “one of the most horrific attacks” on the Ukrainian capital since the full-scale war began in spring 2022.
UK news | The public must “keep calm” over the ethnicity of grooming gang offenders, the author of a high-profile report has urged, saying police data from one region suggested race was proportional with the local population.
Health | Cannabis use may double the risk of dying from heart disease and increase the risk of stroke by 20%, according to a global review of data. A linked editorial said the analysis “raises serious questions about the assumption that cannabis imposes little cardiovascular risk”. Continue reading…
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