Britain

The Washington Post reports: King Charles III wore a very heavy crown. Someone called Black Rod had a door slammed in her face. A lawmaker was held “hostage” by Buckingham Palace. It was the state opening of Parliament, that time of year when the British monarch announces the new laws on the government’s agenda, but because this is Britain, there …

The Associated Press reports: Four men were charged Monday over the theft of an 18-carat gold toilet from Blenheim Palace, the sprawling English mansion where British wartime leader Winston Churchill was born. The toilet, valued at 4.8 million pounds ($5.95 million), was the work of Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan. It was part of an art installation at Blenheim Palace, …

The BBC reports: Boris Johnson asked government scientists whether people could kill Covid by using a “special hair dryer” up their nose, his former aide has claimed. Dominic Cummings said the former prime minister shared a video of a man using such a device with his top advisers. He then asked the medical experts what they thought about the clip, …

The Telegraph reports: Conservative MP Crispin Blunt has been arrested in connection with an allegation of rape and possession of a controlled substance. Mr Blunt, MP for Reigate since 1997 and a former justice minister, outed himself on social media after reports emerged that a senior politician had been arrested in connection with drug and sex offences. Mr Blunt claimed …

The Evening Standard reports: GB News has suspended presenter Dan Wootton following comments made on his programme by Laurence Fox about a female journalist. The suspension of Wootton follows the earlier suspension of actor-turned politician Fox following his “misogynistic” rant live on air about Ava Evans. Ms Evans, the political correspondent for online news site Joe, said she was “really …

EuroNews reports: Suella Braverman questioned the United Nations Refugee Convention in a speech in Washington, arguing that “simply being gay, or a woman” should not be by itself grounds for international protection. The British government has made the fight against illegal immigration a priority. With a general election due next year, which the opposition party Labour is widely tipped to …

The Times Of London reports: The “free speech” website that hosts Russell Brand could be forced out of the UK under new online safety laws, experts have said. Rumble, a video-sharing platform based in North America, has become home to Brand and other figures with extreme views, including Andrew Tate and Alex Jones, the conspiracy theorist. It also hosts extreme …

The BBC reports: The boss of Iceland [supermarket chain] has been forced to apologise and retract a claim that three staff contracted HIV as a result of needle attacks. Richard Walker said he made comments in “error” in a “draft article” about threats of violence against store workers by shoplifters for Mail Online. Politicians and charities had called for him …

Britain’s Sunday Times reports: The comedian and actor Russell Brand has been accused of rape, sexual assaults and emotional abuse during a seven-year period at the height of his fame. Four women have alleged sexual assaults between 2006 and 2013, while he was a presenter for BBC Radio 2 and Channel 4 and then an actor in Hollywood films. Others …

The BBC reports: Former Tory whip Chris Pincher has resigned his seat after losing his appeal against a proposed Commons suspension for drunkenly groping two men. It means the government will face another by-election. The Parliament’s standards committee found the Tamworth MP groped two men at London’s Carlton Club. It described his “completely inappropriate” behaviour as an “abuse of power”. …

CBS News reports: American Kevin Spacey was found not guilty Wednesday of all the sexual assault charges he was facing in a U.K. trial. The actor had faced nine sexual offense charges related to incidents reported by four men that allegedly took place between 2001 and 2013. The Academy Award-winning actor had pleaded not guilty to all of the charges. …

The Daily Beast reports: Dan Wootton, a former star reporter at Rupert Murdoch’s Sun newspaper, has been accused of creating bogus online identities to trick and bribe men into sending him sexually compromising images. Byline News first reported Wootton had targeted media colleagues, friends, and members of the public for more than a decade, posing as a fictitious celebrity agent …

The BBC reports: Rishi Sunak has apologised for the historical treatment of LGBT veterans who were sacked or forced out of the military for being gay. The PM called the ban an “appalling failure” of the British state. It was illegal to be gay in the British military until 2000 – with thousands of veterans thought to be affected. A …

Via press release from the White House: President Biden is scheduled to travel to the United Kingdom, Lithuania, and Finland from July 9-13. President Biden will first travel to London, United Kingdom for engagements with King Charles III and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to further strengthen the close relationship between our nations. The President will then travel to Vilnius, Lithuania …

Politico Europe reports: Liz Truss isn’t laughing at the lettuce that outlasted her premiership. Asked Monday about the Daily Star’s live stream of a lettuce that eventually outlasted Truss’ chaotic, market-crashing period in Downing Street, the former British prime minister did not see the funny side. “I don’t think it was particularly funny, I think it’s puerile,” Truss told Irish …

The New York Times reports: Glenda Jackson, the two-time Oscar winner who renounced a successful film and stage career in her 50s to become a member of the British Parliament, then returned to the stage at 80 as the title character in “King Lear,” died on Thursday at her home in Blackheath, London. She was 87. She won her first …

Sky News reports: Former Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon is in custody after being arrested in connection with the investigation into the Scottish National Party’s finances. Ms Sturgeon’s husband, former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, was previously arrested as part of the probe along with ex-treasurer Colin Beattie. Both men were subsequently released without charge pending further inquiries. The long-running …

The BBC reports: Boris Johnson is to step down as an MP with immediate effect after receiving the Partygate report. That report by the MP-led Privileges Committee looked into whether he misled Parliament over lockdown-breaking parties at Downing Street. Mr Johnson accused the Commons inquiry of attempting to “drive me out”. In a statement he said: “They have still not …

ABC News reports: Could Prince Harry have his U.S. Visa revoked? A federal court hearing is coming up to decide that. The Heritage Foundation has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, to see if rules were followed in granting the prince his Visa. The foundation is identified as “an American conservative think tank based in Washington …

The BBC reports: Two anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists have been found guilty of offences in connection with a plot to destroy 5G mobile phone masts. Darren Reynolds, of Newbould Crescent, Sheffield, was found guilty of six terror offences at Leeds Crown Court. Christine Grayson, of Boothwood Road, York, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit criminal damage. Reynolds and Grayson discussed …