Suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra is fighting for her political survival.
The Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has 15 days to make her case after the country’s high court suspended her for a breach of ethics.
This comes after a phone call between Shinawatra and Cambodia’s Senate President Hun Sen, discussing an earlier border dispute.
A leaked audio of that call, in which the prime minister referred to Hun Sen as “uncle” and appeared to criticise a Thai army commander, has sparked outrage and protests.
So, what’s next for Paetongtarn Shinawatra?
And for a country that’s seen its fair share of military coups, what will it mean for democracy?
Presenter: James Bays
Guests:
Sean Boonpracong – Political analyst.
Thitinan Pongsudhirak – Political scientist at Chulalongkorn University.
United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer has won a key vote in Parliament on a signature plan to overhaul the country’s welfare system.
But the 335 to 260 House of Commons victory on Tuesday largely rang hollow, with Starmer forced to soften his promised cuts amid pushback from members of his own Labour Party, in what could represent a crisis for his leadership.
“Welfare reform, let’s be honest, is never easy, perhaps especially for Labour governments,” work and pensions minister Liz Kendall told Parliament on Tuesday, acknowledging the party infighting that had defined the debate.
Reporting from London, Al Jazeera’s Milena Veselinovic described the vote as a “victory in name only” for Starmer.
“His government was facing such a huge rebellion from his own Labour MPs that there was no chance that he could pass this bill in the form that it was originally laid out,” she said.
Starmer had ridden into office last year on the back of the largest parliamentary majority in UK history, currently holding 403 of 650 seats. That majority, he maintained, would help him avoid parliamentary dysfunction that had defined the body throughout years of Conservative rule.
But Starmer’s signature plan to trim down the UK’s ballooning welfare system soon ran into controversy, particularly when it came to disability benefits.
Starmer’s plan pitched raising the threshold for the benefits by requiring a higher threshold for physical or mental disability.
That prompted more than 120 Labour lawmakers to publicly say they would vote against the bill. They included Rachael Maskell, one of the leading opponents, who called the cuts “Dickensian” and said they “belong to a different era and a different party”.
In concessions to party members, the government backed down on implementing tougher eligibility rules for the payments until a wider review of the welfare system had been completed.
The government also pivoted to only have the reforms apply to future applicants, and not current claimants, as they initially sought.
While the government had at first hoped to save 5 billion pounds ($6. 9bn) a year by 2030, the savings under the new plan is estimated to be closer to 2 billion pounds.
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Jess Anderson
BBC Sport journalist at Wimbledon
170 Comments
Wimbledon 2025
Venue: All England Club Dates: 30 June-13 July
French Open champion Coco Gauff, a contender for the Wimbledon title, was stunned in the first round as three of the top seeds fell on a day of shocks at the All England Club.
The American second seed was beaten 7-6 (7-3) 6-1 by Ukraine world number 42 Dayana Yastremska on a packed Court One under the roof.
Gauff, 21, was predicted to go far at SW19 following her triumph at Roland Garros less than a month ago.
But a performance strewn with double faults and unforced errors handed Yastremska a rare opportunity against the world number two and she grasped it with both hands to reach the second round.
The shock result follows first-round exits for fellow top-five seeds Jessica Pegula and Zheng Qinwen on day two at the Championships.
Just three-and-a-half weeks ago Gauff was on top of the world having lifted the trophy at Roland Garros after beating world number one Aryna Sabalenka.
But a lacklustre performance laden with mistakes on her unfavoured surface of grass left the two-time major winner heading out early against the unseeded Yastremska.
Since winning her first title on the Paris clay last month she has played just one match, a first-round defeat by qualifier Wang Xinyu of China at the Berlin Open.
In that match, she was plagued by double faults and those demons were back to haunt her again at SW19.
It was immediately clear Yastremska would prove a tricky challenge for Gauff and she was on the defence from the off.
A ripping backhand down the line secured Yastremska the early break of serve before she earned set point at 5-4 but double faulted and Gauff broke back to force a tie-break.
But double faults were already a feature of Gauff’s game and two in the breaker put Yastremska firmly in control before a crunching forehand winner brought more set points and she took the opener at the first time of asking.
Gauff left court between sets to regroup but immediately went down a break as the mistakes continued to come.
She found no answers to Yastremska’s powerful groundstrokes, recording nine double faults and 29 unforced errors as she suffered a triple break to concede the match.
Pegula records ‘worst result of year’ as Zheng also falls
Getty Images
Pegula said her first-round exit earlier on Tuesday was her “worst result of the year” as she was beaten by a player ranked 113 places below her.
The 31-year-old had heavy strapping on her right knee but said that did not bother her as she was dismantled in just 58 minutes on Court Two by Cocciaretto.
“This is definitely probably the worst result I’ve had all year,” the American said.
“I’ve been winning lots of matches. It’s just all about it having to come together for two weeks. Sometimes it doesn’t quite all align when you need it to. “
Pegula has only once gone beyond the quarter-final stage of a major – at last year’s US Open where she lost to Aryna Sabalenka in the final – and has gone out before the last eight in all three Grand Slam tournaments since.
This marks her worst performance at a major since the 2020 French Open.
Less than three hours later she was followed out of the door by Chinese fifth seed Zheng after a grass-court lesson from doubles champion Siniakova.
Siniakova, who has won the Wimbledon women’s doubles title three times, showed her grass-court pedigree to ensure Zheng’s challenge ended at the first hurdle for the third year in a row. It was the Czech who also knocked her out at the same stage two years ago.
Polish eighth seed Iga Swiatek advanced with a comprehensive 7-5 6-1 victory over Russia’s Polina Kudermetova.
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Jess Anderson
BBC Sport journalist at Wimbledon
170 Comments
Wimbledon 2025
Venue: All England Club Dates: 30 June-13 July
French Open champion Coco Gauff, a contender for the Wimbledon title, was stunned in the first round as three of the top seeds fell on a day of shocks at the All England Club.
The American second seed was beaten 7-6 (7-3) 6-1 by Ukraine world number 42 Dayana Yastremska on a packed Court One under the roof.
Gauff, 21, was predicted to go far at SW19 following her triumph at Roland Garros less than a month ago.
But a performance strewn with double faults and unforced errors handed Yastremska a rare opportunity against the world number two and she grasped it with both hands to reach the second round.
The shock result follows first-round exits for fellow top-five seeds Jessica Pegula and Zheng Qinwen on day two at the Championships.
Just three-and-a-half weeks ago Gauff was on top of the world having lifted the trophy at Roland Garros after beating world number one Aryna Sabalenka.
But a lacklustre performance laden with mistakes on her unfavoured surface of grass left the two-time major winner heading out early against the unseeded Yastremska.
Since winning her first title on the Paris clay last month she has played just one match, a first-round defeat by qualifier Wang Xinyu of China at the Berlin Open.
In that match, she was plagued by double faults and those demons were back to haunt her again at SW19.
It was immediately clear Yastremska would prove a tricky challenge for Gauff and she was on the defence from the off.
A ripping backhand down the line secured Yastremska the early break of serve before she earned set point at 5-4 but double faulted and Gauff broke back to force a tie-break.
But double faults were already a feature of Gauff’s game and two in the breaker put Yastremska firmly in control before a crunching forehand winner brought more set points and she took the opener at the first time of asking.
Gauff left court between sets to regroup but immediately went down a break as the mistakes continued to come.
She found no answers to Yastremska’s powerful groundstrokes, recording nine double faults and 29 unforced errors as she suffered a triple break to concede the match.
Pegula records ‘worst result of year’ as Zheng also falls
Getty Images
Pegula said her first-round exit earlier on Tuesday was her “worst result of the year” as she was beaten by a player ranked 113 places below her.
The 31-year-old had heavy strapping on her right knee but said that did not bother her as she was dismantled in just 58 minutes on Court Two by Cocciaretto.
“This is definitely probably the worst result I’ve had all year,” the American said.
“I’ve been winning lots of matches. It’s just all about it having to come together for two weeks. Sometimes it doesn’t quite all align when you need it to. “
Pegula has only once gone beyond the quarter-final stage of a major – at last year’s US Open where she lost to Aryna Sabalenka in the final – and has gone out before the last eight in all three Grand Slam tournaments since.
This marks her worst performance at a major since the 2020 French Open.
Less than three hours later she was followed out of the door by Chinese fifth seed Zheng after a grass-court lesson from doubles champion Siniakova.
Siniakova, who has won the Wimbledon women’s doubles title three times, showed her grass-court pedigree to ensure Zheng’s challenge ended at the first hurdle for the third year in a row. It was the Czech who also knocked her out at the same stage two years ago.
Polish eighth seed Iga Swiatek advanced with a comprehensive 7-5 6-1 victory over Russia’s Polina Kudermetova.
EXCLUSIVE: Actor James Norton was recently said to have enjoyed a date with pop star Lily Allen, but it appears that he is very much single after a cosy date night
James Norton was seen getting cosy with a mystery woman on a night out in London
James Norton has been spotted getting cosy with a mystery blonde woman. The Happy Valley star recently opened up about his split from his fiancée, Imogen Poots, last year after six years together.
But this summer, James sparked speculation that he was dating pop singer Lily Allen after the pair were seen enjoying a date night at a Charli xcx concert.
Now, the 39-year-old has been seen getting cosy with a mystery woman while enjoying a night out in London. A source revealed that the Grantchester star and his mystery woman made no secret that they were very fond of one another. The pair had been making the most of the recent heatwave while out in Shoreditch, east London.
James was spotted getting cosy with a mystery woman while out in Shoreditch(Image: Daily Mirror)
Speaking to the Mirror, a source said: “James and his female pal certainly didn’t care who was looking. They were happy sitting outside the bar getting very cosy with one another despite the scorching temperatures across London.”
They added: “At one point, the woman was seen resting her hand on James’ bare knees as they engaged in a deep conversation. It’s a stark contrast from his recent date with Lily Allen, but it’s clear that he’s not short of female attention. ” Just last month, we revealed that James was “smitten” with Not Fair singer, Lily.
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Our source explained that James and the woman appeared to be very relaxed with those around them(Image: Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/Getty I)
The pair are believed to have met on an exclusive dating app, used by high-profile people such as celebrities. James and Lily were spotted enjoying Charli’s performance at Lido Festival, east London last month and sources said they were very cosy with one another.
An insider said: “Lily was leaning into him at one point. She and James seemed really relaxed together, and she was really making him giggle. “
The pair were said to be drinking non-alcoholic beer, and that festival goers were doing double-takes when they saw them together. The onlooker explained that the Lido festival appeared to be the perfect first date opportunity, as there was something for everyone at the event.
It comes after James is said to have enjoyed a date with singer Lily Allen(Image: Variety via Getty Images)
The source went on to suggest that James and Lily may have met on the dating app, which she rejoined following the breakdown of her marriage to Stranger Things star David Harbour.
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Meanwhile, James recently confessed at Glastonbury Festival that he had believed he was going to settle down with his former fiancée Imogen. During a talk at the Silver Hayes, he said: “I got broken up with and it was massive.
“I thought I was going to have kids. The life I thought I was going to have disappeared at 38.” But he later went on to add that there was a silver lining to his heartbreak. “It was a gift in a weird roundabout way,” he said. James added: “She called it. She realised it wasn’t working. I’m crazily grateful for the pain she caused me.”
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter at Dundonald Links
Lee Westwood booked his return to The Open after a three-year absence by winning his qualifier at Dundonald Links.
The 52-year-old posted scores of 70 and 67 for a seven under par total in blustery Ayrshire.
Across four different courses, Westwood was one of eight Englishmen to claim the 20 spots available at Royal Portrush from 17-20 July.
“I’ve always said it’s the greatest championship in golf,” said Westwood, who finished in a tie for fourth at Portrush in 2019 and was runner-up at St Andrews in 2010.
“As a British player, you get phenomenal support and I really enjoyed Portrush last time.
“I won’t really have any expectations. I’m playing at Valderrama next week in LIV and I’ll try and sharpen my game up.
“I think of any major championship, you can compete on links courses as a senior. Tom Watson proved that around Turnberry in 2009 and then Greg Norman a couple of years later at Birkdale. You have to use a bit of cunning and guile with the wind. “
Westwood, a former world number one, will be playing in his 28th Open and 93rd major, while Scottish duo Daniel Young and Connor Graham will be making their debuts after finishing in the top five at Dundonald.
Blairgowrie amateur Graham had to come through a play-off with compatriot Paul O’Hara.
Young, from Perth, said: “It’s a big, big step in my career.
Poulter & son miss out in Kent
Westwood’s former Ryder Cup partner Ian Poulter came up short in his qualifying bid, while his son Luke was also in the field at Royal Cinque Ports.
Both men finished in a tie for 13th on one under par after Poulter junior had been leading at halfway with a round of 67.
Another Ryder Cup veteran and LIV player, Graeme McDowell, finished on the same mark, missing out on the chance to play a second Open at his hometown course.
English trio Nathan Kimsey, Curtis Knipes and Sebastian Cave were among the top five finishers in Kent.
