Dua Lipa shares Sunny Hill Festival highlights

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for his first official visit with a foreign leader since taking office, reaffirming Britain’s unwavering support for Kyiv. The two leaders visited a UK naval base to meet armed forces personnel involved in training Ukrainian service members for Black Sea maritime security and counter-mine operations. During the visit, London announced it would share the intellectual property for “Stone Cloak”, a new military-grade electronic jamming technology designed for drones to evade Russian air defence tracking. The UK confirmed its total support for Ukraine has reached £25 billion since the start of the conflict, with Zelensky scheduled to travel onward to Washington for talks with US President Donald Trump.

Taiwan has intensified its annual military exercises by rehearsing the wartime evacuation of President Lai Ching-te, testing how the government would continue operating if the island came under attack. During the overnight exercise, President Lai, wearing body armour and a helmet, was transported in an armoured personnel carrier to a secure command centre. Senior government officials also participated in the drill, which focused on maintaining leadership, coordinating emergency responses and ensuring the continuity of government during a national crisis. The evacuation formed part of Taiwan’s 10-day Han Kuang military exercises, the country’s largest annual defence drill. The exercises are designed to strengthen military readiness amid growing tensions with China, which claims Taiwan as its territory and has repeatedly vowed to bring the self-governed island under its control, by force if necessary. The wartime evacuation plan has its roots in the Cold War era and was created to protect Taiwan’s leadership in the event of an invasion. Taiwanese authorities have long expressed concern that China could attempt a “decapitation strike” targeting the president and other senior officials during a conflict. As part of this year’s drills, President Lai also observed coast guard vessels being equipped with missile launchers, highlighting efforts to improve Taiwan’s coastal defence capabilities. Military units have deployed advanced air defence systems and other equipment across key locations as they practise responding to realistic combat scenarios. The exercises also include training for counter-blockade operations, coastal defence, protection of strategic infrastructure and broader civilian support during wartime. Next week, authorities will test emergency communication systems by deliberately reducing mobile internet speeds to evaluate how people would communicate if networks became disrupted during a crisis. Meanwhile, Taiwan’s defence ministry reported continued Chinese military activity near the island, saying multiple Chinese aircraft and naval vessels were detected operating around Taiwan during the exercises. Beijing has not officially commented on the ongoing drills but continues to increase military pressure on the island while rejecting President Lai’s calls for dialogue.