Broadcast news reports that Turkey has bombed ISIL targets in Syria, and how Barack Obama has told the BBC that Britain should stay in the EU. He also again praised David Cameron for his decision to commit to NATO defence spending targets.
Terrorist plot
It is widely reported that a British terrorist, aged 15, plotted a beheading on the other side of the world, The Telegraph, Daily Mail, Guardian, Times, Express and The Sun report that the boy admitted, in a UK court, to inciting a teenager in Australia via the internet to behead, run over or shoot a police officer in a plot reminiscent of the 2013 murder of British soldier Lee Rigby. He will be sentenced in September.
ISIL
The Guardian reports on the US defence secretary Ashton Carter’s first visit to Iraq yesterday for consultations on the battle against ISIL, as aides indicated that the fight to retake a critical city would begin this summer. The Times has printed photographs released by militants showing the demolition of a 30,000 seat sports stadium near Ramadi as the US defence secretary arrived. According to The Wall Street Journal the first contingent of American-trained Iraqi army soldiers has been deployed in combat, officials said.
You can read about our latest air strike activity in Iraq here, you can also read about the full UK activity to combat ISIL here.
Obama comments
The Times, Daily Telegraph and The Sun report on Barack Obama’s comments made in a BBC interview thatBritain must stay in the European Union to maintain a strong influence on the world stage. The US president again praised Prime Minister David Cameron for committing earlier this month to Nato’s defence spending pledge of 2 per cent of GDP for the next five years.
St Athan
The FT reports that David Cameron is pushing MOD to speed up the release of a hangar in Wales that could become a factory for Aston Martin’s latest luxury car. St Athan is a former Second World War air base that was used for servicing fighter planes. The paper reports that the Welsh government has for several years been pushing the MOD to release land at the site for commercial use. There had previously been plans for a £14bn defence technical college at the site, though these were shelved.
Pig testing
The Sun reports in a short nib that the MOD has “blown up” 149 pigs in the past five years so medics can practise saving soldiers injured in battle. It says some of the animals wore body armour before being blasted. The MOD said the work saved the lives of troops and benefited civilians.
An MOD Spokesperson said:
Research by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) has saved the lives of British troops and also benefits civilians. This research is undertaken to improve the care of severely injured military and civilian casualties, and simply could not have been conducted without using animals.
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