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UK Votes In Emotional Session To Legalise Assisted Dying

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A full Parliament for the vote, and campaigners in Parliament Square. Credit: Parliament TV & Dignity in Dying:

In a landmark vote, members of the UK Parliament in the House of Commons have passed the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, making assisted dying a significant step closer to being legal in England and Wales. 

The bill, put forward by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, was approved by a slim margin of 314 to 291, a majority of just 23, following an emotionally charged debate that saw MPs share personal stories and grapple with the ethical conundrum of the issue.

The legislation, which could allow terminally ill adults with less than six months left to live to request medical assistance to end their lives. It now moves to the House of Lords for further scrutiny. If passed and granted royal assent, the assisted dying service would not be implemented for at least four years to guarantee the strictest safeguards are put firmly in place.

Assisted dying campaigners in UK hail vote as “momentous vistory”

The Commons chamber was filled to bursting for over four hours of debate, with MPs from across the political spectrum delivering impassioned arguments. Labour MP Maureen Burke of Glasgow North East moved colleagues to tears as she recounted her brother’s painful death from advanced pancreatic cancer, stating she was supporting the bill to “do right by her brother”. Supporters, including Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who voted in favour after initially being accused of dithering on the topic, stressed the bill’s focus on personal freedom and dignity for terminally ill patients. Campaign groups like Dignity in Dying called the vote a “momentous victory”.

The stringent safeguards listed in the bill include requiring the approval of two independent doctors and an expert panel comprising a lawyer, a psychiatrist, and a social worker.

Opponents to assisted dying vote warn of “slippery slope”

Opponents to the bill, including Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who voted against it, warned of a “slippery slope” towards broader eligibility criteria and cited examples from countries like Canada where assisted dying has been offered to the poor. Other critics, such as Labour MP Naz Shah, raised concerns that the bill could lead one day to endangering vulnerable groups, including those with disabilities or conditions like anorexia, who might one day be offered euthanasia instead of costly health care. The Royal College of Psychiatrists and the Royal College of Physicians expressed concerns about inadequate safeguards for patients and professionals and insisted on further, more detailed revisions to the bill.

Opponents also highlighted the strain on the NHS and underfunded palliative care, with Hospice UK alerting that 250 to 300 people die daily without adequate end-of-life care, suggesting improvements in care should take precedence.

Supporters of assisted dying campaigner, Dame Esther Rantzen, in Parliament Square

Outside Parliament, supporters of the bill who had gathered in Parliament Square erupted into cheers and hugs as the result was announced. Campaigners, including terminally ill individuals like Sophie Blake and Dame Esther Rantzen, who has stage-4 lung cancer, have been vocal advocates, with Blake pleading for MPs to “allow us the choice to have a good death”. Inside the chamber, MPs lined up to shake hands with Leadbeater.

However, opponents like Conservative MP Joy Morrissey called the vote “a dark day for democracy”, arguing the bill fails to protect the most vulnerable. The free vote, allowing MPs to decide based on conscience rather than party lines, saw divisions within parties, with several senior Labour ministers, including the health and justice secretaries, opposing the bill.

Assisted dying bill passes to Lords after summer

The bill’s next step is to go to the House of Lords, where peers will debate and potentially amend the legislation. It is believed there is a majority in favour in the Lords, but the outcome is still not a done deal. If approved by both houses by the end of the parliamentary year, likely in autumn 2025, the bill could become law, with an estimated 160 to 640 assisted deaths expected in the first year, potentially increasing to 4,500 within a decade.

The vote represents a seismic shift in the UK’s approach to end-of-life care as it balancing personal choice with the need to protect vulnerable individuals. As the bill progresses towards law, the debate will continue to stir deep emotions and heated debates across the nation.

The UK has followed a tendency in Europe for the legalisation of assisted dying. In Spain, both euthanasia (where a physician administers a lethal drug) and assisted suicide (where the patient self-administers with medical assistance) were legalised in 2021 and require two written requests, medical evaluations, and approval by a regional committee. It is now recognised as a constitutional right. In the first 18 months after the law was passed, 383 people opted for assisted dying.

Belgium legalised assisted dying in 2002, Luxembourg in 2209, Austria in 2022 (assisted suicide only), and in Germany it has been legal since 2020 by court ruling. The Constitutional Court in Italy ruled in 2019 that assisting suicide for those in “intolerable suffering” is not always a crime, but parliament has not passed firm legislation yet. Tuscany was the first region to adopt rules. The first legal assisted suicide occurred in 2022, but technically, euthanasia remains illegal.

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Stock Up On Bottled Water, Benalmadena. Taps Will Run Dry On Tuesday

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Mayor Lara not looking very happy about the situation. Credit: Ayuntamiento de Benalmadena

Residents in Benalmadena be warned. There will be cuts to the supply on Tuesday, July 8, as essential works have been left to the busiest and hottest time of year.

Between the times of 8am and 3pm, expect a likely drying up of the taps as council contractors attempt to plug the holes in the water pipes in the following areas:

  • Camino de Amocafre
  • Camino a la EstaciĂłn
  • Camino de la Viñuela

It seems that around 80 metres of pipework has more holes than a teabag and is long overdue some repairs. The recommendation is to get some bottled water in while you still can and still enough for afterwards, as there may be some sediment left in the pipes in the afternoon.

The troublesome area? Do you remember that massive pipe burst next to the Los Patos hotel that pumped a geyser of clean drinking water into the air? That’s the area that has the problem.

The council apologises for the inconvenience that this measure may cause and thanks the citizens of Benalmadena, and its hotels for understanding while the works, aimed at improving the quality of the water supply, are carried out.

Warning from Benalmadena council and the water company.
Warning from Benalmadena council and the water company.

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Israel Launches Aerial Attacks On Houthis In Yemen

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Israel attacks three Houthi ports and a power plant in Yemen Sunday night, Monday morning, July 7th | Credit: @sabio69 on X

Israeli Defence Forces carried out their first strikes against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen since the Tel Aviv-Tehran ceasefire. The Israeli military attacked three Yemeni ports and a power plant around midnight on local time Sunday night and into Monday morning, CNN reported.

The attacks come shortly after the Israeli military issued evacuation orders for civilians in the areas, warning of imminent air strikes, the BBC said.

The Israeli Air Force said these strikes on Yemen’s three ports were in response to “repeated attacks” by the Houthis on Israel and its citizens. It added that the targeted ports were being used to “transfer weapons from the Iranian regime to carry out terror plans” against Israel and its allies.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz confirmed on social media the strikes on the Houthi-controlled sites, including a power station and a ship that was hijacked by the group two years ago.

Houthis will pay ‘a heavy price’

Katz said the strikes were part of “Operation Black Flag” and warned that the Houthis “will continue to pay a heavy price for their actions”.

“The fate of Yemen is the same as the fate of Tehran. Anyone who tries to harm Israel will be harmed, and anyone who raises a hand against Israel will have their hand cut off,” he said in a post on X.

“Houthi forces installed a radar system on the ship and have been using it to track vessels in the international maritime arena to facilitate further terrorist activities,” the IDF said in a statement following the strikes.

Following the strikes, Houthi forces said they “effectively repelled” the Israeli attacks, according to a post from a Houthi spokesperson on X, according to ABC News.

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Enrique Iglesias Back In Spain After Six-Year Absence

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Enrique Iglesias delights 25,000 fans upon his return to Spain after a long absence | Credit: @Enriqueiglesias/Instagram

It had been six years since Enrique Iglesias last sang on Spanish soil, but on Saturday night in Gran Canaria, he didn’t just return—he reclaimed it. And nobody expected it because, as reported by Euro Weekly News in mid-2022, the son of Julio Iglesias had announced his retirement from the music business.

Under the warm island sky and in front of 25,000 roaring fans, the Madrid-born global star brought his entire world back to where it began. And what unfolded wasn’t just a concert. It was a reckoning—intimate, explosive, and unapologetically his.

The stadium was vibrant, filled with energy even before Iglesias sounded off his first note. There was a hum in the air and a roaring vibration on the ground as if something unprecedented or surreal was about to happen. And then, it did. The opening bars of “SĂșbeme la radio” streamed through the air and into the night, and just like that, time collapsed. 

No filler, no gimmicks

Thousands of LED bracelets lit up the stands, and thousands of Iglesias’s fans danced to his rhythm, as if the crowd itself had become a living, breathing constellation.

For two hours, Enrique delivered what his fans expected. He gave them all he is and all he has, which is more than enough. 

No filler, no gimmicks—just music, memory, and connection. From “Bailando” to “El perdón” to “Duele el corazón,” each track hit like a homecoming anthem. The hits weren’t dusted off for nostalgia—they were alive, pulsing with new urgency, sung not just by him but by a crowd that knew every word and had waited too damn long to shout them back.

But the night’s real magic came not with the bangers, but with the stillness. Mid-set, Enrique dimmed the lights and brought out Argentine artist Emilia. The two performed “HĂ©roe,” a song that’s now old enough to vote, yet still holds the emotional weight of a fresh scar. Emilia, fresh off her own fiery set, met Enrique note for note—raw, exposed, and unafraid. Their duet was less a performance, more shared memory. And in that moment, every love lost and held onto in that crowd rose with them.

Later, Emilia posted simply, “Gracias de corazón, Enrique.” She didn’t need to say more. The moment had spoken for itself.

Enrique on stage with Emilia | Credit: @emiliamernes/Instagram
Enrique on stage with Emilia | Credit: @emiliamernes/Instagram

“HĂ©roe” has never left the Spanish bloodstream. Even pop royalty like Dua Lipa paid tribute to it earlier this year, performing it in Spanish during her Madrid tour stop. That song, like Enrique himself, doesn’t age—it transforms.

There was a gravity to this night, and not just because it marked Enrique’s first show in Spain since 2019. He turns 50 this year. It’s also the 30th anniversary of his debut album—three decades that saw him break from Julio Iglesias’s long shadow and build his throne on the global stage.

He’s no longer just the heartthrob from the ’90s. He’s one of the best-selling Latin artists of all time, with over 180 million albums sold and more than 19 billion streams in the digital ether.

They sang like he’d never left

But here’s the truth Enrique proved on Saturday: statistics don’t sing back. People do. And the people of Spain? They sang like he never left.

The Gran Canaria performance was also one of only five shows on his 2025 tour—a list that includes cities as far-flung as Sofia, Abu Dhabi, and Mumbai. Spain got the only hometown date. And the fans knew it. They treated every note like a gift.

Earlier in the day, festival-goers were treated to vibrant sets by Rawayana, Ca7riel and Paco Amoroso, and the electric Picoco’s, but once Enrique Iglesias took the stage, time just seemed to freeze and stand still in awe. The music, the light, the voices—it became something tribal—a collective release.

When it ended, there was no encore. Just Enrique, hand on his heart, eyes full of something unsaid. Maybe gratitude. Maybe relief. Maybe both.

What’s certain is this: Spain didn’t just witness a concert. It welcomed home a son.

Enrique showing his best on-stage moves | Credit: @nabscab/Instagram
Enrique showing his best on-stage moves | Credit: @nabscab/Instagram

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