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UK and US always find ways to come together, King Charles to tell Congress | King Charles III

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King Charles is expected to allude to recent strains between the UK and US in a rare address by a monarch to the US Congress as he will underline that “time and again our two countries have always found ways to come together”.

The king’s remarks in a speech to both houses on Tuesday will come after Donald Trump has threatened to tear up a trade deal signed by the UK and US, mocked the Royal Navy and insulted the UK prime minister.

Donald Trump’s anger with the UK and Keir Starmer is largely driven by the latter’s refusal to take part in the US and Israeli offensive against Iran, which continues to destabilise the global economy.

Charles and Camilla are in Washington on a four-day state visit to the US to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence from the UK.

In his speech, the king is expected to reflect that while the UK and US have not always agreed on all matters over the past 250 years, the foundations of their “democratic, legal and social traditions” – stretching all the way back to Magna Carta – are such that “time and again our two countries have always found ways to come together”.

Donald Trump and Melania host King Charles III and Queen Camilla for afternoon tea at the White House on day one of their State Visit. Photograph: Pool/SH/WireImage

As Trump threatens to impose “a big tariff” on the UK if it does not drop its digital services tax on US technology companies, Charles will reference the importance of trade and technology deals that will play a vital part in the two countries’ continued economic partnership.

The start of the trip – Charles’s first to America as king – has been overshadowed by an assassination attempt against Trump at a Washington media dinner on Saturday night.

The monarch is expected to make brief reference to the attack and offer “the highest regard and friendship of the British people to the people of the United States” on the 250th anniversary of American independence.

It is only the second time a British monarch has addressed a joint meeting of Congress, after Queen Elizabeth II did so in 1991.

The king will point out how the US and UK have stood together through moments that have defined their shared history, and that “our defence, intelligence and security ties are measured not in years but in decades”.

As the war on Iran drives up the cost of living around the world, an effect that critics have called “Trumpflation”, Charles is expected to say that by defending and reaffirming their common values and ideals, the US and UK can promote security and prosperity now and in the future for the benefit of the world.

King Charlesand Camilla with Donald Trump andMelania Trump alongside a replica beehive at the White House. Photograph: Getty Images

He will hail America’s natural wonders and stress how important it is to defend and protect “nature’s own economy”.

Referring to his faith, he will express his belief that in the hearts of the two countries lies “a generosity of spirit and a duty to foster compassion, to promote peace, to deepen mutual understanding and to value people of all faiths and none”.

He is expected to conclude by noting that the story of both nations over the last 250 years is one of “reconciliation and renewal”, giving rise to “one of the greatest alliances in human history”, which he hopes will continue to safeguard their shared values long into the future.

The speech, which has been written on the advice of the government, is expected to last 20 minutes.



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David Guetta and Sia’s song Titanium got me through my fertility treatment | Dance music

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At the end of 2011, party season was under way but I was in no mood for festivities. Two years into fertility treatment, my body was pumped full of synthetic hormones and felt like a pin cushion, while my head was filled with both the fragile hope of having a baby, and the exhaustion of failed clinical attempts to do so.

I was in my late 20s. I met my husband when I was 22; we got married when I was 25. “I want to have kids young,” I’d told him. It was a feeling I’d harboured since my teenage years. But I’d also had the nagging sense that it might not come easily to me. As it turned out, my intuition was right. Approaching 28, I was a regular on the infertility merry-go-round.

I was recovering from my second miscarriage that year when I heard Sia’s raspy voice on the car radio belting out words that sounded emotionally weighty for an electronic dance number – her David Guetta collaboration, Titanium.

It’s not a song I would have necessarily rated or listened to again – I’m more likely to play 00s R&B and hip-hop – but it came at the perfect time in my life. I had forgotten how days felt before fertility drugs and the diarised cycles of administering them. I’d been constantly wearing a brave face and cramming in hospital appointments before and after work, going about my job through a fog of longing and hormones. It had left me in a “cry on the bedroom floor” kind of a heap. I needed something to drag the hope back into me.

I turned the radio up and listened to the lyrics: “I’m bulletproof, nothing to lose / Fire away, fire away.” It felt as if it was talking to and about me, issuing a riposte to all those shots of disappointment that had been fired our way. As Sia’s vocals ascended through the chorus with Guetta’s soaring synths – “Ricochet, you take your aim” – I cried, but I felt myself gaining power with her, too. “You shoot me down, but I won’t fall / I am titanium.” Those were the words I needed to hear.

I felt like a puppet pulled upright again. I streamed it on repeat in the days that followed. I might not have been able to face the work Christmas party but I wasn’t going to languish on the bedroom floor any more.

Over the next months, I spent a lot of time in my car, travelling to work and to fertility appointments to get my blood tested, hormones measured or insides scanned. Listening to Titanium became routine. Each time, its cinematic surge had the same empowering effect and I’d turn up the volume, wind down the windows and defiantly sing along in my terrible voice so it could wash over me.

The following May, when my husband and I headed to the clinic for another IVF embryo transfer, I let it motivate me; when we drove back from scans confirming we were six weeks, then 12 weeks pregnant, I celebrated with it. As I nervously made my way through my pregnancy, I turned to it when I needed the boost.

In January 2013, our first son was born. Today, he is the eldest of three: his brother arrived 15 months later, via IVF too (the last of our fertilised embryos) and four years later, another brother, without fertility treatment. We consider ourselves unspeakably lucky; for many, the outcome is not the same.

In our family, everyone knows Titanium is my fight song. It’s the only big commercial dance hit on my playlists, and a marker of something I overcame.

My kids call me in whenever it streams or plays on TV. When I made my husband a playlist for our 15th wedding anniversary, it’s the song that represented our 2011. And the other week, when he was out with friends, he sent me a voice note from the bar: he’d recorded it playing in the background.

There’s something all-consuming about fertility treatment: you view life only through the filter of your efforts to get pregnant. If you’re lucky, the filter lifts. It did for me, but the fight song remained. So, now, elsewhere in life, when I need a shot of strength and find myself alone in the car, down goes the window and on it goes.



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Parents 'facing uncertainty' as SEN children left without school places

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Amy Gibney says she is one of eight families at her child’s school to find out that they don’t have a place for next year.



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Edinburgh airport reopens after security alert but passengers warned of ‘knock on’ effect | Scotland

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Edinburgh airport reopened on Saturday morning after parts of the terminal building were evacuated on Friday night because of a security alert.

An explosive ordnance disposal team was sent to the airport to investigate what Police Scotland described as a “potentially suspicious package” discovered at about 6.50pm on Friday.

An evacuation was ordered and a police cordon was set up, with roads closed.

Passengers faced disruption as result of the operation and the airport warned that schedules would continue to be affected on Saturday.

In a statement at about 3am on Saturday, the airport confirmed it had reopened and would work to restore normal services as quickly as possible.

“Following investigations by specialist teams, the airport has now reopened.

“This incident will have knock-on impacts throughout today and staff are working hard to address these and support passengers.

“Operational teams are continuing to work to restore normal services as quickly as possible.

“Please check with your airline for the latest information on your flight.”

The statement did not provide an update about the examination of the suspicious package.



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