PARIS: King Charles said on Thursday that Britain and France had a shared responsibility to protect democracy in Europe and to ensure the world tackles climate change, in what he called an “entente for sustainability.”
Charles arrived in Paris on Wednesday for a three-day state visit, in a show of pageantry and symbolism meant to turn the page on years of rocky relations between the two nations since Britain voted to leave the European Union.
“Together, our potential is limitless,” Charles said in flawless French, giving the first speech by a British monarch to representatives of both houses of the French parliament.
“That’s why we must cherish and take care of our entente cordiale. For future generations, so it becomes an entente for sustainability to tackle more efficiently the global urgency in terms of climate and diversity,” he said.
The so-called Entente Cordiale was an alliance dating from 1904 that put a stop to centuries of military rivalries between France and Britain to see the two European powers fight on the same side during two world wars.
With Russia’s “unjustified aggression” in invading Ukraine 18 months ago, the two countries were once again facing war on the continent, he said.
“Together, we are unshakable in our determination that Ukraine will prevail,” Charles said.
The warm words, visits and symbolic gestures come after several tense years over the negotiation of Britain’s exit in 2020 from the European Union, and after that, rows over issues ranging from immigration to the sale of submarines.
Former British Prime Minister Liz Truss once said the jury was out on whether France was a friend or foe, before settling on calling it a friend last year. Her successor, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, visited France in March to kick off what he called an “entente renewed.”
“We must reinvigorate our friendship so that it is up to the challenges of the 21st century,” Charles said in a toast at a state banquet held at the Palace of Versailles the day before.
Later on Thursday, Charles, together with his wife Queen Camilla, French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte, will visit Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris to view restoration works following a massive blaze in 2019 that destroyed its roof.
The king is keen to walk in his mother footsteps and has referred to Elizabeth’s deep affection for France.
King Charles calls for new Franco-British entente for sustainability
King Charles calls for new Franco-British entente for sustainability
- Charles arrived in Paris on Wednesday for a three-day state visit, in a show of pageantry and symbolism meant to turn the page on years of rocky relations
Candidates standing in UK election for right-wing Reform Party found to have liked Islamophobic content online
- Other candidates were also found to have shared and liked racist content, anti-vaccination and climate change misinformation
LONDON: Candidates standing for the right-wing Reform Party in the upcoming UK general election have been found to have liked Islamophobic content on social media, a Times newspaper investigation has revealed.
Andrea Whitehead, who is standing for election in the northern city of Leeds, liked a post on Facebook that described London Mayor Sadiq Khan as an “undercover Jihadist not working for the English.”
Another candidate, Craig Birtwistle, also liked a post calling for a “complete ban on Islam,” which added: “Let them leave if they don’t like it.”
Ken Ferguson, a candidate standing in the northwest of England, liked a post containing an Islamophobic joke about Muslim men marrying 12-year-olds.
When confronted about liking the tweet, Ferguson said it was “appreciation of a good joke from an obviously satirical account,” the Times reported.
Other candidates for the party, led by Nigel Farage as honorary president, were also found to have shared and liked racist content, anti-vaccination and climate change misinformation, while one party member posted a defense of convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell, who assisted Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse young girls.
In response, Reform said it was withdrawing support for only two of the candidates, neither of whom were found to have shared the Islamophobic content, and instead accused the newspaper of conducting “gotcha journalism.”
The investigation was a “clear example of the depths to which The Times and the chattering class around Westminster stoop,” it added.
“This sort of juvenile gotcha journalism is why millions of decent ordinary people around the country are so fed up and disgusted with the operations of the political and media class.
“We will be looking into a number of the allegations but natural justice means we cannot just respond to out of context part quotations sent by a journalist at such late notice.”
A director at the anti-racism campaign group Hope Not Hate said Reform had a duty to prevent people standing who shared or espoused discriminatory content.
“Reform UK have been exposed countless times for standing extreme candidates who are unfit for public office,” Georgie Laming said. “It’s essential that this vile racism is called out and not allowed to fester and grow, otherwise we could wake up on July 5 with far-right MPs in seats across the country.”
Reform removed two candidates in April for similar remarks online.
Pete Addis was suspended after comments he made online were uncovered by the Mail on Sunday newspaper in which he referred to “brown babies.”
The party also removed Amodio Amato after he said that London was an “Islamic state” and that there would be “a Muslim army run by Sadiq Khan.”
Thai ex-PM Thaksin says ready to face royal insult charges
- The complaint stems from an interview the influential tycoon gave to foreign media in 2015
- Thaksin said he would meet prosecutors on June 18, but he was not concerned about the case and was ready to fight it
BANGKOK: Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said on Saturday he was ready to face charges of insulting the monarchy that mark a setback to a political heavyweight whose allies are currently in government.
The complaint, lodged by the royalist military that ousted the government of his sister Yingluck Shinawatra, stems from an interview the influential tycoon gave to foreign media in 2015. Other charges include violating a computer crime law.
Thaksin said he would meet prosecutors on June 18, but he was not concerned about the case and was ready to fight it.
“It’s nothing. The case is baseless,” he told reporters.
Thaksin, 74, denies wrongdoing and has repeatedly pledged loyalty to the crown, criticism of which is forbidden under Thailand’s controversial lese-majeste law, one of the strictest of its kind around the world.
His is the most high-profile case among more than 270 prosecutions in recent years under the law, which carries a maximum jail term of 15 years for each perceived insult against the royal family.
Thaksin founded the populist Pheu Thai party and his family’s parties have won all but one election since 2001, with three Shinawatra governments toppled by coups or court rulings.
The billionaire returned to Thailand in 2023 from 15 years of self-imposed exile, when he remained a central figure during repeated bouts of political upheaval.
He was convicted of abuse of power and conflicts of interest and sentenced to eight years in prison, later commuted to one year by the king. He was released on parole in February after just six months in detention.
Pheu Thai leads the current government, with Thaksin’s business ally Srettha Thavisin serving as prime minister and his daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the party’s chief.
Banned for decades, Chinese is now taught at Indonesia’s largest mosque
- Policies restricting Chinese learning were in place until the fall of Suharto regime in 1990s
- Free Mandarin courses for Muslims and non-Muslims are run by Istiqlal Mosque
JAKARTA: Twice a week, Tjong Lan Tjen travels for more than an hour from her home to central Jakarta, where she heads to Indonesia’s largest mosque to study Chinese.
Tjong used to attend Mandarin classes in the mid-1960s but had to stop when General Suharto came to power and issued various policies to restrict the culture of Indonesia’s Chinese minority, including banning the teaching of the language in schools.
That ban was lifted after the regime’s fall in 1998, but only lately — with the development of political and commercial connections with China — has the teaching of Mandarin once again become popular in the Southeast Asian nation.
When Tjong heard that she could learn the language for free at Istiqlal Mosque, she was initially hesitant.
“A friend said there (had been) news on TV, so I thought that I could study. I also thought: ‘Is it allowed?’ In the past, it was dangerous. So, I asked around,” the 71-year-old told Arab News.
Once assured that it was permitted and that the classes were open to all, she signed up.
“I want to learn it, even though I’m old. Everyone in my generation has forgotten it, my family all have forgotten. I’m the only one,” Tjong said. “It’s always good to gain knowledge as long as we can.”
Tjong is one of 25 students enrolled in the mosque’s course, which was launched in late February. Co-organized by the Chinese government, the classes were initially set up to help the mosque’s staff communicate in Mandarin with tourists. However, as the mosque’s spokesperson, Saparwadi, who is also a student on the course, told Arab News, anyone is welcome to register for the course.
“Muslims, non-Muslims are all welcome to come to Istiqlal Mosque, (and) learn ... Istiqlal Mosque is the country’s icon, and we must stand up for all groups,” Saparwadi said. “Language has no religion.”
As the largest mosque in Southeast Asia and one of the 10 largest in the world, Istiqlal Mosque, which can accommodate more than 120,000 people, is one of the top tourist attractions in the Indonesian capital and very popular with visitors from China.
“They are very enthusiastic, they want to know about Islam, Muslims, how they pray, what they do,” Saparwadi said, adding that being able to communicate with Chinese visitors in their language is a way of learning their culture too: “And we know that we respect each other. That’s what I think is the most important.”
Habibah Munawaroh, another of the mosque’s employees attending the course, believes learning a new language has helped improve her cognitive skills.
She has always wanted to try learning Mandarin and being able to attend the classes at her workplace for free was a pleasant coincidence, as normally such courses are quite expensive.
“I like to put words together and then translate them into Mandarin. It makes the cognitive faculty work again,” she said.
“I hope these Mandarin classes will (continue) to the highest proficiency level, so that what I have learned will not disappear.”
Russia puts former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko on its wanted list
- Tymoshenko was listed as wanted on unspecified criminal charges
- She reportedly joins Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his predecessor, Petro Poroshenko, on the same list
MOSCOW: Russia has put former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko on its wanted list, Russian state media reported, citing the Interior Ministry’s database.
Russian state news agency Tass said Tymoshenko was listed as wanted on unspecified criminal charges.
She reportedly joins Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his predecessor, Petro Poroshenko, on the same list, which also includes scores of officials and lawmakers from Ukraine and NATO countries.
Tymoshenko and her Batkivshchyna (the Fatherland) party did not immediately comment Saturday.
Mediazona, an independent Russian news outlet, reported that both Zelensky and Poroshenko had been listed since at least late February.
Amog others on the list is Kaja Kallas, the prime minister of NATO and EU member Estonia, who has fiercely advocated for increased military aid to Kyiv and stronger sanctions against Moscow.
Russian officials in February said that Kallas is wanted because of Tallinn’s efforts to remove Soviet-era monuments to Red Army soldiers in the Baltic nation, in a belated purge of what many consider symbols of past oppression.
Russia has laws criminalizing the “rehabilitation of Nazism” that include punishing the “desecration” of war memorials.
Also on Russia’s list are cabinet ministers from Estonia and Lithuania, as well as the International Criminal Court prosecutor who last year prepared a warrant for President Vladimir Putin on war crimes charges. Moscow has also charged the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, with what it deems “terrorist” activities, including Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian infrastructure.
Ukraine fires drones at south Russian region
- Ukraine often targets military and energy facilities on Russian territory in drone attacks, sometimes hundreds of kilometers from the frontline
MOSCOW: Ukraine targeted the south Russian region of North Ossetia with drones for the first time ever on Saturday, causing minor damage, local authorities said.
The drones were aimed at a military airfield near the town of Mozdok, more than 700 kilometers from the frontline, according to North Ossetia governor Sergei Menyailo.
“The attack was foiled by the Russian Defense Ministry’s air defense forces. Minor damage and fires were recorded. No one was injured,” he said.
Three drones were shot down in the attack, he added.
Social media videos purportedly filmed in the region showed drones flying overhead, while pictures showed what appeared to be drone fragments scattered on the ground.
“All services have been put on high alert. For the safety of citizens, we have decided to cancel all mass events in Mozdoksky district,” Menyailo added.
Ukraine often targets military and energy facilities on Russian territory in drone attacks, sometimes hundreds of kilometers from the frontline.
Ukraine did not immediately comment, however the Ukrainska Pravda newspaper quoted Kyiv’s military intelligence as saying they were behind the attack.
