Meghan Markle says she wants to focus on women’s empowerment

Britain’s Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, with Prince Harry, left, and his fiancee Meghan Markle, third left, attend the first annual Royal Foundation Forum in London. Under the theme ‘Making a Difference Together’, the event will showcase the programs run or initiated by The Royal Foundation. (AP)
Updated 28 February 2018
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Meghan Markle says she wants to focus on women’s empowerment

LONDON: Meghan Markle said Wednesday that she hopes to “hit the ground running” as a member of the British royal family and use her position to highlight the empowerment of women.
Markle, who is due to marry Prince Harry in May, attended an event in London alongside Harry, Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge.
The first joint engagement by the two couples celebrated the work of the Royal Foundation, which supports charities including the Heads Together mental-health campaign and the Invictus Games for injured troops.
Markle said during a question-and-answer session that she was still new to her role but “it’s very important to want to hit the ground running.”
The 36-year-old American actress said that with the Me Too and Time’s Up campaigns against sexual harassment, “there is no better time than to really continue to shine a light on women feeling empowered and people really helping to support them.”
Harry, 33, said he and Markle were “pretty tied up with planning a wedding at the moment,” but looked forward to working with William and Kate on charitable projects.
“I think it’s really good we’ve got four different personalities, we’ve all got that same passion to want to make a difference, but different opinions,” he said.
He said “working as family does have its challenges ... but we’re stuck together for the rest of our lives.”


Japan calls on Iran to avoid using force to stop protests

Updated 11 January 2026
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Japan calls on Iran to avoid using force to stop protests

TOKYO: Japanese Foreign Minister MOTEGI Toshimitsu on Sunday called on Iran to avoid using force against peaceful protests.

Motegi noted that many people have been killed or injured in the ongoing protests and said Japan was “deeply concerned about the deterioration of the situation.” The country is monitoring developments closely and is opposed to the use of force.

“The government of Japan strongly calls for the immediate cessation of violence and strongly hopes for an early settlement of the situation,” Motegi said in a statement, adding the administration was taking necessary measures to protect Japanese nationals in Iran.