UK king criticized for staying silent

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Updated 09 August 2024
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UK king criticized for staying silent

  • “I am surprised that the king as head of state hasn’t come out more forcefully, given that it’s a perilous moment for the United Kingdom,” said historian and royal commentator Ed Owens
  • According to constitutional law expert Craig Prescott “the monarchy does not comment on current political events“

LONDON: Britain’s King Charles III has faced criticism for remaining silent on the near-daily riots seen since early last week following a deadly knife attack that killed three children.
While the monarch and his wife Camilla conveyed their condolences to the families of the three girls killed in the mass stabbing on July 29, Buckingham Palace has not commented on the riots which ensued.
“I am surprised that the king as head of state hasn’t come out more forcefully, given that it’s a perilous moment for the United Kingdom,” said historian and royal commentator Ed Owens.
However, according to constitutional law expert Craig Prescott “the monarchy does not comment on current political events.”
“Once the riots have subsided, you might expect members of the royal family to visit places affected and perhaps to see them more in multicultural settings,” Prescott said in a post on X.
“If the king speaks out about this, then what about the next big issue, and the one after that.”
Charles’s silence is in keeping with his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, who remained similarly quiet during the last wave of riots which shook England in 2011.
It is typically explained by the expectation that British monarchs avoid commenting on anything deemed political.
Owens argued Charles, who has gradually resumed public duties after a cancer diagnosis earlier this year, may not have publicly reacted due to two main reasons.
On the one hand, he may have been “advised by his government that it would be unwise at this stage of intervene directly.”
On the other, the monarch might himself have deemed the issue too “combustible.”
“To court controversy can lead to the alienation of certain sections of the British public,” Owens told AFP.
Officials have blamed the riots, which have seen mosques and immigration-linked sites targeted, on far-right elements and “thugs.”
They are accused of trying to use the stabbing tragedy and growing mainstream right-wing concern over immigration levels to further their extreme cause.
Owens noted the monarch has previously celebrated the benefits of legal migration as well as multiculturalism.
But his current silence is also “characteristic of a deeper silence on this very specific topic of illegal migration,” which remains politically divisive, he added.
Another complicating factor is that many involved in the riots are “people that pretend that they wrap themselves in the (British) flags and call themselves patriots,” Owens said.
“Some of these individuals would be the natural supporters of the (royal) institution.”
However, that could merit the monarch “taking a stand and saying, ‘not in our name, this isn’t the kind of behavior we expect of anybody in this country,’” Owens argued.
Part of the surprise in some quarters at Charles’s silence could stem from the sovereign having been vocal on social issues and topics like climate change over the years.
Since becoming king he is seen as having presented himself as more accessible than his predecessors, including by opening up about his health.
As heir, he visited areas affected by riots in north London in 2011.
Meanwhile, Charles reportedly expressed private concerns in June 2022 over the then-government’s plan to send failed asylum seekers to Rwanda, calling the proposals “appalling.”
But for Graham Smith, head of Republic, a pressure group which campaigns for an elected UK head of state to replace the monarch, the lack of a response to the riots “goes further than Charles.”
“It is about the institution being a failure because it provides for someone who isn’t able to speak really,” he told AFP.
Charles, who is currently on the monarch’s annual summer holiday in Scotland, has like his mother in 2011 requested daily updates about the situation, according to royal sources reported by British media.
“The fact that that has been made public is important, because what the monarchy is trying to show is that he’s not an uninterested party, that he is taking an active interest in this,” Owens said.
However, Smith is unimpressed by that argument.
“We’re told that the monarchy unites the country, and I don’t think that’s the case. They can’t even speak up when the country is facing far-right riots,” he said.
“There’s no value in a billionaire sitting in his holiday home being updated about what’s happening. I mean, it’s easy to be updated — switch the TV on.”

Britain’s King Charles III has faced criticism for remaining silent on the near-daily riots seen since early last week following a deadly knife attack that killed three children. (Reuters/File)


Putin agrees to Trump proposal to stop hitting Ukrainian energy targets for 30 days

Updated 12 min 51 sec ago
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Putin agrees to Trump proposal to stop hitting Ukrainian energy targets for 30 days

  • The Kremlin said the two leaders had a “detailed and frank exchange of views” on Ukraine
  • They discussed a US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on Tuesday to a proposal by US President Donald Trump for Russia and Ukraine to stop hitting each other’s energy infrastructure for 30 days and gave a corresponding order to the Russian military, the Kremlin said.
The Kremlin said in a statement that the two leaders had a “detailed and frank exchange of views” on Ukraine during a phone call in which Putin had said that a resolution of the conflict must be “comprehensive, sustainable and long-term,” taking into account Russia’s own security interests and the root causes of the war.
The two leaders discussed a US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire, to which Ukraine agreed last week. The Kremlin said Putin had raised “significant points” about monitoring such a truce and preventing it from being used by Ukraine to mobilize more soldiers and rearm itself.
“It was emphasized that the key condition for preventing the escalation of the conflict and working toward its resolution by political and diplomatic means should be a complete cessation of foreign military assistance and the provision of intelligence information to Kyiv,” the Kremlin said.


UK PM’s office retracts FM’s comments accusing Israel of breaching international law

Britain’s Foreign Minister David Lammy told the House of Commons on Monday that Israel had breached international law. (AFP)
Updated 18 March 2025
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UK PM’s office retracts FM’s comments accusing Israel of breaching international law

  • Israel only ‘at risk’ of violations, says spokesperson for Keir Starmer
  • Reversal described as ‘disgraceful’ by Council for Arab-British Understanding

LONDON: The office of the UK prime minister has retracted a statement by Foreign Secretary David Lammy accusing Israel of breaking international law by blocking aid to Gaza.

Lammy told the House of Commons on Monday that Israel had breached international law, while a spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Tuesday said the country was only “at risk” of doing so. It follows a series of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza that killed more than 400 Palestinians.

“Our position remains that Israel’s actions in Gaza are at clear risk of breaching international humanitarian law, and we continue to call the government of Israel to abide by its international obligations,” the spokesperson said.

“The government is not an international court, and, therefore, it is up to courts to make judgments.”

The Council for Arab-British Understanding described the reversal as a “disgraceful move” that “undermines the government’s claims that it respects international law.” It also exposes a sharp divide between Starmer and his foreign secretary, CAABU added.

Lammy’s comments concerned Israel’s blocking of food, fuel and medicine from entering Gaza.

He said on Monday: “This is a breach of international law. Israel quite rightly must defend its own security. But we find the lack of aid — it’s now been 15 days since aid got into Gaza — unacceptable, hugely alarming and very worrying.”

His acknowledgment of Israel’s violation of international law was a “welcome if belated admission” of the country’s criminal conduct, CAABU said, adding that after Lammy’s comments, the UK government should have announced measures to demonstrate consequences for Israel’s actions.

CAABU’s director, Chris Doyle, said: “Downing Street has serious questions to answer about the government’s continued complicity with Israeli war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

“We have raised the illegal blockade with David Lammy and other ministers repeatedly since October 2023 and most recently directly with a Foreign Office minister last week.

“We cannot have a business-as-usual relationship, which is why it is welcome that Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar will not be coming to the UK this week.”


Ukraine’s Zelensky arrives in Finland, will meet defense industry

Updated 18 March 2025
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Ukraine’s Zelensky arrives in Finland, will meet defense industry

  • The two presidents will discuss Finland’s support for Ukraine
  • Finland’s finance, defense and foreign ministers will participate in Wednesday’s meeting

HELSINKI: Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived in Helsinki ahead of an official visit to Finland on Wednesday, the office of Finnish President Alexander Stubb said on Tuesday.
The two presidents will discuss Finland’s support for Ukraine, including steps to end Russia’s war, and meet with defense industry companies, it added.
The announcement comes as US President Donald Trump started a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a bid to secure a ceasefire in Russia’s war with Ukraine and move toward a more permanent end to the three-year conflict.
Finland’s finance, defense and foreign ministers will participate in Wednesday’s presidential palace meeting, and Zelensky will also meet with Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and parliament speaker Jussi Halla-aho, Finland said.
During his second visit to Finland since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Zelensky is accompanied by his wife Olena Zelenska who will visit local schools with Stubb’s wife Suzanne Innes-Stubb, the Finnish statement said.


AI ‘reshaping’ organized crime, warns Europol

Updated 18 March 2025
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AI ‘reshaping’ organized crime, warns Europol

  • Europol Executive Director Catherine De Bolle described the report as a “wake-up call” for law enforcement
  • “We will not let organized crime dictate the rules of the game,” she said

THE HAGUE: Artificial intelligence is turbocharging organized crime, from creating child sexual abuse images to money laundering via cryptocurrency, Europol warned Tuesday, with advances like quantum computing only poised to make things worse.
Europol Executive Director Catherine De Bolle described the report as a “wake-up call” for law enforcement, telling top officers from around Europe that “the future of European security is in our hands.”
“This is a fight of the rule of law, for our communities, for our businesses, and for the future of our children. We will not let organized crime dictate the rules of the game,” she said.
In its report laying out the threats posed by organized crime, the European police organization said criminals had seized on the opportunities offered by AI as a “catalyst” to accelerate their activities.
“Rapid technological advancements — especially in artificial intelligence (AI) — are reshaping how crime is organized, executed, and concealed,” Europol said in a detailed 80-page “threat assessment” report.
“These shifts are making organized crime more dangerous, posing an unprecedented challenge to security across the EU and its member states,” the police added.
The use of AI and other technologies are helping criminals across the whole of their portfolio — from drug and human trafficking, to cybercrime and identity theft.
Generative AI enables criminal gangs to hit their targets more globally across multiple languages and even generate child sexual abuse images, the police report warned.
“Explicit pictures of adults can be manipulated to make the individual look younger or applications can ‘nudify’ non-explicit images,” the report said.
“The very qualities that make AI revolutionary — accessibility, versatility, and sophistication — have made it an attractive tool for criminals,” noted Europol.
Technology is also making it harder for authorities to recover ill-gotten gains.
Confiscation of proceeds from crime has stagnated at around two percent, the police said, with the challenge “further exacerbated by the increasing criminal exploitation of digital assets.”
Criminal groups are using cryptocurrency to launder money and move funds around, making it hard to track and eventually confiscate.
“The criminal exploitation of cryptocurrency as a payment method now has moved beyond the scope of cybercrime, and is encountered increasingly in more traditional crime areas such as drug trafficking or migrant smuggling.”
As technology improves, the boost to criminal activity is only likely to increase, according to Europol, noting the rapid developments in quantum computing, the metaverse, 6G, unmanned systems and brain-computer interfaces.
“The high levels of anonymity, speed, and sophistication currently demonstrated by criminal networks will only likely increase over the coming years,” cautioned the report.
Quantum computing in particular will enable criminals to crack current encryption technology with ease.
Finally, the police raised the dystopian prospect of criminal gangs run entirely by AI.
“The emergence of fully autonomous AI could pave the way for entirely AI-controlled criminal networks, marking a new era in organized crime,” said the report.


Trump administration reinstating 24,500 fired workers after court order

Updated 18 March 2025
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Trump administration reinstating 24,500 fired workers after court order

  • The mass firings, part of President Donald Trump’s broader purge of the federal workforce, were widely reported
  • The court filings are the first full accounting of the terminations by the administration

WASHINGTON: The Trump administration in court filings has for the first time acknowledged that it fired nearly 25,000 recently hired workers, and said agencies were working to bring all of them back after a judge ruled that their terminations were likely illegal.
The filings made in Baltimore, Maryland, federal court late Monday include statements from officials at 18 agencies, all of whom said the reinstated probationary workers were being placed on administrative leave at least temporarily.
The mass firings, part of President Donald Trump’s broader purge of the federal workforce, were widely reported, but the court filings are the first full accounting of the terminations by the administration.
Most of the agencies said they had fired a few hundred workers. The Treasury Department terminated about 7,600 people, the Department of Agriculture about 5,700 and the Department of Health and Human Services more than 3,200, according to the filings.
US District Judge James Bredar on March 13 said the mass firings of probationary workers that began last month violated regulations governing the mass layoffs of federal employees, and ordered them to be reinstated pending further litigation.
Probationary workers typically have less than one year of service in their current roles, though some are longtime federal employees.
Bredar’s ruling came in a lawsuit by 19 Democrat-led states and Washington, D.C., who said the mass firings would trigger a spike in unemployment claims and greater demand for social services provided by states.
The office of Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, which is spearheading the lawsuit, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
The Trump administration has appealed Bredar’s decision and on Monday asked a Richmond, Virginia-based appeals court to pause the ruling pending the outcome of the case.
Hours before Bredar issued his ruling, a federal judge in San Francisco had ordered that probationary workers be reinstated at six agencies, including five also covered by Bredar’s order and the US Department of Defense. The administration has also appealed that decision.
In the filings late Monday, agency officials said they had either reinstated all of the fired employees or were working to do so, but warned that bringing back large numbers of workers had imposed significant burdens and caused confusion and turmoil.
The officials also noted that an appeals court ruling reversing Bredar’s order would allow agencies to again fire the workers, subjecting them to multiple changes in their employment status in a matter of weeks.
“The tremendous uncertainty associated with this confusion and these administrative burdens impede supervisors from appropriately managing their workforce,” Mark Green, deputy assistant secretary at the US Department of the Interior, wrote in one of the filings. “Work schedules and assignments are effectively being tied to hearing and briefing schedules set by the courts.”
Bredar has scheduled a hearing for March 26 on whether to keep his ruling in place pending the outcome of the lawsuit, which could take months or longer to resolve.