NASSAU, Bahamas: Prince William has said the British royal family would support the Bahamas’ decisions about its future, on the third stop of a Caribbean tour.
The tour has been met with protests in a region weighing its future relations with the monarchy.
The Bahamas, a former British colony, gained independence in 1973, but it remains a member of the Commonwealth of Nations and recognizes the British monarch as head of state.
Speaking at a reception in Nassau on Friday hosted by the Bahamas’ governor general, William — whose official title is the Duke of Cambridge — noted the upcoming 50th anniversary of the country’s independence.
“And with Jamaica celebrating 60 years of independence this year, and Belize celebrating 40 years of independence last year, I want to say this: we support with pride and respect your decisions about your future,” William said.
“Relationships evolve. Friendship endures.”
Prince William and wife Kate’s tour was intended to mark the 70th anniversary of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
But it has been met with protests and accusations of being a “colonial tour.”
In Jamaica on Tuesday, placard-bearing protesters outside the British High Commission demanded that the monarchy pay reparations and apologize for its role in the slave trade that brought hundreds of thousands of Africans to the island to toil under inhumane conditions.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness then pointedly told William in front of television cameras that the nation was “moving on” as an independent country.
The visit follows increasing calls for Jamaica to follow Barbados and become a republic by ditching the queen as head of state.
William during that trip expressed his “profound sorrow” about the history of slavery, calling the practice “abhorrent.”
“It should never have happened,” he said.
But no formal apology has been made by the British royal family.
Britain is increasingly confronting its colonial past, in particular its memorials to historical figures with ties to the slave trade.
Prince William says ‘supports’ Bahamas decisions about future
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Prince William says ‘supports’ Bahamas decisions about future
- The tour has been met with protests in a region weighing its future relations with the monarchy
- “We support with pride and respect your decisions about your future," William said
Kremlin expects Russia and Ukraine to discuss ceasefire conditions in Istanbul
Russia has proposed holding the second round of talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on June 2. However, Ukraine wants to see Russia’s proposals for a peace deal before it sends a delegation to Turkiye, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Friday.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russian delegation would be traveling to Istanbul and would be ready for talks with Ukraine on Monday morning.
“At the moment, everyone is focused on the direct Russia-Ukraine negotiations. A list of conditions for a temporary truce is being developed,” Peskov told reporters. He said the details of the memorandum will not be published.
Reuters reported earlier this week that Putin’s conditions for ending the war in Ukraine include a demand that Western leaders pledge in writing to stop enlarging NATO eastwards.
US President Donald Trump’s envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, said earlier on Friday that Russia’s concern over the eastward enlargement of NATO was fair and the United States did not want to see Ukraine in the US-led military alliance.
Commenting on Kellogg’s statement, Peskov said that Putin has been consistently conveying Russia’s position on the inadmissibility of NATO’s eastward expansion.
“We are pleased that these explanations by the president are understood, including in Washington. And, of course, this is quite appealing to us in terms of the mediating role that Washington continues to play,” Peskov said.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 after eight years of fighting in eastern Ukraine between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian troops.
Rockfall at Indonesian limestone quarry kills eight
CIREBON: At least eight people were killed and a dozen injured Friday in a rockfall at a limestone quarry on Indonesia’s Java island, police said.
The company overseeing the mine was operating legally but safety standards were lacking, according to West Java governor Dedi Mulyadi, who said he has ordered its closure following the collapse.
Workers and heavy equipment were buried when rocks suddenly crumbled at the mining site in the city of Cirebon in West Java province at around 09:30 am local time (0230 GMT).
“We are now focusing on evacuating victims. Until now, eight people have been found dead, and 12 others were injured and have been taken to hospitals,” local police chief, Sumarni, who like many Indonesians has one name told AFP.
Rescuers were still scouring the site to find more victims who might still be trapped under the debris, deploying excavators for the search effort.
Friday’s incident was the second time the quarry collapsed. Parts of the mine collapsed in February but there were no casualties reported.
“I decided to shut down the pit permanently, not just this pit but also other pits nearby,” Dedi told Metro TV.
Mining accidents are common across the mineral-rich Southeast Asian archipelago, especially in unlicensed sites where safety protocols are often ignored.
In 2023, eight workers died after being trapped in an illegal gold mine in Central Java.
In July, last year, at least 23 people died and 35 others were missing when a landslide hit a remote village near an illegal gold mine on the central island of Sulawesi.
EU to propose more flexible climate goal in July, sources say
- The proposal will set an EU goal to cut net greenhouse gas emissions 90 percent by 2040, compared with 1990 levels, the diplomats saiD
BRUSSELS: The European Commission will propose a new EU climate target in July that includes flexibilities for how countries meet it, as Brussels attempts to fend off mounting criticism of Europe’s environmental aims, EU diplomats told Reuters.
The European Union’s climate commissioner, Wopke Hoekstra, confirmed plans to present an EU climate target for 2040 on July 2, during a meeting with EU countries’ representatives on Wednesday, diplomats familiar with the closed-door talks told Reuters.
The proposal will set an EU goal to cut net greenhouse gas emissions 90 percent by 2040, compared with 1990 levels, the diplomats said. However, the EU executive plans to add flexibilities to that target, which could reduce what it demands from domestic industries.
The flexibilities include setting an emissions-cutting target for domestic industries that is lower than 90 percent and letting countries buy international carbon credits to make up the rest, to reach 90 percent, the diplomats said.
A European Commission spokesperson declined to comment on the plans.
The Commission has promised not to weaken Europe’s ambitious climate aims, despite mounting criticism from governments and lawmakers concerned about the cost for European businesses, which are struggling with high energy prices and looming US tariffs.
Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent. The Commission has delayed its 2040 climate proposal for months, and has weakened other green laws in recent months to try to calm the political pushback.
EU countries are split over the 2040 goal, which they and EU lawmakers must approve. Finland, the Netherlands and Denmark are among those backing a 90 percent emissions cut. Opponents include Italy and the Czech Republic.
Germany has backed a 90 percent target if countries can use international carbon credits to meet three percentage points of the goal.
The Commission is also considering softening requirements for countries to cut emissions in specific sectors — giving them more choice over which industries do the heavy lifting to meet the goal, the diplomats said.
The 2040 goal will aim to keep EU countries on track between their 2030 emissions target — which they are nearly on track to meet — and the EU’s aim to reach net zero emissions by 2050.
Death toll in central Nigeria floods rises to 36: rescuers
KANO: The death toll in central Nigeria flash floods has risen to 36 after rescuers recovered more bodies, an emergency services spokesman told AFP Friday.
Flooding after torrential rains late on Wednesday washed away more than 50 homes in the city of Mokwa in central Niger state, drowning residents with many missing, according to the Niger state emergency management agency (SEMA).
“As at this morning, 11 more bodies were recovered in addition to the 25 found earlier, which brings the number of fatalities to 36 so far,” Ibrahim Audu Husseini, SEMA spokesman said.
Teams of rescuers continued to search for missing residents into Friday.
“We expect the toll to rise considerably because there are different rescuers at different locations,” Husseini said.
Nigeria’s rainy season, which usually lasts six months, is just getting started for the year. Scientists warn that climate change is already fueling more extreme weather patterns.
Flooding, usually caused by heavy rains and poor infrastructure, wreaks havoc every year, killing hundreds of people across the west African country.
In Nigeria, the floods are exacerbated by inadequate drainage, the construction of homes on waterways, and the dumping of waste in drains and water channels.
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency had warned of possible flash floods in 15 of Nigeria’s 36 states, including Niger state, between Wednesday and Friday.
In 2024, more than 1,200 people were killed and 1.2 million displaced in at least 31 out of Nigeria’s 36 states, making it one of the country’s worst floods in decades, according to the National Emergency Management Agency.
New Zealand defense minister pledges more deployments, co-operation
- Judith Collins raises the prospect of welcoming increased warship visits to the country, deepening joint training and other cooperative efforts
SINGAPORE: New Zealand is seeking to expand Asia-Pacific military deployments in its quest to show it was now “pulling our weight” with increased spending on its armed forces, the South Pacific nation’s defense minister said in Singapore on Friday.
Defense minister Judith Collins raised the prospect of welcoming increased warship visits to the country, deepening joint training and other cooperative efforts with its traditional defense partners including ally Australia, the United States, Singapore, Japan, Britain and the Philippines.
“So we’re open for business, we’re back in the world and we’re pulling our weight,” Collins said on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue defense meeting in Singapore.
The New Zealand government announced in April that it would boost defense spending by NZ$9 billion ($5 billion) over the next four years, with the aim of nearly doubling spending to 2 percent as a share of gross domestic product in the next eight years amid growing international tensions.
The new spending is a significant boost to the defense budget of just under NZ$5 billion in 2024/25, and follows its first national security review in 2023.
The review called for more military spending and stronger ties with Indo-Pacific nations to tackle issues of climate change and strategic competition between the West, and China and Russia.
The USS Blue Ridge, the command ship of the US Pacific Fleet, visited Wellington earlier this month and further visits from partners could be expected, Collins said. The ship was just the third US warship to visit in 40 years.
When asked about Chinese concerns at New Zealand’s more assertive military posture, she said Beijing realized Wellington had “actually got a spine,” but “I don’t think China stays awake at night worrying about us.”
“I don’t think we’re any threat to China, or anyone else really,” Collins said, describing relations with China, an important trading partner, as “very mature.”
Regional military attaches and analysts say that after years of relative neglect, New Zealand still had to improve its ability to sustainably project power given its small, aging navy and air force but supporting its traditional relationships were key.
Nuclear-free since the 1980s, New Zealand maintains an independent foreign policy but remains part of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing network with the United States, Britain, Australia and Canada.
Deployments of its four new Boeing P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft are being closely watched, given how they can help other countries plug gaps in the hunt for Chinese submarines, analysts say.
Collins said New Zealand and Australian pilots now had the ability to fly each other’s P-8 and transport planes — a sign of growing “interoperability” in action.
Collins said the P-8s had already flown up toward Canada and she expected further patrols in the South China Sea and Indian Ocean. “I think you’ll see quite a lot of that,” she said. “We go everywhere. Everywhere where we’re wanted we go, if we can.”
