LONDON: Queen Elizabeth II has been placed under medical supervision because doctors are “concerned for Her Majesty’s health,” Buckingham Palace said Thursday, as members of the royal family traveled to Scotland to be with the 96-year-old monarch.
The announcement comes a day after the queen canceled a virtual meeting of her Privy Council when doctors advised her to rest following a full day of events on Tuesday, when she formally asked Liz Truss to become prime minister.
“Following further evaluation this morning, the Queen’s doctors are concerned for Her Majesty’s health and have recommended she remain under medical supervision,” a palace spokesperson said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with customary policy. “The Queen remains comfortable and at Balmoral.”
Prince Charles, the heir to the throne, and his wife, Camilla, are with the queen after traveling to Balmoral Castle, the queen’s summer vacation home, to be with her. Prince William, Charles’ eldest son, is en route.
Elizabeth marked seven decades on the throne this year. She has increasingly handed over duties to Charles and other members of the royal family in recent months as she struggled to get around.
“The whole country will be deeply concerned by the news from Buckingham Palace this lunchtime,” Truss said on Twitter.
“My thoughts — and the thoughts of people across our United Kingdom — are with Her Majesty The Queen and her family at this time.”
The Privy Council, a group of the monarch’s senior advisers, was due to formally swear in Truss and her new Cabinet members at Wednesday’s meeting. The session will be held at a later date.
Queen Elizabeth II under medical care amid health fears
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Queen Elizabeth II under medical care amid health fears
- Prince Charles, heir to the throne, and his wife, Camilla, are with the queen after traveling to Balmoral Castle, queen’s summer home
- Elizabeth marked seven decades on throne this year, has increasingly handed duties to Charles and other members of royal family in recent months
US denounces Russian obstruction in UN sanctions on North Korea
- US envoy charged that Russia's obstructions was its way to avoid facing reproach for using Pyongyang’s weapons in the war against Ukraine
- Last year, Russia vetoed a Security Council resolution, ending the UN sanctions monitoring system for Pyongyang’s sanctions
NEW YORK CITY: At the United Nations Wednesday, the United States denounced Russia for “cynically obstructing” the monitoring of North Korea’s compliance with sanctions, in Moscow’s bid to avoid facing reproach for using Pyongyang’s weapons in the war against Ukraine.
Several members of the Security Council, including the US and South Korea, convened a meeting Wednesday to ensure member states are “aware of sanctions violations and evasion activity” that generates revenue for North Korea’s “unlawful” weapons of mass destruction and “ballistic missile programs despite Russia’s veto,” said interim US ambassador Dorothy Shea.
In March 2024, Russia vetoed a Security Council resolution, ending the UN sanctions monitoring system for Pyongyang’s sanctions.
Sanctions were implemented in 2006, and were strengthened several times by the Security Council, but the committee responsible for such monitoring no longer exists.
Shea alleges that since late 2023, North Korean has transferred over 24,000 containers of munitions and munitions-related material, and more than 100 ballistic missiles to Russia for use against Ukraine.
“The DPRK continues brazenly to violate the Council’s resolutions by exporting coal and iron ore to China, the proceeds of which directly fund its unlawful WMD and ballistic missile programs,” Shea said.
“It is clear from evidence presented today that Russia is cynically obstructing the Council on DPRK sanctions implementation in order to try to escape reproach for its own violations.”
South Korean Ambassador Joonkook Hwang agreed, denouncing the “illegal military cooperation between Russia and North Korea,” saying it has “severely undermined the Security Council sanctions regime on North Korea and threatens regional and global peace and security.
In May 2022, Russia and China vetoed a resolution imposing new sanctions against Pyongyang, and have advocated for easing sanctions since 2019.
The current sanctions on North Korea have no end date.
China’s BYD, Tsingshan scrap plans for Chile lithium plants as prices plunge
- Retreat a blow to Chile’s aim to develop more domestic processing of lithium
- Chile is the world’s no. 2 producer of the key metal for electric vehicle batteries
SANTIAGO: Chinese automaker BYD and metals group Tsingshan are backing out of multi-million dollar plans to build lithium cathode plants in Chile, the country’s economic development agency said on Wednesday.
The retreat by the two huge Chinese companies is a blow to Chile’s aim to develop more domestic processing of lithium, a key metal for electric vehicle batteries. Chile is the world’s no. 2 lithium producer.
Both projects were hit by plunging lithium prices, said government economic development agency Corfo, which in 2023 had tapped BYD and Tsingshan for a preferential lithium price deal as part of its efforts to spur investment in Chile.
“The companies selected by Corfo have been affected in their investment decisions by the global market conditions, which have shown a sharp drop in prices,” Corfo said in a statement.
Tsingshan told Reuters it has withdrawn plans for a $233 million project to produce 120,000 metric tons of lithium iron phosphate (LFP). Chile’s national assets ministry told Reuters that BYD filed an intent to withdraw its plans in January.
BYD, the world’s biggest maker of electric cars, declined to comment. BYD last year flagged delays to a planned $290 million plant, which was expected to produce 50,000 metric tons per year of LFP for cathodes.
Chilean newspaper Diario Financiero first reported the scrapped investments.
Chile’s effort in 2018 to encourage lithium-related investments via a pricing deal also fell apart. Chilean chemical company Molymet, China’s Sichuan Fulin Transportation Group Co. , and a joint venture between Korean firms Posco and Samsung for various reasons withdrew their plans.
Tsingshan and BYD would have had access to preferential prices of lithium produced by Chilean miner SQM through 2030, a timeframe that Corfo said also may have influenced the withdrawal of the projects.
In addition, Corfo said Tsingshan had wanted to assign the project development to a unit of the company that had not participated in the bidding process, which Corfo said was not possible.
Corfo last week opened a second bidding process for a similar scheme, this time to provide a purchasing deal with US lithium producer Albemarle through 2043 for companies that commit to lithium-related projects.
Albemarle and the selected investors will be able to use an “alternative form” to determine a price agreement, Corfo said.
Dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters occupy Columbia University library
- Student protesters at Columbia, Jewish organizers among them, say the government is unfairly conflating pro-Palestinian protests and antisemitism
NEW YORK: Dozens of protesters stood on tables, beat drums and unfurled pro-Palestinian banners in the main reading room of a Columbia University library on Wednesday in one of the biggest demonstrations at the school since its New York City campus was roiled by a student protest movement last year.
Videos and photographs on social media showed the protesters, most wearing masks, with banners saying “Strike For Gaza” and “Liberated Zone” beneath the Lawrence A. Wein Reading Room’s chandeliers in the Butler Library. Columbia’s public affairs office said in a statement that its public safety staff were asking protesters to show identification, and that if protesters do not comply with orders to disperse, they will be disciplined for breaking school rules and face “possible arrest.”
At one point, more people were seen trying to enter the library, according to a Reuters witness. Public safety staff locked a door and shoving and pushing ensued.
The protest comes as Columbia’s board of trustees continues its negotiations with US President Donald Trump’s administration, which announced in March it had canceled hundreds of millions of dollars of grants to the university for scientific research.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said in an interview with the NBC 4 news channel that Columbia officials had asked for help and that the New York Police Department was sending officers to the campus.
Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a collection of student groups, recirculated on social media on Wednesday their long-standing demand that the university end investments of its $14.8 billion endowment in weapons makers and other companies that support Israel’s military occupation of Palestinian territories.
Trump, a Republican, has called the pro-Palestinian student protests across college campuses last year antisemitic and anti-American. Student protesters at Columbia, Jewish organizers among them, say the government is unfairly conflating pro-Palestinian protests and antisemitism.
Trump is also trying to deport some pro-Palestinian international students at US schools, saying their presence could harm US foreign policy interests.
The protesters in the library also demanded the release of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and Columbia graduate student who remains in a Louisiana immigrants jail after he was among the first to be arrested.
Putin’s order for three-day truce with Ukraine enters force
- Putin announced the truce last month as a “humanitarian” gesture, following pressure from Trump
- Ukraine never agreed to the truce and has dismissed it as theatrics, calling instead for a 30-day ceasefire
MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin’s order for a three-day truce with Ukraine to coincide with Moscow’s World War II Victory Day commemorations has taken effect, Russian state media reported.
Ukraine never agreed to the truce and has dismissed it as theatrics, calling instead for a 30-day ceasefire.
The three-day order began at midnight Thursday (2100 GMT on Wednesday) and is scheduled to last until the end of Saturday, according to the Kremlin.
“The ceasefire ... on the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory has begun,” Russia’s state RIA news agency reported.
Hours before Putin’s order was scheduled to enter force, Moscow and Kyiv traded a slew of aerial attacks, prompting airport closures in Russia and leaving at least two dead in Ukraine.
The Kremlin has said Russian forces will honor Putin’s order to cease fire, but will respond “immediately” if Ukraine launches any attacks.
Putin announced the truce last month as a “humanitarian” gesture, following pressure from the United States to halt his three-year assault on Ukraine.
US President Donald Trump has been trying to broker a lasting ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv since his inauguration, but has failed to extract any major concessions from the Kremlin.
Putin rejected a joint US-Ukrainian proposal for an unconditional ceasefire in March, and has since offered only slim contributions to Trump’s peace efforts.
Ukraine has said it does not believe Russia will adhere to this truce and accused Moscow of hundreds of violations during a previous, 30-hour ceasefire ordered by Putin over Easter.
Polish police say one killed in axe attack at Warsaw University
- "Police have detained a man who entered the University of Warsaw campus," Warsaw Police said
- Gazeta Wyborcza daily reported that the attacker was a third-year law student
WARSAW: Police said on Wednesday they had detained a 22-year-old Polish man after he killed one person with an axe at Warsaw University, in an attack the institution described as a "huge tragedy".
"Police have detained a man who entered the University of Warsaw campus. One person died, another was taken to hospital with injuries," Warsaw Police said in a statement on X.
They said the incident occurred at around 6:40 p.m. (1640 GMT), when the man attacked people on the campus with an axe, adding that the detainee was a 22-year-old Polish citizen.
Gazeta Wyborcza daily reported that the attacker was a third-year law student.
Private broadcaster Polsat News reported that a woman's severed head and an axe had been found at the university.
A spokesperson for the district prosecutor's office declined to comment on whether a severed head had been found.
The spokesperson said that a female administrative employee of the university had been killed at the scene and a security guard was injured and was taken to hospital in critical condition.
He said that the attacker had entered an auditorium at the university.
Reuters reporters at the scene saw police vans and a cordon around the auditorium where the attack took place.
The Rector of the University of Warsaw said in a statement that May 8 would be a day of mourning at the institution, calling the attack a "huge tragedy".
"We express our great sorrow and sympathy to the family and loved ones," the statement read.
