Kenya scraps most new tax hikes as hundreds protest

Kenya’s government on Tuesday walked back plans to impose multiple tax hikes, the presidency said, amending a controversial bill that sparked protests where more than a dozen demonstrators were arrested. The East African economic powerhouse has struggled with a cost-of-living crisis, which critics warned would only worsen under the levies laid out in a bill due to be debated this week and passed before June 30.Hundreds of mostly young protesters assembled near parliament on Tuesday, with police firing tear gas and making arrests, according to AFP journalists. Hours later, the presidency announced that it would scrap many of the bill’s most contentious provisions, including taxes on bread purchases and car ownership. “The Finance Bill has been amended to remove the proposed 16% VAT on bread, transportation of sugar, financial services, foreign exchange transactions as well as the 2.5% Motor Vehicle Tax,” the presidency said in a statement.“Additionally, there will be no increase in mobile money transfer fees, and Excise Duty on vegetable oil has also been removed,” it added. The cash-strapped government had earlier defended the hikes - which were projected to raise some 346.7bn shillings ($2.7bn), equivalent to 1.9% of GDP - as a necessary measure to cut reliance on external borrowing. Lawmakers were due to debate the bill on Tuesday afternoon, but postponed the discussion to Wednesday, just before the presidency announced the changes following recommendations made by a parliamentary committee.“Because the people’s representatives have listened to the people...they have adjusted the proposals,” President William Ruto told lawmakers.The bill sparked fury among many Kenyans, who staged protests on Tuesday dubbed “Occupy Parliament”. Black-clad protesters were forced into a cat-and-mouse situation with police, with officers lobbing tear gas and - in one instance - chasing people into a church before making arrests. “I am fighting for my future,” one protester, 23-year-old Wangari, told AFP. “With such taxes, with such exploitation, I don’t see how we can build a life,” she said.“This is making it very hard for us, especially us, that are not a part of the one percent.”Her thoughts were echoed by others like 29-year-old Rara Eisa who was protesting for the first time. “I am tired. The prices of everything have gone up, life is no longer affordable,” she said, adding that the taxes “are not lenient in any way”.Many demonstrators waved signs emblazoned “do not force the taxes on us”, referring to Ruto as Zakayo, the Swahili name for the biblical tax collector Zacchaeus. Ruto came to power in 2022 on a promise to revive the economy and put money in the pockets of the downtrodden, but his policies have sparked widespread discontent.He has raised income tax and health insurance contributions, and doubled VAT on petroleum products to 16%. Last year’s tax hikes led to opposition protests, sometimes degenerating into deadly street clashes between police and demonstrators.While Kenya is among the most dynamic economies in East Africa, roughly a third of the 51.5mn population lives in poverty. Overall inflation has remained stubbornly high at an annual rate of 5.1% in May, while food and fuel inflation stood at 6.2% and 7.8% respectively, according to central bank data. The World Bank said this month that while Kenya’s real GDP growth had accelerated last year to 5.6% from 4.9% in 2022, it was expected to slow to five percent this year.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/685045/international/kenya-scraps-most-new-tax-hikes-as-hundreds-protest

Dutch PM Rutte to be next Nato chief

Stoltenberg: Rutte is a very strong candidateNext Nato chief to find balance between support for Kyiv and keeping alliance out of warNetherlands under Rutte has been driving force behind military help for UkraineAfter ten years in office, Stoltenberg's term ends October 1

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, a staunch ally of Kyiv and a critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, will succeed Jens Stoltenberg as Nato chief, Dutch national broadcaster NOS reported on Tuesday, after Hungary and Slovakia backed him.

Speaking at a news conference alongside US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington, Stoltenberg neither confirmed nor denied the media report.

'With the announcement of (Hungarian) Prime Minister (Viktor) Orban, I think it's obvious that we are very close to a conclusion... to select the next secretary-general, and I think that's good news,' he told reporters, while praising Rutte.

'I think Mark is a very strong candidate. He has a lot of experience as prime minister. He's a close friend and colleague, and I therefore strongly believe that very soon, the alliance will have decided on my successor,' he said. 'And that will be good for all of us, for Nato and also for me.'

Nato's next secretary-general will face the challenge of sustaining allies' support for Ukraine's fight against Russia's invasion, while guarding against any escalation that could draw the military alliance directly into a war with Moscow.

In the two years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion, Rutte has been one of the driving forces behind Europe's military support to Ukraine, stressing time and again what he said was the absolute need for a Russian battlefield defeat to secure peace in Europe.

Under his recent leadership, the Netherlands has ramped up defence spending above the 2% threshold of GDP required of Nato members, providing F-16 fighter jets, artillery, drones and ammunition to Kyiv as well as investing heavily in its own military.

Rutte's support for Ukraine is underscored by his criticism of Russia and its President Vladimir Putin, as the Netherlands holds Russia accountable for the downing of passenger flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in July 2014 - which killed all 298 passengers and crew, 196 of them from the Netherlands.

Hours before the NOS report, Hungary and Slovakia had given their support to the candidacy of Rutte, clearing a crucial hurdle on his way to Nato's top job.

Nato takes decisions by consensus, so any candidate needs the support of all 32 allies. Only Romania, whose President Klaus Iohannis is also vying for the job, is still officially opposed to Rutte's candidacy.

Hungary's backing followed a meeting Orban had with Stoltenberg last week, where the two sides agreed that Hungary would not block Nato decisions on providing support for Ukraine but has agreed that it would not be involved.

'PM Mark Rutte confirmed that he fully supports this deal and will continue to do so, should he become the next Secretary General of Nato,' Orban wrote on the X social media platform.

'In light of his pledge, Hungary is ready to support PM Rutte's bid for Nato Secretary-General.'

Orban had earlier opposed Rutte's candidacy because he had expressed 'problematic' opinions that included the idea that Hungary should leave the European Union.

Hungary has been at odds with other Nato countries over Orban's continued cultivation of close ties with Russia and refusal to send arms to Ukraine, with Budapest's foreign minister last month labelling plans to help the war-torn nation a 'crazy mission.'

Turkey and Slovakia have also changed course on Rutte's bid, with Turkey saying it would support him in late April and Slovakia announcing its support earlier on Tuesday.

Slovakia, which borders Ukraine, had stressed the need for the next Nato chief to help deal with the protection of Slovak airspace, its President Peter Pellegrini said, after the previous Slovak government donated an S-300 system to Ukraine, and allies pulled out Patriot batteries that had been temporarily placed there.

Stoltenberg's term will end on October 1, 10 years after taking office in 2014, just a few months after Russia annexed Crimea.

During his tenure, Stoltenberg oversaw Nato's shift from an alliance mainly engaged in crisis management missions in far-off places such as Afghanistan back to its roots of defence against Russia.

Four countries have joined Nato since Stoltenberg took office - Montenegro, North Macedonia, Finland and Sweden.

By giving the top job to Rutte, the alliance will pass the opportunity to see a woman, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, take the helm of Nato for the first time - something several members had lobbied for.

Kallas, a candidate mainly touted by eastern European countries, was seen as too hawkish towards Russia by some western member states.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/685044/international/ukeurope/dutch-pm-rutte-to-be-next-nato-chief

Farage vows tighter borders and tax cuts in poll ‘contract’

Nigel Farage, whose entry into the election has damaged Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s faint hopes of victory, set out his policy plans yesterday, describing them as the first step to becoming the dominant party on the right of British politics.Farage yesterday said the earlier-than-expected election had come too soon for his Reform UK party but called on supporters of Sunak’s Conservatives to “join the revolt” and pitched Reform as the only ones who could hold to account Labour, whose leader Keir Starmer is forecast to become the next prime minister.Farage is one of Britain’s most recognisable and divisive politicians and has pressured successive governments into more aggressive stances on cutting immigration. He played a pivotal role in the 2016 vote to leave the European Union.But his career has been spent campaigning from the sidelines of British politics, having stood unsuccessfully for a seat in parliament seven times and led parties which, despite attracting millions of votes, have failed to weaken the grip of Britain’s two main parties - the Conservatives and Labour. This time Farage is standing in Clacton-on-Sea, southeast England, where polling shows he could win a place in parliament, but under Britain’s electoral system Reform is only expected to win, at most, a handful of seats across the country. “We are not pretending that we are going to win this general election,” Farage said at the launch of a 24-page policy document, which he described as a “contract” with voters for the next five years. But he added: “Our aim and our ambition is to establish a bridgehead in parliament and to become a real opposition to a Labour government.”Reform chose Merthyr Tydfil for its launch to highlight what it says is Labour misrule in Wales.Farage’s unexpected entry into the election race - having initially said he would not run and wanted to concentrate on campaigning for Donald Trump in the US - has split support among Britain’s right-of-centre voters.The Labour Party is around 20 percentage points ahead in opinion polls and forecast to win a large majority. Reform overtook the Conservatives in one poll last week, and Farage has set a target of winning 6mn votes at the July 4 election.Other polls put them far behind the governing party. The Reform campaign has so far focused on Farage and his populist appeal. The 60-year-old received an expensive private education and worked as a commodities trader but has successfully styled himself as a man of the people taking on an out-of-touch political establishment.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/684993/international/farage-vows-tighter-borders-and-tax-cuts-in-poll-contract

Israel official says PM dissolves war cabinet

A senior Israeli official told AFP on Monday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had dissolved the war cabinet following the resignation earlier this month of centrist leader Benny Gantz.The official said on condition of anonymity that the wider 'security cabinet will continue to decide on matters regarding the war' between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.Israeli media said the move, which was not expected to trigger any major policy shift, was meant to counter pressure from far-right politicians seeking a greater say in decision-making.The war cabinet was formed after Gantz had left the opposition to join Netanyahu's government following Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack.Gantz and another member of his party, Gadi Eisenkot, both former military chiefs, had agreed to join the government on condition that a war cabinet be formed, said another Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to discuss the issue with the media.With Gantz and Eisenkot out of the government, 'there is no longer a need for' the war cabinet, said the official.'It means that the security cabinet will meet more often. The security cabinet is the body responsible for making decisions (related to the war) anyway.'Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, who were all part of the war cabinet, also sit on the security cabinet -- the key forum ratifying decisions regarding the war including truce and hostage release negotiations.Gantz announced his resignation on June 9 after failing to get Netanyahu to approve a post-war plan for Gaza.Israeli media reported that Netanyahu dissolved the war cabinet to avoid including far-right coalition members in the sensitive forum, fearing harm to relations with key Western allies such as the United States.National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who are both security cabinet members and opposed to a truce before Hamas is 'eliminated', have put pressure on Netanyahu to add them to the war cabinet.The Hamas attack on southern Israel that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,194 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.Israel's retaliatory military campaign in Gaza has killed at least 37,347 people, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/684978/international/israel-official-says-pm-dissolves-war-cabinet

Train collision in Northern India leaves five dead, 25 injured

Five people were killed and about 25 others were injured in a train collision in the city of Siliguri in the state of Bengal, northern India.The accident involved a freight train colliding with the Kanchenjunga Express, which was en route to Sealdah station in Kolkata.Local authorities reported that the collision occurred shortly after the Kanchenjunga Express departed from New Jalpaiguri station and collided with the freight train from behind.India's railway network, one of the largest in the world, is known for frequent accidents, largely due to outdated equipment. The deadliest accident occurred in 1981 when a train fell into a river, resulting in 800 fatalities.In 2015, the Indian government announced an investment of $137 billion over five years to modernize and expand the railway network.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/684974/international/india/train-collision-in-northern-india-leaves-five-dead-25-injured

Biden raps apex court at fundraiser in LA while Trump woos Michigan

President Joe Biden slammed the US Supreme Court as “out of kilter” at a glitzy fundraiser in Los Angeles on Saturday with former president Barack Obama and top Hollywood celebrities that has raised over $30mn.Late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel began by showing a video montage contrasting Biden’s record with that of his predecessor and current Republican challenger Donald Trump.He drew cheers from the audience at a packed Peacock Theatre in downtown Los Angeles, where Hollywood celebrities George Clooney, Julia Roberts and singing icon Barbra Streisand were among the guests.Despite the Hollywood heavyweights, Biden turned serious when he spoke of his rival Trump, and how whoever wins the election will likely have at least two new Supreme Court nominations to make.“The idea that if he’s re-elected he’s going to appoint two more flying flags upside down,” Biden said, referring to recent tumult over conservative sitting Justice Samuel Alito who was recently confirmed to have had the inverted American flag – a symbol of Trump’s false election fraud claims – raised outside his homes in Virginia and New Jersey.Biden, a Democrat who has frequently denounced specific decisions but resisted a full attack on the court itself, said: “The fact of the matter is that there has never been a court that is this far out of step.”He noted that conservative Justice Clarence Thomas had said that the court, which overturned the half-century-old federal right to abortion, should reconsider such things as in vitro fertilisation and contraception.Trump nominated three of the six conservatives who control the nine-member court. He and Biden are in a tight rematch race for the November 5 election.If Trump is elected again, Biden said, he “is likely to have two new Supreme Court nominees”.Democratic lawmakers, citing the flag displays, have said Alito should recuse himself from a case involving Trump’s claim of presidential immunity from prosecution on federal criminal charges relating to his efforts to overturn the 2020 results.Since Biden took office, the court’s conservative majority has also restricted affirmative action, gender minority rights, gun control and environmental regulation.It has blocked the president’s agenda on immigration, student loans, vaccine mandates and climate change.Obama said that “the power of the Supreme Court is determined by elections. What we’re seeing now is a byproduct of 2016” when Trump was elected. “Hopefully we have learned our lesson. Because these elections matter.”Obama also invoked Trump’s felony convictions to applause from the crowd.Trump was convicted by a New York jury on May 30 of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.The Biden campaign hoped the star-studded event would display strength and momentum despite Biden’s low approval ratings and concerns about the age of the president, who is 81.“This will be one of the biggest fundraisers we’ve had,” said Ajay Jain Bhutoria, deputy finance chair at the Democratic National Committee.A Biden campaign spokeswoman said that “$28mn heading into President Biden’s LA fundraiser – and counting. This is the largest Democratic fundraiser in history”.Biden campaign’s fundraising in April lagged Trump’s for the first time, after the former president ramped up his joint operation with the Republican National Committee and headlined high-dollar fundraisers.Democrats still maintained an overall cash advantage over Trump and the Biden campaign continues to have a considerably larger war chest.Trump was also on the campaign trail, boasting in Detroit, Michigan that his own fundraising is “the highest in the history of politics”.Michigan is a must-win state for Biden in November’s electoral mathematics.Aiming to eat into Biden’s key electoral support from African Americans there, Trump visited a black church in Detroit and told hundreds of voters that “crooked Joe Biden has done nothing for you except talk”.Trump then headed to a starkly different venue: a convention of high-profile hard-right Republicans and supporters of his attempt to overturn the 2020 election.At the Turning Point USA convention, Trump railed against Biden’s climate protection package, mocked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a “salesman”, and renewed his incendiary rhetoric about what he branded the “Biden migrant invasion”, saying he will stop it with the biggest deportation operation in American history.In a characteristically rambling 80-minute speech – frequently interrupted by loud cheering – Trump claimed that help for migrants leaves US war veterans “lying in the streets” and veered into everything from extended complaints about modern showers to repeating his lie that his 2020 election loss was “rigged and stolen”.“We have a rigged country. We have rigged elections, we have open borders,” he said.Biden and Trump are tied in national polls with less than five months to go before the election, while Trump has the edge in the battleground states that will decide the election, recent polls show.On economic issues like inflation, Trump scores higher with voters overall than Biden.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/684954/international/biden-raps-apex-court-at-fundraiser-in-la-while-trump-woos-michigan

Australian PM, China premier to discuss trade, jailed writer on Monday

Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Chinese Premier Li Qiang will meet on Monday in the first such visit by a Chinese premier in seven years, with trade ties, regional security and a jailed Australian writer on the host’s agenda.The visit by Li, China’s top-ranked official after President Xi Jinping, marks a stabilisation in relations between the US security ally and the world’s second-biggest economy, after a frosty period of Beijing blocking $20bn in Australian exports and friction over defence encounters.Li is on a four-day visit that Australia’s foreign minister called “really important” and which the Chinese leader said showed bilateral relations were “back on track”.Without China - which receives one-third of Australia’s exports and supplies one-fourth of Australia’s imports - Australians would pay 4.2% more for consumer items, an Australian business group said.Trade with China increased Australia’s average household disposable income by A$2,600 ($1,700) last year, contributing 595,600 jobs or 4.2% of total employment, said the study by Curtin University and the Australia China Business Council.“Managing geopolitical risks and concerns around defence and security will remain at the forefront of Indo-Pacific discussions,” the report said. “Trade is not disconnected from these discussions.”Australia is the biggest supplier of iron ore to China and China has been an investor in Australian mining projects.Li’s visit will likely raise the issue of whether Australia will continue to accept high levels of Chinese investment in its critical minerals sector, as Western security allies push to reduce reliance on Beijing for the rare earths vital to electric vehicles. Human rights is an area of less harmony for Beijing and Canberra.The suspended death sentence for China-born Australian writer Yang Hengjun was upheld by a Beijing court ahead of Li’s visit, his supporters said on Sunday.They urged Albanese to ask Li to allow Yang’s transfer to Australia on medical grounds, saying in a statement it was “not possible to achieve a stable, respectful bilateral relationship with China while their officials are threatening to execute an Australian political prisoner”.Yang, a pro-democracy blogger and spy novelist, was working in New York before his arrest at Guangzhou airport in 2019.Australia has described his February sentence as “harrowing”, casting a shadow over the recent rebound in bilateral ties.Australia has also chastised China’s military in recent months for its “unacceptable” and “unsafe” behaviour in international skies and waters, and has urged restraint in the South China Sea.Meanwhile, Australian police have beefed up security measures fearing the potential for ugly clashes between pro-China groups and human rights protesters.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/684953/international/australian-pm-china-premier-to-discuss-trade-jailed-writer-on-monday

$1.5bn more US aid for Ukraine

Lucerne, SwitzerlandUS Vice-President Kamala Harris pledged America’s unwavering support for Ukraine and announced more than $1.5bn in aid for the country’s energy sector and its humanitarian situation as a result of Russia’s 27-month invasion.Harris made the announcement at the Ukraine peace summit in Lucerne, Switzerland, where she met with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.“This war remains an utter failure for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin,” Harris said during a bilateral meeting with Zelensky. “It is in our interest to uphold international norms,” she added, pledging US support for the country.The $1.5bn includes $500mn in new funding for energy assistance and the redirecting of $324mn in previously announced funds toward emergency energy infrastructure repair and other needs in Ukraine, the vice-president’s office said.“These efforts will help Ukraine respond to Russia’s latest attacks on Ukraine energy infrastructure by supporting repair and recovery, improving Ukraine’s resilience to energy supply disruptions, and laying the groundwork to repair and expand Ukraine’s energy system,” Harris’ office said.She also announced more than $379mn in humanitarian assistance from the State Department and the US Agency for International Development to help refugees and other people impacted by the war. The money is to cover food assistance, health services, shelter, and water, sanitation and hygiene services for millions of Ukrainians.Harris, who will spend less than 24 hours at the gathering will be standing in for President Joe Biden at the event. The president will be just ending his participation at the G7 summit in Italy and returning to the United States to attend a fundraiser for his reelection campaign in Los Angeles.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/684921/international/15bn-more-us-aid-for-ukraine

Pellegrini vows to pull Slovakia out of turbulence

Peter Pellegrini, the former Slovakia prime minister who was sworn in as the EU member’s sixth president on Saturday, is a fanatic of planes, trains and cars as well as an ally of the Russia-friendly government.Backed by populist Prime Minister Robert Fico, the 48-year-old pledged to “unite a divided Slovakia” during an electoral campaign dominated by divisions over the war in neighbouring Ukraine.He told AFP that Slovakia was “divided between those who are in favour of the continuation of the war (between Russia and Ukraine) at all costs, and those who demand the start of peace negotiations”.“I belong to the latter,” said Pellegrini, known as “Pelle” to his friends.Educated in finance, he joined Fico’s populist Smer-SD party and went on to serve in his ally’s previous governments, before succeeding him as prime minister.Pellegrini founded his own Hlas-SD party in 2020. The leftist party came third in last year’s general election and joined the ruling coalition with Smer-SD and the small far-right SNS to govern the European Union and Nato state.A Slovak with distant Italian roots, Pellegrini was born on October 6, 1975 in the central city of Banska Bystrica to a car mechanic father and a teacher mother.“We lived modestly, like many other families in those days,” Pellegrini, who has one sister, wrote in his CV.“I was fascinated by my father’s world, marked by the smell of motor oil and dismantled cars, tractors and motorbikes.”Pellegrini once said he wanted to work on trains, adding: “I’m extremely interested in railways in general.”He is also a licensed pilot for single-engine light aircraft.In 2015, he posted a Facebook video from inside a fighter jet with the comment that he got “an amazing birthday gift”.Pellegrini is also fond of music and was part of a dance ensemble and played the accordion in his youth.A bachelor, Pellegrini was also once dubbed “the sexiest politician in Slovakia” by women’s magazines.When announcing his candidacy, he said he lives alone, adding: “If elected president, I would not be accompanied by a first lady or anyone else.”He does however have a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog named Gery.After studying finance, he worked as an economist and later as an adviser to a lawmaker from Smer-SD.Pellegrini became an MP for the party in 2006 and was re-elected twice. Later he served as state secretary for finance, education minister and parliament speaker.Pellegrini was prime minister from 2018 to 2020 after Fico was toppled following the murders of journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee.The double murder sparked large rallies that forced Fico’s resignation as Kuciak had been working on links between the Italian mafia and Smer-SD.While head of government, Pellegrini also undertook stints as the acting minister of health, finance and interior.Pellegrini speaks Slovak, Russian, German and English.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/684920/international/pellegrini-vows-to-pull-slovakia-out-of-turbulence

Britain anti-monarchists try to rain on King Charles’ birthday parade

Except for some torrential downpours, King Charles III’s highly choreographed official birthday parade passed off successfully yesterday, as Catherine, Princess of Wales, made a well-received partial return to public duties.But a small band of anti-monarchists did not keep to the meticulously planned script, booing the royals as they appeared on the Buckingham Palace balcony, waving their protest placards and aggravating royalists there.Graham Smith, who heads the Republic pressure group which campaigns for an elected UK head of state to replace the monarch, led the several dozen demonstrators determined to intrude on one of the highlights of the royal calendar. “The monarchy is undemocratic, it’s corrupt,” he told AFP, as they rallied near the palace with the organisation’s signature yellow placards and flags bearing slogans like “down with the crown”.“They misuse public office for personal gain, spending millions...on lifestyle, demanding secrecy, interfering in politics,” he added, in criticisms Smith regularly airs against the centuries-old British institution.Long a fringe group in the UK, Republic insists it has “momentum” on its side in its bid to persuade Britons to ditch the monarchy. The group has sought to capitalise on the end of Queen Elizabeth’s seven-decade reign — the biggest change to the monarchy in a generation — to make a fresh case for reform.It has increased its standing since Charles’s tenure on the throne started in September 2022, and now boasts 140,000 “supporters” and 10,000 paying members, according to Smith. He told AFP in February that Charles’ recently announced cancer diagnosis would not stop his organisation making its case.Just weeks later Kate, as the Princess of Wales is widely known, revealed she too had been diagnosed with the disease, prompting a wave of support from global leaders, family members, media and the public. Charles, 75, was given the green light to resume public duties in April, after doctors said they were “very encouraged” by his progress.Kate’s public appearance on Saturday, her first since last December, followed a statement on Friday that she was “making good progress” with her treatment, which is set to last for several more months. However, the 42-year-old princess added she was “not out of the woods yet”.“I wish them all the best and hope they make a full recovery and it’s very good they are apparently better and well enough to come out today,” Smith said on Saturday.“But that doesn’t change the fact that they shouldn’t be... doing what they’re doing.”Current polling shows senior royals currently have little to fear from Republic, with a wide margin preferring to retain them over switching to an elected head of state. But that support wanes among younger people, while Smith has noted that overall, backing for the institution is down on previous levels during Elizabeth II’s record-breaking reign.Smith intends to campaign for a referendum on the issue during the next parliamentary term, which could prove a struggle with none of the leading UK-wide parties supporting its stance. Unsurprisingly, flag-waving monarchy backers in attendance at yesterday’s Trooping the Colour military parade marking Charles’ official birthday were unimpressed by the noisy Republic contingent. Cries of “not my king” were met by counter-cries of “God save the king” - and “shut up” - as the two camps had brief heated exchanges.“I think it’s impertinent that they’re gathering so soon after the King’s cancer diagnosis,” said James Evans.“He’s trying his best to fulfil his obligations and his duties. And I gathered here to cheer him,” he added, vowing to “drown them out with our songs and our cheering”.“I hope the king sees us today — and he sees there are more of us than them.” But Gordon Alexander, a 72-year-old Republic member, was undeterred.“Britain doesn’t need to have a hereditary monarch as the head of state,” he told AFP. “It doesn’t make sense in this time we live in and yet we still have a structure that allows one person or one family to have huge influence in the country.”

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/684901/international/britain-anti-monarchists-try-to-rain-on-king-charles-birthday-parade

Eid al-Adha in Qatar: a journey of faith and humanity

We have always admired the traditions of a nation that with faith, good customs, education, and solid social and family values have formed a good community that transcends globally.The teachings for a better life of a community that has managed to overcome itself are millennial results of a permanence of generations and generations that knew how to enrich the human essence by doing good.These values that are permanently rooted are linked to beautiful festivities, determined by the Islamic lunar calendar, and in which Eid al-Adha stands out these days.These religious festivals based on an unshakeable belief in one God enrich and strengthen the soul with unconditional faith.The festivities in Qatar, a country that welcomes us generously and even in a familiar way, have always filled us with joy with genuine details such as helping others spontaneously, with love and respect to lead this life, a divine gift, in harmony and peace.As Eid al-Adha approaches, we feel a suggestive atmosphere of joy, family union, consolidating our human relationships that are so essential in all human societies.Likewise, we will be able to see unique exhibitions and taste the culinary wealth of these Middle Eastern lands, with their music and their sung prayers that become sweet companions of our daily coexistence, so necessary in a world that demands peaceful coexistence among all our nations.We will dialogue with people who, with testimonies of past years, will transport us to other times and spaces that will transmit messages of good and peace to us; and they will also do so with their families; among them the children and grandchildren.These are also opportunities to follow the example of all those innumerable qualities of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him): belief, justice, truth, respect, disinterestedness, simplicity, modesty, humility, help for the needy and forgiveness.I reiterate that this Eid is a reason to commemorate the remembered “Feast of the Sacrifice”, which was a test of the loyalty and obedience of the Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) to the one God, who commands and orders our lives.Following tradition, it is a privilege to extend our greetings and sincere wishes of happiness to His Highness the Amir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, his family and the people of Qatar.May Eid be filled with blessings, joy and unity!

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/684857/international/eid-al-adha-in-qatar-a-journey-of-faith-and-humanity