BERLIN: Prince Charles is attending ceremonies on Germany’s traditional day of remembrance Sunday, seen as part of Britain’s diplomatic outreach to Europe’s biggest economy days before a deadline to strike a post-Brexit deal with the European Union.
Wearing masks and the customary remembrance poppy, Charles arrived in Berlin with his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, late Saturday, where they were welcomed by Britain’s new ambassador, Jill Gallard, who tweeted that the prince was a “true friend of Germany.”
Britain and Germany were enemies in World Wars I and II, but have since forged close diplomatic, economic and military ties.
The royal couple were received Sunday by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife, Elke Buedenbender, at Bellevue Palace. The palace was built in the late 18th century by Prince Augustus Ferdinand of Prussia, to whom Charles is distantly related through his family’s German line.
Charles and Camilla will observe the traditional wreath laying ceremony at Berlin’s Neue Wache. Originally designed as a site to commemorate those who died in the Napoleonic Wars it is now Germany’s Central Memorial for the Victims of War and Tyranny.
Queen Elizabeth II’s eldest son is scheduled to later deliver a speech at a memorial event in the Bundestag, Germany’s parliament.
The heir apparent has visited Germany more than 30 times since 1962, both in an official and private capacity, according to British officials, most recently in 2019.
Charles’ latest trip comes as Britain and the EU remain locked in difficult talks over a post-Brexit trade deal. There is growing anxiety that Britain may find itself without favorable access to its biggest trading partner when a transition agreement with the EU expires at the end of the year.
Steinmeier, who was Germany’s foreign minister when Britain held a referendum on Brexit in 2016 before assuming the largely ceremonial role as head of state a year later, has in the past dismissed British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s efforts to renegotiate existing agreements with the EU.
Charles, 72, is exempt due to the diplomatic nature of his trip from Germany’s rules requiring him to go into quarantine on arrival from Britain. The prince has himself recovered from a coronavirus infection in March.
Britain’s Prince Charles attends German remembrance ceremony
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Britain’s Prince Charles attends German remembrance ceremony
- Britain and Germany were enemies in World Wars I and II, but have since forged close diplomatic, economic and military ties
- Wearing masks and the customary remembrance poppy, Charles arrived in Berlin with his wife Camilla
Dalai Lama suggests institution to continue at 90th birthday launch
The Dalai Lama joined thousands of Buddhist followers on Monday in the prayer celebrations, a landmark event resonating far beyond the Indian Himalayan town where he has lived for decades.
“As far as the institution of the Dalai Lama, there will be some kind of a framework within which we can talk about its continuation,” he said, speaking in Tibetan.
The leader, who turns 90 on July 6, is according to Tibetans the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama.
He and thousands of other Tibetans have lived in exile in India since Chinese troops crushed an uprising in the Tibetan capital Lhasa in 1959.
Draped in traditional maroon and yellow robes, the Dalai Lama sat and listened to speeches and chants of monks, nuns, pilgrims, as well as well-wishers from across the world on Monday.
“Though I am 90 years old, physically I am very healthy,” he said, before tasting a slice of Tibetan-style birthday cake, an elaborately decorated tower made from roasted barley and butter cut in front of him.
“In the time I have left, I will continue to dedicate myself to the well-being of others as much as possible,” he said.
The Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday is more than a personal milestone.
The charismatic Nobel Peace Prize-winning Buddhist Tenzin Gyatso is also expected to reveal if there will be another Dalai Lama after him.
The Dalai Lama has said the institution will continue only if there is popular demand — and is widely expected to reveal that decision on Wednesday.
The occasion carries profound weight not only for Tibetans, but also for global supporters who see the Dalai Lama as a symbol of non-violence, compassion, and the enduring struggle for Tibetan cultural identity under Chinese rule.
“We offer our fervent devotions that Tenzin Gyatso, protector of the Land of Snows, lives for one hundred eons,” a chorus of red-robed monks sang.
“May all your noble aspirations be fulfilled,” they added, in front of a crowd that included religious leaders of many faiths.
His advancing age has also sparked concern over the future of Tibetan leadership and the delicate question of his succession.
While China condemns him as a rebel and separatist, the internationally recognized Dalai Lama describes himself as a “simple Buddhist monk.”
Many exiled Tibetans fear China will name a successor to bolster control over a territory it poured troops into in 1950.
The Dalai Lama has been lauded by his followers for his tireless campaign for greater autonomy for Tibet, a vast high-altitude plateau in China about the size of South Africa.
The Dalai Lama handed over political authority in 2011 to an exiled government chosen democratically by 130,000 Tibetans globally.
At the same time, he warned that the future of his spiritual post faced an “obvious risk of vested political interests misusing the reincarnation system.”
Snakes on a plane bound for India, again
- The live snakes included reptiles often sold in the pet trade, and were largely non venomous
NEW DELHI: Indian customs officers in Mumbai said they have stopped a plane passenger arriving from Thailand with a wriggling cargo of live snakes, the third such seizure this month.
“Customs officers... foiled yet another wildlife smuggling attempt, 16 live snakes... seized from passenger returning from Thailand,” said customs officers in the airport in the Indian financial hub.
The passenger, who arrived on Sunday, has been arrested, the customs agency said in a statement, with “further investigation underway.”
The live snakes included reptiles often sold in the pet trade, and were largely non-venomous, or with venom too weak to affect people.
They included garter snakes, a rhino rat snake and a Kenyan sand boa, among others.
In early June, customs officers stopped a passenger smuggling dozens of venomous vipers, also arriving from Thailand.
Days later, officers stopped another traveler carrying 100 creatures including lizards, sunbirds and tree-climbing possums.
Wildlife trade monitor TRAFFIC, which battles the smuggling of wild animals and plants, has warned of a “very troubling” trend in trafficking driven by the exotic pet trade.
More than 7,000 animals, dead and alive, have been seized along the Thailand-India air route in the last 3.5 years, it said.
Women can be drafted into the Danish military as Russian aggression and military investment grows
- The Scandinavian country is seeking to increase the number of young people in the military by extending compulsory enlistment to women for the first time
HOVELTE: Peering across a dense stretch of woodland outside of Denmark’s capital with camouflage paint smeared across her face, 20-year-old Katrine scans the horizon for approaching threats.
After nearly four months of military training, the young soldier and the rest of her unit spent early June completing their final exercises near the Danish army’s barracks in Hovelte, 25 kilometers (15 miles) north of Copenhagen.
Katrine and other female soldiers, all of whom spoke to The Associated Press on June 11 on the condition that only their first names be used because of operational security, volunteered for military service earlier this year. Until now, that was the only way for women to be part of the armed forces.
The Scandinavian country is seeking to increase the number of young people in the military by extending compulsory enlistment to women for the first time. Men and women can both still volunteer, and the remaining places will be filled by a gender-neutral draft lottery.
“In the situation the world is in now, it’s needed,” Katrine said. “I think it’s only fair and right that women participate equally with men.”
Under new rules passed by Denmark’s parliament earlier in June, Danish women who turn 18 after Tuesday will be entered into the lottery system, on equal footing with their male compatriots. The change comes against a backdrop of Russian aggression and growing military investment across NATO countries.
Russia’s looming threat
Even from the relative safety of Denmark, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine casts its shadow. Lessons from the Ukrainian battlefields have even filtered down into their training.
“That makes it very real,” Katrine said.
Denmark’s gender-parity reforms were originally outlined in 2024 as part of a major defense agreement. The program was originally expected to be implemented by early 2027, but has been brought forward to summer 2025.
Col. Kenneth Strøm, head of the conscription program, told AP the move is based on “the current security situation.”
“They could take part in NATO collective deterrence,” Strøm added. “Raising the number of conscripts, that would simply lead to more combat power.”
Denmark, a nation of 6 million people, has about 9,000 professional troops. The new arrangement is expected to bring up to 6,500 annual conscripts by 2033, up from 4,700 last year.
Under Danish law, all physically fit men over age 18 are called up for military service. But because there are usually enough volunteers, there’s a lottery system so not all young men serve. Women, by contrast, could only volunteer previously, making up roughly a quarter of 2024’s cohort.
“Some will probably be very disappointed being chosen to go into the military,” Anne Sofie, part of Katrine’s cohort of volunteers, said of the new female conscripts. “Some will probably be surprised and like it a lot more than they think they would.”
The duration of service is also being extended from four to 11 months. Conscripts will first spend five months in basic training, followed by six months of operational service, plus additional lessons.
Military buildup
The move is part of a broader military buildup by the Nordic nation.
In February, Denmark’s government announced plans to bolster its military by setting up a $7 billion fund that it said would raise the country’s defense spending to more than 3 percent of gross domestic product this year. Parts of the conscript program are being financed by the so-called Acceleration Fund.
“We see a sharpened security situation in Europe. We have the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. We have focus on the Baltic countries, where Denmark is contributing a lot of soldiers. So, I think it’s a general effort to strengthen the Danish defense,” said researcher Rikke Haugegaard from the Royal Danish Defense College.
But Haugegaard notes there are many challenges, from ill-fitting equipment and a lack of additional barracks, to potential cases of sexual harassment.
“For the next year or two, we will be building a lot of new buildings to accommodate all these people. So, it will be a gradual process,” she added.
In 2017, neighboring Sweden instituted a military draft for both men and women after its government spoke of a deteriorating security environment in Europe. Norway introduced its own law applying military conscription to both sexes in 2013.
US envoy expects Trump, Erdogan to resolve arms sanctions on Turkiye this year
ANKARA: The US ambassador to Turkiye said he expects Donald Trump and Tayyip Erdogan to resolve long-standing defense-related sanctions on Turkiye by year end, according to an interview with state owned Anadolu Agency.
Thomas Barrack, the envoy, said the two presidents could give directions to settle the issue of sanctions, which the US imposed in 2020 over Turkiye’s purchase of Russian S-400 missile defense systems.
“In my view, President Trump and President Erdogan will tell Secretary (Marco) Rubio and Foreign Minister (Hakan) Fidan to fix this, find a way, and a resolution is possible by year-end,” he was quoted as saying on Sunday.
The CAATSA sanctions, referring to the ‘Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act’, also removed NATO member Turkiye from the F-35 program where it was both a buyer and manufacturer of the fighter jets.
Ankara, which has closer US ties since Trump’s return to the White House, has said its removal from the program was unjust and has demanded to be reinstated or reimbursed.
“We all believe there’s a tremendous opportunity here, as we have two leaders who trust each other,” said Barrack, who is also special envoy to neighboring Syria.
China lifts a nearly 2 year ban on seafood from Japan over Fukushima wastewater
BEIJING: China has reopened its market to seafood from Japan after a nearly two-year ban over the discharge of slightly radioactive wastewater from the tsunami-destroyed Fukushima nuclear power plant.
A notice from the customs agency said the ban had been lifted Sunday and that imports from most of Japan would be resumed.
The ban, imposed in August 2023, was a major blow to Japan’s fisheries industry. China was the biggest overseas market for Japanese seafood, accounting for more than one-fifth of its exports.
The nuclear plant at Fukushima was heavily damaged by a deadly tsunami that followed a huge offshore earthquake in 2011. Water still must be pumped in to cool the radioactive fuel. The water is then stored in what was an ever-growing complex of tanks on the property.
After years of debate, the utility won government permission to discharge the water gradually into the sea after treating it to remove most of the radioactive elements. Japanese officials said the wastewater would be safer than international standards and have negligible environmental impact.
China disagreed and imposed a ban, saying the discharge would endanger the fishing industry and coastal communities on its east coast.
The ban will remain in place for seafood from 10 of Japan’s 47 prefectures, including Fukushima and nearby ones.
Japanese seafood exporters will have to reapply for registration in China and all imports will have to include a health certificate, a certificate of compliance for radioactive substance testing and a certificate of origin, the Chinese customs agency said.
