LONDON: A national memorial to Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II will be located in London’s St. James’s Park, which holds “historical and constitutional significance and personal connection” to the late monarch, the UK government said Saturday.
The site is close to the ceremonial route of The Mall and to the Buckingham Palace home of her son King Charles III.
It is also near statues of her parents King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.
“The memorial is intended to provide not only a fitting monument but also a space for contemplation and community, and will be of an appropriate scale and ambition to match the impact of Queen Elizabeth II on national life, The Commonwealth and indeed the rest of the world,” said the government.
There will be other memorial projects in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that the queen’s “enduring legacy of service and devotion to our country will never be forgotten.
“The national memorial will be located in St. James’s Park, right in the heart of the capital, providing everyone with a place to honor the Late Queen and connect with the shared history we cherish,” he added.
Sunday marks the two-year anniversary of the death of Elizabeth, who spent a record 70 years and 214 days on the throne.
Central London site revealed for Queen Elizabeth II memorial
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Central London site revealed for Queen Elizabeth II memorial
- The site is close to the ceremonial route of The Mall and to the Buckingham Palace home of her son King Charles III
- It is also near statues of her parents King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
Modi pushes further India-Africa cooperation on Ghana visit
- Narendra Modi: ‘Over 200 projects across the continent enhance connectivity, infrastructure and industrial capacity’
- Modi noted that the African Union had been admitted as a permanent member to the G20 while India held the rotating presidency
In a speech to Ghana’s parliament, Modi highlighted a major rail project that opened in the west African nation last year, financed by the India Export-Import Bank.
He also underlined his country’s expanding diplomatic development and business footprint in Africa.
“Over 200 projects across the continent enhance connectivity, infrastructure and industrial capacity,” Modi said. On the political front he welcomed “the establishment of Ghana-India Parliamentary Friendship Society in your parliament.”
Modi’s visit is the first to Ghana by an Indian leader in three decades.
But India’s rival China remains the most important backer of infrastructure across the continent, a position only strengthened as the United States and other Western powers slash aid programs.
In a meeting Wednesday, Modi and Ghanaian President John Mahama agreed to deepen security and mining ties.
In November 2024, the Indian prime minister visited Nigeria, discussing trade and security at a time when Indian companies had expressed interest in investing in Nigerian industries including steel.
The Indian prime minister also on Thursday called for a greater global diplomatic role for both his country and Africa, warning that “the world order created after the Second World War is changing fast.”
Modi noted that the African Union had been admitted as a permanent member to the G20 while India held the rotating presidency of the bloc.
Progress on worldwide challenges including climate change, diplomacy, “terrorism” and pandemics “cannot come without giving voice to the Global South,” he added.
India, the world’s most populous country and a nuclear-armed power, has close ties with Russia but is often in rivalry with China.
Resource-rich Ghana is Modi’s first stop in a tour that will take the Indian premier to four other countries in Africa, the Caribbean and South America.
The visit to Accra came as he made his way to Brazil for a summit of the BRICS group of emerging economies on Sunday and Monday.
Highlighting his own country’s economic development aspirations to become a “developed nation by 2047,” Modi said “India remains a committed partner in Africa’s development journey.”
US recalls top diplomat in Colombia for ‘urgent consultations’
- Bruce said the United States “is pursuing other measures to make clear our deep concern”
- Petro claimed a far-right “leader,” had spoken to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio
WASHINGTON: The United States recalled its top diplomat in Colombia on Thursday for “urgent consultations” and expressed “deep concern” over the relationship between the two countries.
Charge d’affaires John McNamara was being recalled “following baseless and reprehensible statements from the highest levels of the Government of Colombia,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said in a statement.
Bruce did not specify what the offending remarks were.
In addition to McNamara’s recall, Bruce said the United States “is pursuing other measures to make clear our deep concern over the current state of our bilateral relationship,” without detailing the actions.
She stressed, however, that Colombia remains an “essential strategic partner” despite Washington’s “policy differences with the current government.”
“We are committed to close cooperation on a range of shared priorities, including regional security and stability,” Bruce added.
Colombia’s leftist President Gustavo Petro accused the United States and “right-wing extremists” last month of plotting to overthrow him.
Without providing further details, Petro claimed a far-right “leader,” who he did not identify, had spoken to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Colombia leftist government also recently refused a US request to extradite two prominent guerrilla leaders wanted by Washington for drug trafficking.
Colombia was until recently one of the United States’ closest partners in Latin America.
Freight shipping on Mosel river in Germany blocked after accident
- The river, known as the Moselle in France, is an important transit route for grains and rapeseed between Germany and France
- Vessels cannot pass the Sankt Aldegund lock in either direction, the spokesperson said
HAMBURG: Freight shipping on the river Mosel in west Germany has been blocked to shipping after an accident involving a passenger ship that damaged a lock, authorities said on Thursday.
The river, known as the Moselle in France, is an important transit route for grains and rapeseed between Germany and France. Transit was halted after an accident on Wednesday damaged a lock at Sankt Aldegund between Koblenz and Trier, a police spokesperson said.
Vessels cannot pass the Sankt Aldegund lock in either direction, the spokesperson said.
Technical experts on Thursday were examining the lock, and it is not yet possible to comment on the level of damage or say how long the impact on shipping will last, river navigation authority WSA said.
German federal transport minister Patrick Schnieder said in a statement he will visit the accident site later on Thursday.
“I will do everything in my power to ensure that the lock can resume operations as soon as possible,” Schnieder said.
The river was closed to inland waterways shipping in December after an accident that damaged a lock at Mueden, south of Koblenz, and only reopened in February after lengthy repairs.
Initial indications are that the lock’s concrete structure and drive mechanism were not damaged in the accident, WSA head Eric Oehlmann said in a statement.
Technicians are currently assessing whether it is possible to resume limited lock operations for the waiting vessels to pass, he said.
“If not, we will find another solution, for example, through emergency locks with temporary water control barriers, which have already proven effective,” Oehlmann said.
A temporary lock was successful in allowing ships to transit during the winter disruption.
“Despite the accident, there is determination that shipping on the Moselle will not come to a complete standstill," Oehlmann said.
Japan ‘seriously concerned’ after Iran stops cooperating with IAEA
- ‘The engagement of the IAEA is essential for resolving Iran’s nuclear issue,’ the Japanese Foreign Ministry says
TOKYO: Japan has expressed “serious concern” over Iran’s decision to suspend cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency.
“Japan attaches great importance to the activities of the IAEA in verifying Iran’s nuclear program and expresses serious concern over this announcement,” the country’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.
“The engagement of the IAEA is essential for resolving Iran’s nuclear issue.”
Iranian authorities announced on Wednesday that they would no longer cooperate with the agency. Japan had been urging Iran to continue to cooperate with the IAEA and said all necessary diplomatic efforts to achieve this will go on, in cooperation with the international community and relevant organizations.
“Japan has consistently emphasized the importance of resolving Iran’s nuclear issue through dialogue, based on the position that Iran’s development of nuclear weapons must never be allowed, for the sake of maintaining the international nuclear non-proliferation regime,” the Foreign Ministry added.
Ex-Labour chief could form pro-Palestine party in UK
- Corbyn in talks with Independent Alliance MPs elected in 2024 for opposing Gaza war
- Jeremy Corbyn: That grouping will come together. There will be an alternative
LONDON: Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has suggested he could launch a political movement to provide a left-wing “alternative” to the governing party before the next general election.
Corbyn was suspended from Labour in 2020 by the UK’s current Prime Minister Keir Starmer due to a row over antisemitism.
He has since sat as an independent MP, and has hinted at a desire to form a new group centered around socialist policies with a pro-Palestine stance.
Corbyn told ITV’s “Peston” political show that he is holding discussions with members of the Independent Alliance, who were elected last year by running on pro-Palestine platforms against Labour MPs.
The alliance includes Leicester South MP Shockat Adam; Birmingham Perry Barr MP Ayoub Khan; Blackburn MP Adnan Hussain; and Dewsbury and Batley MP Iqbal Mohamed.
“That grouping will come together. There will be an alternative,” Corbyn said, adding that its foreign policy platform would be “based on peace rather than war,” and that it would seek to alleviate poverty and inequality.
