Year of trials and tribulations for Britain's royals

Yahoo – AFP, Dmitry ZAKS, December 24, 2019

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II has been troubled by a series of scandals and misfortunes
in a year she described as "quite bumpy" in her Christmas Day message (AFP Photo/
Paul Edwards)

London (AFP) - It was a year of trials and tribulations for Britain's royals that Queen Elizabeth II called "quite bumpy" in her Christmas Day message.

Here are some of the scandals and misfortunes to have troubled Britain's 93-year-old monarch.

The ailing prince

The year began with the queen's husband Prince Philip overturning his Land Rover after crashing it into an oncoming car.

It ended with the 98-year-old undergoing hospital treatment for what Buckingham Palace described as a "pre-existing condition".

The January accident left a woman with a broken wrist and the prince "shocked and shaken", according to a witness.

The prince was forced to undergo a routine breath test -- which he passed.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, who is undergoing hospital treatment 

for what Buckingham Palace described as a "pre-existing condition" (AFP Photo/

Fiona HANSON)

He blamed the accident on glare from the winter sun and was soon seen driving around the private grounds of one of the royal mansions, but later voluntarily surrendered his driving licence.

Yet time has taken its toll on the queen's companion of 72 years.

He retired from public life in 2017 and had a hip replacement operation the following year.

"Once you get to that age things don't work as well," his son Charles told a reporter on Monday.

The 'favourite son'

The queen's children and grandchildren have frequently been caught up in mischief, but few of their problems have approached the one now facing Prince Andrew -- the man often referred to as the queen's "favourite son".

Andrew was dogged throughout the year by allegations that he had sex with one of the victims of US paedophile Jeffrey Epstein when she was a teenager.

Andrew's attempts to clear his name in a BBC interview in November could have hardly gone worse.

Britain's Prince Andrew, Duke of York, was dogged throughout the year by allegations

he had sex with one of the victims of US paedophile Jeffrey Epstein when she was 

a teenager (AFP Photo/Lillian SUWANRUMPHA)

The prince looked stiff and unapologetic -- a performance akin to "watching a man in quicksand", according to PR consultant Mark Borkowski.

Andrew's lines of defence included a bizarre claim that he never sweated -- his accuser said he perspired profusely -- and that he only stayed at Epstein's home because it was the "honourable" thing to do.

"There is concern in Buckingham Palace," a royal source told The Sunday Times after the interview was aired.

The prince promised to "step back from public duties" a few days later.

The bickering grandchildren

Princess Diana's sons William and Harry found comfort in each other following their mother's death in a 1997 Paris car crash.

But the two princes found themselves dragged into a tabloid scandal involving rumours of a growing rift.

Britain's Prince William (L) and Prince Harry(R) have found themselves dragged 

into a tabloid scandal involving rumours of a growing rift (AFP Photo/Tolga AKMEN)

Prince Harry admitted in October that the two were "certainly on different paths".

"Inevitably stuff happens," he said in an ITV interview that was treated as a sensational revelation by some of the newspapers.

Both Harry and his American actress wife Meghan Markle spoke about their struggles living in the public eye.

Harry took legal action against two newspapers over the alleged illegal interception of voicemail messages around the same time.

Meghan filed a separate lawsuit against a paper that published excerpts of letters her estranged father had sent to her.

The queen became embroiled in the Brexit saga after she approved the suspension 

of parliament requested by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in August (AFP Photo/

JESSICA TAYLOR)

The Brexit mess

The bitter divisions over Britain's future that have accompanied its exit from the European Union have also given the queen some grief.

She became embroiled in the saga after she approved the suspension of parliament requested by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in August, amid accusations he was trying to stop lawmakers discussing Brexit.

The Supreme Court subsequently ruled that Johnson's request was unlawful as it stopped parliament from carrying out its duties.

The queen herself holds only symbolic power -- in practice she has to follow the advice of her ministers.

But the BBC's royal correspondent Jonny Dymond called it "a hideous moment for the palace".

2019: a look back at a year of turmoil

France24 – AFP, 26 december 2019

Paris (AFP) - The year 2019 saw an explosion of demonstrations across the world as people demanded an overhaul of entrenched political systems and action on climate change.

Here is a look back at these and other events that marked the year.

Protests sweep Latin America

On January 23, Venezuela's opposition chief Juan Guaido declares himself interim president, escalating a long-running political and economic crisis.

He is recognised by more than 50 countries, including the United States. But the army backs President Nicolas Maduro and he remains in his post.

In mid-September major demonstrations erupt in Haiti after fuel shortages, demanding the resignation of President Jovenel Moise. Violence claims more than 40 lives.

A metro ticket hike in Chile's capital mid-October is the trigger for protests that claim more than 20 lives before a referendum on reforms is agreed.

Bolivia is gripped by three weeks of demonstrations after President Evo Morales claims to win a fourth term on October 20. Dozens are killed. Morales resigns on November 10 and flees into exile as the government works on new elections.

Ecuador is paralysed by nearly two weeks of protests in October and in Colombia strikes and demonstrations against the right-wing government begin mid-November.

North Africa/Mideast fury

On February 22, unprecedented protests break out in Algeria against a fifth term for frail President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, in power for 20 years.

He loses the army's backing and resigns on April 2. But demonstrations continue, demanding an overhaul of the entire political establishment and rejecting new president Abdelmadjid Tebboune, elected on December 12 in polls marked by record abstention.

In Sudan, the military on April 11 ends Omar al-Bashir's three decades in power, a key demand in four months of nationwide protests.

Demonstrations continue until a hard-won agreement in August sets up a joint governing council to oversee a transition to civilian rule. More than 250 people are killed, according to protesters.

In Iraq, mass demonstrations erupt on October 1 against unemployment, corruption and poor public services, degenerating into violence that claims more than 460 lives.

On December 1, parliament accepts the government's resignation.

In Lebanon, rolling mass protests start on October 17, triggered by plans for a messaging app tax and turning against the political elite. They continue even after Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigns on October 29, with protesters rejecting new premier-designate Hassan Diab, an engineering professor backed by Hezbollah chosen on December 19 to form a government.

Iran sees an explosion of riots on November 15 after a fuel price hike. Authorities crush the unrest but Amnesty International says more than 304 people were killed, most shot by security forces, a toll denied by the authorities.

IS leader killed

After a five-year offensive to seize vast Islamic State (IS) territory in Iraq and Syria, the jihadists were driven out of their last bastion in March by Kurdish-led forces.

On October 27, President Donald Trump announces that IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in a US special forces raid in Syria, blowing himself up as he was pursued.

Boeing MAX grounded

A March 10 Ethiopian Airlines crash leads to the global grounding of Boeing 737 MAX planes. It follows a Lion Air crash involving the same model six months earlier, with 346 lives lost in the two incidents.

Boeing faces investigations and lawsuits, and is forced to upgrade its systems, in a crisis that costs it billions of dollars.

In mid-December production of the plane is suspended. On December 23, Boeing chief Dennis Muilenburg resigns.

Brexit saga

Britain's March 29, 2019, deadline for leaving the European Union following a 2016 referendum is postponed three times, with the British parliament unable to agree to the divorce terms negotiated by Prime Minister Theresa May with Brussels, nor a second accord negotiated by her successor Boris Johnson.

After widely winning early elections on December 12, Johnson gets support at the first reading by the lower house for his accord. He seeks final adoption on January 9, and to leave the EU on January 31, 2020.

First black hole photo

On April 10, astronomers unveil the first photograph of a black hole, a phenomenon they were convinced existed even if it had never been seen before.

Drawn from mountains of data captured two years earlier by telescopes across the world, it shows a supermassive black hole 50 million lightyears away.

Notre Dame burns

On April 15, flames destroy the spire and roof of Paris's beloved Notre-Dame cathedral, but firefighters manage to save the gothic building, while many of its arts, relics and other treasures are rescued.

Amid a global outpouring of emotion, nearly one billion euros ($1.1 billion) is pledged for its reconstruction, which will take years. For the first time since 1803, Notre-Dame does not celebrate Christmas mass.

Iran escalation

On May 8, Tehran announces its first step back from the 2015 nuclear accord -- exactly a year after the United States quit the deal and reimposed sanctions.

Over the next months Iran re-engages components of its nuclear programme that it had halted, including uranium enrichment.

Tensions mount when Washington blames Tehran for a series of attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf from mid-May.

On September 14, Iran is again blamed when major Saudi oil facilities are attacked by Yemen's Huthi rebels, which it supports. It denies involvement.

In six months Tehran has surpassed the stock of enriched uranium, the level of enrichment and heavy water reserves fixed by the accord and modernised its centrifuges.

Hong Kong erupts

June 9 sees the start of the biggest crisis in the former British colony of Hong Kong since it returned to Chinese rule in 1997, with almost-daily pro-democracy protests.

Demonstrations are initially sparked by a now-abandoned attempt to allow extraditions to the Chinese mainland but develop into a popular revolt against Beijing's rule.

On November 24, pro-democracy campaigners win a landslide victory in local elections.

Hottest month ever

July temperatures were the hottest ever recorded, US and European Union authorities announce in August.

Temperature records rise in Europe and the North Pole, and in August, Iceland loses its first glacier to climate change.

Fires ravage Brazil's Amazon and Australia, while Venice is swamped by flooding not seen in decades.

The extreme weather raises climate concerns, and rallies for action, initiated by Swedish teen activist Greta Thunberg, spread worldwide.

US disengagement

On August 2, the US officially quits the Cold War-era Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty (INF) with Russia.

Trump's "America First" regime also strikes out alone by pursuing trade wars with China and the EU. It also withdraw from the Paris accord on climate change and its troops from northeastern Syria.

Trump impeachment bid

On September 24, the Democrats in Congress launch an impeachment enquiry into Trump after claims he pressured Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden, a rival in his 2020 reelection bid.

Trump is impeached in a historic rebuke by the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives on two counts of abuse of office and obstruction of Congress, but conviction is unlikely to pass the Republican-controlled Senate in a trial expected to begin in January.

Turkey moves into Syria

On October 9, Turkey launches an offensive into northern Syria to push back from the border Kurdish fighters it considers "terrorists".

Two days earlier Trump had announced the withdrawal of US troops in the area, leading to charges that Washington had abandoned Kurdish allies who were vital in the battle against Islamic State jihadists.

Turkey halts its operation on October 23 after the US and Russia agree in separate deals to ensure the fighters leave the border region.

Big Tech tackled

On July 24, US regulators fine Facebook a record $5 billion for data protection violations amid mounting concerns about the dominance of it and other internet giants Apple, Amazon and Google.

Criticised for failing to protect consumers as well as over tax and advertising issues, the tech titans come under pressure to reform, with threats of investigation, fines and even dismantlement.

Social crisis in France

France is confronted from December 5 by a three-week standoff between French transport workers and the government over pension reforms, which causes havoc to Christmas travel.

Workers at the national SNCF and Parisian RATP rail and public transport companies walk off the job to protest at the government's plan to meld France's 42 pension schemes into a single points-based one, which would see some public employees lose certain privileges, including early retirement.

British MPs force Johnson to seek new Brexit delay

Yahoo – AFP, Alice RITCHIE and Pauline FROISSART, October 19, 2019

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson said further Brexit delay would be
'pointless and deeply corrosive' (AFP Photo)

London (AFP) - British MPs voted Saturday to force Prime Minister Boris Johnson to ask the European Union to delay Brexit yet again but he insisted Britain must leave on October 31.

In a day of high drama in the House of Commons, MPs declined to give their backing to the divorce agreement Johnson struck with the EU this week until accompanying legislation has been passed.

In doing so, MPs triggered a law requiring Johnson to write to EU leaders asking to delay Brexit to avoid a "no deal" departure in less than two weeks.

The result is a major blow to Johnson, who said he would rather be "dead in a ditch" than prolong the tortuous Brexit process that has left Britain in political turmoil since the 2016 EU referendum.

But in a typically defiant response, the Conservative leader refused, sparking outrage among opposition MPs -- and fresh uncertainty about what happens next.

Thousands joined a rally calling for a second referendum on Brexit (AFP
Photo/ISABEL INFANTES)

"I will not negotiate a delay with the EU and neither does the law compel me to do so," he told MPs, who were sitting on a Saturday for the first time since the 1982 Falklands War.

He said he would tell EU leaders that "further delay would be bad for this country, bad for the European Union and bad for democracy".

The Tory party went further, writing in a tweet: "The Prime Minister will not ask for a delay."

Brussels urged Britain to explain its plan as soon as possible while Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, whose party opposed the deal, said: "The prime minister must now comply with the law."

'Pointless' delay

Securing the deal at Thursday's Brussels summit was a personal victory for Johnson, a figurehead in the 2016 Leave campaign who has vowed to deliver Brexit on October 31 come what may.

He has spent the last 48 hours frantically trying to persuade MPs to back it, and won support from many of the eurosceptic Conservative MPs who rejected a previous divorce agreement.

Demonstrators brandish an effigy depicting Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson 

as a puppet operated by his adviser Dominic Cummings during an anti-Brexit 

protest (AFP Photo/ISABEL INFANTES)

But parliament -- like the frustrated public -- is still bitterly divided over how and even if Britain should end four decades of integration with its closest neighbours.

Opposition parties and Johnson's own Northern Irish allies rejected the text, and joined together to back an amendment brought by former Conservative minister Oliver Letwin.

This amendment made approval of the deal contingent on parliament passing legislation to ratify the text before Britain leaves the EU.

Johnson needed a clear vote in favour of the deal to avoid triggering a law passed against his will last month, requiring him to send a letter asking for a delay of three months to Brexit.

If he refuses, he is likely to face a court challenge forcing him to send it.

If EU leaders agree, he must accept, or if they offer an alternative date, he must also accept unless parliament intervenes.

Johnson earlier warned a third Brexit delay was "pointless", adding: "Now is the time to get this thing done."

What the draft Brexit deal means for Northern Ireland (AFP Photo/

Gillian HANDYSIDE)

He said he would introduce legislation next week to implement his Brexit deal, expressing hope that if it passes, Britain could still leave on October 31.

The first vote could come as soon as Tuesday.

Second referendum calls

Outside parliament, tens thousands of people marching to demand a new referendum that might reverse Brexit erupted into cheers at the result.

"The first referendum was jumping on a train without a destination. Now that we have a destination, we need to have a second referendum," said Douglas Hill, 35, on the march with his Estonian wife.

The leader of the main opposition Labour party, which opposed the Brexit deal, echoed this.

"We will not back this sell-out deal," Jeremy Corbyn said.

Chronology of Brexit negotiations since Prime Minister Boris Johnson presented 

his new plan on October 2 (AFP Photo/Cecilia SANCHEZ)

He added: "Voting for a deal today won't end Brexit. It won't deliver certainty and the people should have the final say."

An online Survation poll of 1,025 adults on Thursday and Friday for the Daily Mail found that 50 percent said MPs should vote for the deal, while 38 percent said not.

EU leaders in Brussels this week urged lawmakers to back the deal to allow both sides to move on to discussing their future relationship.

The deal covers Britain's financial settlement, protects the rights of EU citizens and sets out a post-Brexit transition period potentially until 2022 to allow both sides to agree new trade terms.

Trump widens the cracks in world order's foundations

Yahoo – AFP, Aurélia END, June 9, 2018

Leaders of the G7 participate in a working session of the G7 Summit in La Malbaie,
Quebec, Canada, June 8, 2018; US President Donald Trump has shown skepticism
and downright hostility toward multilateral institutions (AFP Photo/Ludovic MARIN)

Quebec City (AFP) - For decades, multilateral institutions such as the United Nations, World Trade Organization and Group of Seven were widely accepted by Western governments as the best way to shore up world order.

Now, with Donald Trump in the White House and his "America First" foreign policy echoed in rise of nationalist and populist movements in Europe, the cracks in the concrete are growing ever wider.

Whether circumventing the WTO by imposing tariffs on its signatories, withholding funds from the UN or going it alone at an ongoing G7 summit in Canada, Trump has shown his disdain for organizations where American leadership was once a given.

"What worries me most is the fact that the rules-based international order is being challenged, quite surprisingly not by the usual suspects but by its main architect and guarantor, the US," European Council President Donald Tusk said in Quebec on Friday as the rest of the G7 awaited the arrival of Trump.

The US president's skepticism and in some cases hostility towards international institutions was evident throughout his electoral campaign, even at one state declaring the NATO military alliance "obsolete."

'Very unfair'

While his views of NATO have softened -- at least in public -- since he took power in January last year, he has accused the WTO of having been "a disaster for us" and "very unfair" in its policing of global trade.

Similar arguments were used to justify the US withdrawal from the Paris climate accord, a painstakingly negotiated agreement that had been signed by every country bar Syria and Nicaragua by the time Trump announced his decision a year ago.

Trump's ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, has warned that the world body's criticism of the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital will lead to a reduction in its funding.

Around the same time that the United Nations was created in 1945 -- an organization headquartered in New York and which relies on Washington for the lion's share of its funding -- other multinational organizations also began taking root.

The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which began work in 1948, was the precursor to the modern-day WTO, which now has more than 160 members.

The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank both emerged from an agreement signed in 1944 at Bretton Woods in the northeastern US state of New Hampshire and soon became the main planks of the international finance system.

By tradition, the World Bank is led by an American while a European is at the helm of the IMF.

Multilateral institutions also began taking root on the other side of the Atlantic, including the Brussels-based NATO alliance which includes the United States and nearly all of Europe. Its birth came at a conference in Washington in 1949.

Its creation was followed soon after by the European Coal and Steel Community which initially included only six member nations but later morphed into the European Union, which is now a bulging club of 28 countries.

Brexit looms

That number should be reduced to 27 within the next 12 months when Britain leaves and the resentments towards the EU which prompted the British public to vote for Brexit are widespread.

Italy's new Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, who made his international entrance at the G7 summit, was propelled into office after the Eurosceptic Five Star movement joined a right-wing coalition in Rome that has evoked comparisons with Trump's rise.

French President Emmanuel Macron is among those who insist that multinational institutions are the best way to address grievances in the era of globalization as long as the bodies adapt and reform.

Ella Kokotsis of Toronto University's Munk School of Global Affairs said that Ronald Reagan also clashed with his peers at the start of his tenure in the White House four decades ago but he soon made common ground with his fellow Western leaders at the height of the Cold War.

But the differences appear more profound this time round.

"They (the other G7 leaders in the 1980s) were able to integrate Ronald Reagan into the fold quite quickly and he bought into the views of the rest of his G7 counterparts," she told AFP.

"Here we are seeing a different mood -- it's very unpredictable with Trump."

Related Article:

As G7 feuds, Xi and Putin play up their own club 

A large video screen shows Chinese President Xi Jinping shaking hands with
Russia's President Vladimir Putin before the summit

UK defence giant BAE Systems to axe almost 2,000 jobs

Yahoo – AFP, October 10, 2017

BAE faces slowing demand for the Eurofighter Typhoon jet, developed with the
 help of Italy's Finmeccanica and Airbus as part of a European consortium (AFP
Photo/SAUL LOEB)

London (AFP) - British military equipment maker BAE Systems said Tuesday it plans to cut almost 2,000 jobs, mainly owing to weaker demand for Hawk and Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets.

There will be cutbacks in BAE's military, maritime and intelligence services divisions under moves to streamline the group overall.

"To ensure production continuity at competitive costs... and based on the profile of currently contracted and expected aircraft deliveries, actions continue to be taken to reduce the group's current Typhoon and Hawk production rates," BAE said in a trading update.

"As a result, the group has today announced a proposal to reduce the workforce of the military air and information business by up to 1,400 roles."

Those job losses will fall across five sites over the next three years, including Warton and Samlesbury in northwestern England, where Eurofighter warplanes are assembled.

Approximately 375 redundancies will also hit BAE's maritime servicing and support business, mainly affecting Portsmouth on the south coast.

The company's cyber intelligence business in London and nearby Guildford will lose about 150 jobs.

BAE faces slowing demand for the Eurofighter Typhoon jet, developed with the help of Italy's Finmeccanica and Airbus as part of a European consortium.

At the same time, the group is easing back Hawk production ahead of an expected order from Qatar.

Most of the military air job cuts will go in 2018 and 2019, while BAE plans to achieve as many voluntary redundancies as possible.

"The organisational changes we are announcing today accelerate our evolution to a more streamlined... organisation, with a sharper competitive edge and a renewed focus on technology," wrote BAE chief executive Charles Woodburn.

"These actions will further strengthen our company as we deliver our strategy in a changing environment."

BAE's share price was down 0.2 percent in late morning deals on London's rising stock market following the announcement.

"Those actions are necessary and the right thing to do for our company, but unfortunately include proposed redundancies at a number of operations," Woodburn added.

"I recognise this will be difficult news for some of our employees."

Britain's biggest trade union Unite blasted the announcement as a "short-sighted" move that would hurt the country's defence capability.

"These planned job cuts will not only undermine Britain's sovereign defence capability, but devastate communities across the UK who rely on these skilled jobs and the hope of a decent future they give to future generations," said Unite assistant general secretary, Steve Turner.

"These devastatingly short-sighted cuts will harm communities, jobs and skills."

Gina Miller: The woman behind the Brexit case

Yahoo – AFP, Alice Ritchie, January 24, 2017

Gina Miller, co-founder of investment fund SCM Private (C), is a key plaintiff in a
case to decide whether or not parliamentary approval is needed before the
government can begin Brexit negotiations, outside the Supreme Court in central
London on January 24, 2017. (AFP Photo/Isabel INFANTES)

London (AFP) - The Supreme Court ruling Tuesday that parliament must approve the start of Brexit is in many ways a victory for one woman, Gina Miller, who has endured death threats and racial abuse for bringing the case.

Addressing journalists outside court after the judgment, the 51-year-old businesswoman thanked her supporters for holding fast in the face of "extraordinary and unwarranted criticism".

"In Britain, we are lucky -- we are fortunate to have the ability to voice legitimate concerns and views as part of a shared society," she said.

"I have therefore been shocked at the levels of personal abuse that I have received from many quarters over the last seven months for simply bringing and asking a legitimate question.

"I sincerely hope that going forward people who stand in positions of power and profile are much quicker in condemning those who cross the lines of common decency and mutual respect."

Several people launched legal challenges against the government after last June's shock referendum vote to leave the European Union, arguing that the outcome was only "advisory" and needed further legislation.

But Miller became the lead claimant with her case that ministers could not start the process without parliament's approval.

In doing so, she became a target for nationalists who claimed it was intended to stop Brexit.

She has been pilloried in the media, sent hate mail and death threats that forced her to hire bodyguards.

At weekends, she now stays close to home with her husband and three children.

"There is no doubt that Brexit is the most divisive issue of a generation, but this case was about the legal process, not politics," Miller said Tuesday.

She said the ruling went "to the very heart of our constitution", confirming that "only parliament can grant rights to the British people and only parliament can take them away".

Now the head of an investment fund in London, Miller grew up in British Guiana, now Guyana, the daughter of the attorney general.

She had previously launched a campaign to bring more transparency to financial investments, and has a strong sense of social justice.

The government is now expected to bring forward emergency legislation authorising it to trigger Article 50, the EU mechanism starting Brexit negotiations, by the end of March.

Miller said Tuesday that it was right MPs help "select the best course in the forthcoming Brexit negotiations, negotiations that will frame our place in the world and all our destinies to come".

Related Article:

May stalled as Brexit goes to UK parliament