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The power behind the throne: Why the king is still King 

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:11:15 GMT

In modern Britain, the monarchy still shapes how the country is run.By Tim RossIllustration by Tim O’BrienLONDON — Queen Elizabeth II saw it all coming.  After seven decades as the United Kingdom’s head of state, her majesty knew better than perhaps anyone else the qualities that make for a good prime minister. Boris Johnson, she seemed to have decided, didn’t have them. “It was such a remarkable event, to witness the eye roll of Queen Elizabeth II,” recalled Andrew Gwynne, a British member of parliament.  In June 2019, as Brexit battles paralyzed parliament, the ruling Conservative Party was in the frenzied process of choosing a new leader to succeed Theresa May as prime minister. Gwynne, an opposition Labour MP, was among the guests at a reception for faith leaders among the gilt-framed portraits and chandeliers in Buckingham Palace. During a private chat between the queen and a handful of MPs, the question came up of who would take charge of the country. ...

The secrets of King Charles’ coronation

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:11:15 GMT

Does anyone understand the vagaries of a coronation? We certainly don’t. POLITICO commissioned our resident constitutional expert to explain. Once again, they asked not to be named for this piece.LONDON — A British coronation is much like a U.S. presidential inauguration — unnecessary in law, but rich in pageantry and theater.Misconceptions persist that Saturday’s ceremony marks the beginning of the new monarch’s reign. But it is not the Prince of Wales being crowned at Westminster Abbey. Charles is not king-designate, king-in-waiting, or plain old Prince Charles — he is already king, and has been since his mother drew her last breath on September 8, 2022. He will not acquire new powers or status when the St Edward’s Crown touches his graying hair. In that sense, a coronation ceremony need not happen at all.Britain’s only ever ex-king, the Duke of Windsor, was not crowned before he abdicated in December 1936. It made no difference to his 11-month reign. Much like last year’s Accessi...

How do you follow an act like Silvio Berlusconi?

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:11:15 GMT

Silvio Berlusconi will spend the Forza Italia party congress in a hospital bed.Nevertheless, his shadow will fill the swanky halls of the East End Studios conference center in Milan where it is held.To what extent Berlusconi will grace the event is shrouded in mystery. Although his name features in the official program alongside Brussels bigwigs such as European Parliament President Roberta Metsola and center-right leader Manfred Weber, he will probably deliver an audio message from the hospital, according to media reports that the party has not yet confirmed. The former prime minister’s health struggles threw his political creation Forza Italia into an existential crisis, as the primary powerbrokers within Italy’s mainstream conservative party and the key backer of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing coalition were forced to consider life without their founder.But Forza Italia is unlikely to outlive its all-powerful leader, according to hal...

XXX-rated statues and literature cause Europeans to blush

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:11:15 GMT

Welcome to Declassified, a weekly humor column.For goodness sake, no one take Bruno Le Maire to Monopoli, southern Italy!The town in Puglia has attracted attention because of a statue of a mermaid made by local students and placed in a square. Why? Well, the mermaid statue has been accused of being rather provocative because, as actor Tiziana Schiavarelli wrote on Facebook, “it looks like a mermaid with two silicone breasts and, above all, a huge ass never seen before on a mermaid. At least not any I know.”It’s been a tough spring for statues. In March, Hope Carrasquilla resigned as principal of Florida’s Tallahassee Classical after parents at the Christian school complained about their children being shown Michelangelo’s David statue in class. One of the school’s parents described the 16th-century Renaissance statue as “pornographic.”“Mistaking art for pornography is just ridiculous … I will personally invite the teacher to Florence to give her recognition on behalf of the ci...

God save us all from this mad parade

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:11:15 GMT

Otto English is the pen name used by Andrew Scott, a writer and playwright based in London. His next book “Fake Heroes” is out on May 25.Once upon a time, and not so very long ago, the case for the monarchy could be summed up in just two words: the Queen.Throughout her 70-year reign, which ended with her death in September last year, Elizabeth II sucked the raison d’être out of the republican cause. Morphing from the nation’s sweetheart into its kindly grandmother, she was a reassuring presence in British life who opened parliament and popped up on our TVs every Christmas day to offer sage, Yoda-like observations.The Queen worked hard at her image. Appreciating that her role lived and died on its mystery, she remained deliberately aloof; never giving interviews, never expressing opinions, never getting embroiled in scandals and rarely putting a foot wrong. That dedication resulted in the extraordinary outpouring of affection after her death, and the sense that an er...

Worker killed, others injured in explosion at Newburyport chemical plant

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:11:15 GMT

One person was killed and several others were injured when a massive explosion tore through a chemical plant in Newburyport early Thursday morning, fire officials said.As an investigation continues, family members and friends of the person who was killed are mourning and public officials have spoken out, noting a series of past safety incidents at the same facility.“It’s horrible, it’s terrible,” said best friend Billy Carter. “I wouldn’t wish this on anybody.” Carter said his friend of nearly 50 years, Jack O’Keefe, was the person who died in Thursday’s blast. Carter and O’Keefe, he said, are the godfathers to each other’s children.“We did everything together,” Carter said. Firefighters from multiple communities responded to what grew to be a seven-alarm incident Thursday, after multiple reports of an explosion just before 1 a.m.Crews said an industrial-sized vat from inside the building was launched 30 feet because of the explosion and was found in the parking lot ...

Masataka Yoshida’s 3-hit game, Rafael Devers’ 150th career HR cement sweep of Blue Jays

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:11:15 GMT

It was as if the manager foresaw the future like a Jedi Master.“This guy pitching tonight, he dominated us (last year),” Alex Cora said before the Red Sox faced Kevin Gausman in Thursday evening’s Star Wars Night game. “Hopefully, today we can grind at-bats, get that pitch count up … hopefully, we can get him out of the game early enough and get to the bullpen.”That’s exactly what Cora’s team did in the series finale of the four-game set and sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays.Led by Masataka Yoshida, who had three hits by the fourth inning, the home team got to Gausman early and often, and by the bottom of the fourth inning, he was gone, charged with eight earned runs on 10 hits during an 11-5 romp.Yoshida took the Blue Jays starter deep on the first pitch of his first career at-bat against him, then singled in the second and fourth frames. He extended his hit streak, which already leads the majors, to 14 games, and his multi-hit streak to...

David Myles, The Trews, Kellie Loder among winners at East Coast Music Awards

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:11:15 GMT

HALIFAX — The first group of winners at the 2023 East Coast Music Awards have been announced.Singer-songwriter David Myles, who had four nominations, won album of the year and solo recording of the year for “It’s Only A Little Loneliness.”Adam Baldwin’s “Lighthouse in Little Lorraine” was recognized as song of the year.Newfoundland and Labrador’s Kellie Loder was named songwriter of the year as well as fans’ choice entertainer of the year.St. John’s duo Fortunate Ones won folk recording of the year for “That Was You and Me.”The Trews of Antigonish, N.S., took home rock recording of the year for “Wanderer,” while Juno Award winners The East Pointers won group recording of the year with “House of Dreams.”The East Pointers led the pack with six nominations along with rapper Classified, whose name wasn’t called Thursday night but is up for more awards this weekend.Other winners of the night i...

Britain to start free trade with New Zealand and Australia

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:11:15 GMT

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Britain’s free trade agreements with New Zealand and Australia will come into force by the end of this month, the leaders from the three nations said Friday.The announcement came while the prime ministers from the two Southern Hemisphere nations are in London for the coronation of King Charles III.The deals are part of Britain’s efforts to expand its economic ties after it left the European Union. Both deals were first agreed to in 2021.New Zealand officials say its deal will help boost sales of products like wine, butter, beef and honey, and will increase the size of its economy by up to 1 billion New Zealand dollars ($629 million).New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said it was a gold-standard agreement.“The market access outcomes are among the very best New Zealand has secured in any trade deal,” Hipkins said in a statement.British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the deal with New Zealand reflected the close relationship betwe...

Horse racing poised for new antidoping, medication rules

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:11:15 GMT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Horse racing’s new antidoping and medication control program has stumbled out of the starting gate, delayed multiple times for nearly a year amid lawsuits by those opposing the new rules and frustration from those eager for national uniform standards in the sport.The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) took effect on July 1, 2022, with two major components: racetrack safety and antidoping and medication control.The safety rules, including limits on how many times a jockey can whip a horse, began last year. Still, they have not prevented horse deaths. Four horses died in five days at Churchill Downs in the days leading up to the Kentucky Derby on Saturday.The Antidoping and Medication Control (ADMC) program was supposed to start at the same time as the safety program.Instead, it was pushed back to Jan. 1. Then that date got scrapped when the Federal Trade Commission, which oversees HISA, didn’t give clearance because of legal issues. The FTC eventually ...