Headline

Creativity: A To Z Of Britain’s King Charles III

Published

3 years ago

September 17, 2022

Here is an A to Z of the new King Charles III:

– A for action man –
Charles earned the nickname in his daredevil youth, jumping out of planes, escaping from submarines, windsurfing, playing polo and waterskiing.

– B for black spider –
Before becoming king, he bombarded government ministers with letters, dubbed the “black spider memos” for his messy annotations.

– C for Camilla –
Charles was devastated when, while away on naval service, she wed Andrew Parker Bowles in 1973. Charles turned to Camilla after his marriage to Diana collapsed. They married in 2005.

– D for Diana –
A badly-matched couple, their “fairytale” marriage fell apart in explosive fashion. They separated in 1992 and divorced in 1996, a year before her shock death in a car crash.

– E for environment –
A fervent environmentalist, Charles is driven by environmental preservation and organic farming. He was outspoken on climate change long before it became mainstream.

– F for faith –
The new head of the Church of England sees his role as defending the free practice of all faiths. Charles has studied Judaism and Islam and tries to encourage inter-faith dialogue.

– G for Gordonstoun –
Charles hated his years at the stark Scottish boarding school, describing his years there as a lonely “prison sentence”. Toughing it out for duty’s sake formed part of his character.

– H for homeopathy –
Charles is convinced by alternative medicine and even uses it on his farm animals. His outspoken views have often infuriated some in the scientific community.

– I for income –
Before his accession, Charles’s money came from the Duchy of Cornwall, the heir to the throne’s private land and property portfolio. The surplus funded his family’s public, charitable and private activities and he voluntarily paid income tax.

– J for jubilee speeches –
His moving, rousing addresses closing Queen Elizabeth II’s 2002, 2012 and 2022 jubilee celebrations, in which he referred to her as “Mummy”, helped endear him to the nation.

– K for Knatchbull –
The one that got away. Encouraged by Lord Mountbatten, Charles proposed to Amanda Knatchbull, his second cousin and Mountbatten’s grand-daughter, in 1979, but she declined.

– L for lengthy wait –
Charles was the longest-serving heir apparent in British history, since the age of three in 1952, and the longest-serving prince of Wales, since the age of nine in 1958.

– M for Mountbatten –
The prince’s great uncle Louis Mountbatten was his mentor and closest confidant, guiding his early life. His assassination by Irish republican paramilitaries in 1979 left Charles distraught.

– N for Navy –
Charles served on the ships from 1971 to 1976, taking command of a coastal minehunter for his last 10 months. He served in the Caribbean and around the Pacific and learned to fly helicopters.

– O for offspring –
Charles was a more hands-on parent to Princes William and Harry than his own parents had been. However, he has grown estranged from Harry after he quit royal duties and moved to California, sniping at Charles on the way.

– P for Prince’s Trust –
Charles launched the Prince’s Trust with his £7,500 navy severance pay and the charity had helped more than a million disadvantaged youngsters by the time of his accession to the throne.

– Q for Queen Mother –
Charles adored his “darling grandmother”, queen Elizabeth, the queen mother. “For me, she meant everything”, he said in a moving tribute after her death in 2002.

– R for residences –
Charles will now be expected to move into Buckingham Palace, giving up his Clarence House official London residence. He also inherits the Sandringham estate in eastern England and Balmoral in the Scottish Highlands.

– S for style –
Old-fashioned for some, impeccably suave for others, Charles’s sartorial style is unwavering, perhaps because his outfits are the same: shoes from 1968, a coat from 1985 and immaculate double-breasted suits.

– T for Transylvania –
The king, who claims descent from Vlad the Impaler, bought and restored several properties in Romania to help preserve its stunning nature and unique rural traditions.

– U for university –
He went to Trinity College at the University of Cambridge, becoming the first heir to the throne to take a degree, graduating in 1970 with a 2:2. He switched from anthropology and archaeology to study history.

– V for Vision of Britain –
Charles’s 1989 book outlines his cherished architectural principles, calling for proportionate, aesthetic development in keeping with local tradition. He put his theories into practice, building Poundbury, a model suburb.

– W for Wales –
Queen Elizabeth II made Charles the Prince of Wales aged nine, and he learnt Welsh before his inauguration ceremony in 1969.

READ: Photos From King Charles’ Proclamation

– X for X-Rated –
A secretly-recorded 1989 phone call with Camilla, published in 1993, was deeply embarrassing after tabloid newspapers got a hold of it and published transcripts.

– Y for youth –
Charles thinks Britain could emulate Germany’s national community or military service, as part of his drive to unlock latent talent in the nation’s youngsters.

– Z for Zaza –
Also known as a gin and Dubonnet. The royals’ preferred cocktail before lunch. Former prime minister Tony Blair referred to them as “true rocket fuel”.

AFP/PUNCH

Headline

Australian Govt Official Declares ‘Red Wednesday’ Over Attack On Kwara Church

Published

9 hours ago

November 19, 2025

Editor

Chairman of the Australian Committee for NATO enlargement, Gunther Fehlinger-Jahn, has declared a ‘Red Wednesday’ as part of a global awareness campaign against alleged persecution of Christians in Nigeria.

Gunther made this known in a post on X while reacting to the recent attack on Christ Apostolic Church, CAC, in Kwara State.

Recall that terrorists on Tuesday invaded the church located in Eruku town, Ekiti Local Government Area of the state, and opened fire on worshipers.

According to reports, the resident pastor and some persons were killed while majority of the worshipers were taken away to unknown destinations.

Reacting, Gunther in his X post said the incessant attacks on Nigerian Christians “is unacceptable”.

He wrote, “I got this video sent of an Islamist attack on a church in Nigeria. Today is #RedWednesday the global awareness day against prosecution of Christians.”

Headline

Pope Decries Lack Of Political Will On Climate Change

Published

2 days ago

November 18, 2025

Editor

Pope Leo XIV on Monday urged “concrete actions” on climate change and complained that some leaders lacked the will to act, as he addressed religious dignitaries on the sidelines of the COP30 summit.

The Vatican released the American pope’s address to churches of the southern hemisphere assembled on the sidelines of the UN climate talks in Belem, Brazil, in which he called the Amazon region “a living symbol of creation with an urgent need for care”.

“Creation is crying out in floods, droughts, storms and relentless heat,” the pope said.

“One in three people live in great vulnerability because of these climate changes. To them, climate change is not a distant threat, and to ignore these people is to deny our shared humanity,” he added.

“What is failing is the political will of some.”

The UN climate negotiations enter their final stretch this week, with nations split on key issues as government ministers began arriving Monday to take over negotiations.

“There is still time to keep the rise in global temperature below 1.5C, but the window is closing,” warned Leo, who called for “concrete actions” while championing the landmark Paris Agreement.

– Pope defends Paris Agreement –

The historic 2015 accord, from which US President Donald Trump has said he will withdraw the United States for the second time, aims to keep temperature rises “well below” 2C compared to pre-industrial levels and, if possible, to 1.5C.

The Paris Agreement was the “strongest tool for protecting people and the planet”, Leo said, decrying a lack of effort by some leaders, whom he did not name.

“True leadership means service and support on a scale that will truly make a difference,” he said, urging firmer climate action to bring about “stronger and fairer economic systems”.

“Let us send a clear global signal together: nations standing in unwavering solidarity behind the Paris Agreement and climate cooperation,” he said.

Since being made pope in May, the Chicago-born pontiff — who spent about 20 years as a missionary in Peru — has urged more pressure on governments to stop climate change.

Last month, during a climate conference near Rome, he called for an “ecological conversion” to help vulnerable communities.

October marked the 10-year anniversary of the late Pope Francis’s landmark climate manifesto “Laudato Si”, which appealed for action on human-caused global warming.

COP30, without the presence of the US government, is scheduled to end in five days, but groups of countries still disagree on many issues, including climate ambition, unilateral trade measures, and finance.

Some countries also want a roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels.

UN climate chief Simon Stiell welcomed what he called Pope Leo’s “strong message”.

“His words urge us to continue to choose hope and action,” he said.

Headline

Genocide: U.S. Lawmaker Alleges Tinubu Lying, Protecting Own Interest

Published

2 days ago

November 18, 2025

Editor

Riley Moore

…Congress to debate ‘Christian Persecution’ in Nigeria on Thursday

United States (U.S.) lawmaker, Riley Moore, has dismissed President Bola Tinubu’s denial of the targeted killing of Christians as “completely false”.

Moore said Tinubu’s denial was to “protect his interests,” adding that Nigeria’s political leaders were “complicit” in the killing of Christians.

In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, Moore noted Tinubu’s statement, claiming that the “characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality” as incorrect.

Meanwhile, the Congress will, on Thursday, debate the persecution of Christians in Nigeria.

This was as International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule (Intersociety) raised fresh claims 99 Christians were, again, killed in Nigeria in 14 days.

“Unfortunately, that is completely false. There are states in Nigeria that have blasphemy laws. People are facing the death penalty for blasphemy against Islam,” the U.S. lawmaker said. “I know President Tinubu is in a difficult position, and trying to protect his interests there in the country. But they are complicit in this to some degree or another for a statement like this.”

Moore cited the case of an Adamawa Christian farmer, Sunday Jackson, who was sentenced to death for defending himself against a killer herdsman.

“There is serious persecution in Nigeria,” Moore said.
CONGRESS is set to convene a hearing on Thursday to examine allegations of widespread persecution of Christians in Nigeria, following President Donald Trump’s recent decision to redesignate the country as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC).

The session will be led by Congressman Chris Smith, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, and a vocal advocate for stronger U.S. action on reported religious violence in Nigeria.

Smith previously introduced a congressional resolution naming the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) and Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore as responsible actors in several attacks. The resolution recommends visa bans and asset freezes against members of the groups.

It also called on White House to classify “Fulani-Ethnic Militias” operating in states such as Benue and Plateau under the Entities of Particular Concern (EPC) framework established by the International Religious Freedom Act.

Witnesses scheduled to testify include Jonathan Pratt, senior bureau official at the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs, and Jacob McGee, deputy assistant secretary at the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour.

A second panel is expected to feature Nina Shea, senior fellow and director at the Centre for Religious Freedom; Bishop Wilfred Anagbe of the Makurdi Catholic Diocese; and Oge Onubogu, director and senior fellow for the Africa Programme at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.
INTERSOCIETY alleged in a statement yesterday that 99 Christians were killed within the last 14 days.

It stated that the killing occurred between October 28 and November 11, adding that 114 others were kidnapped by the group that carried out the action, called Jihadist militants.

The report was signed by the Head, Intersociety, Emeka Umeagbalasi, and two human rights lawyers, Joy Igboeli and Ogochukwu Obi.