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This Happened

This Happened — May 19: Harry And Meghan, The Big Day

Five years ago today, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were married at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, England.

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Why The King's Coronation Is (Still) A Celebration Of The British Empire

The coronation ceremony of King Charles III reflects how the monarchy has developed since Saxon times, but it still carries many vestiges of Britain’s imperial past.

-Analysis-

LONDON — In the 18th century, the royal title changed from “King of England” to “King of the United Kingdom”, as successive Acts of Union joined England, Scotland and Ireland into one political unit. However, the biggest change in the royal title came in 1876, when the Royal Titles Act made Queen Victoria Empress of India. This gave her authority even over those areas of India which were not formally subject to British rule.

To give this change of title a formal announcement in India, the British authorities staged what became the first of three durbars – ceremonial events held in the British Raj to formally proclaim the imperial title. Queen Victoria’s was held in 1877, the year following the act, but Edward VII’s and George V’s were held in conjunction with their coronations.

The viceroy of India in 1877, Lord Lytton, concocted the original durbar from a mixture of Persian, Mughal and English ceremonial traditions, as a formal proclamation of the queen’s title. When her son became Edward VII in 1901, a bigger durbar was organised to proclaim his imperial title – although, like his mother, Edward remained in London.

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This Happened — May 3: When Margaret Thatcher Was Elected For The First Time

Margaret Thatcher was elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on this day in 1979. She served as Prime Minister for 11 years, until her resignation in November 1990.

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How A Private UK Market Helps Get Used Tanks To Ukraine's Frontlines

Even as Ukraine's Western allies are sending much needed military hardware, there is an unofficial market for used equipment — from armored vehicles to drones and satellites — that has been vital for Kyiv. But how do these second-hand goods make it from Britain to the front?

KYIV — Satellite systems, pickup trucks, drones. Individual volunteers have been busy buying hand-me-down gear for Ukrainian forces since early in the war. Now, they've set their eyes on the British market of armored vehicles, buying up anything that could be used to fight Russia.

Old armored personnel carriers have been available at auction in the UK for many years. Weapons are removed from them, but the heavy tracked equipment are still in demand as "expensive toys" for businesses or simply to settle in collectors’ garages.

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Visiting Ukrainian volunteers had a difficult task: to find working armored vehicles in the UK, buy them from private owners and deliver them to Ukraine on their own."

The advertisement on UK website "Tanks A Lot" reads: "We have a lovely little FV103 CVRT Spartan tank for sale. We've driven it around the yard and it's a very nice car. It handles well off-road and can be registered for UK roads."

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Migrant Lives
Ginevra Falciani

The Bad Faith Of Those "Legal Immigration" Arguments Of Anti-Migrant Politicians

From the UK to Italy to the U.S., the declarations by politicians that they only want to stop illegal immigration become meaningless if there are virtually no ways to request asylum before leaving home and arriving in a foreign country.

-Analysis-

It turns out that hardline anti-immigration politicians aren't against immigration after all — but only the right kind.

Take former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson: “For centuries, our United Kingdom has had a proud history of welcoming people from overseas, including many fleeing persecution,”Johnson declared last year. “However, we cannot sustain a parallel illegal system, which is also not fair on those who are seeking to come here legally.”

Johnson was speaking shortly before the Nationality and Borders Act became law, which aimed to discourage migration and make it more difficult for migrants to settle in the UK.

The same rhetoric has been picked up by current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to justify the government's controversial Illegal Migration Bill, which would prohibit asylum claims from people who arrive in the UK by boat across the Channel.

British Tories, like many other conservative politicians around the world, love to say they are not against immigration per se — just those who “skip the line.”

Sunak argues that illegal immigration is not only bad for British society, but also that the UK's refugee system is being overwhelmed: “If we can’t stop the boats, our ability to help genuine refugees in the future will be constrained," he said in March. "Full control of our borders will allow us to decide who to help and to provide safe and legal roots to those most in need.”

But this is a fundamentally false argument.

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Geopolitics
Pierre Haski

AUKUS: Bold Deterrent Or Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Of A Future War With China?

AUKUS, the security pact between the US, the UK, and Australia, is beginning to take shape. Its aim is to deter China, but it risks drawing the Indo-Pacific region into a military conflict.

-Analysis-

You might remember AUKUS, the security pact between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Under the pact, the US and UK will assist Australia in acquiring nuclear-powered submarines.

For France, its foundation 18 months ago meant the termination of the French submarine mega-contract with Australia. The process of reconciliation with these countries was gradual: first with the United States, then with Australia thanks to a change of government, and finally with the British, who were closer and therefore more difficult to forgive.

But AUKUS (the acronym for Australia-United Kingdom, United States) hadn't been mentioned much until Monday, when U.S President Joe Biden welcomed on a San Diego submarine base his British and Australian counterparts, Prime Ministers Rishi Sunak and Anthony Albanese. The aim? To give weight to this alliance between the three English-speaking powers in the face of an opponent that’s never been addressed: China, of course.

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Society
Ginevra Falciani

Reports Of A Quiet Rise In University Student Suicides In Multiple Countries

On top of the traditional troubles some young people face on their own for the first time are the added factors of social media pressure and the effects of the pandemic. The crisis appears to have hit hard in Italy, with other countries, from India to France to the UK, reporting a similar situation.

TW: Contains references to suicide and suicidal thoughts.

On the first day of February, a 19-year-old took her own life in the bathroom of Milan’s IULM university. As reported in Italian daily La Stampa, a note left in the victim's purse said she considered her life and studies a failure.

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FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War
Bertrand Hauger

When The Russia-Ukraine War Began: A Look Back At 24 Newspaper Front Pages

One year after the fateful decision of Russian President Vladimir Putin to launch a large-scale invasion of Ukraine, we take a look back at some of the front pages from the world's newspapers marking the the start of the war.

This article was updated February 24, 2023

"THIS IS WAR," read the front page ofGazeta Wyborcza. Alongside the terse, all-caps headline, the Polish daily featured a photo of Olena Kurilo, a teacher from Chuguev whose blood-covered face became one of the striking images of the beginning of the Ukraine invasion.

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A day after simultaneous attacks were launched from the south, east and north of the country, by land and by air, some press outlets chose to feature images of tanks, explosions, death and destruction that hit multiple cities across Ukraine, while others focused on the man behind the so-called "special military operation": Vladimir Putin.

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LGBTQ Plus
Laura Valentina Cortés, Ginevra Falciani and Riley Sparks

LGBTQ+ International: Book Ban In Tanzania, Mexico's "Lesbomaternal" Rights— And Other News

Welcome to Worldcrunch’s LGBTQ+ International. We bring you up-to-speed each week on a topic you may follow closely at home, but can now see from different places and perspectives around the world. Discover the latest news on everything LGBTQ+ — from all corners of the planet. All in one smooth scroll!

This week featuring:

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Geopolitics
Murray Leith

Nicola Sturgeon's Surprise Resignation: Three Big Questions Left Open For Scotland

For both her party and her longtime quest for Scottish referendum, Sturgeon leaves several crucial dossiers wide open.

When Jacinda Ardern resigned as New Zealand’s prime minister a few weeks ago, Nicola Sturgeon assured voters she still had plenty left in the tank. Yet apparently, Scotland’s first minister had been thinking about her own future for some time. She said so in her resignation speech on Wednesday, which came as a surprise to much of Scotland.

Despite a recent and consistent wave of difficulty and controversy over the gender recognition reform bill, the quest for another independence referendum, a finance investigation into the Scotland National Party (SNP) and an ongoing “ferry fiasco”, there was no clear indication that Sturgeon was going to quit.

Having been in parliament since the age of 29 and Scotland’s leader since 2014, Sturgeon is both the first female, and longest serving, first minister. She said she will stay on until her successor is elected. But that successor will inherit a government wrestling with several controversies and constitutional questions.

Sturgeon’s life’s mission of Scottish independence remains unfulfilled – and Scotland is deeply divided about a second attempt at the referendum of independence from Britain — dubbed “indyref2”.

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Green
Ginevra Falciani

A Week Of Record Oil Profits — Here Comes The Greenwashing!

The oil and gas sector is counting its billions, and preaching renewables. The math doesn't compute.

-Analysis-

PARIS — It’s been a gigantic week for the “Big Five.” Texas-based Exxon kicked things off, announcing a record $55.7 billion in annual profit. Fellow American oil giant Chevron followed, with $36.5 billion, UK multinational Shell was next with $39.9 billion, joined by London-based BP at $27.7 billion in gains, and to finish the week off in France with TotalEnergies posting its own all-time record net profits of $36.2 billion.

After the industry crisis during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, demand has returned to growth; and the war in Ukraine sparked an energy crisis that has pushed up prices leading to a staggering rise in earnings. The toasts in the corporate board rooms, however, come with the spotlight shining on the oil and gas sector like never before.

The Big Five today stand at the intersection of two of society’s deepest problems: wealth disparity and climate change.

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FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War
Pierre Haski

More Than Ever, Europe Knows It Can't Allow Ukraine To Fail

Volodymyr Zelensky's visits this week to London, Paris and Brussels reinforce the intertwined fates of Europe and Ukraine. And for Kyiv that will ultimately mean more weapons support.

-Analysis-

PARIS — Volodymyr Zelensky's first trip abroad since his country’s invasion almost a year ago was to Washington. The second was reserved for Ukraine's neighbors in Europe: London and Paris yesterday, and today Brussels, to meet the "27" of the European Union.

There is obviously a logic to this order: without the United States, it must be recognized, Ukraine would undoubtedly be a Russian colony by now, and Zelensky himself a prisoner, or dead. But without Europe, Ukraine would not have a "host family," which has received millions of refugees, provided some 50 billion euros in support in one year, and promised to bring them into the EU club as soon as it is possible.

But the Ukrainian President has not come to say 'thank you.' He comes to ring the alarm, because on the battlefield, his forces are under increasing pressure from Russia, which is betting on its numerical superiority and its ability to bear heavier losses than Ukraine.

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