International
Queen Elizabeth II dies: Thursday’s timeline
AFP | by Helen ROWE
A rare palace announcement about Queen Elizabeth II’s health at 12:32 pm (1132 GMT) on Thursday prompted a dash to her country estate in Scotland by close members of the 96-year-old’s family.
A second statement at 6:30 pm announced her death.
Here is the day’s timeline:
Around noon (1100 GMT)
Senior minister Nadhim Zahawi slips into the House of Commons, shortly after new Prime Minister Liz Truss finishes her first major policy announcement outlining a freeze on energy prices.
Keir Starmer, leader of the opposition Labour party, is on his feet responding to the announcement.
Zahawi sits next to Truss and hands her a note, sending ripples around the chamber. Starmer is handed his own note and both leaders leave.
12:32 pm
Buckingham Palace releases its statement.
“Following further evaluation this morning, the Queen’s doctors are concerned for Her Majesty’s health and have recommended she remain under medical supervision,” it says.
“The Queen remains comfortable and at Balmoral.”
Commons speaker Lindsay Hoyle interrupts debate on the energy plan to relay the development to members of parliament, sending the House’s prayers to the royal family.
Truss says: “The whole country will be deeply concerned by the news from Buckingham Palace this lunch-time.”
12:39 pm
The BBC interrupts scheduled programming with the announcement and launches rolling news coverage of developments.
Presenter Huw Edwards appears dressed in a dark suit, white shirt and black tie, in line with the BBC’s dress code for when a member of the royal family dies.
Just before 1:00 pm
The queen’s heir Charles, the Prince of Wales, and his wife Camilla have travelled to Balmoral, aides say.
Around 1:15 pm
The queen’s grandson Prince William, who is second in line to the throne after Charles, is also travelling to Scotland to be with his grandmother, the Duke of Cambridge’s office says.
Around 1.35 pm
Princess Anne is at Balmoral, and Prince Andrew, Prince Edward and his wife Sophie are on the way to Scotland, the domestic Press Association (PA) news agency says of the queen’s three younger children.
1.55 pm
A spokesman for Prince Harry, Charles’s second son, and his wife Meghan says the US-based couple will be travelling to Scotland after breaking off engagements on a rare trip home.
But in the end, only Harry makes the trip.
Around 4:00 pm
Princes Andrew and Edward, Sophie and Prince William arrive by plane in Aberdeen for the road journey to Balmoral.
People begin to gather outside Buckingham Palace in London, despite rain.
5:05 pm
A car carrying a grim-faced Andrew, Edward, Sophie and with William at the wheel sweeps through the gates of Balmoral.
6.30 pm
Buckingham Palace announces: “The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon.”
“The King (Charles) and The Queen Consort (Camilla) will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow.”
Foreign tributes begin to pour in including from US President Joe Biden’s White House, Europe and the Commonwealth, which was headed by the late queen.
Britain’s new prime minister, Liz Truss, who was only appointed on Tuesday in one of the queen’s last official acts, is expected to speak shortly.
International
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.
The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.
An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.
The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.
Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.
Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.
Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.
Internacionales
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.
In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.
Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
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