International
Camilla wins praise for first week in Queen Consort role
AFP | by Juliette MONTESSE
Camilla has taken on the role of Queen Consort to her husband King Charles III with a minimum of fuss after gradually overcoming public opposition.
King Charles III, in his first speech to the nation on September 9, thanked his “darling wife” Camilla for her support.
The couple finally married in 2005 after a long-running love affair that was at times adulterous.
“I know she (Camilla) will bring to the demands of her new role the steadfast devotion to duty on which I have come to rely so much,” Charles said in a televised tribute the day after his mother’s death.
Camilla, 75, was at Charles’s side on September 8 when he rushed to the queen’s Scottish residence of Balmoral, where she died that day.
Since then, she has been travelling around the UK with the new king, showing herself to be a rock of stability in the royal family: taking part in a brief walkabout outside Buckingham Palace, the proclamation of the new king and trips to Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
While Camilla is not topping polls on the most popular royals, her approval rating has hugely improved.
Last year, fewer than half of people in Britain wanted her to become queen.
A poll published by YouGov on Tuesday found 53 percent now think Camilla will do a good job as consort, while 18 percent thought she would not.
On Friday, those queueing in London to see the queen’s coffin told AFP that they respected Camilla’s support for Charles and had come to appreciate her role.
“I’ve changed my mind (about Camilla) in the last five or 10 years,” said one man, Peter Finlayson, who works in risk management.
“If you look back in history, Camilla has always been there for Charles; she is a great support to him and she has earned the right to be there.
“They are providing the continuity that we all thought we had lost with the queen.”
For Deborah Toulson, a 57-year-old maths tutor, “this week particularly, she (Camilla) has been amazing”. She said she had noticed Camilla subtly guiding Charles on what to do at recent public appearances.
Camilla has nevertheless faced long-standing dislike from many British people, who see her as morally culpable for being Charles’s mistress during his failed marriage to Diana.
She has slowly earned her stripes and won round the queen, who personally recommended that she become known as Queen Consort to Charles.
Broken toe
When Charles came to Westminster Hall last week to receive condolences from parliament, Camilla came with him in a black dress and pearls and they sat on matching gold thrones.
When the new king and his two brothers and sister held a silent vigil in Edinburgh’s St Giles’ Cathedral, standing around the queen’s coffin, Camilla sat nearby.
Tabloids welcomed the tact of the new queen, who chose to wear a diamond brooch in the shape of a thistle, Scotland’s national emblem, which had been a gift from Queen Elizabeth.
Camilla has carried out duties while recovering from a broken toe, an injury thought to have happened before the queen’s death, The Daily Telegraph reported.
“She is in quite a lot of pain but she is just getting on with it. It is unfortunate timing to say the least but she’s been an absolute trouper,” a source told the paper.
At a signing ceremony in Northern Ireland, when Charles was caught on camera losing his cool over a leaking fountain pen, Camilla stood there stoically and took the offending pen while Charles stormed out.
Camilla “has shown through time that she is an immense support for Charles and she has again proved it this week by being very calm,” said another woman waiting in the queue, Anne-Marie Whatts, a Londoner in her early 40s who works in information technology.
Camilla’s biographer Angela Levin, wrote in The Telegraph that Camilla has a better understanding than Charles of what the public is thinking because “she had a relatively normal life until her 50s”.
What remains to see is whether Camilla is allowed to express herself: over the last week, we have barely heard her speak.
International
Former U.S. vice president Dick Cheney dies at 84
Dick Cheney, former U.S. vice president under George W. Bush and a chief architect of the 2000s “war on terror,” died Monday night at age 84.
According to a family statement, Cheney passed away due to complications from pneumonia and cardiovascular disease.
Cheney, who rose to political prominence as White House Chief of Staff under President Gerald Ford in the 1970s, went on to become one of the most influential vice presidents in U.S. history during the Bush administration (2001–2009). He was widely known as one of the strongest advocates for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
In his later years, however, Cheney emerged as a vocal critic of the Republican Party under Donald Trump’s leadership.
“Dick Cheney was a great man who taught his children and grandchildren to love our country and to live with courage, honor, love, kindness, and a passion for fishing,” his family said in a statement.
International
Sheinbaum maintains 70% approval despite growing discontent in Mexico
Seven out of ten Mexicans — 70% — approve of President Claudia Sheinbaum’s performance a little over a year into her term, even as disapproval reached its highest level in October at 30%, according to a monthly survey published by the newspaper El Financiero.
The approval rating marks a slight decline compared to September (73%), August (74%), and especially February, when Sheinbaum peaked at 85%. Meanwhile, disapproval rose to 30%, three points higher than in August and double the levels recorded between January and March, when just 15% of respondents disapproved of her leadership.
Of the 1,000 Mexicans surveyed, 59% rated the government’s response to last month’s deadly storms — which left 83 people dead and 16 missing — as good or very good. Additionally, 56% gave positive marks to cleanup and recovery efforts, while 40% viewed them negatively.
Support programs for affected families received 53% positive and 42% negative evaluations. Sheinbaum’s visits to impacted areas generated a narrower split: 50% approval versus 45% disapproval.
The president’s empathy stood out as her most valued attribute, earning 63% favorable ratings, followed by honesty (59%), leadership (59%), and ability to deliver results (47%).
International
Shootout in Sinaloa leaves 13 gunmen dead as authorities rescue kidnapping victims
A confrontation between Mexican security forces and an armed group in the troubled state of Sinaloa left 13 gunmen dead and four others arrested, Security Minister Omar García Harfuch reported on Monday.
Sinaloa, located on the Pacific coast, has been shaken for more than a year by a violent power struggle between factions of a powerful local cartel — a conflict that has resulted in at least 1,700 homicides, including 57 minors, and nearly 2,000 disappearances.
The shootout occurred around 12:45 p.m. local time (18:45 GMT) in the municipality of Guasave, where authorities were able to rescue nine kidnapped individuals following the clash. Officers also seized seven vehicles, long weapons, and tactical equipment, according to the minister’s post on X.
García Harfuch explained that security forces “were attacked by an armed group hiding under a bridge” while patrolling the La Brecha community of Guasave, prompting an “immediate response” from authorities.
The detainees and seized items have been turned over to Mexico’s federal prosecutor’s office, he added.
The internal war within the Sinaloa Cartel erupted after the capture of longtime leader Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, who was betrayed and extradited to the United States in July 2024 by the son of his former partner Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.
Guzmán has been serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison since 2019.
Former U.S. vice president Dick Cheney dies at 84
Sheinbaum maintains 70% approval despite growing discontent in Mexico
Shootout in Sinaloa leaves 13 gunmen dead as authorities rescue kidnapping victims
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
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