International
Princess Anne: Queen Elizabeth II’s loyal daughter
AFP | by Robin MILLARD
Queen Elizabeth II’s only daughter Princess Anne rarely lets her emotions show but the grief was etched on her face as she accompanied her mother’s coffin.
With her elder brother King Charles III called away to duty, the queen’s second child accompanied their mother’s coffin on its journey through Scotland and back to London.
Anne, 72, was with Queen Elizabeth on Thursday when she passed away aged 96 after seven decades on the throne.
“I was fortunate to share the last 24 hours of my dearest mother’s life,” Anne said in a statement Tuesday.
“It has been an honour and a privilege to accompany her on her final journeys. Witnessing the love and respect shown by so many on these journeys has been both humbling and uplifting.
“To my mother, The Queen, thank you.”
Anne travelled with the cortege on the six-hour drive from Balmoral to Edinburgh on Sunday.
She curtseyed as soldiers carried the casket into the monarch’s official Scottish residence, the Palace of Holyroodhouse.
Anne stood guard at the coffin alongside her siblings at St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh on Monday.
And the princess flew with the casket from the Scottish capital to London on Tuesday.
Anne’s role may now change depending on whether Charles, 73, pursues a slimmed-down monarchy. But he may find his closest sibling a rock of support as he adjusts to his new role.
Anne said she was “grateful for the support and understanding offered to my dear brother Charles as he accepts the added responsibilities of the monarch”.
Learning the hard way
Anne has earned a reputation as the hardest-working royal, squeezing in a career as an Olympic horse rider alongside a lifetime of public engagements.
Cast much in the same plain-speaking mould as her late father Prince Philip, Anne is reported to have once described herself as “not everyone’s idea of a fairy-tale princess”.
“You learn the hard way,” she said. “There isn’t a school for royalty.”
She never sought to please the press, saying she did not “do stunts” and once told photographers to “naff off”.
In 1974, she was the target of a kidnap attempt when her car was ambushed. Two police officers, her chauffeur and a passer-by were shot and wounded.
An account released by the National Archives said assailant Ian Ball pointed his gun at Anne and said: “I want you to come with me for a day or two, because I want £2 million.
“Will you get out of the car?”
The princess replied curtly: “Not bloody likely — and I haven’t got £2 million.”
Anne stuck to a mixture of classic chic and casual, keeping her voluminous, up-do hair style throughout her adult life.
She adopted a business-like demeanour that sometimes meant she came across as frosty, and resulted in her sharp, dry sense of humour often being mistaken.
Gifted horse rider
Born on August 15, 1950, Anne was taught at Buckingham Palace before beginning boarding school in 1963.
She inherited her mother’s passion for horses and the young princess became a skilled equestrian.
Anne won the 1971 European Eventing Championship and the British public voted her that year’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
“I certainly saw it as a way of proving that you had something that was not dependent on your family and it was down to you to succeed or fail,” she said of her horse riding career.
She married equestrian Mark Phillips in 1972. The wedding was an international event watched by an estimated 500 million people.
Anne represented Britain at the Montreal 1976 Olympics, returning without a medal after a particularly nasty fall.
She became a member of the International Olympic Committee in 1988 and was on the organising committee for the London 2012 Games.
Anne and her army officer first husband had two children — sports events managing director Peter and 2006 eventing world champion Zara.
Breaking with tradition, the couple decided Phillips should not accept a title so their children would be free to determine their own lives.
Divorce and remarriage
Anne was granted the title of Princess Royal, traditionally given to the monarch’s eldest daughter, in 1987.
She split from Phillips in 1989 and the couple divorced in 1992.
Nine months later, Anne married naval commander Timothy Laurence, a former equerry to Queen Elizabeth.
Anne supports more than 300 charities, organisations and military regiments, including an association with Save the Children that has lasted more than 50 years.
She regularly tops the charts for conducting the most royal engagements, and writes her own speeches.
International
Colombia says it would not reject Maduro asylum request as regional tensions escalate
The Colombian government stated on Thursday that it would have no reason to reject a potential asylum request from Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro should he leave office, as regional tensions persist over the deployment of U.S. military forces in the Caribbean since August.
“In the current climate of tension, negotiations are necessary, and if the United States demands a transition or political change, that is something to be assessed. If such a transition results in him (Maduro) needing to live elsewhere or seek protection, Colombia would have no reason to deny it,” said Colombian Foreign Minister Rosa Villavicencio in an interview with Caracol Radio.
However, Villavicencio noted that it is unlikely Maduro would choose Colombia as a refuge. “I believe he would opt for someplace more distant and calmer,” she added.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro also commented on Venezuela’s situation on Wednesday, arguing that the country needs a “democratic revolution” rather than “inefficient repression.” His remarks followed the recent detention and passport cancellation of Cardinal Baltazar Porras at the Caracas airport.
“The Maduro government must understand that responding to external aggression requires more than military preparations; it requires a democratic revolution. A country is defended with more democracy, not more inefficient repression,” Petro wrote on X (formerly Twitter), in a rare public criticism of the Venezuelan leader.
Petro also called for a general amnesty for political opponents and reiterated his call for forming a broad transitional government to address Venezuela’s prolonged crisis.
Since September, U.S. military forces have destroyed more than 20 vessels allegedly carrying drugs in Caribbean and Pacific waters near Venezuela and Colombia, resulting in over 80 deaths.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned that attacks “inside Venezuela” will begin “soon,” while Maduro has urged Venezuelans to prepare for what he describes as an impending external aggression.
International
Cuba battles out-of-control dengue and chikungunya epidemic as death toll rises to 44
Cuba is facing a severe dengue and chikungunya epidemic that has already claimed at least 44 lives, including 29 minors, according to the Ministry of Public Health (Minsap). The outbreak—now considered out of control—has expanded across the entire country amid a critical shortage of resources to confront the emergency.
Authorities report more than 42,000 chikungunya infections and at least 26,000 dengue cases, though they acknowledge significant underreporting as many patients avoid seeking care in health centers where medicines, supplies, and medical personnel are scarce. The first cluster was detected in July in the city of Matanzas, but the government did not officially use the term “epidemic” until November 12.
Chikungunya—virtually unknown on the island until this year—causes high fever, rashes, fatigue, and severe joint pain that can last for months, leaving thousands temporarily incapacitated. Dengue, endemic to the region, triggers fever, muscle pain, vomiting, and, in severe cases, internal bleeding. Cuba currently has no vaccines available for either virus.
Minsap reports that of the 44 deaths recorded so far, 28 were caused by chikungunya and 16 by dengue.
The health crisis unfolds amid deep economic deterioration, marked by the absence of fumigation campaigns, uncollected garbage, and shortages of medical supplies—conditions that have fueled the spread of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the primary vector for both diseases. “The healthcare system is overwhelmed,” non-official medical sources acknowledge.
Beyond the health impact, the epidemic is heavily disrupting economic and family life. The intense joint pain caused by chikungunya has led to widespread work absences, while hospital overcrowding has forced relatives to leave their jobs to care for the sick. In November, authorities launched a clinical trial using the Cuban drug Jusvinza to reduce joint pain, though results have not yet been released.
International
Ecuador on track for record violence as homicides hit highest level in Latin America again
Violence in Ecuador is expected to reach historic levels by the end of 2025, with the country set to record the highest homicide rate in Latin America for the third consecutive year, according to a report released Thursday by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED). The organization warns that criminal activity is not only persisting but could worsen in 2026.
Official figures show 7,553 homicides recorded through October, surpassing the 7,063 registered throughout all of 2024. ACLED estimates that 71% of the population was exposed to violent incidents this year, despite President Daniel Noboa’s declaration of an “internal armed conflict” in an attempt to confront powerful criminal groups.
According to the report, several factors are driving the deterioration of security: a territorial war between Los Chonerosand Los Lobos, the two most influential criminal organizations in the country; the fragmentation of other groups after the fall of their leaders; and Ecuador’s expanding role as a strategic hub for regional drug trafficking.
Since 2021, violence has forced the internal displacement of around 132,000 people, while more than 400,000 Ecuadorians — equivalent to 2% of the population — have left the country. Between January and November alone, violent deaths rose 42%, fueled by prison massacres and clashes between rival gangs.
The report warns that conditions may deteriorate further. Ecuador has been added to ACLED’s 2026 Conflict Watchlist, which highlights regions at risk of escalating violence. The expansion of Colombian armed groups such as FARC dissidents and the ELN, state weakness, and a potential rerouting of drug trafficking corridors from the Caribbean to the Pacific intensify the threat.
“The president is facing a wave of violence that shows no signs of easing,” the report concludes.
Colombia says it would not reject Maduro asylum request as regional tensions escalate
Cuba battles out-of-control dengue and chikungunya epidemic as death toll rises to 44
Ecuador on track for record violence as homicides hit highest level in Latin America again
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