Latest news with #Commonwealth
Yahoo
an hour ago
- General
- Yahoo
Jacinda Ardern reveals Queen Elizabeth II's parenting advice
Dame Jacinda Ardern was told by Queen Elizabeth II that she should 'just get on with it' after she sought advice on how to bring up a child in the public eye. The former prime minister of New Zealand, 44, has recalled her exchange with the late monarch at a Commonwealth summit in April 2018 while seven-months pregnant with her daughter, Neve Te Aroha. On the first day of the summit at Buckingham Palace, Dame Jacinda, who has advocated for New Zealand becoming a republic, was one of four leaders invited for a 20-minute private meeting with Queen Elizabeth II. In an extract of her new memoir A Different Kind of Power, published in The Guardian, she writes: 'She had, of course, raised children in the public eye, so in our private meeting I asked if she had any advice. 'You just get on with it,' she said simply. 'She sounded so matter of fact, just as my grandma Margaret might have.' She is only the second elected head of government in modern history to give birth while in office, after the late Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan. Dame Jacinda, wearing a mustard-coloured gown and a kākahu, a traditional Māori cloak woven from flax and covered with feathers, had given Queen Elizabeth II a framed image of the monarch during a royal tour to New Zealand in 1953, her head back in a full relaxed laugh. While waiting for the other 52 heads of state to assemble, the then prime minister said she had jokingly asked palace ushers whether the lines should be arranged 'boy, girl, boy, girl'. Only five of the leaders were women. She recalls: 'They looked at me for a moment, perhaps trying to decide whether to take the comment seriously, before moving on to the next leader. 'Of course I hadn't been serious'. Dame Jacinda resigned as leader of the Labour Party and prime minister in January 2023, telling the nation of five million people that she had 'no more left in the tank'. Her five-year tenure was marked by uncompromising and successful, if deeply unpopular, containment measures to stop the spread of Covid-19 during the pandemic. Dame Jacinda's compassionate response and swift reaction to the Christchurch terrorist attack, in which 51 Muslim worshippers were killed in March 2019, won her praise from even her staunchest opponents who had criticised her 'woke' attitude towards politics. In her memoir, she recalled how Donald Trump, the US president, had questioned her description at the time of the far-Right shooter as a 'terrorist'. She writes: 'We discussed what might happen to the terrorist. I used that word, 'terrorist', specifically and President Trump asked if we were calling the gunman that.' She said to him: 'Yes, this was a white man from Australia who deliberately targeted our Muslim community. We are calling him that.' Mr Trump did not respond, but asked if there was anything America could do. 'You can show sympathy and love for all Muslim communities,' she told him. Brenton Tarrant shot dead 51 people at two mosques and had broadcast his rampage over the internet. He was later sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the first time the maximum available sentence has been imposed in the country. In an accompanying interview with The Guardian, Dame Jacinda described Mr Trump as 'taller than I expected, his tan more pronounced'. Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, is 'quiet, often alone and almost expressionless', she said. When asked for her opinion of Boris Johnson, the former UK prime minister, Dame Jacinda is said to have rolled her eyes. She was awarded a damehood by the Prince of Wales last year, despite her being a staunch republican. Initially, she said she was 'incredibly humbled' but 'in two minds' about accepting the accolade, but did travel to Windsor Castle to collect the award. Dame Jacinda donned a traditional Maori cloak, often worn during special ceremonies, to pick up the award for leading New Zealand through the pandemic. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
3 hours ago
- General
- Telegraph
Jacinda Ardern reveals Queen Elizabeth II's parenting advice
Dame Jacinda Ardern was told by Queen Elizabeth II that she should 'just get on with it' after she sought advice on how to bring up a child in the public eye. The former prime minister of New Zealand, 44, has recalled her exchange with the late monarch at a Commonwealth summit in April 2018 while seven-months pregnant with her daughter, Neve Te Aroha. On the first day of the summit at Buckingham Palace, Dame Jacinda, who has advocated for New Zealand becoming a republic, was one of four leaders invited for a 20-minute private meeting with Queen Elizabeth II. In an extract of her new memoir A Different Kind of Power, published in The Guardian, she writes: 'She had, of course, raised children in the public eye, so in our private meeting I asked if she had any advice. 'You just get on with it,' she said simply. 'She sounded so matter of fact, just as my grandma Margaret might have.' She is only the second elected head of government in modern history to give birth while in office, after the late Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan. Dame Jacinda, wearing a mustard-coloured gown and a kākahu, a traditional Māori cloak woven from flax and covered with feathers, had given Queen Elizabeth II a framed image of the monarch during a royal tour to New Zealand in 1953, her head back in a full relaxed laugh. While waiting for the other 52 heads of state to assemble, the then prime minister said she had jokingly asked palace ushers whether the lines should be arranged 'boy, girl, boy, girl'. Only five of the leaders were women. She recalls: 'They looked at me for a moment, perhaps trying to decide whether to take the comment seriously, before moving on to the next leader. 'Of course I hadn't been serious'. Dame Jacinda resigned as leader of the Labour Party and prime minister in January 2023, telling the nation of five million people that she had 'no more left in the tank'. Her five-year tenure was marked by uncompromising and successful, if deeply unpopular, containment measures to stop the spread of Covid-19 during the pandemic. Dame Jacinda's compassionate response and swift reaction to the Christchurch terrorist attack, in which 51 Muslim worshippers were killed in March 2019, won her praise from even her staunchest opponents who had criticised her 'woke' attitude towards politics. In her memoir, she recalled how Donald Trump, the US president, had questioned her description at the time of the far-Right shooter as a 'terrorist'. She writes: 'We discussed what might happen to the terrorist. I used that word, 'terrorist', specifically and President Trump asked if we were calling the gunman that.' She said to him: 'Yes, this was a white man from Australia who deliberately targeted our Muslim community. We are calling him that.' Mr Trump did not respond, but asked if there was anything America could do. 'You can show sympathy and love for all Muslim communities,' she told him. Brenton Tarrant shot dead 51 people at two mosques and had broadcast his rampage over the internet. He was later sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the first time the maximum available sentence has been imposed in the country. In an accompanying interview with The Guardian, Dame Jacinda described Mr Trump as 'taller than I expected, his tan more pronounced'. Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, is 'quiet, often alone and almost expressionless', she said. When asked for her opinion of Boris Johnson, the former UK prime minister, Dame Jacinda is said to have rolled her eyes. She was awarded a damehood by the Prince of Wales last year, despite her being a staunch republican. Initially, she said she was 'incredibly humbled' but 'in two minds' about accepting the accolade, but did travel to Windsor Castle to collect the award. Dame Jacinda donned a traditional Maori cloak, often worn during special ceremonies, to pick up the award for leading New Zealand through the pandemic.
National Post
5 hours ago
- Business
- National Post
Conrad Black: Carney continues on a path of mindless globalism
It was a gracious gesture for King Charles III and Queen Camilla to come to Ottawa for 24 hours to open Parliament and symbolize Canada's close relations with the United Kingdom and other senior Commonwealth nations, but the speech from the throne was so general, we might have reserved the distinction of Their Majesties' presence for a more substantive policymaking occasion. There was a pledge to make housing more affordable many years after what should have been the starting date for such a policy before millions of otherwise welcome immigrants were admitted to the country, furthering an acute housing shortage among Canadians of modest income. It was also good to hear the King state, on behalf of the federal government, the determination to protect and advance the rights of all Canadians. It would have been useful and pleasing to know if this included a departure from the federal government's policy of passivity toward Quebec's suppression of the English language in that province. Article content Article content One specific point in the throne speech that was particularly welcome was the reference to the federal government's determination to eliminate internal trade barriers. If anything useful may ultimately be judged to have come from the current controversy with the United States, it is that U.S. President Donald Trump highlighted the exorbitant cost of some agricultural products as a result of the supplementary payments consumers are forced to make to certain farmers in this country. As I have written here often before, if it is considered public policy to supplement the incomes of these farmers, it should be done directly and not by overcharging the entire Canadian public for important categories of food. In the same category is the government's implicit promise to contribute more to our own national defence. This has long and justifiably been a sore point with the United States, which effectively has guaranteed Canada's national security since President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared at Queens university in 1938 that he would not 'stand idly by' if Canada were attacked. Canada has a distinguished military history of only going to war for good causes and never out of national greed, fighting bravely and almost always with volunteers and always on the winning side. We are not freeloaders, but we have been freeloaders in NATO for 30 years and there appears to be a consensus that this should stop. Article content Article content The King's remarks began with the now practically obligatory reference to being on land 'unceded' by Algonquin and Anishinaabeg peoples — an experience, the King advised, that reminds us of our 'shared history as a nation.' The King has thus been delicately dragooned into the quagmire of the official relationship of Canada with its Indigenous peoples. The federal Parliament may indeed stand on land unceded by the Algonquins and Anishinaabeg, but this should not be allowed to imply that Canada, prior to the arrival of the British and the French in the 16th and 17th centuries, was populated and occupied, in the sense of being ruled and governed, by the Native peoples. Article content Article content The Native peoples were in almost all cases nomadic and relatively sparse in numbers. The inference has been incited that those who have immigrated, mainly from Europe to Canada, over the last 450 years invaded someone else's country. I yield to few in my desire to make the country's policy toward Indigenous peoples more just and productive, but when the Europeans arrived, Canada was unsettled, and in no sense an organized political entity. It was chronically underpopulated, and those who lived within our present borders were talented and skilful tribes and clans sharing what was essentially a Stone Age civilization frequently engaged in internecine violence. Let us by all means pay them homage and embrace them as fellow Canadians, but not in a manner that could be construed as undermining the right of the rest of us to be here and negating the fact that our forebears brought Canada swiftly up to the most advanced conditions of contemporary civilization.
Gulf Today
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Gulf Today
King's visit
King Charles III is visiting one of the Commonwealth's countries, Canada, a symbolic trip to remind anyone who doesn't understand history and geography that it won't be the 51st US state. President Trump is still enthusiastic about his plan to conquer his neighbour but with all of his bluster and self-belief, it's not going to be enough to beat the British Royal family with over a thousand years of quietly handling all of the various upstarts that have annoyed them. Donald, stick with 50 stars on the flag, it's going to be messy to adjust and expensive to replace all the country's flags. Dennis Fitzgerald Melbourne, Australia
Straits Times
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
Book review: Poet Theophilus Kwek's Commonwealth is a lyrical tour of urban change
Singaporean poet Theophilus Kwek's fifth full-length collection of poetry is titled Commonwealth (2025). PHOTOS: ST FILE, CARCANET Commonwealth By Theophilus Kwek Poetry/Carcanet/Paperback/104 pages/$21.80 Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
