Latest news with #LongWave
The Guardian
30-03-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Donors quit Prince Harry's charity when he left UK, says Sentebale chair
Donors abandoned the charity Prince Harry founded in memory of his late mother when he left the UK, the chair of Sentebale has said amid a bitter media row. There was a 'significant correlation' between a drop in funders and the Duke of Sussex's departure to the US following controversy caused by his rift with the royal family, Sophie Chandauka told Sky News's Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme. It was 'pretty obvious' the charity, which supports HIV and Aids sufferers in Lesotho and Botswana, had lost corporate sponsors and individual donors around that time but there was 'no discussion' about it, she said, as trustees told her it was 'uncomfortable' with Prince Harry in the room, added Chandauka, a Zimbabwean lawyer. She told the programme: 'So when I arrived in July in 2023, of course the first thing you do is you open the annual report, you look at the board minutes to see what is going on in the organisation. 'I did a seven-year historical review of the financials, looking at our costs and looking at our revenue, so income, it was pretty obvious to me that we had lost quite a number of corporate sponsors. 'We'd lost some families, and we'd lost individuals who were donating to the organisation, and there was quite a significant correlation between the time the organisation started to see a departure of sort of major organisations, and Prince Harry's departure from the UK itself. 'When you look at the board minutes, though, there is no discussion about what's happening with respect to some of our most significant funders and then when you discuss with the senior executive team and ask why there isn't a conversation about this – the answer is 'it's really difficult to have this conversation because the instruction was, it's uncomfortable conversation to have with Prince Harry in the room'.' Sentebale and Harry's representatives have been approached for comment. The interview, trailed on Saturday and aired in full on Sunday morning, included allegations of 'harassment and bullying at scale' from the prince towards the chair, after Harry and several others quit the organisation earlier this week. Though Harry has not commented specifically on the bullying and harassment allegations, sources close to the prince said the claims were 'completely baseless'. A source close to the charity's trustees and patrons said they 'fully expected this publicity stunt' and reached their collective decision with this in mind. They added they 'remain firm in their resignation, for the good of the charity, and look forward to the adjudication of the truth'. Sign up to The Long Wave Nesrine Malik and Jason Okundaye deliver your weekly dose of Black life and culture from around the world after newsletter promotion Two named former trustees have come out in support of the prince, with Kelello Lerotholi, who resigned from the charity this week, telling Sky News he did not recognise the allegations: 'I can honestly say, in the meetings I was present in, there was never even a hint of such.' The prince, who she said had not been to Africa for five years, had made moves against her, adding further trustees to the charity's board in efforts to bolster his control, she said. In a separate interview with the Financial Times, Chandauka said there was noticeable friction between the UK staff and those based in Lesotho, where most of the charity's 500-plus workforce is based. She said the board felt 'a loss of power and control and influence … oh my goodness, the Africans are taking over'. When Harry could not have her removed through a vote, due to a legal challenge, she alleges, he aimed to sabotage the charity, which he set up in 2006 in memory of his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales. She claimed the rift became public with the prince's 'unleashing of the Sussex machine' against Chandauka, who appeared on Sky News with another board member, the investment banker Iain Rawlinson. The Conservative peer Lynda Chalker, who served as a trustee for nearly two decades until November, described Chandauka as having an 'almost dictatorial' style.
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
OKC company in 'hiring frenzy' as it gears up to help design new U.S. Navy doomsday plane
Oklahoma City-based Long Wave Inc. is in a 'hiring frenzy' as it gears up to participate in a $3.5 billion contract to develop the next generation doomsday plane for the U.S. Navy. Long Wave is a subcontractor for Northrop Grumman on the project, which will result in 10% of the contract — $350 million — being paid out to the Oklahoma City company with work likely to continue beyond the initial six-year term. Chris Lozano, chief marketing officer of Long Wave, said the company started expanding its office space in Midtown and warehouse north of the state Capitol in November as it began to realize the Northrop Grumman team was likely to win the bid to design and build the E-130J. The plane will replace the E-6B Mercury used by the Navy's TACAMO (Take Charge and Move Out) mission. 'This is the largest contract we've ever been awarded,' Lozano said. 'The company operates at around $30 million a year and it's been like that for the past decade. When you add a big contract like this, it triples the size of the company.' The TACAMO mission provides connectivity between the National Command Authority and U.S. nuclear forces across the globe. In addition to Long Wave, the Northrop Grumman team includes Lockheed Martin, Skunk Works, Raytheon and Crescent Systems. Be the first to know: Sign up for breaking news email alerts The E-130J is part of the United States' nuclear modernization program, which includes new Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines, new bomber aircraft such as the B-21 Raider, and Sentinel, a new ground-based system to replace the silo-based Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles. The E-130J is referred to as a doomsday plane because it is intended to ensure U.S. leadership can always communicate with nuclear forces to order or cancel strikes, even if ground-based communications are unavailable. Oklahoma City's ties to the U.S. Navy dates to when the TACAMO mission was centralized at Tinker Air Force Base in 1992. Long Wave was founded three years later at Tinker by the late Phil Miller. Long Wave's first project with TACAMO provided a low frequency analysis that supported the connectivity with the nation's submarine force. TACAMO retirees accounted for about a third of Long Wave's workforce prior to the E-130J contract award. 'We recruit heavily from that community,' Lozano said. 'I used to fly with that community. I know these guys and ladies really well. When the cream of the crops are about to retire, we're one of the first stops they make on their job tour to see if they can work for us.' Lozano said the new project is transforming the company from a small to large business, which is the sort of economic growth being pursued by state and local economic development agencies. 'We are in a hiring frenzy right now,' Lozano said. 'Prior to the award, we had about 120 employees. We're up to 155 and we still need another hundred. We hope to be up to 250 by the end of 2025. These are systems software and electrical engineers.' Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell, one of several state officials working with Long Wave on its expansion, said the company is likely to qualify for quality jobs and engineering incentives. 'The aerospace and defense industry is in the center of our strategy to diversify our economy,' Pinnell said. 'We love it when we're getting phone calls from businesses that want to relocate to Oklahoma, but it's even better when we have companies grow from a couple of employees to hundreds.' The Oklahoma Department of Commerce reports the aerospace and defense industry is the state's second-largest and fastest-growing industry with a $44 billion annual economic impact. Pinnell said he expects Oklahoma's defense-related employment to continue to grow based on weekly discussions with the industry and observations of growth taking place in Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Lawton and elsewhere in the state. 'This industry has grown so rapidly that we now have a defense industry association in Oklahoma that was formed over the past few years,' Pinnell said. 'It's not only diversifying our economy, it's helping statewide growth.' This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC's Long Wave hiring dozens of engineers to design doomsday plane
The Guardian
13-02-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
What Trump's assault on USAid means for the world
'My community, living here in the refugee camp, is already vulnerable,' Sahat Zia tells Lucy Hough. 'I'm very concerned, especially for the children and the women.' Sahat is a Rohingya activist and photographer based in Kutupalong refugee camp, Bangladesh. Hearing Donald Trump's decision to cut USAid came as a shock to Sahat. US foreign assistance is a lifeline for the many thousands of people in the camp, providing access to food, education and healthcare. The Guardian columnist and writer of the Long Wave newsletter, Nesrine Malik, explains to Lucy just how vast and varied USAid's work has been over the decades – from providing disaster relief and the supply of medicines to democracy-building and the preservation of natural habitats. The unexpected decision to immediately stop USAid's operations has led to chaos across the world. Nesrine describes how Africa is the continent most exposed, with soup kitchens closed and HIV medication no longer available. The Long Wave: Why Trump's USAid freeze endangers millions Support the Guardian today:
