Prince Harry's book Spare: the leaks, the quotes, the damage

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Written by northsouth

Category: Europe

Published: 06 January 2023

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Prince Harry's book Spare: the leaks, the quotes, the damage

LONDON, 06 Jan. - (ANA) - Prince Harry has accused his brother of knocking him to the floor, according to a leaked extract of his memoir published by The Guardian and cited by The Week.

Days before the Duke of Sussex’s highly anticipated autobiography, Spare, was due to hit the shelves, the newspaper obtained a copy and broke one of its “most shocking stories”, said Vanity Fair.

Then Sky News reported that Spanish copies of the book had mistakenly gone on sale.

Harry allegedly writes about a confrontation in 2019 at Nottingham Cottage in the grounds of Kensington Palace, sparked by Prince William calling Meghan Markle “difficult”, “rude” and “abrasive”.

In the copy seen by the newspaper, Harry claims he told William he was “parroting the press narrative” about his wife. William “grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and… knocked me to the floor”, he writes in what the paper calls an “extraordinary scene” that is “likely to spark a serious furore for the British royal family”.

What else do we know about the book?

Publisher Penguin Random House has reportedly spared no expense to prevent leaks of the memoir, with security measures compared “to the release of the Harry Potter series” when “millions” of pounds were spent to ensure no details were revealed before publication day, said The Times.

But that has done little to prevent national newspapers gathering details from insiders. One told The Sun the book would reveal “Harry’s bitterness and feelings of unfairness that by the nature of hierarchy and birthright that he always played second fiddle to older William”.

Another told The Sunday Times that the book will likely be “worse” for the royal family than they are expecting, adding that even Kate Middleton “gets a bit of a broadside”.

“There are these minute details, and a description of the fight between the brothers. I personally can’t see how Harry and William will be able to reconcile after this,” added the source.

And today Spanish copies of the book mistakenly went on sale, said Sky News. The broadcaster, which has also obtained a copy of the book, said Prince Harry calls William his “beloved brother and arch-nemesis”. He admits he took cocaine as a teenager, and that he had visited a woman with “powers” in a bid to contact his late mother, Diana.

The broadcaster says Harry and William asked King Charles not to marry Camilla after their mother died. “Willy and I promised our father that we would welcome Camilla to the family,” writes the prince. “The only thing we asked for in return was that he didn’t marry her.”

It is not just the British media. Page Six reported that Harry will put “some of the blame for his Nazi uniform scandal” on his brother and sister-in-law, claiming they “‘howled with laughter’ when they saw him dressed up for the 2005 party”.

What about the TV interviews?

Prince Harry has taken part in two television interviews ahead of the book’s release, with US TV heavyweight Anderson Cooper and ITV’s Tom Bradby.

The pre-recorded interviews, thought to have been filmed at his home in California, are set to be broadcast on Sunday 8 January, two days before the slated release of his memoir on 10 January.

In his interview with Bradby, the prince speaks of his desire to reconnect with his father and brother. “I would like to get my father back, I would like to have my brother back… they’ve shown absolutely no willingness to reconcile. It never needed to be this way,” he says.

Harry’s interview with Cooper, set to air on CBS, will also reveal how Harry felt he and Meghan were “betrayed” by the royal family, claiming that there were “briefings and leakings and planting of stories against me and my wife”. He adds that the royal family’s motto of “never complain, never explain” is just that – a motto – as he suggests Buckingham Palace was responsible for leaking damaging stories to the press.

Why does Harry want to publish his story?

In a statement in July 2021 announcing the planned memoir, Harry said he would be writing “not as the prince I was born, but as the man I have become”.

Random House said the book offers “full insights, revelation, self-examination, and hard-won wisdom about the eternal power of love over grief” with “raw, unflinching honesty”.

Readers will be taken back “to one of the most searing images of the twentieth century: two young boys, two princes, walking behind their mother’s coffin as the world watched in sorrow – and horror”, the publishers said.

It’s thought that the book will go on to detail the prince’s childhood, his military service in Afghanistan, and his family life, according to Hello!.

The choice of title is “presumably a nod to the phrase that monarchies need an ‘heir and a spare’”, said the BBC’s Sean Coughlan. Harry “will tell his version of his life in that ambiguous territory of the ‘spare’”, he continued – being put under “the spotlight from birth” but “with no defined role”, said Vogue.

What will it mean for the royal family?

“The project has been shrouded in rumors, delays and secrecy,” said The New York Times. But friends of the ghostwriter told the Mail on Sunday “they have no doubt that Harry’s memoir will dig deep and contain bombshells”.

It’s “expected to take aim at members of the royal family, as well as the institution [of the monarchy] as a whole”, said The Telegraph. Harry’s family have not seen the manuscript, or been given an opportunity to address claims made by the book through their lawyers, the newspaper continued.

Publishing sources told The New York Times that the prince “has gotten cold feet about the memoir’s contents at various points”.

The Mail on Sunday reported that the duke pushed for “significant” last-minute alterations to avoid a public backlash following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September.

A source told The Telegraph that these reports were “overblown”, but “any attacks” that the book makes on members of the royal family “could strike many readers as unseemly”, said The New York Times.

As preparations for King Charles’s coronation get underway, Harry’s relationship with his father and step-mother Camilla “is likely to come under the microscope”, said the Mail on Sunday.   - (ANA) -

AB/ANA/06 January 2023 - - -

What Salah Hammouri’s deportation says about France

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Written by northsouth

Category: Europe

Published: 30 December 2022

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PARIS - Israel’s recent deportation of Salah Hammouri shows both the ongoing crimes committed against Palestinians, and France’s complicity for accepting his forced arrival in Paris, and historically failing to condemn Israeli policies, argues Yasser Louati.

The occupier finally did it. Lawyer and human rights defender Salah Hammouri has been deported from his hometown to Paris on Sunday 18 December on an El Al flight. This follows two decades of harassment by Israel against the Jerusalem native, who had also spent nine months of administrative detention without trial or due process before his expulsion.

This unilateral decision comes as Israel is ethnically cleansing Jerusalem to wipe out any Palestinian presence. It remains to be clarified why France accepted Hammouri on its soil given he had no passport. It also seems impossible that the French government had no knowledge of his forcible deportation, let alone which specific flight he would be put on.

Moreover, deported passengers are under the responsibility of the carrier and by extension the state of registry of the aircraft until they are accepted by the ‘host’ country.

France should have refused to let Hammouri arrive on French land in order to leave Israel with no choice but to return with him or, failing to do so, engage in a diplomatic row while parking and handling fees at Roissy airport pile up.

Refusing passengers is not far-fetched. Emmanuel Macron had previously expressed his anger towards Algeria and Tunisia for refusing to accept their citizens after they were deported from France and because he could not force them back.

In the face of the recent deportation, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs published what is frankly a pathetic press release, “condemning the expulsion of Salah Hammouri”. As if the countless condemnations of Israeli crimes against humanity and war crimes have had any effect on its policies so far.

In reality, the French government has done the bare minimum to voice its opposition, and their official condemnation seems to show that they want the case closed quickly, and to avoid any confrontation with the Israeli government.

As stated by the UN, the deportation of Salah Hammouri constitutes a war crime. Forcibly removing people from their homeland is clearly defined as such by articles 49 of the Geneva convention and article 8 of the International Criminal Court (ICC) statute. But, how many times has Israel been accused of committing such crimes to no avail?

Indeed, the Hammouri case is a dire indictment of France’s cowardly and hypocritical policies both at home and abroad. Despite the election of the most far-right government to date, Emmanuel Macron was quick to call Benjamin Netanyahu to congratulate him and remind him of France’s strong ties with Israel. At home, political support to Palestinians is criminalised as demonstrations are regularly met with police violence and the boycotting of Israel is still prohibited.

Despite the shocking deportation, there are still no signs of any changes to France’s position. Back in February 2022, in reference to Israel’s plans to annex the whole of Jerusalem, Macron’s PM Jean Castex, declared that "is the eternal capital of the Jewish people, I have never stopped saying that, “ and that he is “concerned about the United Nations resolution on Jerusalem which continues to purposely and against all evidence discard the Jewish terminology of 'Temple Mount'".

Under Macron’s leadership, France’s submissive foreign policy towards Israel is clear for all to see, but in truth this is just the latest iteration of his predecessors’ approach. The guilt complex France has because of its antisemitic policies under Vichy and its deportation of Jews and collaboration with the Nazi regime, continues to be used as a justification for the lack of condemnation when it comes to Israel’s crimes against the Palestinians.

The expulsion of Hammouri further exposes France’s real global power. The grandiose discourses by respective French governments on “human rights” and their support for a two state solution – the decade long mirage used to indefinitely delay the very idea of Palestinian self-determination – portray France as a midget on the international scene. Not to mention, it means the country is complicit in the crimes being committed against Palestinians.

Israel’s criminal policies continue to lay bare its true intention: the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. This decision of Israel to forcibly remove Salah Hammouri from his hometown is as legitimate as Israel’s right to exist as an apartheid state.

In response to this latest tragedy, and all the rest committed by Israel, the Palestine solidarity movement must commit to a more robust and radical approach. Reminding a rogue state of international law and morality is as effective as reminding a thug about the importance of the rule of law. International law means nothing to Israel. After all, a state established by European settlers for the most part could not have become, nor was it ever conceived as a project founded on the rule of law and equality between its citizens.

In the powerful words of Salah Hammouri, who reminds us, though visibly scarred and aware he might never see his homeland again, that “this machine of destruction called Israel only retreats in the face of Palestinian resistance”. We must continue to mobilise, “until liberation, independence, and especially, the return.”

Yasser Louati is a French political analyst and head of the Committee for Justice & Liberties (CJL). He hosts a hit podcast called "Le Breakdown with Yasser Louati" in English and "Les Idées Libres" in French.

Opinions expressed in this article remain those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of northsouthnews.com

Russia launches massive missile barrage across Ukraine

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Written by northsouth

Category: Europe

Published: 29 December 2022

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By RENATA BRITO and HANNA ARHIROVA

KYIV, Ukraine — Multiple regions of Ukraine, including its capital, faced a massive Russian missile attack Thursday, the biggest wave of strikes in weeks targeting power stations and other critical infrastructure during freezing weather.

Air raid sirens rang out across the country. Ukraine’s military chief, Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, said preliminary data showed Russia fired 69 missiles at energy facilities and Ukrainian forces shot down 54 of them. There were no immediate reports of any deaths.

Russia dispatched explosive drones to selected regions overnight before broadening the barrage with “air and sea-based cruise missiles launched from strategic aircraft and ships” in the morning, the Ukrainian air force reported.

The widespread attack was the latest in a series of Russian strikes on power and water supplies that have increased the Ukrainian population’s suffering. Moscow has launched such attacks on a weekly basis since October, while its ground forces struggle to advance.

On Thursday, air defense systems were activated in the capital, Kyiv, to fend off strikes, according to the regional administration. Sounds of explosions were heard in the city.

At least three people were wounded and hospitalized, including a 14-year- old girl, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. He warned of power outages in the capital, asking people to stockpile water and to charge their electronic devices.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba condemned Russia for launching the missiles amid the winter holidays, calling it an act of “senseless barbarism.”

“There can be no ‘neutrality’ in the face of such mass war crimes. Pretending to be ‘neutral’ equals taking Russia’s side,” Kuleba tweeted.

After more than 10 months of fighting, Russia and Ukraine are locked in a grinding battle of attrition. The Ukrainian military has reclaimed swaths of Russian-occupied territory in the country’s northeast and south, and continues to resist persistent Russian attempts to seize all of the industrial Donbas region.

At the same time, Moscow has methodically targeted Ukrainian power facilities and other key infrastructure in a bid to weaken the country’s resolve and force it to negotiate on Russian terms.

While the Ukrainian military reported success in shooting down incoming Russian missiles and explosive drones after earlier attacks, some still reached their targets. Most cities have gone without heat, internet service and electricity for hours or days at a time.

Anastasia, a medic who took shelter Thursday at a central Kyiv subway station and gave only her first name, said she was tired of the war. “We don’t know how long the war will last. It’s hard to be afraid every day and put your life on hold,” she said.

Numerous explosions also took place in Kharkiv, which is located in eastern Ukraine and the country’s second-largest city, and in the city of Lviv near the border with Poland, according to their mayors.

About 90% of Lviv was without electricity, Mayor Andriy Sadovyi wrote on Telegram. Trams and trolley buses were not working, and residents might experience water interruptions, he said.

Ukrainian authorities in several regions said some incoming Russian missiles were intercepted.

The governor of southern Ukraine’s Mykolaiv province, Vitaliy Kim, said five missiles were shot down over the Black Sea. The Ukrainian military’s command North said two were downed over the Sumy region, located on the border with Russia in the country’s northeast.

Fragments from downed Russian missiles damaged two private buildings in the Darnytskyi district of Kyiv, the city administration said. An industrial facility and a playground in neighborhoods located across the Dnieper River also were damaged, city officials said. No casualties were immediately reported.

As the latest wave of Russian strikes began Thursday, authorities in the Dnipro, Odesa and Kryvyi Rih regions said they switched off electricity to minimize the damage to critical infrastructure facilities if they were hit.

Earlier this month, the United States agreed to give a Patriot missile battery to Ukraine to boost the country’s defense. The U.S. and other allies also pledged to provide energy-related equipment to help Ukraine withstand the attacks on its infrastructure.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Russia was aiming to “destroy critical infrastructure and kill civilians en masse.”

“We’re waiting for further proposals from ‘peacekeepers’ about ‘peaceful settlement,’ ‘security guarantees for RF’ and undesirability of provocations,” Podolyak wrote on Twitter, a sarcastic reference to statements from some in the West who urged Ukraine to seek a political settlement of the conflict.

Kuleba, the Ukrainian foreign minister, said Monday that his nation wants a “peace” summit within two months at the United Nations with Secretary-General António Guterres as mediator. He said Russia must face a war-crimes tribunal before his country directly talks with Moscow but that other nations should feel free to engage with the Russians.

Commenting on the summit proposal Thursday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova dismissed it as “delirious” and “hollow,” describing the proposal as a “publicity stunt by Washington that tries to cast the Kyiv regime as a peacemaker.”

“It’s an attempt to give a semblance of legitimacy to a meaningless discussion that will not be followed by any concrete steps,” Zakharova said during a briefing.

Russian officials have said that any peace plan can only proceed from Kyiv’s recognition of Russia’s sovereignty over the regions it illegally annexed from Ukraine in September.