Month: January 2023

The rallies spread across the city centre as banners were hoisted calling for an end to the ruling coalition, which is the most right-wing and religious-nationalist in Israel’s history.

“This is a dangerous government,” said Yaara Ben Geraluf, a teacher from Jaffa, a western suburb on the coast.

“This government will not be any good for women, for LGBTQ, for the impoverished people… and of course for Palestinians,” she told the BBC.

Organisers say they are trying to stop a “coup” taking place against the system of government.

It is the second week running that mass protests have taken place in four different cities.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid addressed the crowds in Tel Aviv, saying “people who love the country” came to defend its democracy and its courts.

“We won’t give up until we win,” he said.

It comes three weeks after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to power, to form Israel’s first stable coalition in three years. He said Israelis voted for a “full” right-wing government and for security.

His coalition contains far-right parties, including one whose leader was once convicted of anti-Arab racism, and another who is openly homophobic and misogynistic.

Protesters accuse Mr Netanyahu of threatening democratic rule, amid an unprecedented clash between the new government and Israel’s judges.

The coalition’s planned reforms would allow it to override the courts if they strike down future laws. Opponents say this threatens Israel’s democratic system of checks and balances.

Critics also say Mr Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption, is trying to rein in the judges in an ultimate attempt to avoid going to jail himself.

Many protesters also bitterly oppose positions from a coalition which includes overtly racist, homophobic and anti-Palestinian parties from the far-right.

When it took office, the government declared “exclusive” Jewish rights to “all areas” of the land, including the occupied Palestinian territories.

Tal Meidan, an interior designer from Tel Aviv, held a banner portraying Mr Netanyahu and two ultra-nationalist allies as “the cats trying to take the cream”.

“I think what they are doing is morally and ethically wrong,” she told the BBC, holding her baby son Michael.

“I hope I’m not going to cry, but we gave a lot to arrive at this country. And I don’t want [my children] to go into the military in this era,” she said.

“I hope so much that my four kids will have a different state… in which we are equals, and Arabs are equal, and gays are equal… otherwise, we don’t see ourselves raising them here, unfortunately,” she added.

The protest movements are not united.

Many focus opposition on what they see as an unprecedented attack on the legal system; others on what they see as an assault on secular life in Israel, with roughly half the coalition made up of strictly religiously observant parties and the religious-nationalist far-right.

Others focus their campaign against Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian Territories, but these appeared to be in the minority during the protests. The BBC witnessed a minor scuffle break out when one protester objected to others raising Palestinian flags.

Mr Netanyahu dismisses the protests, accusing participants of denying the will of voters.

“Two months ago there was a huge demonstration, the mother of all demonstrations. Millions of people went into the streets in order to vote in the elections,” he said last week.

“One of the main topics that they voted on was reforming the judicial system.”

He added, “I must say that when we were in the opposition, we did not call for civil war and did not speak about the destruction of the state… I expect the leaders of the opposition to do the same.”

The demonstrations bring old dividing lines in Israel back into the open – between secular and religiously observant, and between liberals and nationalists.

While the protesters have packed the streets in Tel Aviv, in Israel overall they have been relegated to the margins over the years. Israelis have moved decisively to the right, according to opinion polls.

Meanwhile Benjamin Netanyahu has become more reliant on the most extreme elements of Israel’s religious-nationalist bloc, as once-loyal allies have deserted him. On trial for corruption, he has been left in arguably his weakest position yet as premier.

The concert will be broadcast on the BBC on 7 May featuring “global music icons”, orchestras and a diverse “coronation choir”.

It will come the day after the coronation at Westminster Abbey.

Processions to and from the abbey will take place, ending with a balcony appearance at Buckingham Palace.

These are among the new details just released on plans for the weekend which the King and Queen Consort hope will be an opportunity for friends, families and communities to celebrate together, said Buckingham Palace.

The concert choir will be picked from amateur choirs, including from the NHS, refugees, LGBTQ+ singing groups and deaf-signing choirs, reflecting the aim to make this a more inclusive coronation, which mixes the ancient and modern aspects.

There will be a laser and drone lightshow, but in an end to another tradition, there are no plans for beacons to be lit around the country.

Coronation weekend:

The line-up for the Windsor concert has still to be announced but organisers are promising “some of the world’s biggest entertainers”.

The event is expected to be a wide mix of music, dancing and a laser lightshow will be linked to the illumination of famous sites around the UK. For the Shakespeare-loving monarch there will be spoken-word performances from stage and screen stars.

Last year a concert was held outside Buckingham Palace for the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, with music from pop performers such as Diana Ross and Sir Rod Stewart.

Street parties and local get-togethers will also be held on the Sunday, under the banner of the Coronation Big Lunch.

Supporting the local community will be encouraged on the bank holiday of Monday 8 May, with the Big Help Out, in which people will be urged to get involved in local volunteering projects.

Previous coronations have also included the monarch making a broadcast to the nation and official banquets for guests and visiting dignitaries.

The coronation at Westminster Abbey will see the crowning of King Charles and the Queen Consort Camilla, in a service full of religious symbolism and pageantry.

The ceremony is expected to be a shorter, smaller and a more diverse occasion than for Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953.

That previous coronation lasted three hours and the ceremony for King Charles is expected to be considerably shorter.

Elements of the service could be reduced, such as the paying of homage, and a “claims office” is currently looking at which roles should be included.

Previous coronations have had historic roles such as the “rouge dragon pursuivant”, “unicorn pursuivant” and carriers of the “golden spur” and the “white wand”.

There were more than 8,000 guests for the 1953 coronation, while the ceremony in May is expected to be smaller, with Westminster Abbey usually having a capacity of about 2,200.

Although it remains uncertain whether the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will be part of the congregation – with Prince Harry in a recent TV interview not confirming his attendance if invited.

The coronation procession is expected to be more modest. In 1953, there were 16,000 participants in a procession that took 45 minutes to pass any stationary point on the 7km (4.3 miles) route.

This time round the King and Queen Consort will arrive at the abbey from the palace, in the King’s procession and return in a larger Coronation procession, joined by other members of the Royal Family. It is not yet confirmed who will then appear with them on the balcony at Buckingham Palace.

There have been suggestions that the dress code for those attending the coronation is likely to be more modern.

A more inclusive, multi-faith dimension is anticipated for the service, with representatives of a range of religions. There will be scrutiny of whether the coronation oath is updated to reflect a wider range of beliefs.

Attention will be paid to the cost of the state-funded coronation. According to the House of Commons Library, the coronation in 1953 cost the equivalent of £18.8m in 2021 prices.

He was first elected to parliament in 2008 and was appointed minister for Covid-19 in November 2020.

In Ms Ardern’s shock announcement on Thursday she said she did not have “enough in the tank” to lead.

How long Mr Hipkins will be in office is uncertain as New Zealand holds a general election in October.

Mr Hipkins, 44, is currently minister for police, education and public service.

He will still need to be formally endorsed by the Labour Party in the House of Representatives on Sunday before he can become leader.

Should he receive that backing, Ms Ardern will formally tender her resignation to the governor-general, who will then – on behalf of King Charles III – appoint Mr Hipkins as prime minister.

But the incoming Labour leader faces an uphill battle if he wants to remain in the top job after the 2023 election.

Inflation and increasing social inequality saw Ms Ardern’s popularity fall to all-time lows according to opinion polls.

They also suggested public approval of the country’s Labour Party was similarly low.

Mr Hipkins’ appointment removes the immediate possibility of Justice Minister Kiri Allan becoming the country’s first Maori prime minister.

During her resignation announcement, Ms Ardern – who at 37 became the youngest female head of government in the world when she took office in 2017 – said the past five-and-a-half years had been the “most fulfilling” of her life.

However, she added that leading the country during “crisis” had been difficult – with the Covid pandemic, Christchurch mosque shootings and White Island volcanic eruption taking place during her premiership.

Reaction to Ms Ardern’s announcement was mixed, with some suggesting she was “running away before getting thrown out”.

But renowned New Zealand actor Sam Neill said she had faced “disgraceful” treatment from “bullies” and “misogynists”.

If Labour loses the general election Mr Hipkins will have only spent eight months as the nation’s leader – although the shortest prime ministerial stint was Harry Atkinson’s term in 1884, which lasted just eight days.

The next seven-year budget would increase to €413bn (£360bn) from 2024-30, up from €295bn, he said.

First France had to repair and restock its armed forces, then transform them, he told soldiers at Mont-de-Marsan airbase in south-west France.

“We must not do the same with more, we have to do better and differently.”

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has prompted Western countries to review military spending – and in many cases, increase it significantly.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin has outlined plans to increase the number of combat soldiers from 1.15 million to 1.5 million. President Vladimir Putin said this week that Russia’s powerful defence industry left him in no doubt that victory in Ukraine was assured.

President Macron acknowledged on Friday there were no more post-Cold War “peace dividends” now that Russia had invaded Ukraine, so the aim was to renew a military that protected France’s freedom, security, prosperity and place in the world.

Key to his reforms are a 60% hike in the military intelligence budget, adapting to “high-intensity” conflict with investment in drones, cyber-defence and improved air defences.

“We need to be one war ahead,” he warned.

France’s failure to foresee the Russian invasion last February cost the head of military intelligence, Gen Eric Vidaud, his job. The armed forces chief admitted at the time that US and UK intelligence had read the situation correctly.

France has stepped up its military aid for Ukraine in recent weeks, with plans to send AMX-10 RC “light combat tanks”, but its supply of weapons to Kyiv is seen as lagging behind other European allies.

Last year, France ended an eight-year anti-jihadist operation in the Sahel region of Africa in what was widely seen as a failure.

President Macron said France would have to rethink its alliances while remaining a leader in Europe and a reliable Nato ally, and deepening its relationships with Germany, the UK, Italy and Spain.

The Russian war has changed defence priorities across Europe, with Sweden and Finland announcing steep increases in their military budgets as part of their bid to join Nato. Members of the Western military alliance have agreed to spend at least 2% of economic output on defence from 2024.

Days after the invasion in February 2022, Germany pledged an extra €100bn of the budget to the armed forces.

In June, the UK promised under previous Prime Minister Boris Johnson to increase spending to 2.5% of GDP.

Last month, Japan announced a dramatic rise in its defence budget, because of what Prime Minister Kishida Fumio warned was the “most severe and complex security environment since World War Two”. It cited threats from China and North Korea.

Lancashire Police said it had issued a 42-year-old man from London with a conditional offer of a fixed penalty.

No 10 said Mr Sunak “fully accepts this was a mistake and has apologised”, adding that he would pay the fine.

Passengers caught failing to wear a seat belt when one is available can be fined £100.

This can increase to £500 if the case goes to court.

The prime minister was in Lancashire when the video was filmed, during a trip across the north of England.

The video – to promote the government’s latest round of “levelling up” spending – was posted on Mr Sunak’s Instagram account.

It is the second time Mr Sunak has received a fixed penalty notice while in government.

Last April, he was fined along with Boris Johnson and wife Carrie for breaking Covid lockdown rules – by attending a birthday gathering for the then-prime minister in Downing Street in June 2020.

Fixed penalty notices are a sanction for breaking the law, and mean a fine, which needs to be paid within 28 days, or contested.

If someone chooses to contest the fine, the police will then review the case and decide whether to withdraw the fine or take the matter to court.

Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner said in a tweet that Mr Sunak was a “total liability”.

A Labour Party spokesperson added: “Hapless Rishi Sunak’s levelling-up photo op has blown up in his face and turned him into a laughing stock.”

The Liberal Democrats said, in becoming the second ever serving prime minister to be fined by police, he had “shown the same disregard for the rules as Boris Johnson”.

Deputy Lib Dem leader Daisy Cooper said: “From partygate to seatbelt gate, these Conservative politicians are just taking the British people for fools.

“Whilst they continue to behave as though it’s one rule for them and another for everyone else, this fine is a reminder that the Conservatives eventually get their comeuppance.”

But Conservative MP for Blackpool South Scott Benton defended Mr Sunak, saying “everybody makes mistakes”.

Mr Benton said police should focus on “tackling serious crime in our communities”, adding: “Let’s keep this in proportion here. Every single year millions of Britons receive similar fixed penalty notices.”

Passengers aged 14 and over are responsible for ensuring they wear a seat belt in cars, vans and other goods vehicles if one is fitted. Drivers are responsible for passengers under 14.

Exemptions include having a doctor’s certificate for a medical reason, or being in a vehicle used for a police, fire or other rescue service.