25/04/2026

SATURDAY | APR 25, 2026

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King Charles to visit US

US$10m reward offered for Iraqi militant leader WASHINGTON: The US to US$10 million for information on the leader of the Tehran-backed Iraqi armed group Kataeb Sayyid al-Shuhada (KSS), which Washington designates as a terrorist organisation. US officials said in a social media post on Thursday they were seeking information on KSS leader Hashim Finyan Rahim al-Saraji, also known as Abu Alaa al-Walai. The group has“killed Iraqi civilians and attacked US diplomatic facilities in Iraq, as well as attacking US military bases and personnel in Iraq and Syria,” Washington said. The post said “you could be eligible for relocation and a reward” for information on al-Saraji’s whereabouts. Al-Saraji has a seat within the Coordination Framework, the ruling Shiite alliance that holds the parliamentary majority. Iran-backed groups have targeted the US embassy in Iraq’s capital, its diplomatic and logistics facility at Baghdad’s airport, and oil fields operated by foreign companies. Iraq, which had recently regained some stability after decades of conflict, was dragged into the Middle East war triggered when the United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. – AFP UK health data of 500,000 people for sale in China LONDON: Anonymised medical data of half a million members of UK health database Biobank was temporarily listed for sale on an Alibaba-owned Chinese website, the government said on Thursday. Data Minister Ian Murray told parliament that the breach involved the information of 500,000 members. “This has been an unacceptable abuse of the UK Biobank charity’s data,” he said, adding that the data was downloaded legitimately by three research institutions in China. Biobank uses medical data from volunteers to help researchers make scientific discoveries, such as improving the detection and treatment of dementia and cancers.” The research institutions identified have had their access suspended. – AFP State Department is offering up

LONDON: King Charles III heads to the United States on Monday with transatlantic tensions over the Iran war and the Epstein scandal’s long shadow threatening to intrude on the landmark visit. Both Buckingham Palace and the British government have said the four-day trip would honour the historic relationship between the two countries as the US marks 250 years of independence. Charles’s first US state visit as monarch comes at the request of the UK government and President Donald Trump, and will be made with Queen Camilla, according to the palace. However, as the American leader’s war with Iran drives a rare wedge between London and Washington, it has generated considerable controversy. Trump has repeatedly lambasted British Prime Minister Keir Starmer over his war opposition, alongside his o Trip comes amid Iran tensions and Epstein scandal

euthanasia would give individuals with an incurable illness dignity and choice at the end of their lives. Under the proposed legislation, any patient’s wish to die would have to be signed off by two doctors and a panel of experts. They would have to be able to administer the life-ending substance themselves. Opponents of the Bill in the upper house include paralympian Tanni Grey-Thompson. She has said she is not opposed to the principle of assisted dying but is against the Bill in its current form due to worries about the vulnerabilities of disabled people and possible coercion. – AFP late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein threatens to encroach on the highly choreographed tour. Charles has faced a major crisis over the friendship his brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, previously known as prince Andrew, had with the late billionaire, who died in prison in 2019. The longstanding controversy intensified after Andrew was arrested in mid-February following new revelations over their links. The King, who stripped his disgraced brother of his titles in October, said “the law must take its course” in a rare personally signed statement. Andrew, who remains under police investigation, has not been charged and has denied any wrongdoing. Several US lawmakers have unsuccessfully urged the ex-prince to testify before Congress about Epstein. Democrat Ro Khanna wrote to Charles in March requesting the king meet victims privately, while the family of late Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre made a similar demand. Palace sources have told UK media a meeting “will not be possible”, arguing it could “impact on (police) inquiries, or the proper course of the law”. Khanna told The Times this month that declining would make Charles look “out of touch” and “diminishes the credibility of the monarchy for future generations”. However, he added that acknowledging the survivors and their struggle for justice in his Congress address “would go a long way”. The visit, which would see the royals have tea with Trump and First Lady Melania and attend a state dinner, appears meticulously planned to avoid unscripted moments. Only photographers will capture Tuesday’s Oval Office meeting between Trump and Charles, limiting chances for the King to be blindsided by the unpredictable US leader and reporters. Charles and Camilla will visit New York on Wednesday, touring the 9/11 memorial, before departing Thursday for Bermuda for his first visit to a British overseas territory as monarch. – AFP

Prescott that the independence anniversary provided a useful “get out” for the British side to argue the trip is “not about Keir Starmer and Donald Trump, per se”. However, he acknowledged it was “that little bit closer to politics” than usual and Charles would likely address the “very big elephant in the room” in a coded way in his speech on Tuesday to the US Congress. The first British monarch to address Congress since his mother, the late queen Elizabeth II, in 1991, he will mark the two countries’ shared history and deep ties, the palace has said. “He might refer to how the special relationship has perhaps waxed and waned over time,” Prescott predicted, arguing Charles has proven to be a “better speaker” than his mother. Graham Smith, of the anti monarchy campaign group Republic, argued the king would “go through the rituals without offering anything of substance”. The only critical thing “about this pointless trip is how Trump behaves,” he said on social media platform X. Meanwhile, the scandal around added

government’s immigration and energy policies. “This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with,” Trump said in March, adding the so-called special relationship was “not like it used to be”. The American leader has also mocked the perceived state of Britain’s armed forces, of which the King is commander-in-chief. In turn, Starmer has stepped up his public criticism of the war, while emphasising the breadth and depth of UK-US ties in defending the state visit. “Often what the monarchy is able to do, through the bonds that they build, is reach through the decades in a situation such as this,” Starmer told MPs when asked why the trip was going ahead. Trump, a vocal admirer of the royals whose mother was Scottish, told the BBC on Thursday the visit could “absolutely” help repair relations, praising the king as “fantastic”. Charles, 77, showcased his diplomatic skills during Trump’s state visit to Britain last September, with Royal Holloway University of London monarchy expert Craig Prescott saying the King is “generally very good” at navigating such occasions.

ADORABLE ANIMAL ... Asian elephant calf Linh Mai, born on Feb 2, waits to be bottle-fed during her public debut at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C. – REUTERSPIC

Bill for legally-assisted dying in England, Wales set to fail LONDON: A contentious Bill to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales was set to fail yesterday after running out of parliamentary time, having been stuck in the UK’s unelected upper house. the law, Britain would emulate several other countries in Europe and elsewhere that allow some form of assisted dying, including Belgium and the Netherlands. Kim Leadbeater, the MP who introduced the draft Bill in 2024, vowed to try again at the next session. She insisted she would “keep pushing for a safer, more compassionate law until parliament reaches a final decision”. furious that we are here again when we should be celebrating a vote,” she told the PA news agency. Critics including the Christian Medical Fellowship, which

represents medical professionals opposed to assisted dying, said they were “relieved” that a Bill they regarded as flawed would not become law. The Bill’s failure to progress highlighted “a difficult but important truth: it is not possible to construct an assisted suicide service that is safe, equitable and resistant to placing unacceptable pressure on the most vulnerable”, a spokesperson said in statement to AFP. Supporters say legalised

Both chambers of parliament must approve the legislation for it to become law, and Bills that are still in progress when a session ends usually fail. Supporters of the Bill claim opponents in the Lords deliberately blocked the law by introducing over 1,000 amendments. More than 200 peers signed a letter on Thursday saying the Bill “will fall as a result of deliberate delaying tactics pursued by a minority of peers opposed to its passage”.

In a historic vote last June, the lower House of Commons backed legalising euthanasia for adults who have been given less than six months to live and could clearly express a wish to die. However, more than 1,200 amendments to the Bill have been introduced in the second chamber, the House of Lords, meaning it will not pass before the end of the current parliamentary session. Under the proposed change in

“This delay, this lack of a vote, this lack of choice has a real human cost,” said campaigner Rebecca Wilcox outside parliament on Wednesday. Wilcox is the daughter of popular British broadcaster Esther Rantzen, who is terminally ill and has spearheaded the campaign for a law change. “I can’t help feeling unbelievably