World

The heir and the spare: Prince Harry’s memoir hits shelves

Published

4 weeks ago

January 9, 2023

In one of the most anticipated memoirs of 2023, Prince Harry’s picture from inside the Royal Family has hit shelves

Prince Harry’s 416-page memoir offers a string of sensational claims and accusations including details surrounding his mother’s death; and his father’s marriage to Queen Consort, Camilla; and his own struggles with mental health.

In his book, ‘Spare‘, the 38-year-old prince writes about physical conflict with his brother, William, Prince of Wales.

In an interview with CBS’ 60 Minutes, Harry said “it wasn’t pleasant at all. And he [William] snapped. And he pushed me to the floor.”

He told journalist Anderson Cooper the altercation was centred around “certain things”, which his brother was told “by people within his office”.

“And at the same time, he was consuming a lot of the tabloid press, a lot of the stories. And he had a few issues, which were based not on reality. And I was defending my wife. And he was coming for my wife.”
PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX

Prince Harry’s wife, Meghan Markle was not there at the time. But he reportedly sustained a cut to his back. “He apologised afterwards. It was a pretty nasty experience,” he said.

The death of his mother, Princess Diana

Prince Harry recalls the death of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales. Aged 12, he writes how his father did not hug him when Diana passed away.

He told CBS, he felt guilty at his mother’s funeral. “The people that we were meeting were showing more emotion than we were showing,” he said.

As part of Prince Harry’s bid to receive closure for his mother’s death, he sought to replicate the same journey made on the night of Diana’s death.

However, he writes about how it left him with more questions rather than answers.

Harry and William did not want their father to marry Camilla

Harry and William did not want their father to marry Camilla. “We thought it was going to cause more harm than good,” he said.

“If you are led to believe as a member of the family that being on the front page is going to improve your reputation then that’s what you’re going to do.”
PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX

The book also reveals Harry and William held seperate meetings with Camilla before she formally became part of the family.

Turning to drugs and alcohol

Harry admitted to using cocaine on several occasions. He writes “it wasn’t much fun and it did not make me feel especially happy as it seemed to do to everyone else, but it did make me feel different, and that was my main objective.”

He also shed some light on his time at Eton College, where he smoked cannabis in a bathroom while his bodyguards were outside.

When he was 17, Harry shares the story of how he lost his virginity to an older woman in a field.

Killing Taliban fighters in Afghanistan

Upon his posting to Afghanistan, he said he found his calling.

He described the deaths of 25 Taliban fighters as “chess pieces removed from the board”.

“It wasn’t a statistic that filled me with pride but nor did it leave me ashamed.”
PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX

He served as a helicopter pilot in Afghanistan during 2012–13, where he took part in six missions.

World

U.S. fighters shoot down Chinese spy balloon – now what?

Published

22 hours ago

February 5, 2023

ticker NEWS

U.S. military fighter aircraft shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon as it floated off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday, drawing to a close a dramatic saga that shone a spotlight on worsening Sino-U.S. relations.

U.S. fighter aircraft, acting on an order from President Biden, shot down the balloon off the South Carolina coast on Saturday. https://t.co/huIfhz0SVo pic.twitter.com/lEmNK4X0it

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) February 4, 2023

“We successfully took it down, and I want to compliment our aviators who did it,” President Joe Biden said.

Biden said he had issued an order on Wednesday to take down the balloon, but the Pentagon had recommended waiting until it could be done over open water to safeguard civilians from debris crashing down to Earth from thousands of feet (meters) above commercial air traffic.

China has mounted “the largest intelligence operation in the history of the human race” against the US and Australia, a former top US intelligence official has warned, as the US military shot down a Chinese spy balloon as it neared the Atlantic coast above the Carolinas.

Multiple fighter and refueling aircraft were involved in the mission, but only one — an F-22 fighter jet from Langley Air Force Base in Virginia — took the shot at 2:39 p.m. (1939 GMT), using a single AIM-9X supersonic, heat-seeking, air-to-air missile, a senior U.S. military official said.

The balloon was shot down about six nautical miles off the U.S. coast, over relatively shallow water, potentially aiding efforts to recover key elements of the Chinese surveillance equipment among the debris in the coming days, officials said.

World

Russia throws more troops at Ukraine front line

Published

22 hours ago

February 5, 2023

ticker NEWS

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says the situation on the front lines in the east of the country is getting tougher and Russia was throwing more and more troops into battle.

Russian forces are slowly gaining ground in the Donbas region, encircling the city of Bakhmut north of Donetsk and battling to take control of a nearby road which is a major supply route for Ukrainian forces. They are also trying to capture Vuhledar, southwest of Donetsk.

“I’ve often had to say the situation at the front is tough, and is getting tougher, and it’s that time again. … The invader is putting more and more of his forces into breaking down our defences,” Zelenskiy said in a video address.

“It is very difficult now in Bakhmut, Vuhledar, Lyman and other directions,” he continued.

Earlier in the day, Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar wrote on Telegram that Russian efforts to break the defences in Bakhmut and Lyman had failed.

World

Balloon diplomacy blows China off course

Published

2 days ago

February 4, 2023

ticker NEWS

China claims an “airship” that is flying over the United States is for civilian meteorological and other scientific purposes and voiced regret that it strayed into U.S. airspace.

U.S. officials said on Thursday that a Chinese spy balloon has been flying over the United States for a couple of days, in what would be a brazen act just days ahead of a planned trip to Beijing by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

In a statement late on Friday, China’s foreign ministry also said that it would continue to maintain communications with the United States to properly handle the unexpected situation.

“The airship is from China and is civilian in nature, used for meteorological and other scientific research. Due to the influence of westerly winds and its limited control capability, the airship deviated from its intended course,” it said.

“China regrets that the airship strayed into the United States by mistake due to force majeure. China will continue to maintain communication with the U.S. side to properly handle this accident,” it said.