标签： Europe

LONDON, NEW YORK – Three days into their landmark first state visit to the United States as Britain’s reigning monarch and queen consort, King Charles III and Queen Camilla will arrive in New York City on Wednesday, a mid-trip stop that carries deep symbolic and diplomatic weight amid the 250th anniversary of American independence. This occasion marks the first time a sitting British monarch has visited New York since the late Queen Elizabeth II’s 2010 trip, drawing close international attention to the royal couple’s packed schedule of commemorative, charitable and diplomatic activities.

The visit’s New York leg opens with a solemn wreath-laying ceremony at the National September 11 Memorial, timed ahead of the 25th anniversary of the 2001 terror attacks. During the event, the royal couple will meet with first responders who survived the attacks and family members of those killed, with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and other high-ranking local and national dignitaries also in attendance.

Following the memorial service, the royal pair will split for separate, themed engagements tailored to their individual public priorities. Queen Camilla will travel to the New York Public Library, where she will officially donate a new stuffed Roo doll to the institution’s iconic collection of original Winnie-the-Pooh toys. The donation comes as the beloved children’s literary franchise celebrates its centennial this year. The five original plush toys already on display at the library – Winnie-the-Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore and Kanga – once belonged to Christopher Robin Milne, son of Winnie-the-Pooh creator A.A. Milne, and directly inspired the characters that appear in Milne’s classic 1920s children’s books. Donated to the library in 1987, the collection has become one of the most popular centerpieces of its world-famous children’s literature holdings. Roo, the young son of Kanga in the original stories, was the only original character plush that has not survived to the present day.

For his part, King Charles will first tour a community after-school urban farming program that supports young people impacted by food insecurity, aligning with his long-standing focus on sustainability and youth opportunity. He will then hold a meeting with top business and finance leaders in Manhattan, before the couple reunites for a reception hosted by The King’s Trust, the global youth charity Charles founded in 1976 to support vulnerable young people across the Commonwealth and beyond.

This four-day U.S. visit is King Charles’ first state visit to the country since he acceded to the throne following his mother’s death in 2022. The late Queen Elizabeth II completed four full state visits to the United States during her 70-year reign. The trip was scheduled to mark the 250th anniversary of the United States’ declaration of independence from British rule, a milestone that diplomats have framed as an opportunity to celebrate the long-standing close alliance between the two nations.

The royal couple has already completed multiple high-profile events in Washington D.C. earlier this week. On Monday, they joined President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a formal tea at the White House. A day later, King Charles held a closed-door bilateral meeting with President Trump in the Oval Office, before delivering a rare address to a joint session of U.S. Congress – an honor only granted to a handful of foreign heads of state, and the first time a British monarch has addressed Congress since Queen Elizabeth II’s 1991 speech. The day concluded with a formal state dinner hosted by the Trump administration at the White House.

After wrapping up their New York engagements, the royal pair will travel to Virginia for additional stops before returning to the White House on Thursday for a formal farewell ceremony hosted by President Trump. Following the conclusion of his U.S. visit, King Charles will travel alone to Bermuda for his first visit to a British Overseas Territory as reigning monarch.

A presidential pardon granted to a former associate of late Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has erupted into a major political controversy, forcing Italy’s head of state to call for an immediate explanation from the country’s justice department. Nicole Minetti, a former television personality who was convicted over her role in the infamous “bunga bunga” sex parties scandal more than a decade ago, received the clemency from President Sergio Mattarella in February. The pardon, however, has now come under intense scrutiny after an investigative report by Italian outlet Il Fatto Quotidiano exposed potential fraud in the application, throwing the entire process into question and dragging Italy’s highest political office into the unfolding drama.

Minetti’s conviction dates back to 2014, when she was found guilty of both facilitating prostitution for the private parties held at Berlusconi’s Milan-area villa and embezzling hundreds of thousands of euros in public funds. She was handed a total sentence of three years and 11 months in prison, which was suspended during her appeal process. Last year, she submitted a formal request for a presidential pardon, arguing that she and her partner needed to care for an adopted child with severe health issues, a claim the newspaper’s investigation has now called into question.

According to Il Fatto Quotidiano’s reporting, Minetti submitted false information to support her humanitarian appeal for clemency. The outlet claims she misrepresented the child’s background, stating he was abandoned at birth when court records confirm his biological parents are still alive, though they live in extreme poverty. The report also notes that while Minetti claimed the child had received preliminary medical evaluations in Italy before traveling to the U.S. for treatment, no official records of these consultations have been found, and irregularities have also been uncovered in the Uruguayan adoption process.

By Tuesday, the controversy had advanced to a formal criminal investigation: Milan prosecutors confirmed they had contacted Interpol as part of their probe into allegations of false declarations tied to the pardon. In Italy, presidential pardons are granted based on formal advice and vetting from the justice ministry and prosecuting authorities, meaning President Mattarella relies entirely on the recommendations of government bodies when approving clemency requests. This institutional structure has now put ruling government officials directly in the political crosshairs.

The timing of the scandal could hardly be worse for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government. Meloni’s administration is already reeling from a major defeat in a recent constitutional referendum on judicial reform, a loss that has cut into the government’s public support and left it scrambling to rebuild momentum. Already facing widespread criticism over the referendum result, the emerging pardon scandal has given new ammunition to opposition parties, who are now demanding the resignation of Justice Minister Carlo Nordio, the top official who signed off on the recommendation for Minetti’s pardon.

Opposition lawmakers have argued that Nordio’s ministry failed in its duty to vet the pardon application, and that the subsequent scandal has damaged the reputation of the Italian presidency. “The justice minister must step down before he causes further harm to the country’s institutions,” opposition leaders have publicly stated. While Minetti has forcefully denied all allegations of wrongdoing, calling the newspaper’s claims “unfounded and seriously damaging to my personal and family reputation” in a statement issued through her lawyer to Italy’s ANSA news agency, the political pressure on the government continues to mount.

The justice ministry’s deputy leader, Francesco Paolo Sisto, has defended the government’s initial handling of the case, pushing back against claims of ministerial negligence. Sisto explained that the decision to launch a new investigation came only after new, unreported evidence of potential misconduct by Minetti emerged. He confirmed that the re-investigation will specifically examine whether the newly uncovered irregularities fundamentally invalidate the original case that was made to support granting the pardon.

Minetti’s connection to Berlusconi stretches back more than 15 years. A qualified dental hygienist as well as a former showgirl, she first treated Berlusconi in 2009 after he was assaulted at a public rally in Milan. The following year, the then-prime minister tapped her to run as a regional councilor in Lombardy for his ruling People of Freedom party. She later became a central figure in the “Ruby Gate” scandal that brought down Berlusconi’s government: in 2010, Berlusconi sent Minetti to a Milan police station to collect 17-year-old Moroccan dancer Karima El Mahroug, also known as Ruby, who had been arrested on theft charges. Berlusconi falsely claimed the teen was the niece of the Egyptian president to secure her release, sparking a years-long legal battle that ultimately ended with a guilty verdict that was later overturned on appeal.

A sharp public diplomatic dispute has erupted between Kyiv and Jerusalem this week after Ukraine accused Israel of allowing the entry of Russian-harvested grain stolen from occupied Ukrainian territories, triggering conflicting official statements and formal protests.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made the allegation public on Tuesday via the social platform X, confirming that at least one cargo vessel carrying the illicitly traded grain had already reached an Israeli port and was preparing to offload its cargo. Zelenskyy emphasized that under international law and standard domestic legal frameworks, trafficking in stolen property carries clear legal consequences, noting that Ukrainian intelligence services have already begun compiling targeted sanctions packages against the companies and individuals facilitating these illegal shipments. The Ukrainian leader added that Kyiv will coordinate closely with its European Union allies to push for the inclusion of these involved parties in existing bloc-wide sanctions regimes against Russian-connected entities.

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry expanded on the accusation, stating that Kyiv had pre-notified Israeli officials about the suspect vessels, and that more than two cargo ships carrying grain stolen from occupied Ukrainian lands have already entered Israeli territory. Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi confirmed that Israeli ambassador Michael Brodsky was formally summoned to receive an official protest note from Kyiv, over what Ukrainian officials describe as a persistent flow of these illegal shipments into the Israeli market.

According to the Ukrainian foreign ministry, Ukrainian investigators have already confirmed the fraudulent origin of the grain, and are well aware of the tactics Russia uses to cover up the theft—including covert ship-to-ship transfers of cargo in the Black Sea to mask the product’s original source. Despite repeated formal requests from Kyiv for Israeli authorities to detain the suspect vessels and their cargo, the illicit shipments continue to reach Israeli ports and enter domestic commercial circulation, the ministry said. Crucially, Ukrainian officials stressed the issue is not an isolated incident, but a systemic pattern of trade that poses a clear risk to bilateral relations between the two countries if it is not resolved immediately.

Israeli officials have pushed back against Ukraine’s claims, offering a conflicting account of the situation. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar told reporters in Jerusalem that the Israeli Tax Authority has launched an investigation into a vessel reportedly bound for Haifa port, but dismissed Zelenskyy’s public statement as unproductive “Twitter diplomacy.” Saar said that Ukraine had failed to provide sufficient supporting evidence for its claims and had not submitted a formal request for legal assistance from Israeli authorities.

Public tracking data from marine tracking portal MarineTraffic.com complicates the conflicting accounts, showing that the vessel in question has already been anchored in the port of Haifa for several days—contradicting Israel’s claim that the ship has not yet entered the port or submitted required entry documentation.

A sharp diplomatic dispute has exploded between Kyiv and Jerusalem after Ukrainian officials accused Israel of allowing shipments of grain stolen by Russia from occupied Ukrainian territories to enter its ports, triggering warnings of damaged bilateral ties and drawing in the European Union over its ties to Moscow’s war effort.

The confrontation began with an initial investigative report from Israeli daily Haaretz, which claimed that four cargo ships carrying grain harvested in Russian-occupied Ukrainian regions had already been unloaded at Israeli ports in 2025. The outlet added that a fifth vessel carrying suspected stolen grain had anchored in Haifa Bay by Sunday morning, waiting for clearance to enter the port.

By Monday night, the clash moved to public social media, when Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha announced on X that his ministry had summoned Israel’s ambassador to Kyiv to protest what he called Israel’s failure to act on previous Ukrainian complaints about a prior stolen grain delivery to Haifa. “Now that another such vessel has arrived in Haifa, we once again warn Israel against accepting the stolen grain and harming our relations,” Sybiha wrote.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar pushed back immediately, rejecting Ukraine’s public, social media-focused approach to the sensitive diplomatic issue. Saar stressed that diplomacy between friendly nations does not occur on public platforms, and emphasized that Israel is a rule-of-law state with independent law enforcement bodies that will review the claims properly. “If you have any evidence of theft, submit it through the appropriate channels,” Saar noted, adding that Kyiv had failed to share formal evidence or file a legal assistance request to back up its allegations. He also clarified that the vessel currently anchored off Haifa has not yet entered port or submitted cargo documentation, meaning Ukrainian claims that the cargo papers were forged cannot yet be verified.

The following morning, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy waded into the dispute, doubling down on Kyiv’s accusations. Zelenskyy argued that the trade of stolen Ukrainian grain “is not – and cannot be – legitimate business,” adding that the practice even violates Israeli domestic law. He noted that Ukrainian authorities had already taken all required diplomatic steps to block these shipments, yet another vessel had still reached Israeli waters. Zelenskyy warned that continued inaction from Israeli authorities would undermine bilateral relations, and confirmed that Ukraine is working alongside European partners to prepare a targeted sanctions package targeting any individuals and entities involved in transporting and profiting from the stolen grain.

Ukraine’s foreign ministry further detailed its claims, stating that a Russian-flagged bulk carrier named the Abinsk was unloaded at an Israeli port in mid-April, and was allowed to depart despite Kyiv’s formal request to Israeli officials to detain the ship and its cargo. The ministry added that Israeli officials also ignored a request to take action against a second vessel, the Panormitis, as it approached Haifa.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the dispute when approached by reporters, and Russia has consistently denied previous accusations that it steals grain from occupied Ukrainian territories.

The European Union has already waded into the row, with foreign affairs spokesperson Anouar El Anouni confirming that the bloc has taken note of the reports of a shadow Russian fleet vessel carrying stolen Ukrainian grain being permitted to unload in Haifa. “We condemn all actions that help fund Russia’s illegal war effort and circumvent EU sanctions, and remain ready to target such actions by listing individuals and entities in third countries if necessary,” El Anouni told the BBC. The EU formally documented in 2024 that it had confirmed evidence of Russia illegally seizing large volumes of grain and other agricultural products from occupied Ukrainian territories, then rebranding the goods as Russian products for export to global markets.