Month: September 2022

A passenger train and freight train collided Friday night in central Croatia, killing at least three people and injuring another 11 or more, authorities said.

The collision happened around 9:30 p.m. near the town of Novska, which is close to Croatia’s border with Bosnia, police said in a statement.

“The impact was huge,” said Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, who rushed to the scene with other government officials.

Plenkovic confirmed that so far the bodies of three people were found at the site of the accident, but he said more victims could still be found.

The injured have been hospitalized, some with serious injuries but none in life-threatening condition, he added.

“It’s nighttime, there is no light, we don’t know at the moment if there are more victims,” said Plenkovic.

The cause of the collision was not immediately clear.

The passenger train was a local line carrying 13 people, while only the engine driver was in the freight train, said Plenkovic. He said foreign citizens were among the injured.

Officials said both trains were pushed off the rails after the collision. An investigation has been launched to determine what caused the collision.
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Ukraine announced major advancements in a strategic military counteroffensive against Russian forces, retaking a vital city and causing thousands of Russian soldiers to retreat from territory in northeastern Ukraine that they had held since the start of the war in late February. 

Ukrainian forces reported Saturday that they had gained control of Izyum and pushed Russian soldiers across the Oskil River. Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed it had pulled its forces out of Izyum, claiming the move was planned.   

Reports of the claims could not be independently verified. Western military analysts say if the advances are confirmed, it would put the Ukrainians in control of a main railway that Moscow uses to supply thousands of troops in eastern Ukraine. 

In other developments, a pro-Russia separatist leader was quoted as saying there also was fierce fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces in the Donetsk region. 

Denis Pushilin said the situation in the town of Lyman was “very difficult” and there was fighting in “a number of other localities,” particularly in the northern part of the region. 

Military analysts say Russia is believed to be sending reinforcements to the area, where it plans to launch new attacks against Ukrainian controlled sections of Donetsk. 

Moscow regrouping

Meanwhile, Moscow announced it was regrouping its forces in the eastern Kharkiv region of Ukraine. 

“To achieve the goals of the special military operation to liberate Donbas, a decision was made to regroup Russian troops stationed in the Balakliya and Izyum regions, to bolster efforts along the Donetsk front,” Russia’s defense ministry said in a statement. 

The regrouping of Russian soldiers comes as residents in parts of the Kharkiv region had been advised to evacuate to Russia, according to the state-run news agency Tass. The area’s Russian-installed administrator, Vitaly Ganchev, reportedly said doing so would “save lives.” 

Lightning-fast advances

The Ukrainian breakthrough near Kharkiv was the fastest advance reported by either side for months, and it is one of the biggest gains in the war since Russian forces abandoned a disastrous assault on the capital, Kyiv, in March.  

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the country’s armed forces have liberated about 2,000 square kilometers of territory since a counter-offensive against Russia started earlier this month. 

On the diplomatic front, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock made a surprise visit to Kyiv on Saturday pledging Berlin’s unwavering support for Ukraine.   

“I have traveled to Kyiv to show that they can continue to rely on us. That we will continue to stand by Ukraine for as long as necessary with deliveries of weapons, and with humanitarian and financial support,” Baerbock said in a statement.  

Over the last weeks, Germany has sent howitzers, rocket launchers and anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine. Heavier weapons like anti-aircraft systems, rocket launchers mounted on pickup trucks and anti-drone equipment are also expected in a further military aid package worth more than $500 million. 

 

Nuclear fears   

Meanwhile, shelling destroyed the power infrastructure at the Ukrainian city of Enerhodar where staff operating the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant live, posing a growing threat to the plant, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said Friday.  

The plant’s off-site power supplies, vital lines of defense against a potential nuclear meltdown, have been cut. And the shelling at Enerhodar has caused a lasting blackout there.  

That has prompted Ukraine to say it may have to shut down the last operating reactor supplying power to Zaporizhzhia, including the cooling systems for the plant’s nuclear fuel.  

Zaporizhzhia’s operator is not confident off-site power can be restored and that is prompting it to consider shutting down the last operating reactor, International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said in a statement.   

“The entire power plant would then be fully reliant on emergency diesel generators for ensuring vital nuclear safety and security functions. And as a consequence, the operator would not be able to restart the reactors unless off-site power was reliably reestablished,” he noted.   

Grossi this week called for the creation of a “nuclear safety and security protection zone” around Zaporizhzhia, repeating his call Friday.  

Military aid 

The United States said Thursday it plans to send $2.2 billion in long-term military aid to Ukraine and 18 other European countries threatened by Russian aggression, and another $675 million directly to the Kyiv government in a new munitions package to fight Moscow’s invasion. 

European Union finance ministers Friday backed a $5 billion loan for Ukraine to help it keep schools, hospitals and other state operations running as it fights against Russia’s invasion, the Czech Finance Ministry said. 

The loan, to be backed by guarantees of EU member states, is part of an overall $9 billion package announced in May. The first $1 billion was sent in early August.   

Some information in this report came from Reuters, Agence France-Presse and The Associated Press. 
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Albania has suffered a renewed cyberattack, the country’s interior ministry said Saturday, blaming Iran which Tirana also accused of an earlier assault on its digital systems.

“The national police’s computer systems were hit Friday by a cyberattack which, according to initial information, was committed by the same actors who in July attacked the country’s public and government service systems,” the ministry said in a statement.

“In order to neutralize the criminal act and secure the systems,” the authorities have shut down computer control systems at seaports, airports and border posts, the statement said.  

In a tweet, Prime Minister Edi Rama denounced “another cyberattack (committed by) the same aggressors already condemned by Albania’s friendly countries and allies.”

Albania blamed Iran for the July attack and Wednesday cut diplomatic ties over the affair.

The two countries have been bitter foes for years, since the Balkan state began hosting members of the opposition People’s Mujahedeen of Iran, or Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK), on its soil.

Rama on Wednesday accused Iran of directing a cyberattack against Albanian institutions July 15 in a bid to “paralyze public services and hack data and electronic communications from the government systems.”

It was the first time Tirana spoke about the alleged attack.

“The Council of Ministers has decided on the severance of diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran with immediate effect,” said Rama.

“The said attack failed its purpose. Damages may be considered minimal compared to the goals of the aggressor. All systems came back fully operational and there was no irreversible wiping of data.”

The prime minister went on to say that Iranian diplomats and embassy staff had 24 hours to leave the country.

Iranian denials

Iran rejected the accusation it was behind the cyberattack as “baseless” and called Albania’s decision to sever diplomatic ties “an ill-considered and shortsighted action.”

“Iran as one of the target countries of cyberattacks on its critical infrastructure rejects and condemns any use of cyberspace as a tool to attack the critical infrastructure of other countries,” its foreign ministry said.

The U.S. announced sanctions Friday on Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security and its minister Esmail Khatib over Tehran’s alleged involvement.

The Islamic republic has also been targeted by cyberattacks, most notably in 2010 when the Stuxnet virus — believed to have been engineered by Israel and the U.S. — infected its nuclear program.

 
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Turkey and Greece, both NATO members, have been at loggerheads for decades over territorial and airspace claims in and over the Aegean Sea. As the historic rivals escalate their war of words, analysts warn about the risk of current tension spilling into NATO business at a time when there is a need to focus on unity against Russia amid its invasion of Ukraine. 

The latest spat began when Turkey accused its neighbor of locking onto Turkish fighter jets with its Russian-made S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems deployed on the island of Crete. Ankara also said Greek pilots placed Turkish aircraft under a radar lock over the Eastern Mediterranean during a NATO mission last month. 

Athens dismissed Turkish claims and accused the country of violating its airspace.

As both countries lodged complaints with NATO about the incidents, the deletion of a tweet by NATO Allied Land Command (LANDCOM) congratulating Turkey on its Victory Day, following a demarche by Greece, caused fury in Ankara. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan doubled down when he spoke earlier this week at Teknofest, an event dubbed as Turkey’s biggest aviation and aerospace festival. 

“Look at history. If you cross the line any further, there will be a heavy price to pay. Don’t forget Izmir,” he said, alluding to a defeat of occupying Greek forces in the western city in 1922. 

He echoed those words earlier this week, warning “Turkey could come all of a sudden one night.”

His remarks were perceived by Greek officials as threats, suggesting Turkey could take military action against the Aegean Sea islands. Athens says it is ready to defend its sovereignty. 

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias asked NATO, European Union partners and the United Nations to formally condemn what he described as “outrageous and increasingly aggressive talk by Turkish officials” in letters addressed to three international bodies, copies of which were seen by The Associated Press.

In a statement sent to VOA, a State Department representative called on the two allies to resolve their differences diplomatically.

Pointing to the Russian invasion in Ukraine, Washington said statements that could raise tensions between NATO allies are “particularly unhelpful,” adding “Greece’s sovereignty over the islands is not in question.” 

The Pentagon did not comment on Turkish claims that Greece locked its S-300 surface-to-air missiles onto Turkey’s jets last week but said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin emphasized the need to reduce tensions in the Aegean through constructive dialogue during his previous talks with Turkish and Greek counterparts.

Possibility of war  

 

Deep-rooted friction brought Turkey and Greece almost to the point of war three times in the last 50 years.

Analysts speaking to VOA say they don’t see a resolution any time soon, noting the troubled history of bilateral relations and the “tight politics” in the two nations’ capitals. 

“It will take a mediator who has the skill and some leverage to be able to come up with something that these two nations can agree with. But I don’t see that on the horizon,” said Jim Townsend, former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense on European and NATO policy. Townsend is currently an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security Transatlantic Security Program. 

Philip Breedlove, a retired U.S. Air Force general who served as NATO supreme allied commander from 2013 to 2016, said the long-standing problems between Turkey and Greece rise and fall over time. 

“The leadership in Turkey is pushing the country in certain directions that have caused these tensions to rise once again as they have over the years,” the former top NATO commander said in a phone interview with VOA on Wednesday.   

 

Breedlove, who is now a senior fellow with the Middle East Institute, said NATO and the United States have managed similar tensions in the past and the alliance is still up to the task. 

Concerns about disrupting NATO unity 

The recent spat between Turkey and Greece takes place as NATO is focusing on displaying a united front against Russia in the face of its invasion in Ukraine.  

 

Experts are worried that if the tension escalates to the point of hostilities, Russian President Vladimir Putin can take advantage.  

 

“Whatever little cracks can appear in European unity, Putin can make them even larger and in fact split the rock. So, it not only undercuts European unity but also can spill over into NATO councils if one or the other country uses NATO as a weapon to hurt the other,” Townsend said.  

 

He warned that those cracks can be exploited by Moscow as winter approaches; Russia has already cut back on its gas exports to Europe. 

Election dynamics 

Turkey and Greece will both head to the polls for crucial elections next year. 

Turkish President Erdogan is said to be facing a major challenge to his 20-year rule amid the country’s economic woes and immigration problems. 

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, elected in 2019, reportedly suffered a popularity loss to some degree because of rising energy prices partly driven by the war in Ukraine. 

“Rhetoric on both sides has always been part of the problem and it’s something that doesn’t help things,” said Townsend. 

Breedlove agrees. He believes some of this is “playing to an internal audience.”

Balancing act 

The United States is known to have maintained a balance between regional rivals Turkey and Greece, which it says are both important NATO allies. 

Athens and Washington extended a bilateral military agreement for five years and the deal was ratified by the Greek parliament in the summer, days before the Greek prime minister’s visit to Washington in mid-May. The deal gives the U.S. more military access to bases in Greece.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley met with his Greek counterpart, Konstantinos Floros, at the Pentagon in July. “The military leaders discussed mutual items of interest,” said a statement from his office.

That visit was followed by Greek Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos’ visit to the Pentagon July 18 to meet with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. The two discussed the “growing defense partnership between the United States and Greece and the close cooperation on basing, [and] defense modernization,” according to a statement from the Pentagon.

They also discussed “the need to reduce tensions in the Aegean through constructive dialogue.” 

Austin spoke with his Turkish counterpart, Hulusi Akar, July 25, discussing “the need for continued efforts to reduce tensions in the Aegean through constructive dialogue.”

Turkish and Greek defense requests

Greece is seeking to acquire F-35 fighter jets from the United States. The country formally requested the fighter jets in June.  

Turkey was kicked out of the F-35 program because of its purchase of an advanced S-400 missile system from Russia. Ankara wants to buy F-16s and modernization kits from Washington. U.S. weapons sales to foreign countries are subject to congressional approval.

Analysts argue that Turkey’s decision to buy the Russian S-400 system was a huge blow to defense cooperation between Washington and Ankara, which they say has traditionally been very strong. 

Townsend, who spent 30 years at the Pentagon working on Turkey issues, tells VOA that he “mourns the loss of [the] close working relationship with Turkey,” hoping it can be restored again. 

He is hopeful that the United States will be able to provide the F-16s requested by Turkey, saying he thinks the administration — working with Congress — will be able to allow that transfer to happen. 

Retired U.S. Air Force General Breedlove maintains the same hope.

Focusing on ‘common threat’

The former NATO commander argues that Turkey made some security decisions that aligned it more closely with “NATO’s enemy,” in reference to its S-400 purchase from Russia, which was identified as the most significant and direct threat to the allies’ security in NATO’s strategic concept document. 

“The enemy is not Greece versus Turkey and Turkey versus Greece. It is NATO versus Russia. I would want Turkey to have that if they can’t have the F-35. We need to understand who the enemy is,” Breedlove tells VOA. 

He said the United States would want to move forward with Turkey because it is an incredibly important part of the NATO alliance despite recent lows in the relationship, adding he cannot speak to the policy of the current U.S. government. 

But he also acknowledged that “Greece is a little more aligned with where America wants to go in the area,” saying Washington would want to have the same kind of relationship with Turkey.

He calls on the United States and Turkey to focus on how they can bring back the same level of cooperation rather than growing apart.

Erdogan’s criticism of the West’s Russia policy

Meanwhile, Erdogan has recently accused Western nations of provoking Russia, without naming any.

Speaking at a news conference in Serbia, he suggested the “West’s policy on Russia was based on provocations.”

He vowed to continue Turkey’s balancing policy between Russia and Ukraine, adding Russia is not a country that one can underestimate.

“Russia has cut off natural gas now. Prices in Europe have skyrocketed. Everyone now broods on how they will get through this winter,” Erdogan said.

Turkey supplies Ukraine with combat drones, which are used by Kyiv to destroy Russian targets in the conflict.

Ankara also played a role with the United Nations as a mediator to secure the deal that allowed grain exports to resume from the ports in Ukraine. But it has not joined the Western sanctions against Russia.

This story originated in VOA’s Turkish Service. The service’s Dilge Timocin contributed.
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A global search for alternative sources to Russian energy in light of the war in Ukraine has refocused attention on smaller, easier-to-build nuclear power stations, which proponents say could provide a cheaper, more efficient alternative to older model mega-plants.

U.K.-based Rolls-Royce SMR says its small modular reactors, or SMRs, are much cheaper and quicker to get running than standard plants, delivering the kind of energy security that many nations are seeking. France already relies on nuclear power for a majority of its electricity, and Germany kept the option of reactivating two nuclear plants it will shut down at the end of the year as Russia cuts natural gas supplies.

While Rolls-Royce SMR and its competitors have signed deals with countries from Britain to Poland to start building the stations, they are many years away from operating and cannot solve the energy crisis now hitting Europe.

 

Nuclear power also poses risks, including disposing of highly radioactive waste and keeping that technology out of the hands of rogue countries or nefarious groups that may pursue a nuclear weapons program.

Those risks have been accentuated following the shelling around Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, which has raised fears of potential nuclear disaster.

In the wake of the war, however, “the reliance on gas imports and Russian energy sources has focused people’s minds on energy security,” Rolls-Royce SMR spokesman Dan Gould said.  

An SMR’s components can be built in a factory, moved to a site in tractor trailers and assembled there, making the technology more attractive to frugal buyers, he said.

“It’s like building Lego,” Gould said. “Building on a smaller scale reduces risks and makes it a more investible project.”  

SMRs are essentially pressurized water reactors identical to some 400 reactors worldwide. The key advantages are their size — about one-tenth as big as a standard reactor — the ease of construction and the price tag.

The estimated cost of a Rolls-Royce SMR is $2.5 billion to $3.2 billion, with an estimated construction time of 5 1/2 years. That’s two years faster than it took to build a standard nuclear plant between 2016 and 2021, according to International Atomic Energy Agency statistics. Some estimates put the cost of building a 1,100-megawatt nuclear plant at between $6 billion and $9 billion.  

Rolls-Royce aims to build its first stations in the U.K. within 5 1/2 years, Gould said. Similarly, Oklahoma-based NuScale Power signed agreements last year with two Polish companies — copper and silver producer KGHM and energy producer UNIMOT — to explore the possibility of building SMRs to power heavy industry. Poland wants to switch from polluting, coal-powered electricity generation.  

Rolls-Royce SMR said last month that it signed a deal with Dutch development company ULC-Energy to look into setting up SMRs in the Netherlands.  

Another partner is Turkey, where Russia is building the Akkuyu nuclear power plant on the southern coast. Environmentalists say the region is seismically active and could be a target for terrorists.

The introduction of “unproven” nuclear power technology in the form of SMRs doesn’t sit well with environmentalists, who argue that proliferation of small reactors will exacerbate the problem of how to dispose of highly radioactive nuclear waste.

“Unfortunately, Turkey is governed by an incompetent administration that has turned it into a ‘test bed’ for corporations,” said Koray Dogan Urbarli, a spokesman for Turkey’s Green Party.

“It is giving up the sovereignty of a certain region for at least 100 years for Russia to build a nuclear power plant. This incompetence and lobbying power make Turkey an easy target for SMRs,” said Koray, adding that his party eschews technology with an “uncertain future.”

Gould said one Rolls-Royce SMR would generate nuclear waste the size of a “tennis court piled 1-meter high” throughout the plant’s 60-year lifetime. He said initially, waste would be stored on site at the U.K. plants and would eventually be transferred to a long-term disposal site selected by the British government.

M.V. Ramana, professor of public policy and global affairs at the University of British Columbia, cites research suggesting there’s “no demonstrated way” to ensure nuclear waste stored in what authorities consider to be secure sites won’t escape in the future.

The constant heat generated by the waste could alter rock formations where it’s stored and allow water seepage, while future mining activities could compromise a nuclear waste site’s integrity, said Ramana, who specializes in international security and nuclear energy.

Skeptics also raise the risks of possibly exporting such technology in politically tumultuous regions. Gould said Rolls-Royce is “completely compliant” with U.K. and international requirements in exporting its SMR technology “only in territories that are signatories to the necessary international treaties for the peaceful use of nuclear power for energy generation.”

Ramana said, however, there’s no guarantee nations will follow the rules.  

“Any country acquiring nuclear reactors automatically enhances its capacity to make nuclear weapons,” he said, adding that every SMR could produce “around 10 bombs worth of plutonium each year.”  

Rolls-Royce SMR could opt to stop supplying fuel and other services to anyone flouting the rules, but “should any country choose to do so, it can simply tell the International Atomic Energy Agency to stop inspections, as Iran has done, for example,” Ramana said.

Although spent fuel normally undergoes chemical reprocessing to generate the kind of plutonium used in nuclear weapons, Ramana said such reprocessing technology is widely known and that a very sophisticated reprocessing plant isn’t required to produce the amount of plutonium needed for weapons.
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Britain’s former prince of Wales will be formally proclaimed king Saturday at St. James’s Palace in London.

Charles automatically became Britain’s king upon the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, on Thursday. He will be known as King Charles III.

Saturday’s procedure at the Accession Council will be the formal proclamation of his sovereignty and it will be the first time the ceremony will be televised.

On Friday, Charles paid tribute to his late mother, calling her “darling Mama” during his first address as head of state.

Charles, who is 73 and the oldest monarch to ascend the throne, said he would serve with “loyalty, respect and love” as his mother had done for more than seven decades until her death Thursday at age 96.

“That promise of lifelong service I renew to you all today,” Charles said Friday in his televised address from Buckingham Palace to a nation in mourning.

He said Elizabeth’s death brought a “sense of loss, beyond measure” and paid tribute to his mother.

“To my darling Mama: As you begin your last great journey to join my dear late Papa, I want simply to say this: thank you. Thank you for your love and devotion to our family and to the family of nations you have served so diligently all these years. May ‘flights of angels sing thee to thy rest,’” Charles said.

The new king said he would follow the example of his mother.

“As the queen herself did with such unswerving devotion, I too now solemnly pledge myself, throughout the remaining time God grants me, to uphold the constitutional principles at the heart of our nation,” he said.

Charles was greeted by well-wishers as he arrived at the palace Friday alongside Camilla, the queen consort, from Balmoral Castle in Scotland where Elizabeth died.

The king also held his first audience Friday with Prime Minister Liz Truss at Buckingham Palace, in only her third day in the job.

Elizabeth appointed Truss to her new position as prime minister Tuesday.

Parliament held a special midday session Friday to pay its respects to the queen, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch.

“She was the rock on which modern Britain was built,” Truss told lawmakers.

Around 2,000 people attended a service of remembrance for the queen at St. Paul’s Cathedral on Friday, including Truss and other government officials.

Elizabeth’s funeral will be held in the coming days at London’s Westminster Abbey, and that day will be designated as a National Day of Mourning, a public holiday.

Growing mountains of flowers and tributes to the queen are gathering not only at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle, but also at British embassies and cathedrals around the world.

Some information in this report came from Reuters and The Associated Press.
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From the national anthem to banknotes and coins, stamps and passports, many aspects of daily life in the U.K. will change with the accession of Charles III to the throne. 

Currency and stamps 

The face of the new King Charles III will begin to appear on coins and banknotes in the U.K. and other countries around the world, replacing the profile of Queen Elizabeth II.

His effigy will also appear on several other currencies used in the Eastern Caribbean, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Ditto in the Channel Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, on the Isle of Man as well as in Gibraltar, Saint Helena and in the Falklands, islands and territories controlled by the British crown.

In 1936, during the reign of King Edward VIII, which lasted 326 days, coins had been minted, but the monarch abdicated before they came into circulation.

The face of Elizabeth II also appears on the stamps, while the letters EIIR, for Elizabeth II Regina, are affixed to the post boxes, so this will need to be changed. The insignia on police helmets will also change.

Anthem and passports 

The British national anthem will become “God Save the King,” with a masculinized version of the lyrics.

A habit that will undoubtedly be difficult for the British, who have been singing “God Save the Queen” since 1952. It is also one of the two national anthems of New Zealand and the royal anthem in Australia and Canada— which have their own national anthems.  

Wording on the inside cover of U.K. passports, issued in the name of the crown, will need to be updated, as will similar text that appears inside Australian, Canadian and New Zealand passports.

When you raise your glass during official meetings, you should no longer say “the queen” but “the king.” In the Channel Islands, the unofficial formula “La reine, notre duc” pronounced in French when toasting will become “Le roi, notre duc.”

Politics and rights 

The names of Her Majesty’s Government (“Her Majesty”), Treasury and Customs will change to “His Majesty.”

It will be the speech of the king (“the king’s speech”) and not that of the queen that will present to the parliament the program of the government, opening the parliamentary session.

The Queen’s Guard, immortalized by tourists in front of Buckingham Palace, will also change its name.

The police will no longer preserve the peace of the queen but that of the king and the experienced lawyers will pass from the status of QC (“queen’s counsel”) to that of KC (“king’s counsel”).

Prisoners will no longer be held at the pleasure of “her majesty,” but will continue their terms of imprisonment at the pleasure of “his majesty,” the king.

In the army, new recruits will no longer take “the queen’s shilling,” when enlisting, as the formula indicates. Nor will they have to submit to the queen’s regulations.

The name of “Her Majesty’s Theatre” in London’s West End theater district, where The Phantom of the Opera has been performed since 1986, will also be masculinized.

And those who aspire to speak “the queen’s English” will now have to strive to speak like Charles III: “the king’s English.”  
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Britain’s King Charles III has addressed the nation and the Commonwealth — a day after ascending to the throne upon the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, on Thursday. As Henry Ridgwell reports from London, Charles must lead a nation that shares his sense of loss and sadness.
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