Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Andrew, Harry and Meghan won’t appear on Jubilee balcony
LONDON — Buckingham Palace on Friday answered one of the biggest remaining questions about Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations: saying that Prince Andrew, Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, won’t be on the palace balcony when the monarch greets the public on June 2.
The balcony appearance is a centerpiece moment of many royal celebrations, with the royal family smiling and waving to fans at home and millions watching around the world. But the buildup to the ceremonies marking Elizabeth’s 70 years on the throne have been dogged by questions about whether Andrew, Harry and Meghan would be in such a public spotlight amid a sex scandal and family tensions.
Only working members of the royal family will join her on the balcony to watch a Royal Air Force fly-past after the traditional military review known as Trooping the Color.
“After careful consideration, the queen has decided this year’s traditional Trooping the Color balcony appearance on Thursday 2nd June will be limited to Her Majesty and those members of the royal family who are currently undertaking official public duties on behalf of the queen,’’ the palace said.
The decision comes amid a debate over Andrew’s status after he reached a settlement with a woman who accused him of sexual exploitation.
Harry and Meghan, also known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, stepped away from frontline royal duties and moved to California in 2020. They are locked in a legal battle with Britain’s Home Office over security arrangements when they travel to the U.K.
The queen’s decision means that she will be accompanied on the balcony by three of her four children and their spouses: Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall; Princess Anne and retired Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence; and Prince Edward and Sophie, the Countess of Wessex.
British elections: Britain’s governing Conservatives suffered local election losses in their few London strongholds, according to results announced Friday that will pile more pressure on Prime Minister Boris Johnson amid ethics scandals and a worsening economic picture.
Voting held Thursday for thousands of seats on more than 200 local councils decided who will oversee garbage collection and the filling of potholes, but was also an important barometer of public opinion ahead of Britain’s next national election, which must be held by 2024.
With results in from most districts in England, Scotland and Wales, the Conservatives had lost more than 350 council seats and lost control of 10 local authorities to either Labor or the Liberal Democrats.
Judge rules for Greene: A judge in Georgia on Friday found that U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene can run for reelection, rejecting arguments from a group of voters who had challenged her eligibility over allegations that she engaged in insurrection. But the decision will ultimately be up to Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
State Administrative Law Judge Charles Beaudrot announced his decision after a daylong hearing in April that included arguments from lawyers for the voters and for Greene, as well as extensive questioning of Greene herself.
State law says Beaudrot must submit his findings to Raffensperger, who has to decide whether Greene should be removed from the ballot.
The challenge to Greene’s eligibility was filed by voters who allege the GOP congresswoman played a significant role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot that disrupted Congress’ certification of Joe Biden’s presidential election victory.
Sri Lanka crisis: Sri Lankan police used tear gas and a water cannon on Friday to disperse student protesters who were camped outside Parliament criticizing lawmakers for not ousting President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his government over the country’s worst economic crisis in decades.
The student-led protest began Thursday after a government-backed deputy speaker was elected in Parliament by a comfortable margin in what was seen a key victory for the governing coalition. Separately, protesters have been occupying the entrance to the president’s office in the capital, Colombo, for 28 days demanding Rajapaksa and his powerful ruling family quit.
The Indian Ocean island nation is on the brink of bankruptcy and has suspended payments on its foreign loans.
Sri Lanka was due to pay $7 billion of its foreign debt this year out of nearly $25 billion it must pay by 2026. Its total foreign debt is $51 billion.
Ex-officer sentenced: A former Colorado police officer was sentenced to five years in prison and three years of parole Thursday for assaulting a 73-yearold woman with dementia while arresting her on suspicion of shoplifting around $14 worth of items from a Walmart.
The officer, Austin Hopp, 27, formerly of the Loveland Police Department, pleaded guilty to second-degree assault March 2 in connection with the assault on the woman, Karen Garner, now 75. She sustained a dislocated shoulder and a broken bone when she was thrown to the ground and pinned during the 2020 arrest.
Police body-camera footage released last spring by Sarah Schielke, an attorney for Garner, showed an officer grabbing her on June 26, 2020, and flinging her to the ground.
She had been walking home from a nearby Walmart, where employees had called the police because they said she had walked out without paying for $13.88 worth of items.
Garner, who has dementia and sensory aphasia, which impairs her ability to understand and communicate, forgot to pay for the items, according to her attorney.
In September, Loveland agreed to pay Garner $3 million to settle her lawsuit against the city.
China building collapse: A building collapse one week ago in central China killed 53 people, state media reported Friday as the search of the large pile of debris ended after rescuers found 10 survivors.
Authorities said all the missing had been accounted for as of 3 a.m., state broadcaster CCTV posted online.
The residential and commercial building in the city of Changsha collapsed on April 29. At least nine people have been arrested on suspicion of ignoring building codes or committing other violations.
The arrested include the building owner, three people in charge of design and construction and five others who allegedly gave a false safety assessment for a guest house on the building’s fourth to sixth floors.