Prince Charles misses hugging his family amid virus lockdown

LONDON» Prince Charles says he has missed giving his family members a hug during the long weeks of lockdown due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Prince of Wales also acknowledged in a interview with Sky News on Thursday that he had not seen his father, the Duke of Edinburgh for many weeks. Prince Philip, who is shielding at Windsor Castle with Queen Elizabeth II, is set to celebrate his 99th birthday next week.

Speaking virtually from his Scottish home of Birkhall, Charles — the heir to the throne — was asked about being apart from his family.

“Well, it’s terribly sad, let alone one’s friends,’’ he said. “But fortunately, at least you can speak to them on telephones and occasionally do this sort of thing. “But it isn’t the same is it? You really want to give people a hug.”

Chinese dissident Xu Zhiyong to be honored by PEN America

NEW YORK» Xu Zhiyong, a prominent Chinese activist and legal scholar detained by the government since earlier this year, is being honored by PEN America.

The literary and human rights organization announced Thursday that Xu is this year’s winner of the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award, which recognizes those imprisoned for free expression and previously has been given to dissidents everywhere from Cuba to Turkey.

Xu’s award comes on the 31st anniversary of the so-called Tiananmen Square Massacre, when Chinese soldiers shot and killed pro-democracy demonstrators.

The 47-year-old Xu has strongly criticized Chinese leader Xi Jinping for his handling of the coronavirus outbreak. Xu had been in hiding since last December, but continued to attack Xi on social media, accusing him of covering up information about the virus and calling him unfit for his job.