War in Afghanistan

Feb. 10 (UPI) — Buckingham Palace said the royal household stood ready to fully cooperate with police weighing an investigation into links between the former Prince Andrew, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, and the late Jeffrey Epstein.

“The King has made clear, in words and through unprecedented actions, his profound concern at allegations which continue to come to light in respect of Mr Mountbatten-Windsor’s conduct,” a spokesman for the palace said late Monday.

“While the specific claims in question are for Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor to address, if we are approached by Thames Valley Police we stand ready to support them as you would expect,” he said.

King Charles’ intervention came hours after Thames Valley Police said it was determining whether to act on a complaint by Republic, a group that campaigns for the abolition of the monarchy, accusing Andrew of misconduct in public office and breach of official secrets laws while he was serving as Britain’s trade envoy in 2010.

Republic lodged the complaint on Monday after emails from the latest tranche of Epstein files to be released appeared to show Andrew forwarding Epstein official reports possibly containing commercially privileged information from an October 2010 trip to Singapore, Hong Kong and Vietnam, including confidential information about investment opportunities.

Andrew emailed the reports to Epstein less than five minutes after receiving them himself from his assistant on Nov. 30 with the subject line “South East Asia Visit Reports,” U.S. Department of Justice files obtained by the BBC show.

“We can confirm receipt of this report and are assessing the information in line with our established procedures,” said a Thames Valley police department spokesman.

The alleged incident was just before Andrew has claimed he broke off his relationship with Epstein in early December 2010 but the emails appear to indicate this was not the case as he forwarded Epstein another confidential email on Dec. 24 detailing business opportunities in the rebuilding of Afghanistan‘s war-torn Helmand Province, the region for which Britain was responsible during the war.

The terms under which trade envoys are appointed state that the envoy must not share sensitive, commercial, or political information they are party to with unauthorized persons, that they are bound by the Official Secrets Act and have a duty to keep sensitive documents secure.

“The role of a Trade Envoy carries with it a duty of confidentiality in relation to information received. This may include sensitive, commercial, or political information shared about relevant markets/visits. This duty of confidentiality will continue to apply after the expiry of their term of office. In addition, the Official Secrets Acts 1911 and 1989 will apply,” the document states.

“Trade Envoys are responsible for the protection of any documents they have been provided which might contain sensitive data and ensuring that they are carried, stored, and disposed of in an appropriate manner,” it adds.

Andrew has long denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein, including allegations made by the late Virginia Giuffre, but has remained silent over the most recent slew of allegations.

in 2022, he settled a lawsuit alleging sexual assault brought by Guiffre out of court with an undisclosed payment believed to run to eight figures.

Earlier Monday, Prince William and Princess Catherine broke their silence on the scandal, issuing a statement expressing “deep concern” over the latest revelations being unearthed from the Epstein files.

However, the statement stressed that they “focused on the victims” and made no mention of Andrew, who is William’s uncle.

The King has been heckled by members of the public about his brother twice in recent days as he goes about his official duties, most recently on a trip to Lancashire on Monday.

Feb. 7 (UPI) — Investigators arrested four suspects, including the alleged mastermind, in Friday’s mosque bombing that killed 31 and injured 169 in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Among the suspects is an Afghan national thought to be the bombing’s mastermind, Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told media.

The four suspects killed a counterterrorism officer and wounded three others during raids on their respective locations, Naqvi said.

The bombing happened during Friday prayers at a Shiite mosque in the Tarlai area of Islamabad, and the Islamic State claimed responsibility.

A suicide bomber entered the mosque and detonated an explosives-laden vest while the mosque was full of worshipers, The New York Times reported.

Pakistani officials on Friday said the suicide bomber was not from Afghanistan but had traveled to the country several times.

The attack is the deadliest carried out in Pakistan’s capital city in more than 10 years, and large crowds gathered in Islamabad on Saturday as mourners began preparing for funerals.

Naqvi claimed India funded those who carried out the attack, but India’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the accusation “baseless” and condemned the attack.

Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif on Friday said the Afghan government might have had a role in the bombing.

Officials in Afghanistan said the accusation lacks “credible evidence” and called it “regrettable.”

A November attack in Islamabad killed 12 and injured 27, and Friday’s attack happened after a series of attacks in Balochistan killed 58 during several days of violence.

The separatist Balochistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Pakistani forces killed an estimated 200 BLA militants in retaliatory raids.

Jan. 31 (UPI) — Danish military veterans and others staged a protest march against U.S. President Donald Trump‘s recent comments regarding NATO members and Greenland.

Trump criticized the amount of support the United States received from NATO allies during recent conflicts, and many veterans and others in Denmark took to the streets on Saturday to show their displeasure.

One protester, Danish Lance Cpl. Soren Teigen, said only the president is responsible for the comments.

“I don’t blame American soldiers in any way — we’ve fought side by side, and we still do,” Teigen told The New York Times. “But when the president says something like this, of course it hurts.”

Trump earlier accused NATO allies of shying away from fighting after sending their troops to Afghanistan but allegedly keeping them away from the front lines.

Officials with Danish Veterans & Veteran Support took exception to the president’s comments.

“Denmark has always stood side by side with the USA, and we have shown up in the world’s crisis zones when the USA has asked us to,” the group said in a prepared statement.

“We feel let down and ridiculed by the Trump administration, which is deliberately disregarding Denmark’s combat side by side with the USA,” it added.

Many veterans and other Danes also are unhappy with the president’s efforts to annex or otherwise control Greenland.

Hundreds of Danish military veterans on Saturday quietly marched to outside the U.S. Embassy in Copenhagen, where some placed 44 small Danish flags in planters located nearby.

The flags are to commemorate the 44 Danish military personnel who died in Afghanistan.

U.S. Embassy staff members were unaware of the flags’ meaning and initially removed them, which further upset many Danes.

Upon learning what the flags represented, the embassy staff left alone any that remained or were replaced.