King caught in middle of row as Commonwealth speech focuses on ‘learning lessons’
This set-piece speech was the most important moment of the King’s trip.
It is his first meeting of Commonwealth leaders as head of the Commonwealth.
But although the theme of this year’s meeting in Samoa talks of a “common future”, there are deepening divisions within the Commonwealth.
Reparations for the slave trade remain an issue threatening an existential crisis among the so-called family of nations.
The King said he understood how “the most painful aspects of our past resonate, it is vital we understand our history to guide us to make the right choices in our future”.
And he added: “None of us can change the wrongs of the past but we can commit, with all our hearts, to learning its lessons and to finding creative ways to right inequalities that endure.”
Pic: Reuters
It was a carefully crafted speech, with no direct mentions of “slavery” or “reparations”.
For many Caribbean and African countries, his words won’t have gone far enough.
They are seeking a formal apology from countries involved in slavery.
Eric Phillips, a leading campaigner from Caricom, the body representing Caribbean countries, said: “No reparations, no trade, should be the new motto of countries that seek reparations.”
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He described Sir Kier Starmer’s decision not to back reparations as “cruel” and questioned the future of the Commonwealth.
“I just don’t understand the relevance of the Commonwealth if Prime Minister Starmer takes this cruel approach,” he said.
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King attends traditional ceremony in Samoa
The King is caught in the middle. Buckingham Palace says he sits above politics and cannot comment or apologise without his government’s agreement.
But the royal family were historically one of the biggest traders of enslaved people. Not only that, it was a trade they made huge profits from.
The King has previously spoken of his “personal sorrow” about slavery, and commissioned research to “deepen” his understanding into his family’s historic links to the slave trade.
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What do Samoans think the King’s visit?
But, for many, his acknowledgement and response so far aren’t enough. It is a fractured issue causing continuing tension and trouble within the Commonwealth, both of which threaten its very future.
The King ended optimistically: “Let us learn from the lessons of the past. Let us be proud of who we are today. And, together, let us forge a future of harmony.”
It was a speech that made the most of its moment, but many will say it was a missed opportunity.
World
Brazil implores businesses to attend major climate summit, despite ‘second thoughts’ amid Trump backlash
The Brazilian hosts of the biggest climate meeting of the year have implored businesses to attend in November, amid concerns some are backing away from the climate agenda into the shadow of Donald Trump.
In an interview with Sky News, Ana Toni, chief executive of the COP30 climate summit in November, admitted some companies were having “second thoughts” about the global switch to green economies because policymakers were creating uncertainty.
The US President Donald Trump has been attacking wind farms and waging tariff wars that could slow the transition to green energy.
Banks including HSBC and Barclays have ditched a net zero alliance set up just four years ago by Mark Carney, now the Canadian Prime Minister.
Ana Toni, Brazil’s climate secretary, is chief executive of the COP30 climate talks. Pic: Reuters
But even before Trump took office, tech companies were quietly dropping climate targets to prioritise energy-hungry AI, and other businesses were “greenhushing” their climate initiatives for fear of backlash.
In this environment, there are fears fewer business leaders will attend the annual talks, which are also being hosted in a city on the edge of the Amazon that hasn’t enough hotel rooms.
On Friday, the COP30 team wrote to business leaders urging them to “step forward, not back” and travel to Belem, despite “logistical challenges” and the “background of systemic uncertainty”.
Ana Toni told Sky News: “We are very concerned that the enabling conditions must be there so that the private sector can also deliver where they do best, which is bringing in technology, bringing innovation and accelerating the process of decarbonisation.”
In August the share price of Danish wind farm developer plummeted after the US halted its Rhode Island wind farm, while the British Tories and Reform parties are also attacking net zero.
Ana Toni met with King Charles and leaders of other COP summits at Clarence House last year. Pic: Reuters
But Ms Toni there is “nothing to panic [about], because we can see that the transition is inevitable,” citing major progress in China, India and Europe and Brazil.
Referring to the US’s withdrawal from the COP process, she said: “198 countries minus one is not zero. And we will put all our efforts of working with the 197 countries that want to go forward and want to protect their population.”
“Climate action is not only [still] cool, it is necessary,” Ms Toni said.
“We all need to face reality. We are going through a huge climate crisis… If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. Companies understand that.”
World
Thai prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra sacked for ethics violation after leaked phone call
Thailand’s prime minister has been sacked after a leaked phone call with a senior Cambodian politician caused outrage.
Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who was Thailand’s youngest PM, has been dismissed from office by the country’s Constitutional Court after only a year in power.
The court found Ms Shinawatra, 39, violated ethics in a leaked June telephone call, during which she appeared to kowtow to Cambodia’s former leader Hun Sen as the bordering countries were on the verge of an armed conflict.
She also criticised a Thai army commander – a taboo move in a country where the military is extremely influential.
Fighting erupted weeks later and lasted five days. At least 35 people were killed and more than 260,000 were displaced.
Ms Shinawatra, who was new to politics when she took office in August last year, apologised over the call and said she was trying to avert a war. She was suspended in July.
Ms Shinawatra arriving at Government House in Bangkok ahead of the verdict on Friday. Pic: Reuters
She is now the fifth Thai PM from, or backed by, the billionaire Shinawatra family to be removed by the military or the judiciary in 17 years, amid a battle for power between the country’s warring elites.
The ruling thrusts Thailand into more political uncertainty at a time of public unease over stalled reforms and a stuttering economy.
Speaking after the court’s decision, the exiting PM said “all sides” in Thai politics now “have to work together to build political stability and to ensure that there won’t be another turning point again”.
The focus will now shift to who will replace Ms Shinawatra.
Her influential, billionaire father, Thaksin Shinawatra, who also once served as Thailand’s PM, is expected to be at the heart of a flurry of bargaining to keep the ruling Pheu Thai party in power.
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The leader of the main opposition People’s Party has called for the next prime minister to dissolve parliament once they are installed.
The deputy PM, Phumtham Wechayachai, and the current cabinet will act as government caretakers until a new leader is elected by parliament. There is no time limit on when that must take place.
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