标签： Jamaica

LONDON and WASHINGTON — Four years after ascending to the British throne, King Charles III kicks off his first official state visit to the United States on Monday, launching a high-stakes diplomatic journey that unfolds against simmering transatlantic rifts over the Iran war and just 48 hours after a shooting at a gala attended by US President Donald Trump.

The four-day itinerary, planned to celebrate the centuries-long special relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States as America marks its 250th anniversary of independence, brings King Charles and Queen Camilla across three stops across North America. After opening their schedule in Washington D.C., the royal couple will travel to New York City on Wednesday to pay respects at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, before concluding their trip with a visit to Bermuda — Charles’s first trip to a British Overseas Territory as head of state, scheduled for Thursday.

This trip makes history too: Charles will become the first reigning British monarch to address a joint meeting of the US Congress since his mother Queen Elizabeth II spoke to the legislative body in 1991. In addition to the congressional address, the itinerary includes a tea reception and formal state dinner hosted by President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump.

The visit proceeds as planned despite the shooting incident Saturday night at the White House Correspondents’ Association annual gala, the event attended by President Trump. Law enforcement took an alleged lone gunman into custody immediately after the attack, which left one US Secret Service agent wounded. No harm came to President Trump, the first lady or any other attendees.

Buckingham Palace confirmed Sunday that the state visit would not be delayed or canceled, and noted that King Charles expressed profound relief that all senior figures at the gala escaped uninjured. UK Ambassador to the United States Christian Turner told reporters in Washington Sunday evening that after extensive security reviews between British and US authorities, “we are all very confident that all appropriate security measures are in place” to protect the royal party throughout the trip.

While logistics are confirmed, the trip has been mired in controversy from the start, driven by a sharp public rift between the Trump administration and Keir Starmer’s UK Labour government over the ongoing conflict with Iran. President Trump has publicly lambasted Prime Minister Starmer for his opposition to the war, and has also criticized London’s policies on immigration and domestic energy production.

The two leaders spoke by phone on Sunday, where Starmer offered his well-wishes to Trump in the wake of the shooting. Beyond security, their discussion centered on one of the core points of contention: the disruption to global shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. A statement from Starmer’s office noted the pair agreed on “the urgent need to get shipping moving again” amid the severe fallout for the global economy and household cost of living on both sides of the Atlantic.

Though Starmer has stood by his public criticism of the Iran war, he has defended the decision to move forward with the state visit, even as an early April YouGov poll found 48 percent of British respondents support canceling the trip. Responding to questions from members of parliament, Starmer argued that the British monarchy’s unique longstanding cross-border bonds let it navigate diplomatic rifts that divide elected governments. President Trump echoed that optimism, telling the BBC last week that the visit could “absolutely” help repair frayed bilateral ties, and told Fox News Sunday that “he’s a friend of mine for a long time, so he’s coming, and we’re going to have a great time, and he represents his nation like nobody else can do it.”

At 77, King Charles has a long track record of deft diplomatic maneuvering, a skill he displayed when hosting Trump during the US president’s 2024 state visit to the UK last September. Craig Prescott, a monarchy studies expert at Royal Holloway University of London, observed that the king is “generally very good” at navigating tense political moments. Even so, Prescott expects Charles will only address the divisive Iran conflict — the widely acknowledged “elephant in the room” for the trip — through coded language during his congressional address Tuesday.

Another lingering controversy threatens to intrude on the carefully choreographed tour: the ongoing scandal surrounding Prince Andrew, the king’s younger brother, and his longstanding ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The 76-year-old disgraced royal was arrested in mid-February following new unsealed court documents detailing his connections to Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. King Charles stripped Andrew of all his honorary titles and royal patronages back in 2022, and released a rare public statement signed in his own hand after the arrest saying “the law must take its course.” Andrew remains under active investigation, has not been charged with any crime, and has repeatedly denied all allegations of wrongdoing.

To avoid unscripted, off-the-cuff moments that could draw unwanted attention to the scandal or the current bilateral tensions, the entire trip has been planned with extreme precision. For example, only still photographers will be allowed to cover Tuesday’s Oval Office meeting between King Charles and President Trump, with no press question-and-answer session scheduled.

Jamaica’s main opposition political bloc, the People’s National Party (PNP), is pushing for a full parliamentary review of the draft National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA) Bill, calling on ruling legislators to halt all progress on the legislation until a cross-party joint select committee can examine its text thoroughly.

The bill, designed to establish a new government body tasked with overseeing billions of dollars in disaster recovery and infrastructure investment, is already drawing sharp criticism for major gaps in its governance framework. Opposition Senator Cleveland Tomlinson, deputy spokesperson for the party on issues of productivity, government efficiency and national competitiveness, laid out the opposition’s core concerns in a recent address, noting that the NaRRA will be responsible for managing massive public capital flows while streamlining approval processes for private sector investment in recovery projects.

Under the current draft of the legislation, Tomlinson argued, far too much unchecked authority is concentrated in the hands of the cabinet minister charged with overseeing the new agency. He pointed out that the bill fails to include critical foundational governance requirements: it does not mandate the creation of a formal governing board for the authority, makes no provision for an independent audit committee, does not require a dedicated internal auditor to monitor spending, and omits any framework for institutional risk management.

“This cannot be the right way to structure an agency holding this much public responsibility,” Tomlinson stated. “Any authority granted such enormous financial oversight must have basic internal governance structures enshrined in law from its inception. As currently written, this bill is missing the essential pillars of accountability that any public institution must have to operate ethically and effectively.”

While Tomlinson acknowledged the urgent need to speed up reconstruction and recovery work in the wake of Hurricane Melissa, which caused widespread damage across the country, he emphasized that legislative speed cannot come at the cost of proper oversight and transparency. He proposed that the joint select committee be given a tight, limited timeline to complete its review, suggesting a window between 60 and 90 days to balance the need for urgent reform with the need for robust deliberation.

Tomlinson added that the drafting process for the bill has so far excluded meaningful input from groups outside of government, and a cross-party parliamentary review would create space for key stakeholders and members of the wider public to contribute to shaping the final legislation. “A joint select committee is the only way to ensure that the final law balances the urgent need for post-hurricane reconstruction with the non-negotiable requirement of good, accountable governance,” he said.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – In a landmark diplomatic meeting held this week, the Caribbean island nation of Barbados and the South American country of Venezuela have laid the groundwork for a significantly expanded bilateral partnership, reaching consensus on a sweeping slate of collaborative initiatives spanning energy development, trade expansion, economic integration, and cultural exchange.

Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodriguez, who touched down in Bridgetown Sunday evening for the high-level talks, met face-to-face with Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley to hash out the details of the new cooperation framework. Both leaders emerged from the closed-door deliberations praising the productive discussions and shared commitment to deepening ties between their nations.

“April 27 will go down in history as the founding date of modern economic and trade cooperation between Venezuela and Barbados,” Rodriguez told reporters following the talks. She added that negotiations opened new investment opportunities for Barbadian firms in Venezuela’s burgeoning hydrocarbons sector, including invitations for joint exploration and development of the country’s untapped oil and natural gas fields.

Rodriguez emphasized that Barbadian partnership would play a critical role in boosting Venezuela’s domestic hydrocarbon production, while Caracas would in turn deliver long-term, reliable energy security guarantees for Barbados’ population. She also noted that the two sides have identified strong synergies in renewable energy development, outlining a joint plan to manufacture solar panels that would build a fully integrated, diversified regional energy sector. To further catalyze cross-border investment, the leaders agreed to revisit and update existing bilateral agreements covering investment protections and double taxation, creating a more welcoming regulatory environment for businesses from both nations.

For her part, Prime Minister Mottley highlighted that volatile global energy prices have put unprecedented pressure on small island developing states like Barbados, making expanded bilateral energy cooperation a long-held strategic priority. She noted that Barbados’ state-owned National Energy Company, despite its modest size, is well-positioned to enter into joint investment projects in the energy opportunities Venezuela has put forward. These collaborations, she explained, will help Barbados expand its domestic energy capacity, strengthen its resilience to global market shocks, and maintain affordable access to critical energy products for all Barbadians.

Mottley recalled Venezuela’s decades-long track record of supporting Caribbean energy security, pointing to the 1970s San Jose Agreement – a joint initiative with Mexico that stabilized energy access for the entire region during a global oil crisis – and the 1990s PetroCaribe initiative launched by former Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez that delivered discounted oil to dozens of Caribbean nations. In recent years, she added, discussions have focused on continuing this legacy by extending discounted energy supplies to other Caribbean partners where possible. “Over the past five decades, Venezuela has stood as a close, reliable friend to the entire Caribbean on issues of energy security and affordable access to energy products,” Mottley said. “At a moment of profound global energy insecurity, we welcome this opportunity to build cooperation that delivers mutual benefit for both our nations.”

Barbados is pushing to expand energy cooperation beyond fossil fuels to capture the massive potential of renewable energy collaboration, Mottley clarified. From small-scale residential solar water heating systems to utility-scale photovoltaic panels and onshore wind energy development, Mottley said the two sides have identified enormous untapped potential for joint work in the clean energy transition. Mottley accepted an invitation to visit Caracas in the coming months to continue advancing the partnership, noting that the short one-hour flight between the two nations underscores the geographic and strategic proximity that makes cooperation so natural. “We cannot allow historical or language barriers to hold us back from unlocking the full potential of cooperation for our two peoples,” she said. “We aim to build on the strong foundation our predecessors laid, and turn this diplomatic partnership into tangible benefits for ordinary citizens, not just government leaders.”

In addition to energy and trade, the talks yielded a landmark agreement on cultural and linguistic cooperation. Rodriguez confirmed that Mottley has outlined Barbados’ plan to designate Spanish as the country’s second official language, building on the existing work of the bilateral Institute for Cultural Cooperation, which has long offered Spanish language training to Barbadian residents. The two sides have agreed to expand the institute’s capabilities, including integrating new digital learning tools and facilitating exchanges that will bring Venezuelan language instructors to Barbados to provide advanced training for local learners. Rodriguez added that the expanded program will also create opportunities for Venezuelans to learn from Barbadian educators and cultural leaders, creating two-way people-to-people exchange.

The partnership also includes new commitments to advance regional food security, a pressing priority for small import-dependent Caribbean nations. Mottley said Barbados is working aggressively to build a robust domestic agro-processing industry to expand exports, and the new agreement will create new market access for Barbadian agricultural goods in Venezuela. “We are committed to making sure that planes and ships arriving from Venezuela do not return empty – they will carry back Barbadian produce that supports our farmers and manufacturers,” Mottley explained. The two sides also agreed to explore joint agricultural production projects on Venezuelan soil that will deliver food supplies for Barbados, alongside collaborative research and scientific development initiatives to boost agricultural yields. The partnership will focus on addressing the global challenge of declining soil productivity, working together to develop sustainable practices that increase harvests and deliver benefits for farmers across the Caribbean region.

Leaving the meeting, Rodriguez emphasized that both delegations left the talks with high levels of enthusiasm for the new roadmap of cooperation, saying “we are departing this visit extremely happy with the progress we have made.”