Stunning admission by Queen Mary's sidelined brother-in-law blows open Danish royal rift. I fear Frederik's olive branch came too late, writes royal reporter SHARON HUNT
And, at present, there is very little they can do to stop it.
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The Guardian
6 hours ago
- The Guardian
What would I do if I won the lottery? I'd blast the world's worst people into space
Thoughts and prayers to the thousands of Norwegians who have just had one of the best weekends of their lives, followed by one hell of a comedown. Thanks to a currency conversion snafu by the state lottery operator, numerous people were incorrectly informed on Friday that they had won life-changing amounts of money in the Eurojackpot. On Monday, a text message was sent to players informing them of the mix-up. It seems Norwegians are a prudent bunch; I haven't found any examples of people spending Jeff Bezos-levels of money as soon as they were told they had won big. Me? I would have gone into evil billionaire mode immediately. First, I would have done what all rich people appear to do these days: bought myself a friend in high places. Judging by Elon Musk's investments in the US election, a compliant president seems to cost about $291m. However, considering the recent public Musk-Trump bickering, even that doesn't guarantee you long-term loyalty. So I might have contented myself with a mayor. Billionaire Bill Ackman recently said he is 'gravely concerned' by the possibility of Zohran Mamdani being elected mayor of New York and is ready, alongside his wealthy friends, to spend 'hundreds of millions of dollars' getting a corporate-friendly candidate elected instead. Because that's what democracy looks like, folks! While politician-purchasing is all the rage among the 1%, philanthropy is so last-century. Today's robber barons have given up pretending to give a damn about the poor and are spending their cash on tacky Venice weddings and apocalypse bunkers instead. Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan's, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) recently stopped funding a number of social causes, including a school for low-income families. While CZI said it would throw a little cash to the students, 400 children were abruptly left in the lurch. What I would really like to do (apart from cloning my dog), however, is execute the Led By Donkeys idea of banishing billionaires to Mars. I would build a big spaceship and lure the worst people in the world into it with promises of a multimillion-dollar wedding party. Then off they would go to circle the solar system, leaving the rest of us in peace. Pedants and peasants, please don't @ me and tell me that the Eurojackpot doesn't pay out that kind of money. This is just fantasy, OK? Which is pretty much the only thing that is still free these days. Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist
Reuters
a day ago
- Reuters
Denmark expands military service to include women
COPENHAGEN, July 1 (Reuters) - Denmark on Tuesday expanded its military service to include women, as the Nordic country seeks to recruit more soldiers and strengthen its defences amid heightened security concerns across Europe. Under a law passed by Denmark's parliament in June 2023, Denmark will require women turning 18 after July 1, 2025, to register for assessment days for potential military conscription, aligning with measures already in place for men. Until now, women, who last year made up around 24% of all recruits, had been allowed to join the military on a voluntary basis. "In the world situation we're in right now, it's necessary to have more conscripts, and I think that women should contribute to that equally, as men do," Katrine, a recruit in the Danish Royal Life Guard, told Reuters without giving her last name. In Denmark, volunteers are signed up first for conscription, while the remaining numbers are drawn up in a lottery system. The armed forces are in the process of making adjustments in barracks and equipment better suited for women. "There are different things that they need to improve, especially in terms of equipment. Right now, it's made for men, so perhaps the rucksacks are a bit too large and the uniforms are large as well," said Katrine. Denmark, which together with NATO allies last week agreed to boost defence spending, plans to gradually increase the duration of the conscription period from four months to 11 months in 2026 and raise the number of recruits doing military service from around 5,000 now to 7,500 in 2033.
BBC News
a day ago
- BBC News
Danish women to face conscription by lottery
Danish women now face being called up for 11 months of military service when they turn 18, after a change in the law came into new rules passed by Denmark's parliament, women are to join teenage males in a lottery system that could require them to undertake a period of conscription. The change was brought in as Nato countries boost defence spending amid heightened security concerns in to now, women were allowed to participate in military service when they turned 18, but on a voluntary basis. From Tuesday, both men and women turning 18 will be required to register to be assessed for potential military service. Volunteers will be recruited first, with the remaining numbers made up through the lottery system. The change will also see the period of conscription for teenagers rise from four months to 11 months. About 4,700 Danish men and women undertook a short period of military service in 2024 – about 24% of them being female volunteers. The new rules on conscription are expected to see the overall number doing military service annually rise to 6,500 by is following the example of neighbouring Sweden and Norway, which both brought in conscription for women in recent government in March also announced a 40.5bn Danish crowns (£4.3bn, $5.9bn) increase in defence spending over the next five years to meet Nato are about 9,000 professional personnel currently serving in Denmark's military. Colonel Kenneth Strom, head of the Danish military's conscription programme, said the change was "based on a political decision and a political agreement made by the parties". He added: "And obviously, it's based on the current security situation in order to get more combat power and have those skills that are needed for either the Army, Navy, Air Force or even the Special Operations Forces."Speaking to the Reuters news agency, Katrine, a current volunteer in Denmark's military, said: "In the world situation we're in right now, it's necessary to have more conscripts, and I think that women should contribute to that equally, as men do. "I think it's a positive change."
