Latest news with #Bax
The Herald Scotland
30-06-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
William reviews rental policy for charities after criticism of Duchy of Cornwall
Will Bax, the duchy's new secretary and keeper of records – who took on the role at the start of 2025, revealed, as the estate published its annual accounts on Monday, that grassroots groups – such as an orchard used for therapeutic gardening – who are direct tenants will have their rents waived, while local charities will see up to a 50% reduction in rent. The Prince of Wales during a visit to Tor Bog, an area of restored peatland on Dartmoor (Chris Jackson/PA) He said William wanted to ensure the duchy operated in a 'modern, socially minded way' and that the rents being saved amounted to a 'very significant sum'. It follows an investigation last November into the prince's Duchy and the Duchy of Lancaster estate, which provides a private income for the King, by Channel 4's Dispatches and The Sunday Times which found the estates had secured rental agreements worth millions of pounds with the armed forces, the NHS and state schools. Mr Bax said the duchy was also looking at including schools in the community groups who would be eligible for the rent waiver. The investigation last year revealed the duchy was set to earn around £600,000 over the lifetime of six different leases agreed with local state schools. William is the 25th Duke of Cornwall, following in the footsteps of his father the King after becoming entitled to the duchy's profits when he became heir to the throne. William with his father, then-the Prince of Wales during a visit to Duchy Home Farm in Gloucestershire in 2004 (Chris Ison/PA) Mr Bax said: 'It would be remiss not to address the media scrutiny the duchy has experienced this past year. 'We've used these challenges as an opportunity to stop and reflect both the duke and I are clear that we want the duchy to be world class in our approach to supporting people, communities and nature to flourish and to realise that aim, we must operate and communicate in a modern, socially minded way.' He added: 'It's clear we've entered an era of deep change, but we change, not because we disrespect our past, but precisely because we do respect it.' The policy review will, however, not alter commercial relationships with public bodies such as the Ministries of Defence and Justice. Mr Bax said: 'There are certain groups that we feel it right and proper that we have market based arms-length relationships with in public sector terms. For example, our Management Act requires that, public sector procurement rules require that.' The Duchy surplus profits is used to fund the Wales family's private, charitable and official life (Aaron Chown/PA) The Dispatches and Sunday Times report showed the duchy signed a £37 million deal in 2022, before Charles became King and William the Prince of Wales, to lease Dartmoor Prison to the Ministry of Justice, paying £1.5 million a year over 25 years, and a deal with the Ministry of Defence to allow the Armed Forces to train on Dartmoor land. It also said the Duchy of Cornwall had charged the Navy nearly £1 million since 2004 to build and use jetties and moor warships on the coastline. Accounts released on Monday showed the duchy generated profits of £22.9 million, down £700,000 from £23.6 million the previous financial year (2023-2024). The money is used to fund the charitable, private and official lives of William, the Princess of Wales and their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. Kensington Palace said the number of staff employed by the couple's household has risen to 68 from 66 including secondees. Kensington Palace is home to the Prince and Princess of Wales's offices (Dominic Lipinski/PA) Diversity figures show 13.2% of staff were from an ethnic minority background, down marginally from 14% of staff the year before, and that 70.6% of Kensington Palace staff are female and 29.4% male. The Palace confirmed the prince pays the highest rate of income tax once official costs have been deducted, but the amount he paid in tax was not disclosed. The King, as the previous Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall, disclosed the voluntary tax he paid in his annual Clarence House review – £5.892 million in 2021/22. Charles's annual review would also detail his broad income and expenditure of the duchy money, plus details of the number of valets, housekeepers, dressers, chefs, butlers and gardeners he employed, and his tax bill. William and Kate after the Order of the Garter ceremony (Chris Jackson/PA) But William has ended this level of disclosure since he became the Prince of Wales, and no such detail is provided for the Waleses's household. The Duchy said: 'While marginally down on the previous year, the Duchy is pleased to have remained resilient amid continued economic uncertainty.' Other updates at the Palace briefing included news that water voles have been successful reintroduced to the River Fowey's wetland corridor in Restormel after becoming extinct in the region in the 1990s. The Duchy is also working to improve rivers by tackling abandoned boats, with 11 removed from the River Avon so far and taken away to be recycled. Water voles have been reintroduced to the River Fowey's wetland corridor in Restormel (Ben Birchall/PA) William also stepped in to help Cornish football team Mousehole AFC who were struggling with access to their club down a pothole-ridden lane. Emerging as a reader of The Guardian where he learned about the issue, William brought together a coalition of people to solve the problem, with construction work due to begin on a new road this week. Republic, which campaigns for an elected head of state, highlighted that William's £23 million a year income was 138 times more than the Prime Minister's salary. Graham Smith, Republic's chief executive, said: 'It's time the Duchies were taken off royal hands, and it's time these figures were released by government to Parliament, where they can be properly scrutinised.' Meanwhile, Buckingham Palace confirmed the King has appointed William and Kate as grantors of Royal Warrants. A Royal Warrant of Appointment is granted as a mark of recognition to people or companies who have regularly supplied goods or services to the Royal Household. Any of the King and Queen's current Royal Warrant holders can apply to be granted a further Royal Warrant from the prince and princess, with a deadline of the end of July. Firms without existing Royal Warrants will be able to apply next year.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Yahoo
Friends, family of shooting victim speak out after murder charge dropped against Arizona man
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — An Arizona man's murder charge was dropped after prosecutors claimed he acted in self-defense. However, several people, including the victim's business partner, disagree with the decision. Christopher Jetton, 52, was killed on May 19 in a rural area of Arizona, about 75 miles southeast of Las Vegas. 57-year-old man arrested in deadly shooting at remote Arizona property Jetton worked in Las Vegas, and across the state installing high-speed internet at state parks, and his death has devastated those closest to him. 'All of a sudden he's released. Self-defense, no charges. And we're just astonished because he walked in and just shot him,' Danny Bax, Jettons' friend, said. Bax worked with Jetton for the last seven years and developed a brotherhood as they crisscrossed Nevada from state park to state park installing Wi-Fi. 'Just days before he was killed, we just completed a 2,000-mile trip to nine of the Nevada State Parks to do upgrades. And one removal, so literally he just came back,' Bax said. The Mohave County Sheriff's Office stated in a press release that on May 19, Richard Stephen Hansen, 57, allegedly shot and killed Jetton inside a trailer. Both men lived on the same property in White Hills, Arizona, but in separate trailers. Bax said Jetton's wife was Hansen's ex-wife. The men began arguing after an unknown person drove onto the property, according to Mohave County deputies. Jetton allegedly punched Hanson. The argument reportedly escalated, Hansen went into his trailer with Jetton following him, grabbed a gun, and shot Jetton in the chest, according to MCSO. Bax said the death has devastated Jetton's wife Christina. 'She's broken. She is so broken, and so am I. So, I've lost my wife, I've now lost my best friend, and part of my business,' Bax said. In an email, the Mohave County Attorney's Office told 8 News Now it is no longer pursuing charges against Hansen because it doesn't have a 'reasonable likelihood of conviction' based on the evidence. The agency said it could re-open the case if prosecutors receive new or additional evidence. Bax started a GoFundMe page to help Jetton's wife during this time of need. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Eyewitness News
13-05-2025
- Eyewitness News
WC women farmworkers call for Labour Dept to enforce laws on commercial farms
CAPE TOWN - Women farmworkers from various parts of the Western Cape are calling on the Department of Employment and Labour to enforce labour laws on commercial farms in the province. They took their grievances to the department's doorsteps on Tuesday in the Cape Town CBD. They're accusing the department of ignoring their complaints of labour rights violations by farm owners. A group of women seasonal farmworkers under the banner of Women on Farms Project are demanding the enforcement of all labour laws, including the National Minimum Wage Act. Handing over a memorandum of grievances on Tuesday afternoon, spokesperson Daniel Samuel said they also wanted the department to issue fines and penalties to non-compliant farms. "We demand a meeting with provincial staff, the inspectorate, heads of labour centres from Worcester, De Doorns, Ceres, Paarl, and Somerset West, including Dr Bax, who is heading the Compensation Fund by no later than 6 June 2025." They're also demanding the fast-tracking of UIF applications, especially those of women seasonal farmworkers.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘White genocide' theory in South Africa is ‘absurd': Crisis expert
(NewsNation) — While President Donald Trump has effectively halted all other U.S. refugee programs, he is bringing white South Africans to the U.S. as refugees. Pauline Bax, African program deputy director for the International Crisis Group, joined NewsNation to explain why the refugee label is not accurate. 'Maybe they will have more economic opportunities than they think they have here in South Africa, but the idea that they will be refugees is completely false,' she said. RFK Jr. goes swimming in DC's Rock Creek despite ban over bacteria The White House has claimed that white South Africans are facing persecution in the country, something Bax says is inaccurate. 'There is no persecution. The fact of the matter is that South Africa had an apartheid system where people who were white dominated politics, they dominated the economy, and even low-skilled white people, mostly Afrikans, who didn't have many prospects, could easily get a state job,' Bax said. 'The situation has now changed completely.' Protests erupt nationwide as ICE ramps up immigration arrests South Africa's transition to democracy ended apartheid, but Bax said white Afrikaner people are still among the most successful people in the country, owning large companies and most of the land. The government has enacted a law that makes it possible to take back land that isn't being developed or isn't being used in an equitable way, but no land has been expropriated so far despite claims that white people have had their land stolen. 'It's just not true,' Bax said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Maryland Heights PD honors retired K9 Bax with ‘Honor Walk'
Editor's Note: This clip with K9 Bax is from July 5, 2023 MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. – The Maryland Heights Police Department (MHPD) announced that its retired K9, named Bax, has been diagnosed with stomach cancer in a Facebook post today. Bax worked with the department for over seven years before retiring in July 2023. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now In honor of his service with MHPD, Bax will take his 'Walk of Honor' as a final goodbye on Monday, March 10, the post announced. Maryland Heights Police Department is welcoming the public to attend this event, and it will take place at 10:30 a.m. It will begin at the government center on Millwell Drive and conclude at Bridgeton Animal Hospital on McKelvey Road. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
