The Queen Tuesday used the occasion of a state visit to Germany to say that she recognized the "appalling suffering of war on both sides."
Speaking at a banquet hosted by President Horst Kohler, the Queen shrugged off demands by the mass-circulation tabloid Bild that she say sorry for the destruction of Dresden by allied bombers.
Instead she spoke of the need for "reconciliation" between Britain and Germany.
"In remembering the appalling suffering of war on both sides, we recognize how precious is the peace we have built in Europe since 1945," she said.
"It is difficult for someone of my generation to over-emphasize this," she added, urging both countries to look beyond "simplistic stereotypes."
Before her arrival in Berlin Tuesday for a three-day visit, there was speculation in some sections of the media here that she might apologize. Specifically, Bild last week demanded that she say sorry for the "massacre" of civilians in Dresden and other cities.
The center-left government did not give the demand its support.
Among the sometimes embarrassingly modest crowds that turned up to meet her Tuesday, the war did not appear to be a theme -- at least not the one against Germany.
"She's more sympathetic than Tony Blair," said Frank Stephan, a 26-year-old history student at Berlin's Humboldt University.
"No one likes Blair here because of the war in Iraq. We find his solidarity with the Bush administration hard to understand," he said.
Yesterday, the Queen was to open a conference on climate change, amid speculation that she has complained to Tony Blair about the role of the US in global warming.
Meanwhile, Bild on Tuesday printed its own poster to accompany the visit with the headline "Welcome Your Majesty."
It urged readers to put it in their windows.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of