“I’m still alive,” said the British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, on Monday when asked about her health, in her first round of public engagements since Britain voted to leave the EU.
The dry remark followed a dramatic few days for Britain that have seen the prime minister resign, the British pound hit a 30-year-low and England defeated by Iceland in a shock soccer defeat.
Next came Elizabeth’s two-day trip to Northern Ireland, where she met with leaders including Martin McGuinness, a former Irish Republican Army paramilitary who now serves as deputy first minister of the British-ruled province.
“Hello, are you well?” McGuinness asked as he extended his hand in greeting to the monarch in a televised meeting.
“I’m still alive anyway. Ha,” the queen laughed, shaking his hand.
“We’ve been quite busy. There’s been quite a lot going on,” she said.
It was not clear whether her comments were a reference to political events in Britain — or possibly her two recent birthday celebrations.
The queen, who turned 90 this year, added that she had been busy celebrating “two birthdays.” The monarch’s birthday is celebrated twice under British tradition.
The queen has not issued a statement on Britain’s vote to leave the EU, a shock result that has strained the ties of the kingdom. Voters in Scotland and Northern Ireland backed remaining in the bloc, but support for an exit in England and Wales carried the victory for “Brexit” by 52 percent.
That means a referendum on Scottish independence is “on the table,” according to the Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who hopes to keep Scotland in the EU.
McGuinness’ Sinn Fein, which wants Northern Ireland to leave the UK and unite with the Republic of Ireland, quickly called for a vote on Irish unity following the referendum result.
After an audience behind closed doors with the queen, McGuinness refused to comment on whether they had discussed the referendum.
“We discussed many things, none of which I will tell you,” McGuinness said.
CONFRONTATION: The water cannon attack was the second this month on the Philippine supply boat ‘Unaizah May 4,’ after an incident on March 5 The China Coast Guard yesterday morning blocked a Philippine supply vessel and damaged it with water cannons near a reef off the Southeast Asian country, the Philippines said. The Philippine military released video of what it said was a nearly hour-long attack off the Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Shoal, 仁愛暗沙) in the contested South China Sea, where Chinese ships have unleashed water cannons and collided with Philippine vessels in similar standoffs in the past few months. The China Coast Guard and other vessels “once again harassed, blocked, deployed water cannons, and executed dangerous maneuvers” against a routine rotation and resupply mission to
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Thousands of devotees, some in a state of trance, gathered at a Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Bangkok renowned for sacred tattoos known as Sak Yant, paying their respects to a revered monk who mastered the practice and seeking purification. The gathering at Wat Bang Phra Buddhist temple is part of a Thai Wai Khru ritual in which devotees pay homage to Luang Phor Pern, the temple’s formal abbot, who died in 2002. He had a reputation for refining and popularizing the temple’s Sak Yant tattoo style. The idea that tattoos confer magical powers has existed in many parts of Asia
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