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Buckingham Palace Admits Hiring Few Minorities for First Time

In this file photo taken on July 10, 2018 (L-R) Britain's Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Britain's Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridge stand on the balcony of Buckingham Palace on July 10, 2018 to watch a military fly-past to mark the centenary of the Royal Air Force (RAF). (AFP/Tolga Akmen)
In this file photo taken on July 10, 2018 (L-R) Britain's Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Britain's Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridge stand on the balcony of Buckingham Palace on July 10, 2018 to watch a military fly-past to mark the centenary of the Royal Air Force (RAF). (AFP/Tolga Akmen)
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Buckingham Palace Admits Hiring Few Minorities for First Time

In this file photo taken on July 10, 2018 (L-R) Britain's Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Britain's Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridge stand on the balcony of Buckingham Palace on July 10, 2018 to watch a military fly-past to mark the centenary of the Royal Air Force (RAF). (AFP/Tolga Akmen)
In this file photo taken on July 10, 2018 (L-R) Britain's Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Britain's Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridge stand on the balcony of Buckingham Palace on July 10, 2018 to watch a military fly-past to mark the centenary of the Royal Air Force (RAF). (AFP/Tolga Akmen)

Buckingham Palace has said it 'must do more' after publicly revealing its numbers of staff from ethnic minorities for the first time.

Some 8.5 percent of the royal household's employees are from ethnically diverse backgrounds, according to its annual financial accounts for 2020 to 2021.

It has a target to reach 10 percent in 2022. The percentage in the UK as a whole is around 14 percent, according to an audit commissioned by the Government in 2018.

A senior palace source said the figures had been published so there could be 'no place to hide' and to hold the palace accountable. "We are not where we would like to be despite our efforts. It is not that we have not been progressing diversity and inclusion initiatives during this period, it is that simply the results have not been what we would like," they said.

"We have continuous engagement with external advisers, organizations that are at the grassroots level who sit on our steering committee, people who are able to give us a different voice, a different perspective. And we recognize that we must do more. One of the key points about the publishing of our statistics, which is actually on a voluntary basis, is that there's no place to hide," The Metro quoted the source as saying.

"We fully expect you to come back and hold us accountable for the progress that we made. And if we don't make the progress, we'll have to explain why," he noted.

The news comes after Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle accused the Royal Family of racism in their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey back in March. They claimed questions were asked about how dark their son Archie's skin tone might be before he was born.

After the interview, the Queen issued a statement saying the issues raised were being taken seriously, but "some recollections may vary." When asked about the comments, the Duke of Cambridge said publicly: "We're very much not a racist family."

The royal household's report added how the diversity strategy at Buckingham Palace has changed to "emphasize the importance of inclusion."

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World

Nigeria's President to Make a Sate Visit to the UK in March

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu gives a joint statement with Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, at the Planalto presidential palace, in Brasilia, Brazil, Aug. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)
Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu gives a joint statement with Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, at the Planalto presidential palace, in Brasilia, Brazil, Aug. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)
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Nigeria's President to Make a Sate Visit to the UK in March

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu gives a joint statement with Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, at the Planalto presidential palace, in Brasilia, Brazil, Aug. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)
Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu gives a joint statement with Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, at the Planalto presidential palace, in Brasilia, Brazil, Aug. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)

Nigeria’s president is set to make a state visit to the UK in March, the first such trip by a Nigerian leader in almost four decades, Britain’s Buckingham Palace said Sunday.

Officials said President Bola Tinubu and first lady Oluremi Tinubu will travel to the UK on March 18 and 19, The AP news reported.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla will host them at Windsor Castle. Full details of the visit are expected at a later date.

Charles visited Nigeria, a Commonwealth country, four times from 1990 to 2018 before he became king. He previously received Tinubu at Buckingham Palace in September 2024.m

Previous state visits by a Nigerian leader took place in 1973, 1981 and 1989.

A state visit usually starts with an official reception hosted by the king and includes a carriage procession and a state banquet.

Last year Charles hosted state visits for world leaders including US President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

World

Iran Strikes Hard Line on US Talks, Saying Tehran's Power Comes From Saying 'No'

Traffic moves through a street in Tehran on February 7, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
Traffic moves through a street in Tehran on February 7, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
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Iran Strikes Hard Line on US Talks, Saying Tehran's Power Comes From Saying 'No'

Traffic moves through a street in Tehran on February 7, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
Traffic moves through a street in Tehran on February 7, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)

Iran's top diplomat insisted Sunday that Tehran's strength came from its ability to “say no to the great powers," striking a maximalist position just after negotiations with the United States over its nuclear program and in the wake of nationwide protests.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking to diplomats at a summit in Tehran, signaled that Iran would stick to its position that it must be able to enrich uranium — a major point of contention with President Donald Trump, who bombed Iranian atomic sites in June during the 12-day Iran-Israel war.

Iran will never surrender the right to enrich uranium, even if war "is imposed on us,” he noted.

"Iran has paid a very heavy price for its peaceful nuclear program and for uranium enrichment." 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to travel to Washington this week, with Iran expected to be the major subject of discussion, his office said.

While Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian praised the talks Friday in Oman with the Americans as “a step forward,” Araghchi's remarks show the challenge ahead. Already, the US moved the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, ships and warplanes to the Middle East to pressure Iran into an agreement and have the firepower necessary to strike the Islamic Republic should Trump choose to do so, according to The AP news.

“I believe the secret of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s power lies in its ability to stand against bullying, domination and pressures from others," Araghchi said.

"They fear our atomic bomb, while we are not pursuing an atomic bomb. Our atomic bomb is the power to say no to the great powers. The secret of the Islamic Republic’s power is in the power to say no to the powers.”

‘Atomic bomb’ as rhetorical device Araghchi's choice to explicitly use an “atomic bomb” as a rhetorical device likely wasn't accidental. While Iran has long maintained its nuclear program is peaceful, the West and the International Atomic Energy Agency say Tehran had an organized military program to seek the bomb up until 2003.

Iran had been enriching uranium up to 60% purity, a short, technical step to weapons-grade levels of 90%, the only non-weapons state to do so. Iranian officials in recent years had also been increasingly threatening that Tehran could seek the bomb, even while its diplomats have pointed to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s preachings as a binding fatwa, or religious edict, that Iran wouldn’t build one.

Pezeshkian, who ordered Araghchi to pursue talks with the Americans after likely getting Khamenei's blessing, also wrote on X on Sunday about the talks.

“The Iran-US talks, held through the follow-up efforts of friendly governments in the region, were a step forward,” the president wrote. “Dialogue has always been our strategy for peaceful resolution. ... The Iranian nation has always responded to respect with respect, but it does not tolerate the language of force.”

It remains unclear when and where, or if, there will be a second round of talks. Trump, after the talks Friday, offered few details but said: “Iran looks like they want to make a deal very badly — as they should.”

Aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea During Friday's talks, US Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of the American military's Central Command, was in Oman. Cooper's presence was apparently an intentional reminder to Iran about US military power in the region. Cooper later accompanied US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, to the Lincoln out in the Arabian Sea after the indirect negotiations.

Araghchi appeared to be taking the threat of an American military strike seriously, as many worried Iranians have in recent weeks. He noted that after multiple rounds of talks last year, the US “attacked us in the midst of negotiations."

“If you take a step back (in negotiations), it is not clear up to where it will go,” Araghchi said.

 

 

World

Russia: Man Suspected of Shooting Top General Detained in Dubai

An investigator works outside a residential building where the assassination attempt on Russian Lieutenant General Vladimir Alexeyev took place in Moscow, Russia February 6, 2026. REUTERS/Anastasia Barashkova
An investigator works outside a residential building where the assassination attempt on Russian Lieutenant General Vladimir Alexeyev took place in Moscow, Russia February 6, 2026. REUTERS/Anastasia Barashkova
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Russia: Man Suspected of Shooting Top General Detained in Dubai

An investigator works outside a residential building where the assassination attempt on Russian Lieutenant General Vladimir Alexeyev took place in Moscow, Russia February 6, 2026. REUTERS/Anastasia Barashkova
An investigator works outside a residential building where the assassination attempt on Russian Lieutenant General Vladimir Alexeyev took place in Moscow, Russia February 6, 2026. REUTERS/Anastasia Barashkova

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Sunday that the man suspected of shooting top Russian military intelligence officer Vladimir Alexeyev in Moscow has been detained in Dubai and handed over to Russia.

Lieutenant General Vladimir Alexeyev, deputy head of the GRU, ⁠Russia's military intelligence arm, was shot several times in an apartment block in Moscow on Friday, investigators said. He underwent surgery after the shooting, Russian media ⁠said.

The FSB said a Russian citizen named Lyubomir Korba was detained in Dubai on suspicion of carrying out the shooting.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Ukraine of being behind the assassination attempt, which he said was designed to sabotage peace talks. ⁠Ukraine said it had nothing to do with the shooting.

Alexeyev's boss, Admiral Igor Kostyukov, the head of the GRU, has been leading Russia's delegation in negotiations with Ukraine in Abu Dhabi on security-related aspects of a potential peace deal.