Queen Elizabeth II was "very keen" for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to assume a "prominent role in the promotion of national interests", according to a senior official’s memo sent to the then-foreign secretary before his appointment as trade envoy in 2001. In the note to Robin Cook, dated 25 February 2000, David Wright, then chief executive of British Trade International, wrote that Queen Elizabeth’s "wish" was for Andrew, then the Duke of York, to take up the position. Mr Wright outlined a job that would involve regional…

More than 16 years after Air France Flight AF447 plunged into the Atlantic, a Paris appeals court has convicted Airbus and Air France of corporate manslaughter in the 2009 Rio-Paris disaster, the deadliest plane crash in France's history, which claimed 228 lives. Among those killed were three Irish women: Jane Deasy of Co Dublin, Eithne Walls of Co Down and Aisling Butler of Co Tipperary. All three were doctors travelling home after a holiday in Brazil. The ruling marks a new chapter in a long-running legal battle that has…

Outrage spread across Western capitals after Israel’s far-right security minister released a video showing Gaza-bound flotilla activists pinned to the ground, a scene that quickly deepened into a diplomatic row when two detainees later alleged they were physically assaulted in custody. The handling of the activists by police officers operating under Itamar Ben-Gvir’s authority also prompted criticism from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and from the United States, Israel’s staunchest ally. The activists had been…

Mount Everest saw an unprecedented rush of climbers yesterday, with a record 274 people reaching the summit from the Nepali side in a single day — the most ever to stand atop the world’s highest mountain in 24 hours. Rising 8,849 metres, Everest sits on the border between Nepal and China’s Tibet region, and expeditions can approach the peak from either side. But expedition operators said no climbers attempted the mountain from the Tibetan side this year after Chinese authorities did not issue permits. Among those who reached…

SpaceX, Elon Musk’s rocket and satellite company, has filed for what could become the biggest initial public offering ever, outlining plans to raise as much as $75 billion from public investors. If the deal goes ahead on those terms, the company’s market debut would eclipse every previous IPO on record. The filing states that after the offering, Mr Musk would serve as chief executive, chief technology officer and chair of the board. US media reports said SpaceX is seeking to raise $75bn and secure a valuation of up to $1.75…

Iran signaled on Thursday that it is weighing Washington’s latest position on ending the war, after President Donald Trump said he was willing to wait only a few days for what he called the “right answers” from Tehran and warned that fresh attacks could follow if no deal is reached. "We have received US views and are reviewing them," Iranian state-run agency Nour News quoted Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei as saying. Baghaei added that Pakistan, which hosted peace talks last month and has served as the channel…

Ireland has stepped up pressure on Brussels after the detention of EU citizens aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla, with the Taoiseach urging European leaders to confront Israel’s actions at next month’s summit. Micheál Martin has written to European Council President António Costa calling for Israel’s treatment of the group to be discussed by EU leaders, and saying they should examine whether all or part of the EU-Israel Association Agreement should be suspended over what he described as the illegal detention of EU citizens by…

Péter Magyar used his first trip abroad as Hungary’s new prime minister to send an unmistakable signal: Budapest wants a fresh start with Warsaw. Mr Magyar met Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Warsaw on the opening day of a two-day visit, a trip that underscores a broader effort to repair ties between the two capitals after years of friction under former Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán. Relations worsened sharply in the final stretch of Mr Orbán’s rule, especially after Hungary granted asylum to a former Polish…

Russia and China used a joint declaration to cast the current world order as increasingly unstable, warning that the failure of some countries to dominate global affairs in a colonial-era mindset had given way to a renewed risk of rule by raw power. "The global situation is becoming more complex," they said in a declaration released by the Kremlin in Russian. "The agenda for global peace ‌and development faces new risks and challenges, and there is ‌a danger that the international community will fragment and return to the…

A decades-old confrontation between Washington and Havana took a dramatic new turn after former Cuban president Raúl Castro was charged in the United States with murder, sharply intensifying pressure on the island’s communist leadership. The indictment was filed on 23 April in federal court in Miami, Florida. According to the court documents, the 94-year-old faces one count of conspiracy to kill US nationals, four counts of murder and two counts of destruction of aircraft. Five other individuals are also listed as defendants…