World breaking news today (March 11): Queen Elizabeth says racism claim will be addressed

	World breaking news today (March 5): Southeast Asia rebuffs U.S. sanctions on Myanmar
	World breaking news today (March 3): U.S. slaps sanctions on 7 Russians for poisoning of Alexey Navalny
	World breaking news today (March 2): China kicks off military drill in South China Sea

(Photo: Strait Times)

Queen Elizabeth says racism claim will be addressed

Queen Elizabeth said Tuesday that the royal family will address allegations of racism within Buckingham Palace made by Prince Harry and the Duchess of Sussex in their explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey.

The queen’s comments were her first since that interview, when Harry and Meghan Markle also detailed a lack of support by the royal family for the duchess’s mental health issues and media intrusion.

“The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan,” Elizabeth said in a statement issued at 5:30 p.m. London time, after hours of speculation about how she would respond to the claims.

“The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately,” she added.

“Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members.”

Before the statement, there had been a wall of silence from the royal family about the interview, which was aired Sunday on CBS and by British broadcaster ITV on Monday night.

The palace was said to have held “crisis talks,” according to British media reports, including the BBC, with senior royals reported to have had urgent discussions over how to limit the fallout from the interview, which saw Harry and Meghan allege that a member of the royal family had questioned what skin tone their then-unborn child might have, as reported by CNBC.

U.S. imposes sanctions on children of Myanmar military leader, companies

The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on two children of Myanmar’s military leader Min Aung Hlaing and six companies they control in response to the military’s Feb. 1 coup and the killing of protesters since the takeover.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned more punitive actions could follow, and condemned the detention of over 1,700 people and attacks by Myanmar’s security forces against unarmed protesters that he said have killed at least 53 people.

The military has brushed off condemnation of its actions, as it has in past periods of army rule when outbreaks of protest were forcibly repressed.

Wednesday’s move - the latest in a series of punitive actions taken by Washington against Myanmar’s military over the coup - essentially freezes any U.S. assets of those blacklisted and generally bars Americans from dealing with them, Reuters said.

Philippine mayor, police officers killed in possible mistake

Police killed a central Philippine city mayor and two of his aides, while two of the police officers were killed in the latest deadly violence involving the police force, officials said Tuesday (Mar 9).

"I can only assume that this was a mistaken encounter," Brigadier General Ronaldo de Jesus, a regional police commander, said based on initial police reports.

The police were on routine patrol when they were fired upon Monday afternoon by security aides of Catbalogan City Mayor Ronaldo Aquino, who was being driven in a van in eastern Samar province, according to de Jesus.

(Photo: Reuters)

The police returned fire and killed Aquino and two of his aides, including a police escort, while the mayor's aides killed two of the police officers, who were driving behind the mayor's van, he said.

Video from shortly after the attack showed residents milling around Aquino's white van, its windows shattered by gunfire and the van peppered with bullet holes. Spent bullet shells littered the scene of the attack in the middle of a bridge.

Representative Edgar Sarmiento, a friend of Aquino, said the mayor, who was on his way to the birthday celebration of his child, may have been targeted, but de Jesus said the police were not after Aquino and were only on routine patrol.

Several mayors and provincial officials linked to illegal drugs have been ambushed and killed by unknown gunmen under the rule of President Rodrigo Duterte, who has overseen a deadly anti-drug crackdown that has alarmed Western governments and human rights watchdogs. But Sarmiento said Aquino had no involvement in the illegal drug trade.

Monday's deadly violence was the latest that involved the police force, according to CNA.

New images released of suspect in pipe bombs before Capitol riot

The FBI is asking for the public's help to find the person who left pipe bombs at the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee the night before the Jan. 6 Capitol riot in Washington.

Newly released video shows what the FBI says is the suspected bomber walking with a backpack and carrying what investigators believe are pipe bombs to their targets.

The FBI also released a new wanted poster with images of the suspect and the distinctive Nike "Air Max Speed Turf" shoes with a yellow swoosh they wore.

In addition to the suspect's shoes and clothing, the FBI is asking the public to consider whether anyone they know may have exhibited a recent interest in making explosive black powder or may have purchased any of the components of the bomb, including the white kitchen timers used in constructing the devices.

The videos also show the suspect's manner of walking, or gait, which investigators hope someone may recognize. It remains unclear if the suspect is a man or a woman, abc News reported.

Gold price forecast - gold markets stall

Gold markets were relatively unchanged during the early hours on Wednesday, as perhaps we are taking a bit of a breather after the massive move on Tuesday.

Gold markets have gone back and forth during the trading session on Wednesday, as we have recently seen interest rates in the United States spike, causing havoc in the precious metals complex. After all, the idea of clipping coupons in a higher interest rate environment is much more palatable than paying for storage when it comes to gold. Nonetheless, we have seen a monster day during the Tuesday session, so now the question is whether or not we can see some type of follow-through?

(Photo: Economics Times)

At this point in time, the market breaking above the top of the range for the trading session on Wednesday does open up the possibility of a move towards the $1750 level, which is a major barrier. Breaking above there then could see gold taking off. Having said that, it is going to take a significant amount of momentum to make that happen so keep that in the back of your mind.

On the other hand, if we were to break down below the bottom of the lows from the Tuesday and Wednesday candlesticks, that would open up a “trapdoor effect”, perhaps sending gold down to the $1550 level over the longer term. The market certainly looks as if it is trying to build some type of base, but if we were to break down below, probably in conjunction with a spike in interest rates, we could see an acceleration of the negativity that we have seen as of late. While we have made a significant bounce over the last 48 hours, it still remains an open question as to whether or not there is going to be any follow-through, according to FX Empire.

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