Royal couple Prince Harry, Meghan Markle become parents to baby boy
London, May 6: It's a "healthy" baby boy for Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle, making him seventh-in-line to the British throne.
The 34-year-old father, Duke of Sussex, was present at the birth of his boy, who weighs 3.2 kg.
The new father, Prince Harry, told reporters that Meghan and the baby were doing "incredibly well" and that the couple were "absolutely thrilled" since the birth at 05:26 am (local time).
"It's been the most amazing experience I can ever possibly imagine. How any woman does what they do is beyond comprehension, said Prince Harry, making a brief media appearance as a new father.
"It was amazing, absolutely incredible. I'm so incredibly proud of my wife and as every father would say, this baby is absolutely to die for So, I'm just over the moon," he said, confirming that the baby was "a little bit overdue" and that the couple were still deciding on a name.
"The couple thank members of the public for their shared excitement and support during this very special time in their lives," the palace said, adding that, "More details will be shared in the forthcoming days."
Meghan, 37, went into labour "in the early hours" of Monday morning.
The new royal baby, as Queen Elizabeth II's eighth great grandchild, will be seventh-in-line to the British throne.
He or she will be in line behind its grandfather Prince Charles, uncle Prince William and his children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis and father Harry, Duke of Sussex.
However, the baby will not be bestowed a title of His or Her Royal Highness (HRH), or referred to as a Prince or Princess, unless the 93-year-old monarch steps in to make an exception to the royal titles rule dating back to 1917.
The boy will be able to use one of Harry's lesser titles to be known as the Earl of Dumbarton.
Meghan, a former actress, and Harry got married at a lavish wedding ceremony in Windsor Castle in May last year and announced the pregnancy publicly in October 2018, on the first day of their Commonwealth tour of Australia and New Zealand.
In a break from usual royal tradition, the couple have chosen to keep the birthing plans for their baby a private affair and said that they would be announcing the birth publicly only "once they have a chance to celebrate privately as a family".
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex had moved out of their London home at Nottingham Cottage in Kensington Palace into their newly-refurbished 10-bedroom family home at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor on the Queen's estate recently in preparation of the new arrival.
Their new home has a curious Indian history as the cottage which was a royal gift to Abdul Karim by Queen Victoria, then Empress of India, in recognition of his service and as a sign of her affection towards her Indian aide and confidant.
Karim, whom the monarch referred to as her Munshi , was just 24 when he arrived in England from Agra to present Victoria with a special mohar or gold coin to mark her Golden Jubilee in 1887. He quickly grew close to the ageing monarch, who bestowed many gifts on him including Frogmore Cottage for his own use.
"Queen Victoria gave it to Abdul Karim, as a special gift. She would often visit the cottage and have tea with his wife and him. He had decorated the house with many exotic things, including presents given to him by European royalty," said Shrabani Basu, the author of Victoria and Abdul: The Extraordinary True Story of the Queen's Closest Confidant'.
Harry and Meghan, who have been based at Frogmore Cottage since early April, were appointed Youth Ambassadors for the Commonwealth by the Queen and there have been some speculative UK media reports on them choosing to be based in Africa as part of that role in the future.
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Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
