TIG Post

Author: Abigail Ampofo

  • Ukraine war: Biden warns Putin not to use tactical nuclear weapons

    Russia has been cautioned not to use chemical or tactical nuclear weapons in the conflict in Ukraine by US Vice President Joe Biden.

    This will “alter the face of battle unlike anything since World War Two,” Mr. Biden said in an interview with CBS News.

    He remained mum regarding the US’s response to the use of such weapons.

    After its invasion of Ukraine in February, Russian President Vladimir Putin put the nation’s nuclear forces on “special” alert.

    He told defence chiefs it was because of “aggressive statements” by the West.

    Nuclear weapons have existed for almost 80 years and many countries see them as a deterrent that continues to guarantee their national security.

    Russia is estimated to have around 5,977 nuclear warheads, according to the Federation of American Scientists.

    It, however, remains unlikely that it intends to use such weapons.

    Tactical nuclear weapons are those which can be used at relatively short distances, as opposed to “strategic” nuclear weapons which can be launched over much longer distances and raise the spectre of all-out nuclear war.

    In an interview with CBS’ 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley in the White House, President Biden was asked what he would say to President Putin if he was considering using weapons of mass destruction in Ukraine.

    “Don’t, don’t, don’t,” was President Biden’s response.

    Mr Biden was then asked what the consequences would be for Mr Putin if such a line was crossed.

    “You think I would tell you if I knew exactly what it would be? Of course, I’m not gonna tell you. It’ll be consequential,” Mr Biden responded.

    “They’ll become more of a pariah in the world than they ever have been. And depending on the extent of what they do will determine what response would occur.”

    The war in Ukraine has not gone as well as the Kremlin had hoped.

    In recent days, Ukraine says it has recaptured more than 8,000 sq km (3,088 sq miles) of territory in the northeastern Kharkiv region.

    Despite the apparent setback, President Putin has insisted that Ukraine’s successful counter-offensive will not stop Russia’s plans of continuing its operations in the east of the country.

  • Dutch town Bodegraven-Reeuwijk has sued Twitter over a paedophilia rumour

    A Dutch town has filed a lawsuit against Twitter for spreading the rumour that a group of paedophiles who worship Satan formerly lived there.

    In 2020, three men spread the first untrue information that Bodegraven-Reeuwijk was the scene of the abuse and murder of several children in the 1980s.

    The primary perpetrator said he had seen the crimes when he was a young boy. He had grown up in a town close to The Hague.

    Local authorities want to see all posts relating to the alleged events removed.

    The claims have prompted dozens of people to travel to the town’s Vrederust cemetery to leave flowers and tributes at the graves of seemingly random dead children.

    Twitter’s lawyer, Jens van den Brink, declined to comment ahead of a hearing at The Hague District Court on Friday.

    Last year, the same court ordered the three original men to remove all tweets about the town, but the claims continue to circulate.

    The town’s lawyer, Cees van de Sanden, said Twitter had not responded to a request in July that it find and remove all posts related to the claims.

    Mayor Christiaan van der Kamp said that claims were “very painful and sometimes even threatening for the relatives of the deceased”, RTL Nieuws reported.

    The three men behind the claims are currently serving jail sentences following convictions in separate cases for incitement and making death threats against a number of people, including Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

  • Lying-in-state queue: King Charles and Prince William meet people

    Those waiting in line to view the Queen lying in the state were surprised to see King Charles and Prince William.

    The Prince of Wales told one young girl, “You’re over halfway,” as they praised people who had waited through the night.

    William also mentioned how important it was to his family that there was a long line.

    I hope you didn’t get too frozen, the King said to one in reference to the chilly overnight temps.

    There were cheers of God Save the King, God Save the Prince of Wales, and hip hooray as the pair walked up and down the queue.

    The queue time is now around 16.5 hours, with the line stretching five miles along the River Thames to Southwark Park.

    One woman in the queue told the Prince of Wales she had been queuing for 13 hours already. He replied: “Thirteen hours? You’re looking very good on 13 hours.”

    Prince William meets people in the queue
    The Prince of Wales said he was sorry people had had to wait for so long

    Those waiting in Lambeth, south London, told the pair the wait was “worth it” but William said he was sorry they had had to wait for so long.

    The prince commented to one person waiting that their trainers were a good choice of footwear for the queue.

    Several people cried after meeting Prince William, and one woman told him: “You’ll be a brilliant king one day.”

    King Charles left around 20 minutes after arriving and was driven back to Buckingham Palace, but his son stayed longer to speak to more people.

    King Charles meets people in the queue
    King Charles shook people’s hands during the surprise visit

    The beginning of King Charles’s reign has seen the Royal Family take part in several walkabouts and meetings with the public.

    On Saturday afternoon, the Earl and Countess of Wessex met crowds outside Buckingham Palace, shaking their hands and thanking them for their support.

    The Queen’s youngest son could be heard asking mourners where they had come from and whether they were making their way to Green Park to lay flowers.

    The pair had come from a lunch held inside the palace by the King and Queen Consort for governors-general from Commonwealth countries.

    Representatives from Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Solomon Islands, and Tuvalu were among those present, along with the Prince and Princess of Wales.

    On Saturday evening, the Prince of Wales, his brother the Duke of Sussex and their cousins will stand guard around the Queen’s coffin, a day after their parents held their own vigil at the Palace of Westminster.

    Prince Harry has been given permission by the King to wear a military uniform.

    During the vigil, Harry will stand at the foot of the coffin, with William at the head. They will be joined by their cousins’ Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, Peter Phillips, Zara Tindall, Lady Louise Windsor, and James, Viscount Severn.

    Saturday is the third full day the Queen’s coffin will lie in state in Westminster Hall, where she will remain until the morning of the funeral, on Monday.

  • Saudi Prince’s Mohammed Bin Salman controversial invitation to the Queen’s funeral

    Human rights activists have reacted angrily to Britain’s invitation of Mohammed Bin Salman, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia‘s Crown Prince, to the Queen’s funeral.

    According to a declassified CIA report, the crown prince gave the go-ahead for Jamal Khashoggi’s murder and dismemberment inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in 2018.

    Although the Saudi crown prince and his administration denied this, he has since been shunned in the West and hasn’t visited Britain, until now.

    A Saudi Embassy spokesman confirmed that the prince, known as “MBS”, would be coming to London this weekend, but it was unclear if he would attend the actual funeral on Monday.

    Hatice Gengiz, the fiancée of the murdered Saudi journalist, said the invitation was a stain on the memory of Queen Elizabeth II. She called for him to be arrested when he lands in London, although she doubted this would happen.

    The pressure group Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT) has accused Saudi Arabia and other Gulf monarchies of using the Queen’s funeral as a way to – in their words – “whitewash” their human rights records.

    The group estimates that since the start of the disastrous war in Yemen eight years ago, Britain has sold the Saudi-led coalition fighting there more than $23bn worth of arms.

    Scant political freedoms have also disappeared completely since MBS became crown prince in 2017, with hefty prison sentences handed down to critics of the government, even just for social media posts.

    At the same time, paradoxically, the crown prince has embarked on a massive programme of social liberalization. Cinemas and public entertainment, long banned in the Kingdom for being deemed “un-Islamic”, have reopened.

    On MBS’s orders, women are now allowed to drive and the desert kingdom has played host to international sporting and music events, including a concert by the DJ David Guetta.

    Saudi Arabia, despite its heavily-criticized human rights record, remains a staunch ally of Britain in the Gulf, where it is seen by the West as a bulwark against Iran’s aggressive expansionism.

    It buys western weapons, employs thousands of expatriate workers, hosts the annual Hajj pilgrimage, and helps to steady the oil price. All of these partly explain why international criticism of the crown prince is muted at most.

  • Mass mobilisation in Eritrea during the civil war in Ethiopia

    Eritrea has been helping neighboring Ethiopia fight off rebel troops by mobilizing military reservists to strengthen the army.

    Security forces have started stopping people in several places to determine whether they are exempt from military conscription.

    Witnesses report seeing groups of men sobbing as they said goodbye to their families.

    Reservists up to the age of 55 have been called up, they said.

    Eritrea has compulsory, decades-long military service, which has been widely criticized by human-rights groups, but analysts say the latest mobilization efforts are linked to the civil war in northern Ethiopia – a conflict that recently flared up again after five months of relative peace.

    The Eritrean government has not commented on the report.

    Witnesses told BBC News Tigrinya that mobilization notices were distributed on Thursday in the capital, the second-largest city, Keren, the western town of Tessenai, and other areas.

    They called on reservists to report to their respective head offices, while also advising that they should carry their own supplies, including blankets and water containers.

    Mothers, children and wives were crying as they bid farewell to their sons, fathers, brothers, and husbands, sources told the BBC.

    Those who do not heed the call-up have been warned of severe consequences, but some are reportedly ignoring it.

    Eritrea has been fighting alongside Ethiopia’s central government troops since the civil war broke out in Tigray in late 2020.

    Hundreds of thousands have been killed and millions displaced by the war and many more remain desperate for food, according to aid organizations.

    Several human rights organisations have accused Eritrean soldiers of committing atrocities in Ethiopia, but these claims have been denied by Eritrean officials.

    The US has imposed sanctions on the Eritrean Defence Forces and the ruling PFDJ party in response to their involvement in the conflict.

    President Isaias Afwerki has ruled Eritrea since the country broke away from Ethiopia in 1993, but between 1998-2000 the two nations fought a brutal and costly war over a contested border area.

    A 20-year military stalemate ensued until Abiy Ahmed became Ethiopia’s prime minister in 2018. The peace deal won Mr Abiy the Nobel Peace Prize a year later.

    Isaias and Abiy hold hands
    IMAGE SOURCE,REUTERS Image caption, President Isaias Afwerki (left) welcomed Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to Asmara in 2018
    The two leaders later united against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), a common foe, whose elites dominated Ethiopia for three decades before Mr Abiy came to power.
    The Ethiopian government accuses TPLF leaders, who control the northern Tigray region, of plotting to destabilise the country, while Mr Isaias sees them as a sworn enemy.
    Eritrea is isolated diplomatically and is a highly militarised state which controls almost all aspects of people’s lives.
    The repression has led to many young people fleeing the country.
    During Mr Isaias’ rule, apart from fighting Ethiopia, Eritrea found itself at war with all its neighbors at some point – Yemen in 1995, Sudan in 1996, and Djibouti in 2008.

  • The Ukrainian counter-offensive will not alter Russia’s goals – Putin

    Vladimir Putin has stated in his first public remarks on the subject that Russia’s plans will not be altered by the current counteroffensive by Ukraine.

    In a quick counterattack, Ukrainian forces claim to have taken over 8,000 square kilometres (3,000 square miles) in the northeastern Kharkiv region in just six days.

    However, Mr. Putin claimed he wasn’t in a rush, and the attack in the Donbass region of Ukraine is still on schedule.

    Additionally, he pointed out that Russia has not yet sent out all of its forces.

    “Our offensive operation in the Donbas is not stopping. They’re moving forward – not at a very fast pace – but they are gradually taking more and more territory,” he said after a summit in Uzbekistan.

    The industrial Donbas region in east Ukraine is the focus of Russia’s invasion, which Mr Putin falsely claims is necessary to save Russian speakers from genocide.

    Parts of the Donbas have been occupied by Russian-backed separatists since 2014. The Kharkiv region, where Ukraine’s recent counter-attack was launched, is not part of the Donbas.

    In Friday’s comments, Mr Putin threatened a “more serious” response if Ukrainian attacks continue.

    “I remind you that the Russian army isn’t fighting in its entirety… Only the professional army is fighting.”

    Russia initially denied sending conscript soldiers to Ukraine, but several officers were disciplined after cases came to light of conscripts being forced to sign contracts and in some instances being taken, prisoner.

    So far, Russia has not officially declared war on Ukraine and only refers to its invasion as a “special military operation”.

    But after Russia’s recent losses, some pro-Kremlin commentators have called for more forces to be mobilised. A recently leaked video that appears to show an attempt to recruit convicts to a private military company suggests Russia is struggling to find enough men willing to fight.

    Later on Friday, US President Joe Biden reiterated his call on Russia to refrain from using chemical or tactical nuclear weapons.

    Speaking during an interview with CBS News, Mr Biden said such action would “change the face of war unlike anything since World War Two”.

    President Putin put the country’s nuclear forces on a “special” alert following its invasion of Ukraine in February.

    The Russian leader has rarely left his country since then.

    This week’s visit to the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation summit in Uzbekistan – where he met the Chinese leader Xi Jinping – highlights his need to foster ties with Asian countries after being sidelined by the West.

    But even there, leaders have expressed concern over the invasion.

    “Today’s time is not a time for war,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Mr Putin.

    And on the previous day, Mr Putin hinted that Xi Jinping also disapproved.

    “We understand your questions and concerns,” he told the Chinese leader in reference to the war.

  • Prince Harry will wear a uniform to keep watch at the Queen’s funeral

    The Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex will be among the grandchildren of the Queen who will keep watch over her coffin this evening as she lies in state in Westminster Hall.

    Prince Harry will don a military uniform for the first time in 2020 at King Charles’ request.

    Since the Queen’s passing, Prince Harry has appeared in public wearing regular clothes.

    The King and the Queen’s children manned the guard duty for around ten minutes on Friday night.

    As they left the hall, members of the public applauded them.

    The grandchildren’s vigil is expected to last around 15 minutes.

    The King’s two sons will be joined by Peter Phillips, Zara Tindall, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, Lady Louise Windsor, and James, Viscount Severn.

    Prince Harry has not been seen in military uniform since stepping back as a working royal in 2020.

    He served two tours in Afghanistan as part of the Army. He now lives in California with his wife Meghan and their two children.

    Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex walks behind Queen Elizabeth II's coffin as it is transported on a gun carriage from Buckingham Palace to The Palace of Westminster ahead of her Lying-in-State on September 14, 2022 in London, United Kingdom.
    Prince Harry wore a morning suit to walk behind the Queen’s coffin, while his brother wore a military uniform

    Prince Andrew was also allowed to wear his military uniform as he stood guard on Friday. The 62-year-old stepped down as a working royal in 2019, after a Newsnight interview about his relationship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

    The prince was later stripped of his military titles.

    Before the vigil, the Queen’s youngest child, Prince Edward, thanked the public for their support.

    “We have been overwhelmed by the tide of emotion that has engulfed us and the sheer number of people who have gone out of their way to express their own love, admiration and respect to such a very special and unique person who was always there for us,” he said.

    “And now, we are there for her, united in grief.”

    The Queen will lie in state at Westminster Hall until her funeral on Monday. The queue to see the coffin stretches as far as Southwark Park. Officials have said if the park reaches capacity, entry will be paused.

    At the park, there is a queue for wristbands and to join the queue properly. Further along, an LED display warns people of how long they should expect to wait. Many are anticipating a long stay, wearing parkas, hats, and big jumpers.

    At 14:00 BST on Saturday, the government website said the waiting time was now up to 16.5 hours.

    Foreign dignitaries are traveling to London ahead of Monday’s funeral, which will be one of the biggest diplomatic events of recent years, with some 500 heads of state and other dignitaries expected to attend.

    Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese laid flowers in Green Park, central London, before meeting King Charles at Buckingham Palace on Saturday. Mr Albanese said it was a “great honour” to represent Australia and commemorate “a life well-lived”.

    Meanwhile, King Charles is back in London, having completed a tour of the UK’s four nations.

    On Saturday the King met the heads of the armed forces at Buckingham Palace and visited the Metropolitan Police’s headquarters, New Scotland Yard.

    He then went to Lambeth Bridge, alongside Prince William, to shake hands and greet those queuing for the lying-in-state. He is meeting world leaders this afternoon.

    A senior Metropolitan Police officer described the Queen’s funeral as “the largest single policing event [the force] has ever undertaken”.

    Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy said the “hugely complex” operation surpasses the London 2012 Olympics – which saw up to 10,000 police officers on duty each day.

    Events, moments of reflection, and public screenings of the funeral are also taking place across the UK this weekend, outside London.

    In Blackpool, the tower illuminations – which were changed to red, white, and blue for the period of mourning – will be switched off at 20:00 on Sunday, when a national one-minute silence will take place.

     

  • World second-richest person: Indian tycoon oust Jeff Bezos

    The second-richest person in the world, Jeff Bezos, has just dropped to third place as Indian business tycoon Gautam Adani rapidly advances up Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index.

    With $260 billion in his bank account, Elon Musk, who is still the richest person in the world, may need to be careful.

    After beginning the year in position 14, Adani climbed from there to position 2 in less than ten months.

    Since white tech entrepreneurs have long dominated Bloomberg’s list, a person from Asia has never placed so high on the list.

    Adani’s $146.9 billion fortune, largely tied up in holdings of his sprawling Adani Group conglomerate, still trails well behind Musk’s $260 billion. The group operates a range of businesses including ports and coal that have thrived in recent years.
    Shares of some Adani companies have jumped more than 1,000% since June 2020 — reflecting investor optimism about the conglomerate’s strength in areas like infrastructure and renewable energy that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has prioritized for development. Shares of his flagship Adani Enterprises are up more than 115% in 2022.
    In February, Adani overtook fellow Indian tycoon Mukesh Ambani to become Asia’s wealthiest person.
    Bezos’s net worth slumped to $145.8 billion, according to Bloomberg, as tech stocks were hit hard amid a broader equities selloff Friday. Amazon shares fell 3% in early trading, and the stock is down more than 25% this year.
    The Amazon founder previously ranked No. 1 on the list, but his wealth took a hit after his 2019 divorce. Much of his wealth is tied up in Amazon stock. According to Bloomberg, the tech selloff has shaved $45 billion off Bezos’ net worth since January.

  • 42-story skyscraper in Changsha, China, experiences major fire

    On Friday, a large fire broke out in a 42-story skyscraper in the Hunan province city of Changsha in central China.

    The fire was out and there were no confirmed casualties as of 4:20 p.m. local time (4:20 a.m. ET), according to Chinese state television CCTV.

    A fire that started in the China Telecom Building in the city’s Furong District was reported to the Hunan fire department at around 3:48 p.m. local time, according to a statement on its official Weibo account.

    Changsha Fire and Rescue dispatched 36 fire engines and 280 firefighters to the scene, the statement said.
    After a preliminary investigation, it found the outer wall of the building was on fire, it said.
    Social media videos circulating Friday showed flames engulfing the skyscraper, which, according to the fire department, is 218 meters (715 feet) tall.

  • Kpeshie Lagoon Bridge: Ready to close to traffic

    Traffic on the Kpeshie Lagoon is anticipated to be suspended during rehabilitation.

    A section of the Teshie-Nungua Road was scheduled to be blocked to traffic effective Thursday, September 15, 2022, as stated by the Ministry of Roads and Highways.

    To make room for the renovation of the bridge that crosses the Kpeshie Lagoon after the Labadi Beach Hotel, the road will be closed.

    However, there was heavy traffic travelling over the three-lane bridge in both directions when the construction site was visited a day after the road was supposed to be closed.

    It was indicated by the contractors on site that all was set for the dismantling of the existing steel bridge to pave way for the construction of the new 2/3 concrete bridge over the lagoon, which flows into the Atlantic Ocean a few hundred metres away from the construction site.

    According to the contractors, they are currently waiting on the Ghana Highways Authority to give the final green light by diverting traffic away from the bridge for the construction to begin.

    The reconstruction of the bridge forms part of an expansion of the road running from Independence Square to the Nungua Barrier.

    The reconstruction of the Kpeshie Lagoon Bridge is expected to take some three months, with the new bridge expected to open to traffic on December 15, 2022.

    Traffic continues to flow a day after the planned road closure of Kpeshie lagoon bridge

     

  • Car collision at Yizesi: One dead, three others in a critical condition

    One person has been confirmed dead while three others are battling for their lives at the Sandema Government Hospital after they collided with their respective motorbikes, GhanaWeb reports.

    The incident happened on Monday, September 12, 2022, between the hours of 7 PM and 8 PM on the Yizesi-Nangrumah stretch of the road in the Mamprugu Moaduri District of the North East Region.

    The deceased, identified as Yakubu Sulley, 21, was confirmed dead by the health workers at the Yizesi health center in the Mamprugu Madurai District of the North East Region after he crashed with Saibu Kadri, 22, who was carrying two young girls from Yizesi to Nangrumah on a motorbike to allegedly prospect for gold.

    Saibu Kadri and the two young girls all had their left legs fractured with various degrees of injuries.

    According to the locals, the victims suffered for some hours before an ambulance could travel from Fumbisi in the Upper East Region to Yizesi to take them to Sandema due to the broken-down nature of the Yagaba-Kubori constituency ambulance as a senior brother of Kadri, Sombelungu Hamza attested to.

    “Our District ambulance is not functioning so we had to call the ambulance service through the Upper East Region to come. We told them that we have an accident case in Yizesi so they should quickly come and help us. They agreed, but they told us that we were going to pay Ghc400 but when they saw the two victims upon arrival, they asked us to pay Ghc500 instead of the agreed Ghc400 but what could we do?” he lamented.

    However, the third victim was taken to the Sandema hospital by a pick-up vehicle. All three victims are currently responding to treatment at the Sandema Government Hospital in the Upper East Region.

  • Ghana’s Marburg virus outbreak is over, says GHS

    The Ghana Health Service (GHS) says the country is free from the Marburg virus disease.

    This follows the successful discharge from the hospital, of the only survivor among those who contracted the virus.

    The announcement was made by the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye at a press briefing on Friday, September 16.

    “On this day, the 16th day of September 2022, I Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, Director-General of the Ghana Health Service on behalf of the Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman Manu together with our partners do hereby declare the initial outbreak of Marburg virus is over.”

    He also said the only survivor has been reunited with his family.

    “The only survivor of the three has since recovered from the disease following two negative tests carried out 48 hours apart on the 3rd and 6th of August 2022 respectively, by the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR). Ghana, therefore, has no case of MVD,” he added.

    Ghana recorded its first case of the disease on Monday, July 4.

    Three cases were subsequently reported, with the last being on 21st July 2022. Two of the three persons diagnosed with the disease unfortunately died.

    In all, 198 contacts were identified in four districts (Adansi North and South, Prestea Huni Valley, and Sawla-Tuna-Kalba) of which 118 of them have completed the 21 days of mandatory follow-up and have since been discharged.

    In line with World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines, the outbreak will be declared over 42 days after the last negative test if there are no new cases.

  • Rise in death of security men in Wa causes fear and panic

    Following the alleged murder of six of their coworkers in the previous five months, private security officers in the Wa municipality say that their lives are in danger.

    Also reported missing in the previous two months were two more people.

    The security personnel said they currently experience constant fear as a result of the rising number of assaults on their coworkers.

    “I am unhappy anytime I leave for work because I don’t know what is going to happen to me at work. So I am always afraid,” one Charles Bambo said.

    The recent agitation comes after the latest attack on one private security guard in the area.

    According to reports, the unknown assailants attacked the victim with a cement block.

    According to him, although Charles Garner survived the attack, his left eye is badly injured.

    Private security personnel have therefore asked their employers to get them the appropriate logistics to enable them to perform their duties.

     

  • 23 impersonation cases during WASSCE reported to Police – WAEC

    In the current West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has reported 23 suspected cases of impersonation to the police.

    The Council described the development as disturbing and highlighted that because school administrators fail to recognize “unwanted” individuals in the exam halls, such occurrences have risen in this year’s assessment.

    Six schools had a total of reported occurrences of impersonation as of Friday, September 16.

    Prince Boateng SHS in Nsawam recorded 15 cases, Vicar Trust SHS, Kasoa – three and St. John SHS, Asante Bekwai, two cases.

    Winners SHS, Nkawkaw; Sunyani Business College and Mococo SHS, Nkawkaw all recorded a case each.

    Speaking at a press briefing on Friday, the Head of Public Affairs at WAEC, Agnes Teye-Cudjoe, urged school authorities to “fish out any impersonators even before they are allowed into the examination room.”

    She added that there is a number of syndicate cheating cases in schools where teachers extort money from candidates and provide answers to them in the examination halls.

    “This practice involves…the execution of pre-arranged plans by these same persons to assist candidates to cheat by solving questions and distributing photocopies or printed solutions to the candidates.

    “A number of cases from the following schools have come to our attention: Asawinso SHS, Action SHS, Madina; Juaben SHS, Aduman SHS, Sunyani Business College, Oxford Business SHS, Sunyani and Miracle SHS, SHS.”

  • “The Land of Wales could not have been closer to my mother’s heart’, King in his speech to the Welsh parliament

    “I am very grateful for the condolence addresses which so movingly pay honor to our late sovereign, my dear mother the Queen,” the King said to the Senedd.

    “Through all the years of her reign, the land of Wales could not have been closer to my mother’s heart.

    “I know she took immense pride in your many great achievements – even as she also felt with you deeply in time of sorrow.

    “It must surely be counted the greatest privilege to belong to a land that could inspire such devotion.

    “I am resolved to honour that selfless example.”

    The monarch added: “I take up my new duties with immense gratitude for the privilege of having been able to serve as Prince of Wales.

    “That ancient title, dating from the time of those great Welsh rulers, like Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, whose memory is still rightly honoured, I now pass to my son, William, whose love for this corner of the Earth is made all the greater by the years he himself has spent here.

    “Having visited the Senedd regularly since it was founded, and having heard your heartfelt words today, I know we all share the deepest commitment to the welfare of the people of this land and that we will all continue to work together to that end.”

  • Pope will not be present for the funeral for Queen

    The Vatican says Pope Francis will not be present at the Queen’s funeral on Monday.

    The de facto foreign minister for the Pope will take his seat.

     

    The Vatican says in a statement: “The Most Reverend Paul Gallagher, secretary for relations with states and international organizations, will represent Pope Francis at the funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

    “Over recent months the Pope has suffered ongoing knee trouble that has impacted his mobility. On a July trip to Canada, he spent much of his visit in a wheelchair.

  • Ukraine war: Officials say that hundreds of graves have been discovered in the city of Izyum

    A few days after the town was retaken from Russia, Ukraine claims hundreds of burials have been discovered outside of Izyum.

    In a woodland outside of the town, advancing Ukrainian forces found wooden crosses, the majority of them bearing numbers.

    Authorities announced that some of the tombs would be opened for exhumation on Friday.

    Early reports indicate that some of the fatalities may have perished from shelling and a lack of access to healthcare, while it is yet unclear what happened to them.

    There are also signs that some of the graves could belong to Ukrainian soldiers.

    Regional police head Volodymyr Tymoshko told the BBC more than 400 bodies were thought to have been buried at the site.

    Izyum, invaded in the early days of the war, was used by Russia as a key military hub to supply its forces from the east.

    In his nightly address, President Volodymyr Zelensky said the “necessary procedural actions” had begun in the area.

    “We want the world to know what is really happening and what the Russian occupation has led to. Bucha, Mariupol, now, unfortunately, Izyum… Russia leaves death everywhere,” he said. “And it must be held accountable for that.”

    The Ukrainian leader was referring to alleged mass graves found this spring in Bucha, near the capital Kyiv, and also near Mariupol – the key south-eastern Ukrainian port now occupied by Russian troops.

    Andriy Yermak, the head of President Zelensky’s office, tweeted a photo of the alleged mass burial site, also saying that more information was expected on Friday.

    Much of Izyum lies in ruins, with one local politician telling reporters that up to 80% of the town’s infrastructure has been destroyed, and bodies are still being discovered in the rubble.

    Izyum and a number of other cities in the Kharkiv region were liberated earlier this month during a swift Ukrainian counter-offensive that appeared to have surprised Russian troops and left them unprepared to defend their positions.

    Ukraine says it has identified more than 21,000 possible war crimes – including killing civilians and rape – committed by Russian troops since President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of the country on 24 February.

    Investigators and journalists found what appeared to be evidence of the deliberate killing of civilians in Bucha and other nearby areas.

    Ukrainian forces said they found mass graves and evidence that civilians had been killed after their feet and hands were bound.

    The International Criminal Court has already sent a team of investigators and forensics experts to Ukraine to investigate this.

    US President Joe Biden and former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson have both accused Russia of carrying out war crimes in Ukraine.

    The Russian government has repeatedly denied targeting civilians, accusing Ukraine and the West of fabricating evidence.

     

  • Italy: Floods and rain kill at least ten overnight – officials

    Authorities in Marche, Italy, have reported that at least 10 people have perished as a result of nocturnal flash floods.

    Late on Thursday, torrential rain forced rivers and streams to overflow, flooding coastal towns near the regional capital of Ancona.

    Around 400mm (16 inches) of rain – half a year’s worth – were recorded in just a few hours.

    Four more people, including a kid who was split up when a river burst its banks, are still missing and being sought for by rescuers.

    “It was like an earthquake.” said local mayor Ludovico Caverni to RAI state radio.

    According to one local report, a mother who managed to escape her car with her child in her arms became separated from him after being overwhelmed by water when the River Misa burst its banks.

    Emergency workers managed to rescue the woman overnight but her six-year-old child is one of several still missing, local outlets report.

    In addition to 10 dead, Italian newspapers report that around 50 people were being treated at hospitals for hypothermia and other injuries sustained in the floods.

    More than 180 firefighters are assisting in the rescue efforts, evacuating people who overnight were forced to climb up trees or get onto their roofs to escape the rising water.

    Some of the rescuers used dinghy rafts and helicopters to reach trapped families, footage shows.

    An unusually dry summer left nearby lands parched in the coastal area and unable to absorb the copious volumes of water falling down.

    Although rain was forecast for the region – local officials say the ensuing flash floods took everyone by complete surprise.

    “We were given a normal alert for rain, but nobody had expected anything like this,” Marche regional official Stefano Aguzzi told reporters according to Reuters.

    Weather officials said the severity of the floods were explained by a combination of two things: unusually hot September temperatures, and a persistent drought over the summer.

    The heat meant the sea was warmer than usual for this time of year putting more moisture into the air.

    When a storm then released the moisture in the form of rain, a severe summer drought meant the land was too dry to absorb the falling water quickly enough.

    Unusually hot weather and low rainfall levels have compounded northern Italy’s water shortages and heightened fears about the effects of climate change.

    Authorities in Marche, Italy, have reported that at least 10 people have perished as a result of nocturnal flash floods.

    Late on Thursday, torrential rain forced rivers and streams to overflow, flooding coastal towns near the regional capital of Ancona.

    Around 400mm (16 inches) of rain – half a year’s worth – were recorded in just a few hours.

    Four more people, including a kid who was split up when a river burst its banks, are still missing and being sought by rescuers.

  • Queen’s lying-in-state: Controversy over MPs being allowed to skip queue

    Who can skip the line to pay their respects to the late Queen has sparked a dispute.

    MPs and House of Lords members can each bring four guests to the lying-in-state without having to wait in line.

    The majority of Parliamentary staff can also bypass the lines, although MP staffers are required to wait in line.

    Contractors working for Parliament are required to wait up alongside cleaners and security personnel, prompting complaints that they are being treated like “second class citizens.”

    There are hundreds of cleaners working across the Parliamentary estate. An estimated 160 of their jobs have been outsourced. Because they don’t work directly for the parliamentary administration, they will not be entitled to gain access to the fast-track queue.

    The PCS trade union said it was “time for them to be treated as equals”.

    Shortly before 10:00 this morning, the government announced that the public queue was being paused for at least six hours after reaching capacity.

    Mourners have been warned not to try to join the queue before 16:00 at the earliest.

    The official estimate for queuing time has risen to at least 14 hours.

    Former prime minister Theresa May, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, and deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner are among the MPs who have attended the lying-in-state at Westminster Hall.

    Members of the public are able to attend 24 hours a day until 06:30 BST on Monday – the day of the Queen’s funeral – but the queue will close before then to ensure as many people as possible can get in.

    ‘Second-class citizens’

    Many have waited more than eight hours for the opportunity to pay their respects.

    Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the PCS union, which represents civil and public servants as well as private sector workers on government contracts, said: “It’s symbolic that hard-working security guards, cleaners, and catering staff in Parliament are treated as second-class citizens.

    “As we usher in a new era, it’s time for them to be treated as equals and at least given a pay rise to help them through the cost-of-living crisis and beyond.”

    Those who work for MPs or peers must also queue with the public to attend the lying-in-state.

    One MP staff member said many were upset by this, adding: “We’ve seen in the parliamentary response to a succession of scandals involving the bullying and sexual harassment of MPs’ staff that we are treated as an after-thought, and this is yet another example.”

    According to an internal House of Commons memo, leaked to The Spectator, MPs’ staff have been told that “it is not possible to open up access further without the risk of impacting access for queuing members of the public”.

    Some of the members of the public who had waited for several hours to pay their respects were infuriated by the fact MPs and peers were allowed to take four guests with them when they skipped the public queue.

    “Personally, I think it’s outrageous,” said Christina from Balham in south London. ”I can understand that for security reasons MPs might not want to stand in the public queue but they shouldn’t be able to take four guests in and neither should the peers.”

    Louise, from Keston in south-east London, also said she felt this was unfair, adding: “This day is supposed to be for the people.”

    But other people who had just emerged from Westminster Hall did not mind.

    “I’m not bothered, it’s one of the perks of their job,” said Alan, from Kent. He and his wife Sue were pleased to have progressed along the queue in five hours.

    Alan and Sally Prince from London also said they ”weren’t fussed”, in part because they had really enjoyed being in the queue. “The atmosphere was fun. It felt like the nation was coming together,” they said.

  • King Charles III arrives in Cardiff

    King Charles III has arrived in Cardiff after flying from Gloucestershire by helicopter.

    He is expected to shortly attend a service at Llandaff Cathedral.

    Later, he will visit the Welsh parliament and Cardiff Castle.

    The King was Prince of Wales for more than 50 years.

    The title has now passed to his son, Prince William.

  • Two police officers stabbed near Leicester Square in central London rushed to the hospital

    The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan,  condemned the incident and called it “utterly appalling.”

    After being attacked by a man with a knife in Leicester Square in the heart of London, two male police officers are receiving medical attention in a hospital.

    According to the Metropolitan Police, a Taser was used in the early morning incident, and a man was detained on suspicion of causing serious bodily harm and assaulting a healthcare practitioner.

    The man arrested was taken to a hospital for treatment where he remains at this time.

    Footage from the scene shows police officers guarding an area of Whitcomb Street which has been taped off.

    A man has been arrested in connection to the incident

    A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said the service was called to reports of an incident in Great Windmill Street, near Shaftsbury Avenue at 6.01 am

    The scene of the stabbings near Leicester Square

    They added that three ambulances, a medic in a response car, and London’s air ambulance were dispatched to the scene and that three people were treated and taken to hospital.

    London Mayor Sadiq Khan has condemned the attack and called for anyone with information about the incident to contact the police.

    He described it as “utterly appalling”, adding that the officers “were doing their duty and assisting the public at this momentous time for our country”.

    “My thoughts and prayers are with them, their loved ones, and police colleagues following this disgraceful attack.

    “Attacks against the police will not be tolerated and any perpetrators will be caught and prosecuted,” he said.

    The mayor added that he has spoken with the commissioner Sir Mark Rowley and remains in close contact.

    Police said inquiries into the “circumstances surrounding the incident are ongoing”.

  • The Gloucestershire estate: The hideaway of King Charles III

    The monarch will spend his first day away from the media since his mother’s passing at Highgrove House, a famed Georgian neo-classical home built in the 1780s close to Tetbury, Gloucestershire.

    For a solitary day of reflection, King Charles has retired to his Highgrove palace in Gloucestershire.

    A day was reserved for the incoming monarch to spend away from official duties at his family home as part of the London Bridge preparations for what would happen following the Queen’s passing.

    Although it is thought he will be working in preparation for his new position and collecting his red boxes of state paperwork, he is not anticipated to attend any public events.

    The King will spend his first day out of the public spotlight since the death of his mother at his beloved Highgrove House near Tetbury, Gloucestershire, a Georgian neo-classical house that serves as the private home for the monarch the Queen Consort.

    A passionate gardener and environmentalist, King Charles has spent over 40 years transforming the gardens around the house.

    over 40 years of transforming the gardens around the house.

    A map showing Highgrove
    A map showing Highgrove

    The home has been owned by various families until it was purchased by the Duchy of Cornwall from former prime minister Harold Macmillan’s son, Maurice Macmillan, in 1980.

    Undated handout photo issued by The Prince's Foundation of the Prince of Wales in the gardens of his home in Highgrove, Wiltshire. The prince has welcomed more than 60 garden tour guides back to the estate, explaining changes made, outlining his vision for the following year, and highlighting his favourite flowers and trees and sharing the reasons for their inclusion, ahead of the 2022 Highgrove Gardens tour season which begins on Monday. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2022.
    Image:The Prince of Wales in the gardens of his home in Highgrove
    The Duchess of Cornwall, alongside Colonel Commandant, General Sir Patrick Sanders (centre right), at Highgrove House, during a ceremony for the transfer of the Colonel-in-Chief of the Rifles to the Duchess from the Duke of Edinburgh, who will begin the ceremony at Windsor Castle. PA Photo. Picture date: Wednesday July 22, 2020. The ceremony will begin at Windsor Castle where the Assistant Colonel Commandant, Major General Tom Copinger-Symes, will offer the salute and thank the Duke for his 67 years of support and service to The Rifles, and their forming and antecedent Regiments. The ceremony will continue at Highgrove House, where the arrival of The Duchess of Cornwall, where she will be addressed by The Rifles' Colonel Commandant, General Sir Patrick Sanders, who will welcome The Duchess as the new Colonel-in-Chief. See PA story ROYAL Philip. Photo credit should read: Geoff Pugh/The Daily Telegraph/PA Wire
    Image:The Duchess of Cornwall at Highgrove House

    The King chose the nine-bedroom mansion for its easy access to London, Wales and other properties owned by the Duchy of Cornwall.

    He and his then-wife Princess Diana renovated the property with neo-classical additions in 1987 and the interior was stripped out and redecorated.

    The Duchess of Cornwall with her dog Beth at Highgrove

    The King’s passion project has been the estate’s gardens, which were overgrown and untended when he first moved in but have since been completely overhauled.

    The green-fingered monarch introduced a wild garden, formal garden, walled kitchen, and a stumpery.

    His environmental beliefs are echoed on the estate, which includes solar panels, biomass boilers, and air source heat pumps, while waste from the house is filtered through a natural reed bed sewage system.

    The Prince of Wales flanked by his sons Princes William and Harry at Highgrove

    Fruit and vegetables from the kitchen garden are used for meals at Charles and Camilla’s table, while flowers in the garden are used to decorate the house.

    The King has also planted rare trees and plants for future generations and heritage seeds have been planted to ensure they flourish.

    The monarch has said: “One of my greatest joys is to see the pleasure that the garden can bring to many of the visitors and that everybody seems to find some part of it that is special to them.”

    Guests and the public have been able to tour the gardens since 1994 and thousands visit each year.

    It remains to be seen where the King will live during his reign.

    Traditionally the monarch would live at Buckingham Palace, though a friend previously told the Mail on Sunday: “Despite what everybody thinks about him not wanting to live there, he will certainly have accommodation there – but it will be a much more modest flat-above-the-shop situation akin to that of the Prime Minister at Downing Street.”

    The house technically belongs to the Duchy of Cornwall, so has passed to Prince William who is the new Duke of Cornwall.

    It means the King could pay his son an estimated £700,000 a year in rent to stay at Highgrove, according to the Daily Mail.

  • Texas sends migrants to the vice president’s mansion in Washington

    In the midst of an escalating political debate about immigration, two buses transporting migrants were sent from Texas to a location near Vice President Kamala Harris’ house in Washington, DC, on Thursday.

    The Republican governor of the state claimed that the action was deliberate and called for stricter immigration regulations.

    It happens the day after Florida transferred migrants to an island off the coast of Massachusetts.

    Both states seem to be intensifying a strategy that has seen migrants sent from Republican states to Democratic regions.

    As political tension over the number of people arriving at the US-Mexico border grows, states such as Texas and Arizona have sent thousands of migrants to cities such as Chicago, New York, and Washington DC, which they accuse of failing to fully enforce immigration laws.

    While legal experts say the tactic will likely be challenged in court, it remains unclear what the legal basis for such a challenge would be.

    Immigration groups in both Washington DC and the wealthy Massachusetts island of Martha’s Vineyard said they were not given an advance warning about the arrivals.
    Footage shown on Fox News showed two buses – reportedly carrying between 75 and 100 people – arriving near the vice-president’s residence and migrants, who were mostly from Venezuela, gathering their belongings and standing nearby. A non-governmental organisation later came and reportedly transported them to a church.

    “Harris claims our border is ‘secure’ [and] denies the crisis,” Texas Governor Greg Abbott later wrote on Twitter. “We’re sending migrants to her backyard to call on the Biden Administration to do its job and secure the border.”

    ‘We’re in limbo’

    Among the migrants on the buses in Washington were Delinyer Mendoza and his partner Maybel, a young Venezuelan couple who arrived in the US five days ago after an arduous trek through Central America and Mexico.

    While officials in Texas told the couple they were headed to Washington, the pair only learned that they were at the vice-president’s house when told by journalists.

    “We didn’t know,” Maybel said. “We’re finding out about this from you all… we’re in limbo and were just going to walk around not knowing where we were.”

    The pair said they planned to spend the day with a local humanitarian organisation before heading north to New York, where Mr Mendoza has family.

    Another migrant, Cuban national Leonardo Perdomo, told Reuters that he had boarded a bus in Texas after officials offered him passage to Washington “free of charge”.

    A local volunteer helping the migrants, Carla Bustillos, was quoted as saying that immigration organisations were only told about the arrivals at the last minute. “While we’re doing this political show, we have human beings feeling that their suffering is being exploited,” she said.

    The migrants, including children, arrived in Martha’s Vineyard on Wednesday afternoon

    In a similar move on Wednesday, two planes carrying migrants were flown to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. The resort is a traditional summer destination for Hollywood stars and former President Barack Obama is among those who have holiday homes in the area.

    The migrants, including children, arrived at about 15:00 (11:00 GMT) on Wednesday without any warning, according to Massachusetts State Senator Julian Cyr.

    Officials and volunteers then “moved heaven and earth” to set up the response like “we would do in the event of a hurricane”, he said. Migrants were given food and clothing as well as being tested for Covid.

    Many did not know where they were, according to Massachusetts state Representative Dylan Fernandes. They had been told they would be given housing and jobs, he said.

    On Twitter, Mr Fernandes described the move as an “evil and inhumane” plot to use “human lives – men, women and children – as political pawns”.

    Places like “Massachusetts, New York, and California” will better care for migrants, Taryn Fenske, a spokesman for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said in a statement.

    Christina Pushaw, a spokesperson for Mr DeSantis’ re-election campaign, said Martha’s Vineyard should be “thrilled”. “They vote for sanctuary cities – they get a sanctuary city of their own. And illegal aliens will increase the town’s diversity, which is strength. Right?”

    So-called sanctuary cities are cities that have policies to aid undocumented immigrants.

    Aleksander Cuic, an immigration lawyer and the director of the Immigration Clinic at Case Western Reserve University’s school of law, said that while he believes efforts to relocate migrants in this way will be legally challenged, it is still unclear what – if any – laws may have been broken.

    “The big question is what they are being told, and if there is any sort of fraud or inducement,” he told the BBC. “But how would anyone know if there’s nothing in writing? It could be that they [the migrants] are willingly saying they’ll go if there are jobs and opportunities.”

    Mr Cuic added that authorities in Texas and Florida are likely to argue they “are doing the same thing” as the government, which regularly moves detained migrants around the country.

    Governor Ron DeSantis has previously cited Martha’s Vineyard as a possible destination for migrants being sent out of his state, telling reporters last year that if they were, the “border would be secure the next day”. This year, Florida representatives set aside $12m (£10.4m) for transporting migrants.

    It is unclear how many migrants Florida plans to send to other states. The BBC has reached out to Governor DeSantis’ office for comment.

  • Eddie Butler: Former Wales rugby captain and renowned broadcaster passes away at age 65

    Former captain of the Wales rugby union and a renowned broadcaster and pundit, Eddie Butler passed away at the age of 65.

    Butler played 16 times for Wales between 1980 and 1984 after becoming well-known with the local team Pontypool. He captained the team six times and scored two tries.

    The British and Irish Lions team that toured New Zealand in 1983 called up the number eight.

    He rose to prominence as a rugby broadcaster after retiring.

    On a charitable excursion in Peru, Butler passed away in his sleep.

    He was a pivotal part of the Pontypool side that was created by Ray Prosser and dominated Welsh club rugby in the late 1970s and early 1980s, captaining the side between 1982 and 1985.

    Butler had also played for Cambridge University from 1976-1978 while studying French and Spanish at Fitzwilliam College.

    Butler’s first cap came in Wales’ 18-9 Five Nations win against France in January 1980.

    He retired from international rugby in 1985 aged 27 and has worked as a teacher in Cheltenham for three years, Butler then joined Radio Wales as a press and publicity officer in 1984.

    While still playing for his beloved Pontypool, Butler went on to work for a property development company.

    Eddie Butler played in three consecutive Varsity matches for Cambridge University against Oxford University – 1976-78

    He started his newspaper journalism career with the Sunday Correspondent in 1988 before stints with Observer and the Guardian and returned to BBC Wales in 1990 after being brought back in by the new head of sport Gareth Davies.

    Current BBC Director-General Tim Davie paid tribute to “a wonderful wordsmith” who had shaped so much of the organization’s output.

    “Everyone at the BBC is shocked and saddened by this very sad news,” Davie said. “Eddie was a brilliantly gifted commentator, writer, and reporter whose passion for the game of rugby union shone through every broadcast.

    “A wonderful wordsmith with a rich, iconic voice, he provided the definitive soundtrack to some of the greatest moments in rugby’s history. He will be much missed by all of us and our thoughts are with his family at this sad time.”

    Welsh Rugby Union chairman Rob Butcher said of Butler: “He proudly represented his country as a player, was a mainstay in press boxes around the world long after he retired from the game, and has been prolific in the way in which he has served Welsh rugby in both the written and spoken word over decades.

    “Our thoughts and prayers go to his family, who we also know well and cherish, and his close friends and colleagues at this incredibly difficult time.

    “He was a unique individual and the game in Wales owes him a debt of gratitude for his contributions both on and off the pitch.”

    Butler started his commentary career alongside the great Bill McLaren.

    After McLaren’s retirement, Butler became the BBC rugby lead commentator where he formed a notable partnership with the likes of former England hooker Brian Moore and ex-Wales fly-half Jonathan Davies.

    Butler will be remembered for his brilliant prose that accompanied montages of major sporting and political events, with the final one marking the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

    He also commentated on Olympic sports and the Invictus Games, as well as lending his voice to stirring montages for the BBC’s NFL highlights programmes.

    In 2010, Butler joined a host of former Wales captains who climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania to raise funds for Velindre Hospital, Cardiff’s specialist cancer treatment centre.

    Butler presented history series on the BBC including Wales and the History of the World, Hidden Histories, Welsh Towns at War in 2014, and two series of Welsh Towns in 2015.

    He was also an author after publishing three novels and two non-fiction books.

    Away from rugby and broadcasting, Butler campaigned for Welsh independence in recent years.

    His passing prompted tributes and condolences from inside and outside rugby union.

     

  • Queen’s procession was difficult for William because of his memories of Diana

    In Norfolk, the Prince of Wales told well-wishers that seeing the Queen’s casket “brought back a few memories” of the funeral of his mother.

    As he and the Princess of Wales observed floral offerings left in front of Sandringham House, Prince William said that it had been “difficult.”

    In a nod to Princess Diana’s funeral procession, he and his brother followed the gun carriage on Wednesday.

    Members of the Royal Family conducted visits as official mourning continued.

    After viewing some of the hundreds of tributes to the late monarch, who died last week, outside the gates at Sandringham, Prince William and Catherine spoke to those gathered there.

    Speaking to one woman, Prince William said: “I mean the walk yesterday was challenging, it brought back a few memories…”

    Among those he spoke to was receptionist Jane Wells, from Long Sutton in Lincolnshire, who said she had told the prince how proud his mother would have been of him.

    “He said how hard it was yesterday because it brought back memories of his mother’s funeral,” she said.

    Caroline Barwick-Walters, of Neath in Wales, said she told Prince William “thank you for sharing your grief with the nation”, and that he replied, “she was everybody’s grandmother”.

    Prince William, then 15, and his brother, Prince Harry the Duke of Sussex, then 12, walked with their father, King Charles III, behind the coffin of their mother, Princess Diana, in September 1997.

    They were side by side again as they solemnly escorted the Queen’s coffin from Buckingham Palace to Westminster on Wednesday.

    The sight of Prince William and Prince Harry walking side-by-side behind the Queen’s coffin in Wednesday’s procession to Westminster Hall evoked immediate memories of the two brothers at the funeral of their mother.

    The comments to well-wishers in Sandringham suggest it’s something also felt by Prince William, now the Prince of Wales, as he said how hard it was for him when it “brought back a few memories”.

    It’s 25 years since the death of Princess Diana, but it’s an image of loss that still resonates. It’s a reminder of the traumatic impact on the young lives of the two brothers – and both of them have often spoken of how much the loss of their mother is still in their thoughts.

    Bereavement at such a young age has been previously described by Prince William as a “pain like no other pain”.

    And Prince Harry has spoken of his mother’s continuing influence. “I feel her presence in almost everything that I do now,” he said earlier this year.

    Speaking in 2017, Prince Harry described walking behind his mother’s coffin as a child as something that would not happen now.

    He told Newsweek: “I don’t think any child should be asked to do that, under any circumstances. I don’t think it would happen today.”

    Princes William and Harry at Princess Diana’s funeral in 1997
    They joined their father King Charles in walking behind the Queen’s coffin on Wednesday

    Sandringham House has been a royal residence for four generations of British monarchs for a period of more than 150 years and has traditionally been where the Queen spent her Christmas break.

    She gifted Anmer Hall, a Georgian country house that is part of the Sandringham estate, to Prince William and Catherine after their wedding.

    Prince and Princess of Wales meet the Sandringham crowd

    Meanwhile, the King returned to Highgrove, his country home in Gloucestershire, where a spokesman said he was attending to state business.

    Other members of the Royal Family have also been on visits on Thursday.

    The Earl and Countess of Wessex – the Queen’s youngest son Prince Edward and his wife Sophie – met well-wishers and viewing tributes in Manchester’s St Ann’s Square.

    The couple were shown a book of condolence at Manchester’s Central Library, before lighting a candle in memory of the Queen at Manchester Cathedral.

    Princess Royal – the Queen’s only daughter Princess Anne – travelled to Glasgow to meet representatives of organisations of which the Queen was patron.

    On Wednesday, members of the Royal Family marched behind the Queen’s coffin as it travelled from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall, where she is lying in state.

    Thousands have queued for hours to view the coffin, which people can visit 24 hours a day until 06:30 BST on 19 September – the day of her funeral.

  • New Zealand bodies in a suitcase: South Korean authorities detain woman over child deaths

    Police in South Korea has detained a lady who is charged with killing her two children, who were discovered in suitcases in New Zealand last month.

    Strangers who had purchased the abandoned luggage from an Auckland storage facility were the ones who found the victims in a case that rocked the entire nation.

    It was thought that the bodies had been kept in storage for a while. The ages of the victims were 7 and 10, according to Korean police.

    New Zealand has applied for the woman’s extradition from South Korea.

    Police in Auckland said they had worked closely with South Korean authorities in their search for the woman, after saying last month they believed she was in South Korea.

    The woman had fled to South Korea in 2018 after the children’s deaths, South Korean police said. She is a 42-year-old New Zealand national of Korean descent.

    A global Interpol warrant had been issued for her arrest. Officers arrested her on Thursday in a midnight raid on an apartment in the south-eastern city of Ulsan.

    It followed a stakeout after investigators received tips about her whereabouts, Seoul’s National Police agency said.

    Last month, New Zealand police said they were searching for the woman after they managed to identify the children, whose names have not been disclosed.

    “To have someone in custody overseas within such a short period of time has all been down to the assistance of the Korean authorities and the coordination by our NZ Police Interpol staff,” said New Zealand Police Detective Inspector Tofilau Fa’amanuia Vaaelua on Thursday.

    Forensic investigators outside the home in Auckland’s suburbs where the bodies were found last month

    Police have requested the suspect be denied bail prior to her extradition to New Zealand where she faces murder charges.

    Local media there reported the family had lived in Auckland for a few years and the children’s father had died of cancer prior to their deaths. They reported the children’s grandparents still live in New Zealand.

    The children’s bodies were discovered in early August after a separate family bought a trailer-load of goods, including the suitcases, in an online auction.

    That family had no connection to the deaths and had suffered great distress in the period following the discovery, officers said.

  • Queen Elizabeth II: Hong Kong’s grief, a message to Beijing

    Hong Kong residents have been waiting in line for hours to pay their respects to the Queen this week, in what is arguably the largest show of support for the late monarch outside of the UK.

    The collective outpouring of sadness, however, coincides with Beijing’s increasing hold over the country and tells as much about the present as it does the past.

    In contrast to the more subdued responses observed in other former British colonies, the Admiralty section of the city witnessed lengthy lines and mountains of flowers and cards.

    Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule under “one country, two systems”, which promised that the city’s way of life – including civil liberties unavailable in the mainland – would be kept for at least 50 years.

    But a crackdown on protests, Beijing’s imposition of its national security law and only allowing “patriots” to govern are seen by many as reneging on that promise.

    “There is a mix of complex emotions,” said Dr Li Mei Ting, a cultural and religious studies lecturer at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

    Outside the British consulate, mourners opened umbrellas to hide from the scorching sun while “God Save the Queen” played softly from a mobile phone.

    Parents brought their children along, and one father even wrapped his seven-month-old daughter in a Union Jack flag.

    “I don’t remember ever seeing Hong Kongers doing this to any leader who passed away,” Ted Hui, a former Hong Kong MP who now lives in Australia, told the BBC.

    Nostalgia for a ‘golden age’

    In the city, the Queen was affectionately called si tau por, which means “boss lady” in Cantonese.

    Many in the queue were older people, among them Mr Lee, aged in his 60s, who had brought chrysanthemums. “I hadn’t bought any flowers before, not even when I was courting girls.”

    He said he was grateful for the Queen as Hong Kong’s economy flourished and society became liberal and open under colonial rule. Others said the education and medical systems were hugely improved and the city also enjoyed the rule of law under British rule.

    Queen Elizabeth II visited Hong Kong twice during her reign. She is affectionately called “boss lady” in Cantonese

    Hong Kong became a British colony after two Opium Wars in the 19th century and colonial rule lasted for 156 years. Meanwhile, mainland China was swept by political turmoil including the Great Famine and the Cultural Revolution.

    “Hong Kong was peaceful during those days,” said Ms Fung, 75.

    When Hong Kong people reminisce about the colonial era, they are often referring to the period from the mid-1970s to the 1990s, says Dr. Li.

    “People who experienced this period see it as Hong Kong’s golden age,” she said.

    The British colonial government changed its governance model as a response to deadly anti-colonial riots in 1967, which were sparked by a labour dispute and supported by Beijing. More public housing was built and free primary education was introduced, partly in a bid to ward off further social movements, Dr Li says.

    But US-based activist Jeffrey Ngo says the last three decades of the colonial period do not give the full picture – and that the British empire had played a “very big role” in paving the way for the current situation.

    “Plenty of activists have been prosecuted, especially since 2019, under laws that were put in place by the colonial government and were never repealed before 1997.”

    Last week five speech therapists were convicted under the colonial-era sedition law, for publishing children’s books that portray the Chinese government as wolves and Hong Kongers as sheep. The judge said it was a “brainwashing exercise”, while critics say the sentence was a blow to freedom of speech.

    The UK also did little to democratise the city for much of the colonial period, Mr Ngo said.

    Current day discontent

    For some, commemorating the Queen is a way to express their unhappiness at the Hong Kong government. Protest is no longer possible under Beijing’s sweeping national security law and stringent Covid rules.

    Mr Tse, who brought his pet Corgi on a leash with a Union Jack, said the mourning was an “alternative form of political expression”.

    Mr Tse says he is surprised by the number of people waiting outside the consulate

    Flying that flag on another day could risk arrest or even prosecution under the national security law – but it is being tolerated for now because of the Queen’s death, he added.

    Mr Chan came with his wife and two children. He said the family felt close to the Queen as all members were born at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, which was opened in 1963.

    “We will pay tribute to whoever merits our respect. [Authorities] should not easily accuse people of collusion with foreign forces but not reflect on their own behaviour that causes so much unhappiness among Hong Kongers,” he said.

    Some in the line were also planning to leave the city. Hong Kong’s population has shrunk by almost 200,000 in two years – and many of those leaving plan to settle in the UK.

    “Hong Kongers are queuing under such heat. We share the same ideas and no words are needed to explain,” said Ms Lee, who came with her 21-year-old daughter.

    “There is a huge contrast between the past and the present… Now we have lost what we had and many people I know are emigrating,” she added before confirming that they plan to leave too.

    This father says he will teach his daughter about Hong Kong’s colonial history when she grows up

    Hong Kong’s identity

    Younger people without direct experience of the colonial era were also in the queue. Some said they were worried that Hong Kong’s colonial past would be buried under Beijing’s drive to reshape the city.

    New textbooks now say Hong Kong was never a British colony but was merely occupied by a foreign power.

    Law student Sam said his grandmother fled mainland China by swimming to the city. “Immigration officers said to my grandma that our si tau por was also a woman, so she would be taken care of in Hong Kong.”

    Christopher, 15, said traces of Hong Kong’s colonial history are still visible – such as the old banknotes and street signs. “But it feels like they are fading.”

    “No matter our criticism, the colonial period was part of our Hong Kong identity and history,” said Dr Li.

  • God Save the King was sung for the first time at the closing of the Queen mourning ceremony at St. Paul’s Cathedral

    At the service where King Charles gave his first speech to the country, no members of the Royal Family were present.

    The Queen’s memorial ceremony at St. Paul’s Cathedral ended with the first formal performance of “God Save the King.”

    The lyrics to the national anthem have changed from “Queen” to “King” and “her victorious” to “him victorious” to mark King Charles III taking over as the new monarch.

    It comes after crowds spontaneously sang the version of the song outside Buckingham Palace on Friday as the King arrived with the Queen Consort Camilla.

    The anthem is also expected to be sung at the Kia Oval cricket ground on Saturday as England and South Africa’s Third Test Match resumes. The match was paused on Friday following the Queen’s death.

    No members of the Royal Family were present at the service but audio of King Charles’s first address to the nation was played to the congregation.

    The King said he was speaking with “feelings of profound sorrow” as he told the country: “Queen Elizabeth was a life well lived; a promise with destiny kept and she is mourned most deeply in her passing. That promise of lifelong service I renew to you all today.”

    King Charles went on to say: “As the Queen herself did with such unswerving devotion, I too now solemnly pledge myself, throughout the remaining time God grants me, to uphold the constitutional principles at the heart of our nation.

    “And wherever you may live in the United Kingdom, or in the realms and territories across the world, and whatever may be your background or beliefs, I shall endeavor to serve you with loyalty, respect, and love, as I have throughout my life.”

    Prime Minister Liz Truss and senior ministers were also in attendance along with 2,000 members of the public who collected wristbands on a first-come-first-serve basis.

    Ms Truss, who met King Charles for a brief audience in person at Buckingham Palace earlier, gave a brief reading from the Bible.

    She said: “We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.”

  • North Korea makes the “irreversible” decision to declare itself a nuclear-armed state

    In a move that its leader Kim Jong Un calls “irreversible,” North Korea has enacted new legislation proclaiming itself a nuclear weapons state.

    Kim vowed the country would “never give up” its nuclear weapons and said there could be no negotiations on denuclearization as he hailed the passage of the law, North Korean state media reported Friday.
    The new law also enshrines Pyongyang’s right to use preemptive nuclear strikes to protect itself — updating a previous stance under which it had said it would keep its weapons only until other countries denuclearized and would not use them preemptively against non-nuclear states.
    Nuclear weapons represent the “dignity, body, and absolute power of the state,” Kim said as he welcomed the decision by the country’s rubber-stamp parliament — the Supreme People’s Assembly — to pass the new law in a unanimous vote.
    “The adoption of laws and regulations related to the national nuclear force policy is a remarkable event as it’s our declaration that we legally acquired war deterrence as a means of national defense,” Kim said.
    “As long as nuclear weapons exist on Earth, and imperialism and the anti-North Korean maneuvers of the US and its followers remain, our road to strengthening our nuclear force will never end.”
    The new law also bans the sharing of nuclear technology with other countries.
    It comes amid rising regional tensions over North Korea’s expansion of its nuclear weapons and missiles program.
    Kim has made increasingly provocative threats of nuclear conflict toward the United States and its allies in Asia in recent months.
    At the same time, the US has become increasingly concerned that North Korea may be preparing to carry out its first underground nuclear test in years
    Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said the law demonstrated Pyongyang’s hopes of strengthening its relations with China and Russia at a time of heightened global tensions.
    “North Korea mentioning the possibility of using nuclear weapons if and when an attack on the state and leader is imminent is significant, even though it states nuclear weapons as a defensive last resort,” Yang said.

  • King Charles vows to serve with ‘loyalty, respect and love’ in first address to nation

    Despite his grief, the King has already started carrying out royal duties, holding his first audience with and greeting well-wishers gathered outside Buckingham Palace earlier on Friday.

    King Charles vowed to serve the people of the United Kingdom with “loyalty, respect, and love” during his first televised address to the nation.

    Offering words of comfort following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, the King paid tribute to her “love, affection, guidance, understanding and example” in a speech from Buckingham Palace.

    “Queen Elizabeth was a life well lived; a promise with destiny kept and she is mourned most deeply in her passing. That promise of lifelong service I renew to you all today,” he said.

    “Throughout her life, Her Majesty The Queen – my beloved mother – was an inspiration and example to me and to all my family, and we owe her the most heartfelt debt any family can owe to their mother.”

    A memorial service for the Queen is being held at St Paul’s Cathedral, with 2,000 members of the public joining politicians, including the prime minister, to watch his address.

    Speaking from the Blue Drawing Room of the palace, where his mother recorded some of her Christmas messages, His Majesty dedicated part of his speech to other senior royals, including his wife and children.

    (left - right) Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince William, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry stand on the balcony at Buckingham Palace during the Diamond Jubilee celebrations in central London.

    Of Camilla, now the Queen Consort, he said: “I know she will bring to the demands of her new role the steadfast devotion to duty on which I have come to rely so much.”

    Speaking about his eldest son Prince William, who is now the Duke of Cornwall, Prince of Wales, and heir to the throne, the King said he would “continue to inspire” alongside his wife, Catherine.

    He expressed his love for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Harry and Meghan “as they continue to build their lives overseas” – in what could be considered a symbol of his bid for reconciliation amid past troubles with the couple.

    As he begins his reign, the King also set out his changing role, saying it will “no longer be possible” for him to give as much “time and energies to the charities and issues” he cares “so deeply” about.

    ‘To my darling Mama…’

    Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles stand on a balcony during the Platinum Jubilee Pageant, marking the end of the celebrations for the Platinum Jubilee of Britain's Queen Elizabeth, in London, Britain, June 5, 2022. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/Pool

    King Charles sat to deliver his address, with a posy of sweet peas mixed with rosemary placed on a desk in front of him, which represents remembrance.

    “On behalf of all my family, I can only offer the most sincere and heartfelt thanks for your condolences and support,” the King said.

    “They mean more to me than I can ever possibly express.

    “And to my darling Mama, as you begin your last great journey to join my dear late Papa, I want simply to say this: thank you.”

    He thanked the Queen for her “love and devotion” before concluding his address with a quote from the William Shakespeare play Hamlet.

    “May ‘flights of Angels sing thee to thy rest,” His Majesty said.

    Monarch already carrying out royal duties

    The address was broadcast after King Charles was seen meeting well-wishers waiting outside Buckingham Palace.

    He shook hands with dozens of people and was also hugged and kissed before walking through the palace gates with his wife by his side.

    Despite his grief, the monarch has already started carrying out royal duties, holding his first audience with Prime Minister Liz Truss earlier on Friday.

    He returned to London with the Queen Consort, after spending Thursday at Balmoral to be with the Queen before she died.

    Dressed in a black suit and tie, the grieving King left the royal residence seated in the back of a car, with his wife in the front passenger seat, as they were driven to Aberdeen airport.

    The monarch is due to be proclaimed at the Accession Council at 10 am on Saturday in the State Apartments of St James’s Palace, Buckingham Palace has said – with the process televised for the first time in history.

  • Queen’s memorial service: Liz Truss gives a reading

    Prime Minister Liz Truss now delivers a reading at the service at St Paul’s.

    Wearing the black dress she was pictured in earlier when she attended the audience with King Charles III at Buckingham Palace, she stands in front of the congregation to read from the Book of Romans.

    “We do not live to ourselves and we do not die to ourselves; if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord.”

    “So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s,” she reads.

  • King Charles III’s first address to the nation

    King Charles III on Friday delivered his first televised address to the nation as sovereign following the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II.

    Here is a transcript of his prerecorded speech:
    I speak to you today with feelings of profound sorrow. Throughout her life, Her Majesty The Queen — my beloved Mother — was an inspiration and example to me and to all my family, and we owe her the most heartfelt debt any family can owe to their mother; for her love, affection, guidance, understanding and example.
    Queen Elizabeth was a life well lived; a promise with destiny kept and she is mourned most deeply in her passing. That promise of lifelong service I renew to you all today.
    Alongside the personal grief that all my family are feeling, we also share with so many of you in the United Kingdom, in all the countries where The Queen was Head of State, in the Commonwealth, and across the world, a deep sense of gratitude for the more than 70 years in which my Mother, as Queen, served the people of so many nations.
    In 1947, on her 21st birthday, she pledged in a broadcast from Cape Town to the Commonwealth to devote her life, whether it be short or long, to the service of her people.
    That was more than a promise: it was a profound personal commitment that defined her whole life. She made sacrifices for duty.
    Her dedication and devotion as Sovereign never waivered, through times of change and progress, through times of joy and celebration, and through times of sadness and loss.
    In her life of service we saw that abiding love of tradition, together with that fearless embrace of progress, which makes us great as Nations. The affection, admiration, and respect she inspired became the hallmark of her reign.
    And, as every member of my family can testify, she combined these qualities with warmth, humour and an unerring ability always to see the best in people.
    I pay tribute to my Mother’s memory and I honour her life of service. I know that her death brings great sadness to so many of you and I share that sense of loss, beyond measure, with you all.
    When The Queen came to the throne, Britain and the world were still coping with the privations and aftermath of the Second World War, and still living by the conventions of earlier times.
    In the course of the last 70 years we have seen our society become one of many cultures and many faiths.
    The institutions of the State have changed in turn. But, through all changes and challenges, our nation and the wider family of Realms — of whose talents, traditions, and achievements I am so inexpressibly proud — have prospered and flourished. Our values have remained, and must remain, constant.
    The role and the duties of Monarchy also remain, as does the Sovereign’s particular relationship and responsibility towards the Church of England — the Church in which my own faith is so deeply rooted.
    In that faith, and the values it inspires, I have been brought up to cherish a sense of duty to others, and to hold in the greatest respect the precious traditions, freedoms, and responsibilities of our unique history and our system of parliamentary government.
    As The Queen herself did with such unswerving devotion, I too now solemnly pledge myself, throughout the remaining time God grants me, to uphold the Constitutional principles at the heart of our nation.
    And wherever you may live in the United Kingdom, or in the Realms and territories across the world, and whatever may be your background or beliefs, I shall endeavour to serve you with loyalty, respect and love, as I have throughout my life.
    My life will of course change as I take up my new responsibilities.
    It will no longer be possible for me to give so much of my time and energy to the charities and issues for which I care so deeply. But I know this important work will go on in the trusted hands of others.
    This is also a time of change for my family. I count on the loving help of my darling wife, Camilla.
    In recognition of her own loyal public service since our marriage 17 years ago, she becomes my Queen Consort.
    I know she will bring to the demands of her new role the steadfast devotion to duty on which I have come to rely so much.
    As my Heir, William now assumes the Scottish titles which have meant so much to me.
    He succeeds me as Duke of Cornwall and takes on the responsibilities for the Duchy of Cornwall which I have undertaken for more than five decades.
    Today, I am proud to create him Prince of Wales, Tywysog Cymru, the country whose title I have been so greatly privileged to bear during so much of my life and duty.
    With Catherine beside him, our new Prince and Princess of Wales will, I know, continue to inspire and lead our national conversations, helping to bring the marginal to the centre ground where vital help can be given.
    I want also to express my love for Harry and Meghan as they continue to build their lives overseas.
    In a little over a week’s time, we will come together as a nation, as a Commonwealth, and indeed a global community, to lay my beloved mother to rest.
    In our sorrow, let us remember and draw strength from the light of her example.
    On behalf of all my family, I can only offer the most sincere and heartfelt thanks for your condolences and support.
    They mean more to me than I can ever possibly express.
    And to my darling Mama, as you begin your last great journey to join my dear late Papa, I want simply to say this: thank you.
    Thank you for your love and devotion to our family and to the family of nations you have served so diligently all these years.
    May ‘flights of Angels sing thee to thy rest.
    Source: CNN

  • The Queen: Around the World in 70 Years

    In early 1952, the then Princess Elizabeth visited Kenya – the first stop on a planned journey to numerous commonwealth countries. She was to leave the country as a queen, however, after learning that her father, King George VI, had died during her trip. From then until the end of her reign upon her own death 70 years later, Queen Elizabeth ll visited 117 countries in an official capacity, covering well over a million miles in the process.

    As this infographic illustrates, the queen covered a large proportion of the globe during her time on the throne. From her first stops in the Caribbean on a 1953/54 royal tour – setting sail as queen for the first time – to her final visit in 2015 to Malta. Since that final trip, Queen Elizabeth II passed on international travel duties to other senior members of the royal family.

    Source: statista.com

  • Boris Johnson claims to have broken down in tears during interview about Queen

    Speaking in the House of Commons the former prime minister paid tribute the Elizabeth II and recounted what he described as “a personal confession”.

    “A few months ago the BBC came to see me talk about Her Majesty the Queen. And we sat down and the cameras started rolling. And they requested that I should talk about her in the past tense,” he said.

    “And I’m afraid I simply choked up and I couldn’t go on. I’m really not easily moved to tears, but I was so overcome with sadness, that I had to ask them to go away.”

    Mr Johnson, who went to see the Queen at Balmoral to resign just three days ago, added: “I know that today there are countless people in this country and around the world, who have experienced the same sudden access of unexpected emotion.”

    He was speaking at a packed house of parliament on Friday as MP after MP stood up to pay tribute to the monarch with dedications expected to continue into the evening and on Saturday.

    In an earlier statement, Mr Johnson branded the Queen “Elizabeth the Great”, on account of her being “the longest serving and in many ways the finest monarch in our history”.

    Speaking in the Commons on Friday he said: “That impulse to do her duty carried her right through into her 10th decade to the very moment in Balmoral, as my right honourable friend [Liz Truss] has said, only three days ago, when she saw off her 14th prime minister and welcomed her 15th.

    “I can tell you, in that audience, she was as radiant and as knowledgeable and as fascinated by politics as ever I can remember and as wise in her advice as anyone I know, if not wiser.”

    The ex-PM, who was forced out by his party after a series of sleaze scandals, told MPs the Queen had “humility” and a “refusal to be grand”.

  • To honor the Queen, the Cabinet convenes in Downing Street

    Senior ministers will gather before a special session of Parliament where peers and MPs will share their memories of the Queen.

    To honor the Queen, Liz Truss’ cabinet gathered in Downing Street.

    A number of senior ministers, many of whom were only appointed this week, including Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg and Education Secretary Kit Malthouse, were seen arriving for the gathering.

    “Cabinet was united in their support for His Majesty the King, as he and the United Kingdom continue to mourn the passing of his mother. There was a moment of silence at the conclusion of the meeting.”

    The gathering comes before a special session of Parliament, starting at midday, in which MPs and peers will share their memories and praise for the monarch, who died at Balmoral on Thursday aged 96.

    Ms Truss became the Queen’s 15th prime minister when she was appointed at Balmoral on Tuesday.

    The meeting became the last public appearance of the monarch.

    Later on Friday, Ms Truss will meet the King when he returns to London from Scotland, where he had been since the Queen’s health deteriorated.

  • 1996 Manchester city centre bombing: Man arrested at Birmingham Airport in connection

    The suspect was detained on Thursday night on suspicion of participating in the bombing on June 15, 1996, through acts of terrorism.

    In relation to the 1996 IRA bombing in Manchester’s city center, a man has been detained at

    He was arrested on suspicion of terror offenses on Thursday night and remains in custody, according to Counter Terrorism Policing for the North West (CTPNW).

    Head of investigations at CTPNW Detective Superintendent Andrew Meeks said: “Although thankfully no one was killed during the 1996 Manchester bombing by the IRA, hundreds of people were left with injuries – many of which were life-changing – and many more across Greater Manchester and the North West were affected by what happened on that day.

    “We have always been committed to holding those responsible for the attack to account and bringing them to justice and have been reinvestigating for several years; with a team of dedicated detectives re-examining the original case files and pursuing new lines of inquiry.”

    Police also asked anyone who had been affected by the bombing who had not been contacted by police to access the Major Incident Portal at mipp.police.uk/operation/06GMP20S33-PO1.

  • Bernard Shaw: CNN anchor dies at 82

    Bernard Shaw, a former CNN anchor, passed on Wednesday from pneumonia unrelated to Covid-19 at a hospital in Washington, DC, his family reported on Thursday. Shaw was aged 82,

    Shaw served as CNN’s initial chief anchor and was a part of the network on June 1, 1980, when it launched. On February 28, 2001, he left CNN after working there for more than 20 years.

    During his storied career, Shaw reported on some of the biggest stories of that time — including the student revolt in Tiananmen Square in May 1989, the First Gulf war life from Baghdad in 1991, and the 2000 presidential election.
    “CNN’s beloved anchor and colleague, Bernard Shaw, passed away yesterday at the age of 82. Bernie was a CNN original and was our Washington Anchor when we launched on June 1st, 1980,” Chris Licht, CNN Chairman, and CEO said in a statement Thursday.
    “He was our lead anchor for the next twenty years from anchoring coverage of presidential elections to his iconic coverage of the First Gulf War live from Baghdad in 1991.
    Even after he left CNN, Bernie remained a close member of our CNN family providing our viewers with context about historic events as recently as last year. The condolences of all of us at CNN go out to his wife Linda and his children.”
    Funeral services for Shaw will be closed to family and invited guests only, with a public memorial service planned at a later time, his family said.
    The family requested donations to a scholarship fund in lieu of flowers, according to a statement provided by former CNN CEO Tom Johnson. “The Shaw family requests complete privacy at this time,” the family added in the statement.
    In a statement, Johnson said Shaw “exemplified excellence in his life” and will be “remembered as a fierce advocate of responsible journalism.”
    “As a journalist, he demanded accuracy and fairness in news coverage. He earned the respect of millions of viewers around the world for his integrity and independence. He resisted forcefully any lowering of ethical news standards or any compromise of solid news coverage.
    He always could be trusted as a reporter and as an anchor,” Johnson said.
    “Bernie was my personal friend and colleague for more than 55 years. I will miss him enormously,” he added. “My wife Edwina and I extend our most genuine condolences to Bernie’s wife Linda and to his family.”

  • Ugandan landslides caused by heavy rains kills at least 16

    According to tweets from the Uganda Red Cross, a landslide early on Wednesday triggered by heavy rains in the Kasese district on Tuesday night killed at least 16 persons in western Uganda.

    Most of the recovered bodies were women and children, the red cross said. Six people were also injured and are receiving treatment at a local hospital, the red cross spokesperson Irene Nakasiita tweeted.
    Emergency workers have been shoveling through the mud in search of survivors. Kasese district, where the disaster occurred, is prone to landslides, especially during the rainy season, because it sits in the foothills of the Rwenzori mountains that straddle the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.
    After a prolonged drought, heavy rains have fallen on much of Uganda since late July, causing deaths and flooding, and the destruction of crops, homes, and infrastructure.
    In July, flooding caused by heavy rains killed at least 24 people in the Mbale district in eastern Uganda.
    The country’s weather agency had warned it would be hit by unusually strong and destructive rains in the August-December season and advised people living in mountainous areas to be vigilant or evacuate to safer areas
    Many parts of Uganda are prone to flooding after heavy rains, but the whole country is vulnerable to natural disasters.
    More than 300,000 people have been affected by floods and landslides in Uganda’s eastern and western regions, according to a report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. An estimated 65,000 people have been displaced, the report added.

  • King Charles leaves Balmoral to fly to London following Queen’s death

    The 73-year-old, who was by his mother’s side at her beloved Scottish Highlands home as her health deteriorated, will return to the capital to hold his first audience with Prime Minister Liz Truss as king before he addresses the nation on television at 6 pm.

    King Charles III, the Queen’s son and a successor has left Balmoral en route to Aberdeen airport where he will fly to London.

    Dressed in a black suit and tie, the grieving king, left the estate seated in the back of a car, with his wife Camilla, the Queen Consort, in the front passenger seat, as they were driven in convoy to the airport where he was pictured boarding the flight.

    The couple spent the night at Balmoral following the death of the 96-year-old monarch, who he described as a “cherished sovereign and a much-loved mother”.

    The King will return to the capital to hold his first audience with Prime Minister Liz Truss before he addresses the nation on television at 6 pm.

    The 73-year-old was by his mother’s side at her beloved Scottish Highlands home for much of Thursday after catching the royal helicopter from Dumfries House in Ayrshire.

    Following news that the Queen’s health was deteriorating, other senior royals also rushed to be by her side, including the next in line to the throne, Prince William.

    His brother Prince Harry, was the first to leave the Royal Family’s Scottish residence this morning and boarded a British Airways flight from Aberdeen to London after he traveled to Scotland alone.

    Prince William did not join his father, as it is a royal protocol that the monarch and heir to the throne do not travel together.

    He, Princess Royal, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, and Prince Andrew remain in Scotland.

    King Charles III acceded to the throne immediately following the death of Elizabeth II on Thursday, and described losing his mother as “a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family”.

    During this period of mourning, he said he and his family would be “comforted and sustained by our knowledge of the respect and deep affection in which the Queen was so widely held”.

    The new monarch – born Charles Philip Arthur George – became heir to the throne at the age of three, a title he would hold for 70 years.

    He has been preparing to be King for his entire life, and has chosen to use his Christian name for his title as monarch, just like his late beloved mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

    Source: skynews

  • How Queen Elizabeth II won over millions of Indians

    The path from the Delhi airport to the official residence of the Indian president was allegedly jam-packed with approximately a million people when Queen Elizabeth II paid her maiden visit to India in January 1961.

    “Indians forgot their troubles this week. Not completely, of course, but economic hardship, political squabbling and worry about Communist China, the Congo and Laos seemed to fade into the background. Queen Elizabeth II was here, and the capital, at least, appeared determined to make the most of it,” reported The New York Times.

    The Times said trains, buses, and oxcarts ferried people to the capital. Here they wandered on the streets and loitered on lawns hoping to catch a glimpse of the royal couple. “They seemed to look upon the Queen and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, as impresarios who made it possible to forget and have fun,” the report said.

    At the same time, the newspaper reported that “Elizabeth came not as a patronizing ruler on a tour of an empire, but an equal” – she was the first British monarch to take the throne after India’s independence from British rule in 1947.

    Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in Delhi during a state visit to India in January 1961

    The trip also offered a chance for India to show a British ruler “that they had not done so badly since her people left”: its “jet-age airports, their new homes and office buildings, steel mills and their nuclear reactors”, for example.

    For the royal couple, the six-week tour of the subcontinent was also a rich discovery of India. British Pathe footage from that trip offers a fascinating insight into the warm reception that the couple received.

    The Queen toured the cities of Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata (then known as Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta) and visited historic landmarks such as the Taj Mahal, the Pink Palace in Jaipur, and the ancient city of Varanasi. She attended a number of receptions and spent two days at a hunting lodge of a maharajah and rode an elephant. The royal couple was guests of honour at the grand Republic Day parade on 26 January.

    At Delhi’s sprawling Ramlila Maidan, the Queen addressed a rapturous gathering of several thousand people. She rode to the Taj Mahal in Agra in an open car waving to the crowds. She visited a steel plant in West Bengal built with British aid and met its workers.

    In Kolkata, she visited a monument built in memory of Queen Victoria. A horse race at the thriving local course was organized for the couple and the Queen presented the cup to the owner of the winning horse. Covering the Queen’s ride in an open car from the airport in Kolkata to the city, a reporter of the state broadcaster AIl India Radio (AIR) quoted a Yorkshire Post editorial that she might not be the empress of India, but the enthusiasm of Indian crowds proved she was still empress of millions of Indian hearts, according to an account of the trip.

    Queen Elizabeth II met then India PM Indira Gandhi in Delhi in November 1983

    Nearly two decades later, in November 1983, the Queen made her second trip to India, timed with a summit of Commonwealth leaders.

    The couple stayed in the visitors’ suite at the opulent presidential palace which, according to a newspaper, had been stripped of its Indian furnishings and restored to the Viceregal décor. “Dusty period furniture found in offices and museums had been dusted off and repaired to deck the suite. Bed linen, curtains, and tapestries have been changed to blend with the regal past,” officials said. The menu included “old, Western-style dishes” because the Queen apparently liked “simple meals”.

    Her final visit in October 1997 happened against the backdrop of a tragedy. Timed to mark the 50th anniversary of the independence of India and Pakistan, it was the Queen’s first public engagement since the funeral of Princess Diana.

    The trip was also touched by some controversy. She was to visit Jallianwala Bagh – a memorial park that was the scene of one of the bloodiest massacres in British history – amid calls for an apology. Hundreds of Indians were shot by British troops while attending a public meeting at the site in 1919.

    The night before she visited the site in the northern city of Amritsar, the Queen told a banquet reception in Delhi: “It is no secret that there have been some difficult episodes in the past – Jalianwala Bagh, which I shall visit tomorrow, is a distressing example. But history cannot be rewritten, however much we might sometimes wish otherwise. It has its moments of sadness, as well as gladness. We must learn from the sadness and build on the gladness.”

    Queen Elizabeth II presented the Order of Merit to Mother Teresa in Delhi in November 1983

    The speech – while it did not satisfy all those calling for an explicit apology from Britain – appeared to placate relatives of those killed who called off a planned demonstration at the airport in Amritsar. Instead, the 10-mile route from the airport to the city was reportedly lined with “cheering flag waving” people. At the city’s Golden Temple, Sikhism’s holiest shrine, the Queen was allowed to enter wearing socks after taking off her shoes.

    The royal dress was a subject of unending fascination and speculation in the Indian media. During her 1983 visit, speculation was rife, reported a correspondent in India Today magazine, about almost everything the Queen wore. Sunil Sethi reported of the visit:

    “The hat, the hat,” cried one of the reporters. “What is it made of?”

    “Straw actually”, said an Englishman, regaining his composure.

    “And the dress? What material?”

    “Crepe de chine, actually”.

    “Are you the Queen’s designer?” I asked.

    “Just another reporter,” he said. “He was, as I found out later, the Delhi-based correspondent of the Times of London.”

    The Queen cherished her time in India during her three state visits.

    “The warmth and hospitality of the Indian people and the richness and diversity of India itself have been an inspiration to all of us,” she later said.

  • Queen Elizabeth II: King Charles readies to address nation for first time as monarch

    Following the passing of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, King Charles III is expected to address the nation for the first time in his capacity as monarch later.

    At Balmoral in Scotland, the longest-reigning monarch of Britain passed away quietly on Thursday. She was surrounded by her family.

    Gun salutes will be fired and church bells will be tolled on Friday as the UK pays tribute to her reign.

    There have been spontaneous gatherings and outpourings of emotion at Balmoral, Buckingham Palace, and Windsor.

    Members of the public have traveled to leave flowers, messages of thanks, and condolence for the Queen and Royal Family, with many visibly tearful or overcome with emotion.

    Union jacks are being flown at half-mast and Parliament will gather later to pay tribute to her momentous reign.

    The bells of St Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and Windsor Castle are expected to toll at noon in tribute to her life and service.

    A gun salute in London’s Hyde Park has been arranged for the following hour, with 96 rounds to mark each year of her life to fire around 13:00 BST.

    There will be a remembrance service at St Paul’s at 18:00 BST, attended by Prime Minister Liz Truss and other senior ministers.

    It will be open to the public, with 2,000 tickets to be released on a first-come-first-served basis.

    Those wishing to attend must visit in person the City of London tourism office on Carter Lane in London to collect a wristband from 11:00.

    A police officer appears to cry as he stands guard in front of Buckingham Palace
    People gathered to pay tributes to the Queen in London

    The King and his wife, Camilla, now Queen Consort, will later on Friday return to London, where the monarch is expected to address the nation after holding an audience with the new Prime Minister Liz Truss.

    All of the Queen’s children and grandchildren, the Duke of Cambridge and Duke of Sussex, traveled to Balmoral, near Aberdeen, on Thursday after the Queen’s doctors became concerned about her health.

    Prince Harry left Balmoral on Friday morning to travel to Aberdeen airport, where he was seen placing an arm around a member of staff.

    Prince Harry places his arm around a member of staff before boarding a plane at Aberdeen International Airport

    On Friday, the palace released some details of plans for the coming days, with King Charles declaring a period of Royal mourning is observed for seven days after the funeral of his mother.

    There will be no physical book of condolences for members of the public to sign, but the palace has opened an online book of condolences for those who wish to leave messages.

    The government has said it expects large crowds to gather in central London and other Royal Residences as a mark of respect, warning there could be some travel disruption, traffic delays, and significant crowding,

    A man wipes away tears next to floral tributes laid by an entrance to Balmoral Castle

    Tributes to the Queen will also be paid by MPs and peers in the Houses of Commons and Lords from midday, with normal politics to be put on hold for a period of mourning which is due to last until late into Friday evening.

    The Cabinet met on Friday morning, with the only item on the agenda to pay tribute to the Queen.

    There will also be a rare Saturday sitting of the House of Commons, where senior MPs will gather to take an oath of allegiance to the new King from 14:00, with condolences continuing again until the evening.

  • Death of Queen Elizabeth II: The moment history stops

    This is the moment history stops; for a minute, an hour, for a day, or a week; this is the moment history stops.

    Across a life and reign, two moments from two very different eras illuminate the thread that bound the many decades together. At each a chair, a desk, a microphone, a speech. In each, that high-pitched voice, those clipped precise vowels, that slight hesitation about public speaking that would never quite seem to leave her.

    Quote: 'I shall not have the strength to carry out this resolution alone'

    One moment is sun-dappled, though the British people were suffering through a terrible post-war winter. A young woman, barely more than a girl really, sits straight-backed, her dark hair pulled up, two strings of pearls around her neck. Her youthful skin is flawless, she is very beautiful. A life opens out ahead of her.

    She pledges that life to her audience around the world. She tells them: “I shall not have the strength to carry out this resolution alone.” And she asks for their company in the years to come.

    Two moments from two eras – the Queen makes a broadcast on her 21st birthday, top, and on the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe

    The other speech is more formal. More than seven decades later, on the 75th anniversary of the day the war in Europe ended, she sits behind a desk, a picture of her father, the late King, in uniform, to her right.

    Her hair – still pulled up – is white now. She wears a blue dress, two brooches, and three strings of pearls. The many decades have left their mark, but her eyes still sparkle and her voice is still clear. The desk is practically empty but for the photo and to the right, in the foreground, a dark khaki cap, with a badge on its front.

    “All had a part to play,” she says of a long-ago war.

    The cap belonged to Second Subaltern Windsor, of the Auxiliary Territorial Service; the young Princess Elizabeth nagged her adoring father to allow her to join, so she could serve in uniform, even as the war that defined her – and for many decades her nation – drew to an end. Now, 75 years on, the cap has pride of place as she speaks to the nation on the anniversary of a great and heroic victory.

    Two pictures of the Queen, the top one showing her inspecting Grenadier Guards in 1952, the bottom one inspecting RAF crews in 1957

    The cap is a simple reminder of what she admired most – service: the service she offered that golden day decades beforehand, the service she saw in her formative years as nation, Commonwealth and Empire gave life and limb so that others could be free; the service that she believed lay at the heart of the Crown she inherited and devoted her long life to.

    Three decades on from that vow of service, she would allow herself a rare moment of public introspection; “Although that vow was made ‘in my salad days when I was green in judgement’,” she told the Guildhall on her Silver Jubilee, “I do not regret or retract one word of it.”

    Quote: 'I have to be seen to be believed'

    Over the decades she spoke little, and revealed even less, about herself in public. She – a child of the broadcast age – never gave an interview. Once or twice she would be filmed “in conversation” with a trusted friend, talking amicably about something uncontroversial, like the royal jewellery collection.

    Her words would be scoured for a hint of controversy or an opening into her character. But she was too careful – and her friends too loyal – for anything important to slip out.

    She did not neglect the medium that came of age as she did. It was her decision to allow her coronation to be televised, her decision to televise the Christmas Broadcast, and her decision to speak live to the nation after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. “I have to be seen to be believed,” she would say.

    Service to the nation – being crowned in 1953, and with then Prime Minister Edward Heath at a concert in 1973

    Broadcast and newspaper coverage, the endless pictures of her in well-chosen gowns and dresses – these were part of what it was to be Queen, part of the job she had pledged her life to. Talking about her feelings publicly was not.

    And she came from a generation – and from a nation – that did not feel the need to share its feelings. The nation would change. She would not.

    Here fate and character would collide. It was her fate to take the Crown as the country moved into far-reaching change. But the Queen was open about her liking for tradition, for the ways things had always been done, and her dislike of change.

    Quote: 'I find that one of the sad things is that people don't take on jobs for life'

    Her heart was in the countryside, and there, with horses and dogs and amongst those who loved animals as she did, was the reassurance of a place that changed incrementally, if at all.

    “I find that one of the sad things,” she would say in the late 1980s, is “that people don’t take on jobs for life, they try different things the whole time.”

    Monarch and monarchy fitted hand-in-glove; a sovereign who relished tradition leading an institution established upon it.

    Two pictures of the Queen, one with Prince Charles and Princess Anne and two corgis, walking in Windsor Great Park in 1956, the other with Prince Philip standing next to a white horse on a farm on the Balmoral Estate in Scotland in 1972
    A life-long love of the countryside – in Windsor Great Park with Prince Charles and Princess Anne in 1956, and with Prince Philip at a farm on the Balmoral Estate in Scotland in 1972

     

    Beyond the palace gates, a whirlwind of change would transform Britain. She came to the throne at a tipping point in British history. Victorious in – but exhausted by – war, the country was no longer a global, military, or economic power.

    The rise of trade unions, the collective provision of services, and the creation of a universal welfare state signalled a sea-change in the organization of state and economy. The stately withdrawal from Empire became a hurried exit.

    As her reign progressed, the old order – Church and aristocracy, the gradations of class and knowing your place – crumbled. Financial success and celebrity overtook accident of birth as a measure of societal achievement.

    Consumer goods – fridges, washing machines, televisions, and vacuum cleaners – transformed homes and social lives. Women joined the workforce; old working-class communities were swept away with the slums that housed them; a society once cohesive and homogeneous became mobile, atomized, and diverse, uprooted from old certainties and loyalties.

    There was some change at the Palace too, especially early in the reign – the end of the debutante “season” would mean the daughters of the “best” families would no longer be presented at court, and fresh faces were seen among those invited to lunch and dinner, and television meant Britons could see their Queen and how she lived – first for the Christmas broadcast, then for a full-length documentary in the late 1960s.

    But this was changed with a very small “c”; as her seventh decade on the throne drew to a close, the rhythm of the monarchy remained one which would be recognizable from the first, one which her father or even her grandfather would be unsurprised by Christmas and New year at Sandringham, Easter at Windsor, the long summer break in Balmoral, Trooping the Colour, Royal Ascot, the Investitures, the Changing of the Guard, Remembrance Sunday.

     

    Changing times – riding the London Underground in 1969, and preparing to deliver her televised Christmas message in 1967, the first to be delivered in colour.

     

    Changing times – riding the London Underground in 1969, and preparing to deliver her televised Christmas message in 1967, the first to be delivered in colour

    When change pressed in all around, she resisted. Her fate was to inherit the crown as the country stood on the cusp of change, and to reign as change swirled around the palace. Her character dictated that she would not change with it, would not bend to fashion. That resistance, that deep appreciation – love, even – of tradition, was her greatest strength, and led to perhaps her greatest test and gravest crisis, as her family unravelled.

    Family always came second to the Crown. When her first two children, Prince Charles and Princess Anne, were little more than toddlers, they were left behind – as she and her sister Princess Margaret had been left behind by their parents two decades earlier – as the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh went on a six-month world tour.

    She was not an unfeeling mother, but she was a remote one. The Crown and its responsibilities had come to her when she was just 25, and she took those responsibilities very seriously. Many decisions about the children were delegated to the duke.

    Three of her four children’s marriages would end in divorce. She believed in marriage, it was part of her Christian faith and her understanding of what knitted society together. “Divorce and separation,” she once said, “are responsible for some of the darkest evils in our society today.”

    No doubt that view, held by many in the late 1940s, mellowed as the years went by. But no parent relishes seeing their child’s marriage fail. The Queen’s self-proclaimed “annus horribilis” in 1992 saw the separation of the Duke and Duchess of York, the divorce of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips and the separation of the Prince and Princess of Wales.

    “A low point in her life,” wrote one biographer, not because of what had led to the rare public admission of tough times, “but because of the lack of gratitude, even derision, with which her 40 years of dedication appeared to have been crowned.”

    Her first decade had passed in a dazzle of adulation, at home and abroad. Vast crowds turned out for her on international tours. Back home, some proclaimed a new Elizabethan Age, although the Queen was clever enough to immediately disavow it.

    Two pictures of the Queen, one of her with Prince Philip, on a sofa, surrounded by their children, from left to right: Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward and Prince Charles, the other picture is the Queen standing next to a fireman after a fire at her home in Windsor

    Family time and personal loss – with Prince Philip and their four children in 1972, and looking at fire damage to Windsor Castle in 1992.

    The 1960s saw a slow cooling off – the Queen was more involved with her family, the novelty of a new monarch had passed, and the generation of the post-war baby boom now coming of age was gripped by different passions than their parents. The 1970s and 80s saw no let-up in her service, but the focus of some Royalty enthusiasts – and the media – shifted to her children, their marriages, and their partners.

    By the mid-90s, the monarchy seemed to some to be out of touch with the popular mood; in the newspaper comment columns, there was a direct criticism of the Queen, and contemplation of the monarchy’s future. Her reign at times seemed associated with another epoch. What was her place – and the monarchy’s – in the new “Cool Britannia” and the informal style embraced by Tony Blair? How did the Palace – repository of tradition – fit in with the popular demand for change expressed in Labour’s crushing election victory?

    Just months after that victory, one hot August night in Paris, came the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. A broiling carpet of flowers soon stretched out in front of Kensington Palace. The flag pole above Buckingham Palace remained bare. Many in the nation found themselves desolate at the loss of the Princess.

    “Show us you care, Ma’am” bayed the Daily Express headline. “Where is our Queen? Where is her flag?” demanded the Sun. For five long days, the Queen remained in Balmoral, seemingly unaware of the spasm sweeping parts of the country. Perhaps, as the Palace would brief afterward, it was to protect and console the young Princes William and Harry.

    But given her character, that deep dislike of change appears to have driven the decisions taken at the time; Balmoral was not to be interrupted, no flag ever flew from Buckingham Palace in her absence, and the Royal Standard never flew at half-mast.

    It was a terrible misjudgement. She hurried back to the capital, back to Buckingham Palace. She stopped to look at the flowers piling up all around. “We were not confident,” one former official told a biographer, “that when the Queen got out of the car, she would not be hissed and jeered.” It was that bad.

    Joy and tragedy Рthe Queen with Prince Charles and his then-fianc̩e Lady Diana Spencer in 1981, and with Prince Philip among the floral tributes following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997

    She had refused to broadcast at first, then yielded, then agreed to speak live. She spoke to the nation, just before the BBC Six O’clock news. She – who had once driven broadcast executives to despair with her wooden delivery – barely had time to prepare.

    Her performance was flawless, her speech brief but perfectly pitched. She spoke of “lessons to be learned”; she spoke “as a grandmother”; she spoke of the “determination to cherish” Diana’s memory.

    It was a triumph, pulled from the jaws of deep crisis. The poison swirling around the Royal Family, around the Palace and around the very institution of the monarchy, was drawn. Once in her reign – just once – fate and character had collided with near-disastrous consequences.

    They would combine more happily in the Queen’s international role. By the time of her death, she had not toured for many years. But for decades she was not only a global celebrity like no other but also a subtle instrument of influence.

    Nothing would compare to the first dazzling decade of her reign, before television made her image commonplace and her tours accessible from the living room. On her long 1954 tour of Australia, two-thirds of the country is thought to have turned out to see her; in 1961 two million people lined the road from the airport to the Indian capital Delhi; in Calcutta three-and-half million would stand and wait to see the daughter of the last Emperor.

    Fate would dictate that she would oversee the long twilight of the Empire, though not once did the Queen attend a flag-lowering ceremony. Many times in the 1950s and 60s, a member of the Royal Family would stand as the Union flag came down over a former colony, the national anthem playing one last time.

    A determination that something should emerge from the imperial family that she had pledged to serve, would mean that she would build a new association on the ashes of Britain’s imperial legacy.

    In palaces and houses dotted across the capital and the country, lived her blood family. Across the world was spread her territorial family – a group of wildly diverse nations, vast and tiny, rich and impoverished, republics and monarchies – that she charmed and cajoled and nudged to remember what bound them together, and what together they might achieve.

    International tours were taken on behalf of the government of the day; they were tools of foreign policy – if not explicitly, then on the understanding that the Queen’s influence would be beneficial to the relationships between Britain and the places she visited.

    It looked glamorous – the Royal Yacht, the Queen’s Flight, banquets, and galas – and before international air travel became commonplace, it was an extraordinary experience. But it was always hard work, long days and weeks of receptions, exhibitions, openings, lunches with officials, state dinners and speeches given and listened to patiently. Those who have observed a royal tour find it hard to imagine it is any fun for those at the heart of it.

  • ‘This is our country’s saddest day’: Former PM Johnson

    Former prime minister Boris Johnson – who left the top job on Tuesday after meeting with the Queen – has paid tribute to the monarch.

    In a lengthy statement, he says there is “an ache at the passing of our Queen” in “the hearts of every one of us”.

  • Rainbow appears as people gather outside Buckingham Palace

    As the news has spread, the crowds have grown significantly outside Buckingham Palace.

    Many people have come alone to take at the moment, while others have come in groups with friends.

    Australian Chloe Hogan pictured with her two friends outside Buckinham Palace

    Australian Chloe Hogan made her way to the palace after hearing the news about the Queen’s health in her family group chat down. She says: “I think it’s quite scary that we don’t know what’s going to happen.” The Queen is also the monarch of Australia.

    Chloe adds: “I think if anything did happen Australians would be just as devastated as when Princess Diana died, the exact same thing.

    “It would be devastating, and everyone would be like people in the UK would be.”

    Facing the Queen Victoria monument Liran Shufman, from Italy, is joining dozens of people in taking a picture of a rainbow.

    The 40-year-old says the rainbow is hopefully a sign that the Queen will return to good health.

    Liran Shufman, from Italy takes a picture of the rainbow that appeared outside the palace

    Source: bbc.com

  • Crowds begin to gather outside Buckingham Palace

    As news of the Queen’s health travel, some citizens are already gathered in front of Buckingham PalaceTourists stand in the rain outside Buckingham Palace in LondonTourists stand in the rain outside Buckingham Palace in London

    Tourists have started gathering in the rain outside Buckingham Palace in London, following news that the Queen is under medical supervision at Balmoral
    People are keeping across the latest news on their phones

     

    Some people have congregated on the stone steps up to The Queen Victoria Memorial, opposite the palace

     

    Tourists stand in the rain outside Buckingham Palace in London

  • Meghan and Harry travelling separately from other royals to Balmoral

    The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who were already in the UK for a planned visit, are understood to be on their way to Balmoral separately from other royals, reports PA. But they have reportedly been “in coordination” with the plans of other family members.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Some tourists in tears outside Buckingham Palace

    At Buckingham Palace, some tourists are in tears at the news about the Queen’s health.

    Sue and Andy Alderman from Somerset were visiting London and decided to head to Buckingham Palace when they heard the announcement that the Queen was unwell.

    They said they were stunned by the news but that they thought the Queen had been looking frail since the death of the Duke of Edinburgh. They hoped there would be better news about her health.

    Pam told me crying that: “She’s the only Queen we’ve had. All of my life. She’s such a lovely lady. It’s such a shock.” They added they were both thinkings of the Queen’s family at this time.

    As would be expected, journalists, photographers, and camera crews from across the world are now reporting from outside Buckingham Palace, where just months ago the Queen appeared waving from its balcony during her Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Prince William, Andrew and Edward land in Aberdeen

    The plane that landed in Aberdeen was carrying the Duke of Cambridge, the Duke of York, and the Earl and Countess of Wessex, the BBC understands.

    Figures were seen disembarking the plane and getting into cars on the airport runway. It’s expected they will now travel to Balmoral Castle – a journey of around an hour.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Political leaders send best wishes to Queen following health concerns

    As a result of worries over the monarch’s health, Prime Minister Liz Truss stated that the UK’s citizens’ thoughts are with the Queen and her family.

    The Queen was being watched upon by doctors, according to a statement from Buckingham Palace.

    The news interrupted a Commons debate, where the PM’s plan to limit energy bills was being discussed.

    Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle intervened to say that the “thoughts and prayers” of MPs were with the Queen’s family.

    Minutes before both Ms Truss and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer had been informed of the news and had left the chamber.

    Ms Truss later tweeted: “The whole country will be deeply concerned by the news from Buckingham Palace this lunchtime.

    “My thoughts – and the thoughts of people across our United Kingdom – are with Her Majesty The Queen and her family at this time.”

    Her words were echoed by other politicians.

    Labour leader Sir Keir said he was “deeply worried” by the news and that he joined “everyone across the United Kingdom in hoping for her recovery”.

    Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “All of us are feeling profoundly concerned at reports of Her Majesty’s health.

    “My thoughts and wishes are with the Queen and all of the Royal Family at this time.”

    Mark Drakeford – the first minister of Wales – said he was concerned to hear the news and that he sent his “best wishes to Her Majesty and her family on behalf of the people of Wales”.

    Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey tweeted: “The whole nation’s thoughts and prayers are with Her Majesty The Queen and her family as we all hope and pray for her full recovery.”

    Former Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron said he was “deeply concerned by the news this afternoon from Buckingham Palace.

    “I send my heartfelt thoughts and prayers to Her Majesty The Queen and the Royal Family at this worrying time.”

    Tony Blair – Labour prime minister from 1997 to 2007 – also said he was “deeply concerned” by the news and that his “thoughts and prayers” were with the Queen and her family.

    On Wednesday, an online meeting between senior politicians and the Queen was postponed.

    Buckingham Palace said the Queen had been advised to rest after “a full day” on Tuesday during which she met the outgoing prime minister Boris Johnson and his successor Ms Truss.

    BBC political editor Chris Mason says: “It’s been a busy week for the monarch with that handover of power, her playing that crucial constitutional role in the resignation of one prime minister and the assumption of office of another.

    “And we’ve also known in terms of her interactions with political leaders that they have dialled down a little bit, certainly in terms of the physical exertions required of her to perform them have dialled down in recent months.

    “The overriding impression here at Westminster is the same it will be around the country – one of deep concern from our political leaders and politicians more broadly.”

     

  • Murder: Life sentence for Swedish teen for killing teachers with axe and knives

    Two teachers at a secondary school in Sweden were killed by an 18-year-old student in March of this year. The culprit has been given a life sentence.

    Fabian Cederholm was convicted guilty of the attack in which he used knives and an axe. His purpose is uncertain

    About 50 students locked themselves inside classrooms during the attack at the Malmo Latin School.

    Cederholm is believed to be the first 18-year-old to be given a life sentence in Sweden.

    The attacker – who had no previous criminal records – carried out the attack on 21 March in the creative arts school, where he was a student.

    The teachers, Victoria Edstrom and Sara Book were found 10 minutes after police were alerted.

    “These are two very brutal murders where the victims greatly suffered and experienced severe fear of death,” said Judge Johan Kvart.

    The attacks were “particularly ruthless”, said the judge when giving his reasoning for the sentence.

    A life sentence in Sweden is normally a minimum of 20 to 25 years in prison.