Monday, 19 September 2022

Leaders and monarchs gather for a final farewell to Queen Elizabeth

Monday, September 19, 2022

by Linda Noakes

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Here's what you need to know.

Thousands line the streets of London for a display of pomp and pageantry as Britain says farewell to its longest-reigning monarch

Today's biggest stories

Police officers are seen on The Mall in London, September 19, 2022 REUTERS/Andrew Boyers

QUEEN ELIZABETH'S FUNERAL

Leaders and monarchs from around the world gathered in London to bid farewell to Queen Elizabeth at a state funeral of inimitable pageantry, marking the passing of a beloved figure who helped unify the nation through her 70-year reign. Here's a list of some of the expected attendees, and the countries that were not invited.

Tens of thousands of people, many of whom had camped out overnight, lined the route of the funeral procession. The best prepared had tents, sleeping bags, flasks of tea and stepladders, while others were sitting or sleeping on the ground in only their jackets.

Millions will watch on television at home on a public holiday declared for the occasion. The funeral of a British monarch has never been televised before.

The ceremony takes place at Westminster Abbey, the traditional church for royals in life and death, followed by a burial service at Windsor Castle. Here are the plans for the funeral, and here is the order of service.

A man sits in front of a destroyed building in the town of Izium, recently liberated by Ukrainian Armed Forces, in Kharkiv region, September 18, 2022. REUTERS/Umit Bektas

WORLD NEWS

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy vowed there would be no let-up in fighting to regain territory lost to Russia as Kyiv said its troops had advanced to the eastern bank of the Oskil River, threatening Russian occupation forces in the Donbas. Here's what you need to know about the conflict right now.

President Joe Biden said that his predecessor Donald Trump's handling of classified documents was "totally irresponsible" but that he is staying out of the investigation. Seeing the classified documents turned up by an FBI search of Trump's Florida residence at Mar-a-Lago caused Biden to wonder "how anyone can be that irresponsible," he said in an interview on CBS' '60 Minutes' program.

In the same interview, Biden said that "the pandemic is over," even though the country continues to grapple with coronavirus infections that kill hundreds of Americans daily. He also said U.S forces would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion, his most explicit statement so far on the issue.

A 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit the sparsely populated southeastern part of Taiwan, the island's weather bureau said, derailing train carriages, causing a convenience store to collapse and trapping hundreds on mountain roads.

Typhoon Nanmadol brought ferocious winds and record rainfall to parts of Japan, as one of the biggest storms to hit the country in years killed at least one person, disrupted transport and forced some manufacturers to suspend operations.

Hurricane Fiona left most of Puerto Rico without power, causing catastrophic flooding and landslides on the island before barreling toward the Dominican Republic, a government agency said.

Iranian police said the death of a young woman in custody was an "unfortunate incident" which they do not want to see repeated, a semi-official news agency reported. Mahsa Amini, 22, fell into a coma and died following her arrest in Tehran last week by the morality police, sparking demonstrations against the authorities across the country.

Afghanistan's Taliban freed American engineer Mark Frerichs in exchange for an Afghan tribal leader linked to the Taliban who the United States had held on drugs charges since 2005, the group's acting foreign minister said.

BUSINESS & MARKETS


Shares slipped in Asia and the dollar firmed as investors braced for a packed week of central bank meetings that are certain to see borrowing costs rise across the globe, with some risk of a super-sized hike in the United States.

Just months ago, investors worried the Federal Reserve was not fighting inflation aggressively enough. Several jumbo rate hikes later, some now fear the Fed will plunge the economy into recession by tightening monetary policy too quickly.

Before the pandemic, Doris Fu imagined a different future for herself and her family: new car, bigger apartment, fine dining on weekends and holidays on tropical islands. Instead, the 39-year old Shanghai marketing consultant is one of many Chinese in their 20s and 30s cutting spending and saving cash where they can, rattled by China's coronavirus lockdowns, high youth unemployment and a faltering property market.

Two months since many Chinese homebuyers stopped repaying mortgages to protest stalled construction on their properties, a lack of progress at more sites now threatens to intensify the boycott, despite assurances from authorities.

German buyers of Russian natural gas resumed nominations for supply on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline for the first time since it was shut down for maintenance about three weeks ago. The nominations are requests for a supply of gas and are not indications that gas is actually flowing on the system.

Volkswagen is targeting a valuation of up to $75.1 billion for luxury sportscar maker Porsche, in what will be Germany's second-largest initial public offering in history.

Quote of the day

"It must have been so difficult for her being a solitary woman. There weren't women prime ministers or presidents. She was the only one so I think she carved her own role."

Camilla pays tribute to Queen Elizabeth

Video of the day

'She is England': mourners gather for Queen's funeral

And finally…

Gaza farmer unearths Byzantine-era mosaic

An ornate floor mosaic showing a variety of colorful birds and other animals has been discovered by chance after a Palestinian farmer tried to plant new trees on his land.

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