Headlines
Osinbajo, Other World Leaders in Attendance As Queen Elizabeth II Goes Home
The remains of Queen Elizabeth II will be laid to rest today, as world leaders, royals and the entire UK bid her farewell at a grandeur funeral ceremony.
The longest resigning monarch died on September 8 at the age of 96 due to old age at the Balmoral Castle, Scotland. She was on the throne for 70 years.
Life will come to a standstill for millions on Monday as the UK says goodbye to Queen Elizabeth II. The state funeral for her will take place at Westminster Abbey in London at 11:0oBST, with 2,000 people in attendance, including about 500 heads of state.
According to the BBC, hundreds of thousands of people are expected to line the streets of the capital.
A holiday has been declared in the entire UK for millions to bid their late Queen farewell. Ahead of the funeral, King Charles said he had been “deeply touched” by public support for him and his family
Foreign royals and world leaders will join the Queen’s family for a service that will be watched by hundreds of millions globally.
By 6:30am, the window for the public to see Elizabeth II lying in state comes to an end, as the doors to Westminster Hall are closed. By 8:00am, doors of Westminster Abbey open for the 2,000 guests expected – from world leaders to charity workers and the Japanese emperor, while at 10.44am, the day’s first procession will set off, with King Charles and other senior royals walking behind the Queen’s coffin as it’s pulled by sailors on the State Gun Carriage from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey.
The funeral service, which will begin by 11.00am will end at 12:15pm a second, larger procession brings her coffin to Wellington Arch.
at 13.00, her coffin is transferred to the state hearse and driven to Windsor along a route expected to be lined by crowds, while at 15:00, the day’s third procession begins, through the grounds of Windsor Castle to St George’s Chapel.
At 16:00, Committal service takes place at St George’s Chapel while at 19:30, Royal Family returns to the chapel for a private burial service that will see Elizabeth II interred alongside her late husband, the Duke of Edinburgh.
The first hostages freed from Gaza under a long-awaited ceasefire agreement are back in Israel. The news sparked jubilant scenes in Tel Aviv where large crowds gathered ahead of their release.
The three freed Israeli hostages – the first of 33 to be released over the next six weeks – are Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari. They are said to be in good health and are receiving treatment at a medical center in Tel Aviv.
In exchange, 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees are set to be released by Israel from Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli military withdrew from several locations in southern and northern Gaza after the truce began earlier on Sunday, an Israeli military official told CNN.
Displaced Gazans have started returning to their homes, while the aid trucks laden with much-needed supplies have crossed into Gaza. Here’s what we know about how the ceasefire deal will work.
Hamas, despite suffering devastating losses, is framing the Gaza ceasefire agreement as a victory for itself, and a failure for Israel.
One of Hamas’ main goals for taking some 250 people during its brazen October 7, 2023, attack on Israel was to secure the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. As Israel pounded Gaza in response, Hamas vowed not to return the hostages until Israel withdrew its forces from the enclave, permanently ended the war, and allowed for rebuilding.
Source: CNN
The leader of UK’s Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has said she doesn’t want Britain to be like Nigeria that is plagued by “terrible governments.”
Speaking on Thursday at an event organised by Onward, a British think tank producing research on economic and social issues, Badenoch expressed fears that Britain may become like Nigeria if the system is not reformed.
“And why does this matter so much to me? It’s because I know what it is like to have something and then to lose it,” Badenoch told the audience.
“I don’t want Britain to lose what it has.
“I grew up in a poor country and watched my relatively wealthy family become poorer and poorer, despite working harder and harder as their money disappeared with inflation.
“I came back to the UK aged 16 with my father’s last £100 in the hope of a better life.
“So I have lived with the consequences of terrible governments that destroy lives, and I never, ever want it to happen here.”
Badenoch has been in the news of late after she dissociated herself from Nigeria, saying she has nothing to do with the Islamic northern region.
She also accused the Nigeria Police of robbing citizens instead of protecting them.
She said: “My experience with the Nigeria Police was very negative. Coming to the UK, my experience with the British Police was very positive.
“The police in Nigeria will rob us (laughter). When people say I have this bad experience with the police because I’m black, I say well…I remember the police stole my brother’s shoe and his watch.”
