Prince Harry and Meghan Markle paid tribute to the victims of the Christchurch terror attack yesterday, signing a book of condolences at New Zealand's High Commission in London.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were among the first people to sign the book of condolences, and were asked to attend by Queen Elizabeth II, as they were the last members of the royal family to visit New Zealand.
See photos from the royal couple's visit to the New Zealand's High Commission in the gallery above.
The couple were greeted by High Commissioner Sir Jerry Mateparae in traditional Maori style, rubbing noses before each laying a bouquet of flowers alongside other floral tributes.
Inside, they signed the book, with Meghan writing: “Our deepest condolences. We are with you”. Harry added his named before signing off with “arohanui”, meaning “much love” in Maori.
The book of condolences will open to the public to view and sign from 5.30pm GMT on Thursday, March 21.
A heavily-pregnant Meghan wore a black caped woolen coat for the visit, alongside a pair of earrings she was given by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern during their visit to the country last October – their first engagement as a married couple.
The royal couple released a statement following Friday’s shooting, joint with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, saying: “No person should ever have to fear attending a sacred place of worship.” They signed the message off with "Kia Kaha", which means “stay strong”.
Following the visit, Sir Jerry said he had been overwhelmed by the support received from across the UK, adding that it was “wonderful” to have Harry and Meghan pay tribute.
50 people were killed and dozens more injured as a white supremacist targeted two mosques in Christchurch during Friday prayers. It is the worst attack of terrorism to ever occur in New Zealand.
Key facilities
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- Premier League-standard football pitch
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SERIE A FIXTURES
Friday Sassuolo v Benevento (Kick-off 11.45pm)
Saturday Crotone v Spezia (6pm), Torino v Udinese (9pm), Lazio v Verona (11.45pm)
Sunday Cagliari v Inter Milan (3.30pm), Atalanta v Fiorentina (6pm), Napoli v Sampdoria (6pm), Bologna v Roma (6pm), Genoa v Juventus (9pm), AC Milan v Parma (11.45pm)
FIXTURES
Thu Mar 15 – West Indies v Afghanistan, UAE v Scotland
Fri Mar 16 – Ireland v Zimbabwe
Sun Mar 18 – Ireland v Scotland
Mon Mar 19 – West Indies v Zimbabwe
Tue Mar 20 – UAE v Afghanistan
Wed Mar 21 – West Indies v Scotland
Thu Mar 22 – UAE v Zimbabwe
Fri Mar 23 – Ireland v Afghanistan
The top two teams qualify for the World Cup
Classification matches
The top-placed side out of Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong or Nepal will be granted one-day international status. UAE and Scotland have already won ODI status, having qualified for the Super Six.
Thu Mar 15 – Netherlands v Hong Kong, PNG v Nepal
Sat Mar 17 – 7th-8th place playoff, 9th-10th place playoff
Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
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Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
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Group 1 2,000m (Dirt) Dubai World Cup– $12,000,000
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Tips for job-seekers
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
