Queen Elizabeth II dies — follow the latest news as the world mourns
US President Joe Biden will be taking his armoured 'Beast' vehicle to Westminster Abbey for the queen’s funeral next week, while other world leaders will have to make do with a shared bus.
Many have been asked to share buses from an undisclosed location in west London to avoid the traffic around Westminster Abbey grinding to a halt.
But Whitehall sources said Mr Biden, who has confirmed his attendance, would be allowed to travel to the abbey in his armoured Cadillac, known as The Beast, for security reasons.
Other world leaders, including President Emmanuel Macron of France, Emperor Naruhito of Japan and Israeli President Isaac Herzog are also likely to have their own transport.
One government source said it clearly would not be appropriate to ask G7 leaders to “take a bus”, but dignitaries were being asked to be as flexible as possible.
With officials facing the largest gathering of foreign dignitaries in England since Sir Winston Churchill's funeral in 1965, an unprecedented logistical and diplomatic operation is under way to prepare for the arrival of leaders from around the world.
Rehearsals for procession of Queen Elizabeth's coffin in London - in pictures
“This is the biggest international event we have hosted in decades,” a Whitehall source said.
The source compared the logistical task to organising “hundreds of state visits” within a matter of days. Normally, there might only be two or three a year.
It presents a huge logistical, diplomatic and security challenge, with practice runs taking place in the dead of night.
Invitations were sent over the weekend to the heads of state of nations with which the UK has diplomatic relations. For most countries, that means the head of state plus one guest.
An official list has not yet been published, but the event will see about 500 dignitaries from around the world descend on London to pay their last respects to the long-reigning monarch.
The UK mourns Queen Elizabeth II - in pictures
The leaders of most Commonwealth countries are expected to attend, with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern saying she will make the nearly 24-hour journey with a delegation of five others.
Canadian and Australian prime ministers, Justin Trudeau and Anthony Albanese, have also confirmed they will be attending.
Mr Albanese said he would not be travelling alone, tweeting that at Buckingham Palace’s invitation, he and Governor General David Hurley will be accompanied by “10 Australians who have made extraordinary contributions".
Mr Macron, Germany’s Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Italy’s Sergio Mattarella, Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro are among the presidents attending, along with the European Commission’s Ursula von der Leyen.
King Felipe of Spain and his wife, Queen Letizia, are among the European royals who will attend.
Emperor Naruhito of Japan is also expected to travel to London in what would be his first overseas trip since ascending the throne in 2019.
Queen Elizabeth II's coffin arrives at Buckingham Palace - video
The guest list for the Duke of Edinburgh’s memorial service could provide an idea of who else might come.
The 1,800-strong congregation featured about 30 foreign royals, including Prince Albert of Monaco, Denmark’s Queen Margrethe, and King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway.
But it is not thought the trip will be made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who took time out from organising his country’s fightback against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces to sign a book of condolence for the queen.
Arrival times will vary from leader to leader, Downing Street said.
British Prime Minister Liz Truss is not expected to hold any “formal” bilateral meetings with world leaders during the mourning period, but “there may be informal conversations that take place”, her spokesman said.
Former Conservative leader Lord Hague said that while there would “of course” be diplomacy surrounding the funeral, that was not the main focus.
“Of course there is some diplomacy – you can’t have that number of people together from around the world without them starting to say, ‘Well, what do you think is happening in Ukraine?’” he told Times Radio.
“Nevertheless, they’re coming because they want to pay their respects to this extraordinary head of state. And that is what 90 per cent of it will be about.”
RAF plane carrying Queen Elizabeth II's coffin lands in London - video
Downing Street on Monday refused to comment on reports that world leaders visiting London for the queen’s funeral have been asked to travel on commercial flights and will be bused to Westminster Abbey.
“Arrangements for leaders, including how they travel, will vary depending on individual circumstances,” the spokesman said. He said “the guidance and information provided is guidance”.
Leaders are expected to begin arriving in Britain from Friday and time has been set aside on Sunday for them to pay their respects to the queen as she lies in state in Westminster Hall.
On Sunday evening they will attend a reception at Buckingham Palace hosted by King Charles III.
Leaders will be able to sign an official condolence book at Lancaster House.
Queen Elizabeth II's lying in state explained - video
They will also be invited to deliver a tribute to the late queen lasting up to three minutes, which will be recorded for the media.
There will be two receptions for dignitaries after the service.
Members of the royal family will attend the first event at Windsor Castle after the procession of the queen from Westminster Abbey to St George’s chapel at Windsor.
The guest list for this event is likely to include only the heads of state from the Commonwealth and realms, alongside key UK allies such as the US.
A second-tier event will take place in Church House for other leaders, which will also include senior government ministers and diplomats.
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi
Director: Kangana Ranaut, Krish Jagarlamudi
Producer: Zee Studios, Kamal Jain
Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Ankita Lokhande, Danny Denzongpa, Atul Kulkarni
Rating: 2.5/5
SCHEDULE
Saturday, April 20: 11am to 7pm - Abu Dhabi World Jiu-Jitsu Festival and Para jiu-jitsu.
Sunday, April 21: 11am to 6pm - Abu Dhabi World Youth (female) Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Monday, April 22: 11am to 6pm - Abu Dhabi World Youth (male) Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Tuesday, April 23: 11am-6pm Abu Dhabi World Masters Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Wednesday, April 24: 11am-6pm Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Thursday, April 25: 11am-5pm Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Friday, April 26: 3pm to 6pm Finals of the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Saturday, April 27: 4pm and 8pm awards ceremony.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Straightforward ways to reduce sugar in your family's diet
- Ban fruit juice and sodas
- Eat a hearty breakfast that contains fats and wholegrains, such as peanut butter on multigrain toast or full-fat plain yoghurt with whole fruit and nuts, to avoid the need for a 10am snack
- Give young children plain yoghurt with whole fruits mashed into it
- Reduce the number of cakes, biscuits and sweets. Reserve them for a treat
- Don’t eat dessert every day
- Make your own smoothies. Always use the whole fruit to maintain the benefit of its fibre content and don’t add any sweeteners
- Always go for natural whole foods over processed, packaged foods. Ask yourself would your grandmother have eaten it?
- Read food labels if you really do feel the need to buy processed food
- Eat everything in moderation
