US President Joe Biden on Wednesday offered his condolences to King Charles III on the death of Queen Elizabeth II and expressed his wish for the two countries to maintain a close relationship.
“The president recalled fondly the queen’s kindness and hospitality, including when she hosted him and the first lady [Jill Biden] at Windsor Castle last June,” the White House said in a readout of the call.
“He also conveyed the great admiration of the American people for the queen, whose dignity and constancy deepened the enduring friendship and special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom.”
Queen Elizabeth died last week at the age of 96. On Wednesday her coffin was transported from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall, where she will lie in state until her funeral on Monday.
Mr Biden, who first met the queen as a US senator in 1982, praised her for commemorating the US bicentennial in 1976 and for standing in solidarity with the country after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.
“Grief is the price we pay for love,” Mr Biden recalled Queen Elizabeth saying in the days following 9/11.
Mr Biden last week ordered flags at the White House and federal offices throughout the world to be displayed at half-mast until the queen's internment.
He and Ms Biden will travel to the UK on Saturday to attend Queen Elizabeth's funeral on Monday, the White House said.
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Alaves 1 (Perez 65' pen)
Real Madrid 2 (Ramos 52', Carvajal 69')
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How tumultuous protests grew
- A fuel tax protest by French drivers appealed to wider anti-government sentiment
- Unlike previous French demonstrations there was no trade union or organised movement involved
- Demonstrators responded to online petitions and flooded squares to block traffic
- At its height there were almost 300,000 on the streets in support
- Named after the high visibility jackets that drivers must keep in cars
- Clashes soon turned violent as thousands fought with police at cordons
- An estimated two dozen people lost eyes and many others were admitted to hospital
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
