The global consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine were in the spotlight Tuesday at the U.N. General Assembly, as the annual debate got underway.

Leaders spoke of the urgency to get fertilizer, in particular, to the world’s farmers at a reasonable price and in time for the planting season, which in some parts of the world has started already.

“Without action now, the global fertilizer shortage will quickly morph into a global food shortage,” Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of what could lie ahead next year.

He said there are reports of farmers in West Africa and other regions cultivating fewer crops because of the price or lack of availability of fertilizers.

“Fertilizers have become three times as expensive as in 2021,” Senegalese President and African Union Chairperson Macky Sall told a ministerial-level meeting on food security on the sidelines of the debate.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, it has imposed quotas on exports of its fertilizer, saying it wanted enough for its farmers. Moscow is a top fertilizer exporter, and the disruptions and shortages it has created have led to steep price increases on international markets. That has made fertilizer unaffordable for some smaller farmers, with the potential to dramatically decrease their harvests.

This threatens global food security, which is already in a bad way. The U.N. says more than 800 million people worldwide are suffering from hunger.

“Russia must end its illegal war against Ukraine, which has threatened an essential source of the world’s food supply,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told the food summit. “The truth is that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is trying to blackmail the international community with a large part of the world’s food needs.”

Despite calls for diplomacy, Russia signaled that it plans to persist, with plans for referendums soon for Luhansk and Donetsk to declare themselves part of Russia, which could set the stage for an escalation of the fighting.

While there are no Western sanctions on either Russian food or fertilizer exports, Moscow claims that there are. A deal signed in Istanbul on July 22 has moved more than 4 million metric tons of Ukrainian grain to international markets and is working to build confidence among shippers, insurers and buyers of Russian grain and fertilizer so they will resume at pre-invasion levels.

Guterres called for the removal of “all remaining obstacles” to the export of Russian fertilizers and their ingredients, including ammonia.

“These products are not subject to sanctions — and we are making progress in eliminating indirect effects,” he said.

Appeals for peace

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose country brokered the Black Sea Grain Initiative along with the U.N., appealed Tuesday for a diplomatic end to the war.

“We would like to launch an appeal to all the international organizations and the countries of the world to support the peaceful initiatives of Turkey to settle this dispute once and for all,” Erdogan told the assembly. “We need a dignified way out of this crisis and that can be possible only through a diplomatic solution which is rational, which is fair, and which is applicable.”

Neither the Russian nor the Ukrainian leader are in New York this week, and no breakthroughs are expected.

“France obstinately will look for peace,” said President Emmanuel Macron, who has kept diplomatic channels open with President Putin. “Our position is clear, and we want to serve this, and that’s why I am engaging in a dialogue with Russia and have done so since the start of the war and over these past months, and I will continue to head this up.”
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Russian President Vladimir Putin’s surprise admission at last week’s summit in Uzbekistan that China had “questions and concerns” about what was happening in Ukraine offered the first clue that Beijing is increasingly worried about the war.   

“You’re talking about huge investments either invested by China directly or with China serving as contractors,” said China expert Victor Gao, citing damages to China-invested shipbuilding projects, iron and steel mills, highways and other infrastructure projects. 

What China may have thought would be a quickly fought “military exercise” has turned into a devastating war that has damaged tens of billions of dollars of China’s own investments in the country, driven up global energy and food prices that in turn hurts China’s economy, and complicates China’s balancing act of offering some support to Russia, but not too much, to avoid antagonizing the United States and Europe, according to observers. 

“China is very much damaged in terms of its extensive investment. This gives China more incentives to promote peace. China wants to see the war wrapped up as soon as possible,” added Gao, a professor at China’s Soochow University and vice president of the Center for China and Globalization.  

China’s balancing act 

China has rejected Western calls to condemn the invasion and refused to join international sanctions against Moscow. 

Putin has relied on Beijing for trade in the face of Western sanctions. Based on Chinese customs data, overall exports from Russia rose by more than 50% from January to August when compared to the same period last year. 

During Chinese President Xi Jinping’s meeting last week with Putin at the annual Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, Xi affirmed that “China is ready to work with Russia in extending strong support to each other on issues concerning their respective core interests,” reported China’s state news agency Xinhua. The report also stated Xi “emphasized that China will work with Russia to deepen practical cooperation in trade, agriculture, connectivity and other areas.” 

But China seems to stop short of circumventing sanctions. 

“We have not seen the Chinese provide any material support to Mr. Putin for the war in Ukraine. And we haven’t had any indications that they are violating sanctions,” said John Kirby, coordinator for strategic communications at the U.S. National Security Council (NSC), in a September 16th interview with VOA.     

The US factor 

China cannot afford to distance itself from Russia due to increasing tensions between Beijing and the United States.  

“The Russo-China relationship is postulated vis a vis the U.S.-China relationship,” said Oh Ei Sun, senior fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs. “If the U.S.-China relationship is getting worse, Russia and China will warm up further. At the moment, the U.S.-China relationship [is] not doing well, so it’s only natural the Russia-China relationship will warm up.”  

At the beginning of September, China joined Russia’s military drills in Russia’s far eastern region. 

“China’s got choices to make. And as we’ve said many times before, we would clearly prefer that the choice they make is to condemn what Mr. Putin is doing in Ukraine … and make clear these concerns that they apparently have about what he’s doing there,” Kirby said in his VOA interview.   

“We’re going to continue to keep the lines of communication open with Beijing, as we must. There are issues of disagreement, clearly, between the United States and China, but there’s also areas where we have said we can, and we should, cooperate on,” said the NSC spokesman. 

Beijing’s considerations 

Reliance on Russia as a geopolitical partner, however, is increasingly presenting a dilemma for Beijing, especially given its stance for peace. 

“I don’t think China will go all out to try to make Russia its really close strategic ally,” said Oh. “Except for its military prowess, it’s nothing much to speak of. Its economy is equivalent to one of the more well-to-do provinces in China, perhaps Guangdong. You might as well have India on your side.”  

Observers expect China to continue to stay the course, refraining from giving outright support to Russia, while calling for an end to the war 

“China is both a friend of Russia as well as a friend with Ukraine. China does have conversations with Russia on one hand and Ukraine on the other hand. … Lots of these things can be done more constructively behind the scenes than in the limelight,” Gao said.   

Central Asia opportunity 

As Russia’s war against Ukraine continues, China’s influence in Central Asia seems to be growing, as reflected by last week’s Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting in Uzbekistan, Xi’s visit to Kazakhstan and deals signed with other Central Asian countries.  

“Of course, China all along wanted to build an oil pipeline through Central Asia, but because of Russia’s opposition, the plans could not be carried out,” said Simon Chen, a political science professor at National Taiwan University. “But now, China’s plans are closer to being realized.”  

The Central Asian countries link China to the West and are crucial in helping Xi achieve his Belt and Road Initiative — building a modern-day Silk Road to easily transport oil and natural gas to China, as well as send China’s products to Europe and other parts of the world.  

“In Central Asia, China will perhaps benefit [from the Ukraine war], but overall, its economy suffers because of inflation in agricultural goods, high wheat and oil prices. To China, the war is not what it wants,” said Chen. 

Last week, China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan signed a deal for a feasibility study to build a long-awaited railroad that would pass through the three countries to Europe, bypassing sanctioned-plagued Russia. 
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After the death of Queen Elizabeth II, several nations that have long had a British monarch as their head of state are pondering charting a new course to become republics. In the Americas, this includes Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, Jamaica and the Bahamas, following the decision by Barbados to shed the monarchy earlier this year. Republicanism has also been on the rise in Australia, where a vote on leaving the monarchy could be held in coming years, according to some experts.

But what about in Canada, a culturally diverse nation with a substantial proportion of French speakers? Observers say the process for abolishing the monarchy in Canada would be nearly impossible to launch in the short term.

“Abolishing the monarchy would require a feat of political maneuvering that has rarely been seen throughout the years, requiring unanimous agreement among the House of Commons, the Senate and all of the provincial legislatures,” wrote Amanda Connolly from Canada’s Global News, in a September 18 article about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ruling out such an effort in the near future.

Canada’s Indigenous people, who long suffered under colonialism and continue to experience its aftereffects to this day, nevertheless issued several statements of condolences to the British people after the queen’s death.

While not calling for the abolition of the monarchy, Indigenous leaders have expressed concern that King Charles III could be less likely to support them in the process of reconciling the colonial past.

French Canadians are seen as less enamored with the monarchy than many of their English-speaking compatriots. French Canadians trace their history back to the colonization of what is now Canada by France before the British conquered French-held lands and expelled many French-speaking inhabitants.

Robert Lacey is a British historian who wrote The Crown: The Inside History.

“Most English-speaking Canadians will probably accept King Charles as their new head of state,” Lacey told VOA. “But whether French Canadians welcome him seems less certain.”

“French Canadians are generally most indifferent or negative toward the monarchy,” said Philippe Lagasse, who teaches international affairs at Ottawa’s Carleton University, speaking with VOA. “This reflects the fact that the monarchy has come to be associated with assimilation, the historical oppression of the French population and, most importantly, a modernizing impulse that accompanied Quebec’s Quiet Revolution in the 1960, which saw the [Catholic] church’s influence greatly diminished and Quebec nationalism rise.”

But despite significant pockets of resistance to the monarchy in Canada, Lagasse sees no easy path to ending it.

“The monarchy will endure in Canada as long as it lasts in the United Kingdom,” he said. “The process for ending the monarchy in Canada is so onerous … that the only plausible path to a republic is if the United Kingdom becomes a republic and forces a change on Canada.”

Asked what leaders in Ottawa might think, Lagasse noted, “The reaction is muted at the moment. A lot will depend on the kinds of decisions that the king makes about his role and the Crown’s presence in the realms. If the king courts controversy, that will cause concern. At the moment, though, it is too early to tell.”

Political scientist David Johnson of Cape Breton University in Nova Scotia said whether or not to retain the monarchy is a topic of discussion.

“Some Canadians said, ‘We don’t get to vote on this? We don’t get a say in what happens?’ The answer is no, we don’t get a say in this,” Johnson told VOA. “The monarchy is the natural default mode to the Canadian constitution. If we want to change that we have to rip out the hardware and software and put in new hardware and software.”

He added that republicans outnumber monarchists but that many Canadians are indifferent.

“The problem for the republican movement is to mobilize and work toward a constitutional amendment and that is difficult,” Johnson said. “There has never been a prime minister or premier who came to power on an abolition platform, not even [in] Quebec.”

“The ascension of King Charles III to the throne does not change anything for Canada,” said Vismay Buch, a University of Toronto undergraduate student with an international relations focus. “He will be following the centuries-old tradition of the British Monarch being the Canadian Head of State.”

A poll in April found two-thirds of Canadians viewed Queen Elizabeth II favorably but that 51% did not favor Canada continuing as a constitutional monarchy.
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Belarus opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is attending this year’s United Nations General Assembly as a member of an unnamed European country’s delegation. In an exclusive interview with VOA, Tsikhanouskaya said Belarus should not be viewed as an “appendix to Russia,” even though “Vladimir Putin wants to drag it back to the Soviet era.” In New York, Igor Tsikhanenka has more.
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Brittney Griner’s highly publicized legal woes in Russia and the country’s invasion of Ukraine has the top WNBA players opting to take their talents elsewhere this offseason.

For the past few decades, Russia has been the preferred offseason destination for WNBA players to compete because of the high salaries that can exceed $1 million and the resources and amenities teams offered them.

That all has come to an abrupt end.

“Honestly my time in Russia has been wonderful, but especially with BG still wrongfully detained there, nobody’s going to go there until she’s home,” said Breanna Stewart, a Griner teammate on the Russian team that paid the duo millions. “I think that, you know, now, people want to go overseas and if the money is not much different, they want to be in a better place.”

Griner was arrested in February, then detained and later convicted on drug possession charges amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Griner was sentenced last month to nine years in prison.

Now, Stewart and other WNBA All-Stars, including Jonquel Jones and Courtney Vandersloot — who also have made millions of dollars playing in Russia — are going elsewhere this winter. All three played for Ekaterinburg, the same Russian team as Griner. That club won five EuroLeague titles in the past eight seasons and has been dominant for nearly two decades with former greats DeLisha Milton Jones and Diana Taurasi playing there.

Nearly a dozen WNBA players competed in Russia last winter and none of them are heading back this year.

After the World Cup tournament, Stewart is going to Turkey to play for Fenerbahçe. Top players can make a few hundred thousand dollars playing in Turkey, much less than their Russian salaries. Playing in Turkey also allows Stewart to be closer to her wife’s family in Spain.

“You want to have a better lifestyle, a better off-the-court experience, and just continue to appreciate other countries,” Stewart said.

Like Stewart, Vandersloot also isn’t headed back to Russia, choosing to play in Hungary where she obtained citizenship in 2016.

“I am Hungarian. I thought it would be special since I haven’t played there since I got the citizenship,” Vandersloot said.

The 33-year-old guard said a lot would have to change before she’d ever consider going back to Russia to play even though she has many fond memories of the Russian people.

“The thing about it is, we were treated so well by our club and made such strong relationships with those people, I would never close the door on that,” she said. “The whole situation with BG makes it really hard to think that it’s safe for anyone to go back there right now.”

Jones will be joining Stewart in Turkey, playing for Mersin. The 6-foot-6 Jones said she would consider going back to Russia if things change politically and Griner was back in the U.S.

The Griner situation also is weighing heavily on the minds of young WNBA players.

Rhyne Howard, the 2022 WNBA Rookie of the Year, is playing in Italy this winter — her first overseas experience. She said was careful when deciding where she wanted to play.

“Everyone’s going to be a bit cautious seeing as this situation is happening,” she said.

It’s not just the American players who are no longer going to Russia. Chicago Sky forward Emma Meesseman, who stars for the Belgium national team, had played in Russia with Stewart, Jones and Vandersloot. She also is headed to Turkey this offseason.

The WNBA has also been trying to make staying home in the offseason a better option for players. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said at the WNBA Finals that top players could make up to $700,000 this year between base salary, marketing agreements and award bonuses. While only a select few players could reach that amount, roughly a dozen have decided take league marketing agreements this offseason.
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Australia and the European Union (EU) have resumed free trade talks in the Australian capital, Canberra. 

Negotiations over an trade agreement between Australia and the European Union began in 2017.  

Progress has not always been easy.  There was dismay over Australia’s shelving of a lucrative submarine deal with France in favor of the AUKUS alliance with the United States and Britain.  That anger has subsided.  There were, though, also concerns in Europe about Australia’s environmental targets under the previous conservative Canberra government, which was a strong supporter of the fossil fuel industry. 

However, the recently elected Labor government plans to cut emissions by 43% by 2030.  It is the first time environmental targets have been legislated in Australia and the new policy has kick-started trade discussions with Europe.  The EU sent a senior delegation to Canberra this week, and there are hopes a free trade agreement can be signed by the end of 2023.  

The European Union is eager to harness Australian green hydrogen and other critical minerals, such as lithium, used in renewable power. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the subsequent impact on energy supplies, have intensified the EU’s search for reliable suppliers of the minerals needed for energy and digital enterprises.

Bernd Lange, the chair of the European Parliament’s committee on International Trade, believes Australia can play a big part in industrial decarbonization. 

“We are going away from fossil fuels and Australia has a big volume of possible green hydrogen, of lithium, of copper and we want to get it in a sustainable way for the transformation of industry in Europe but also in Australia,” he said.

Australian negotiators want greater access for key farming exports, including beef, dairy, sugar and grain.  However, analysts say that agriculture is a sensitive issue, with some members of the European Union wanting to restrict imports to protect local producers.  

As a bloc, the EU is Australia’s second largest two-way trading partner of goods and services.  The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 countries.

Officials have said “Australia’s position in the world as a global top 20 trading nation is underpinned by our advocacy for an open global economy.”

The Canberra government has signed more than a dozen free trade pacts with various countries and groupings, including Japan, the United States and China, its biggest trading partner.  

Its first free trade agreement was signed with New Zealand in 1983.
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Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya told VOA New York Bureau Chief Ihar Tsikhanenka that the democratic world should not be “putting the [Lukashenko] regime and the Belarusian people into one basket.”
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Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, who died earlier this month, has been laid to rest following a funeral service attended by over 100 world leaders. Henry Ridgwell reports from London.
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VOA Eastern Europe bureau chief Myroslava Gongadze spoke to Ukraine’s Minister of Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov about a United Nations program to deliver Ukrainian grain to the world and his country’s efforts to replace bridges damaged during Russia’s invasion. The transcript has been edited for length and clarity.

VOA: After you signed the agreement with the World Food Program under the U.N., and over 3 million tons of grain was delivered to the world, does it mean that the World Food Program and this agreement [are] working?

KUBRAKOV: Yes, you’re absolutely right. … Almost each week, we load in one, two vessels, which is going to Somalia, to Ethiopia, Kenya, and other African countries which are suffering now because you know that according to statistics of United Nations almost 70 million people now, they feel lack of food and there is a huge risk for these countries.

VOA: There was a report about Russia stealing Ukrainian grain. How are you dealing with this issue?

KUBRAVOV: We are trying to block these supplies. Normal countries which appreciate, which try to stick to international laws, they understand this, and they are not accepting such vessels with stolen grain from our country. But still there is Syria. Still there are some other countries oriented on the Russian Federation and they support such transactions.

VOA: And they are accepting the grain, Ukrainian grain under Russian pretext. There are a lot of Ukrainian grains. The world learned how big Ukraine is as an agricultural country and how much impact Ukraine has in the world. How are you planning to actually save Ukrainian grain?

KUBRAVOV: The most important for us is just to increase volume of our exports. Results of August were quite optimistic. We reached almost 5 million. It’s very similar volumes which we had before the war. So, I hope that if we will continue with the same volumes, I think we will save all our agricultural products and nothing will be spoiled. So, we will reach volumes which we had before the war.

VOA: My understanding that you are developing other ways to deliver grain, tell me about that.

KUBRAVOV: Last month we exported more than 2 million, about 2.2 million tons of different products through three ports on [the] Danube [River] and 1.6 million tons of agricultural products. So, it’s also like a huge contribution to whole export. We are developing our railway lines in direction to Poland, to Romania. It’s also important because we passed over 1 million tons of exports through these channels.

And for sure we are trying to simplify border cross checkpoints and all of these issues with our colleagues from Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic and Hungary. It’s not so easy, we understand that our points, they were not ready for such volumes. But we are working on this, and the European Commission also supports us.

VOA: We are standing on this bridge. It’s a fresh new building. You are replacing all the bridges that were destroyed during the first stage of invasion. My understanding [is that] a lot of infrastructure would have to be replaced. How are you dealing with that? And how much you are relying on the international community for support?

KUBRAVOV: First of all, we understand that the war is continuing, and now we’re focusing only on the main roads, the main railway roads, the main infrastructure. So, we are standing on a bridge which is part of international road, so that’s why we understand it’s like top priority for us. And we have 320 destroyed bridges. We have 53 temporary bridges which are already constructed. This bridge won’t be temporary. It will be a permanent, normal bridge. I hope that we will finish it in less than one and a half months, before first of November we will open the bridge.

And you asked about support of our international partners. Fortunately, they support us, and recently we have received the decision of the European Commission and European investment Bank, they will provide financing for such recovery of like fast recovery. It’s first part of the most important bridges, railway lines and almost half a billion euro program. So, I hope that it will be enough just to cover all these urgent issues.

VOA: So far, your assessment, how much would have to be replaced?

KUBRAVOV: I can rely on figures of Kyiv School of Economy and World Bank, they are very close because one of the organizations they calculated the date on — the date was beginning of summer — Kyiv School of Economy, they are trying to update almost each week, months. So, they are close to $100 billion of direct losses of infrastructure and number one point in this figure, it’s residential buildings and second issue it’s transport infrastructure.
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Tensions between NATO members Turkey and Greece are escalating over territorial disputes. Some analysts warn domestic politics are fueling the tensions, with little sign of mediation efforts by Western allies who are focused on the Ukrainian conflict. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.
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U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden paid their respects to Queen Elizabeth II Monday, joining world leaders, the royal family and a small group of invited guests at a somber, pomp-filled funeral ceremony at Westminster Abbey that celebrated her 70 years of service as Britain’s longest-serving monarch.

The Bidens arrived late Saturday for the event and have kept a low profile in the British capital, holding no official diplomatic meetings and keeping their public comments to the topic of the queen’s recent death September 8 at the age of 96.

White House officials told VOA before the funeral that Washington’s strong ties to London will continue after the recent change in leadership — which includes the new king, Charles III, and the recently installed prime minister, Liz Truss. Biden will meet with Truss Wednesday in New York, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

“We are confident that with King Charles and with Prime Minister Truss that the special relationship between the United States and Great Britain will endure, we’re not worried about that at all,” National Security Council director of strategic communications John Kirby told VOA.

On Sunday, Biden and his wife paid their respects as the queen’s body lay in state at Westminster Hall, where tens of thousands lined up for hours to pass by her elaborately draped casket, which also bore the Imperial State Crown, orb and scepter — a priceless and instantly recognizable piece capped by the massive, glittering Star of Africa diamond, a 530-carat stone given to the Crown by then-colony South Africa, in 1907.

On Sunday, the Bidens also signed condolence books, and the president praised the queen for her legacy of selfless duty.

“I think what she gave us is a sense of, maybe above all, the notion of service, that we all owe something,” he said. “There’s something within our capacity to do that can make things — not just the world better, but your neighborhood better, your household better, your workplace better. And that’s what she communicated to me anyway.”

The king also hosted a formal state reception for dignitaries Sunday, which Biden attended.

The British crown has extended a controversial funeral invitation to Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is widely believed to be responsible for ordering the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. They did not invite the leaders of Russia, Belarus, Syria, Afghanistan or Venezuela.

Elizabeth will be buried privately later on Monday at St. George’s Chapel within the grounds of Windsor Castle, next to her husband of 73 years, Prince Philip.
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The European Union’s executive branch has unveiled plans for new laws that it said would help protect media freedom and independence in the 27-nation bloc at a time of mounting concern about the dangers of political influence in several member countries.

Spurred into action allegations of state spying on reporters, the use of political pressure on news outlets and the placing of advertising to peddle influence, the European Commission said the EU needs a European Media Freedom Act.

“We see a lot of worrying trends regarding media in Europe, and it’s not only a matter of one or two countries,” European Commission Vice President Vera Jourova told reporters in Brussels. She said the proposed legislation is needed “for the times we live in, not for the times we would like to live in.”

The commission has criticized the governments of Hungary, Poland and Slovenia in recent years for trying to pressure their national media. But EU officials say they see the risk of political influence in more than 20 member countries.

“We need to establish clear principles: No journalist should be spied on because of their job. No public media should be turned into propaganda channel,” Jourova said.

The main thrust of the new act is to protect media outlets from governments attempting to determine what they can publish or broadcast, and to prevent countries from spying on media workers.

The legislation also aims to ensure stable funding of public service media and to make media ownership more transparent.

The proposal would only take effect once it has been debated and endorsed by EU member countries and the European Parliament.

The centerpiece of the legislation would create an independent body, made up of national media authorities, to issue opinions on national measures and decisions affecting media markets and media market ownership. But the opinions of the European Board for Media Services would not be binding on national authorities.

Jourova rejected suggestions that the board would be answerable to the European Commission or serve as an oversight body that itself keeps tabs on what reporters and editors are doing.

“We are not going to regulate the media themselves, but the space for media,” she said.

The act would ban the use of spyware against journalists and their families, with exceptions only for investigations of crimes such as terrorism, child abuse or murder. Journalists would have the right to judicial protection, and countries would set up an independent authority to handle complaints.

The allocation of state advertising to media would also be made more transparent. Officials say that 21 countries are at medium to high risk of misusing advertising revenue to influence editors and journalists.

The plan is the commission’s second recent foray into the media world. On Sept. 6, it launched a consortium of 18 European news agencies to “carry out independent reporting on EU affairs.” The European Newsroom benefits from around 1.8 million euros ($1.8 million) in EU funding.
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The state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II is being held at London’s historic Westminster Abbey.

Her body has been lying in state since Wednesday at Westminster Hall, where thousands of mourners have filed past her coffin to pay their respects.

Heads of state and dignitaries from around the world have flown into London to attend Elizabeth’s funeral which is certain to be full of British pomp and circumstance.
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The state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II is being held Monday at London’s historic Westminster Abbey. 

Her body has been lying in state since Wednesday at Westminster Hall, where thousands of mourners have filed past her coffin to pay their respects. 

Heads of state and dignitaries from around the world have flown into London to attend Elizabeth’s funeral which is certain to be full of British pomp and circumstance.

The queen is reported to have had a hand in planning some of the details of her final farewell. 

The dean of Westminster, David Hoyle, will preside over the service; the archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, will deliver a sermon. Prime Minister Liz Truss, who was appointed to her office by the queen just two days before Elizabeth died, will read a lesson.

The queen’s coffin will be carried Monday morning to Westminster Abbey on the State Gun Carriage of the Royal Navy that will be drawn by 142 sailors. The carriage also was used for the funeral of Elizabeth’s father, King George VI, in 1952.

Westminster Abbey also was the site of Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953 and her wedding to Prince Philip in 1947. 

After the funeral, King Charles III and other members of the royal family, in a walking procession, will accompany Elizabeth’s coffin to Wellington Arch, Elizabeth’s last stop before her burial at Windsor Castle.  

Britain’s last state funeral was held almost 60 years ago for Winston Churchill, the prime minister who led Britain to a World War II victory.
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The British royal family is wealthy, but where does their money come from? Here, we break it down and explain some of the history.
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The Spanish charity Open Arms has rescued 372 people seeking to cross the central Mediterranean to Europe in unseaworthy smugglers’ boats and recovered the corpse of a man who had been shot by smugglers, officials said Sunday.

The rescue ship Open Arms Uno remained at sea and is seeking a safe port for the rescued people, including some who need medical attention and many who are suffering from dehydration, said Laura Lanuza, an Open Arms representative. She said they have made at least two requests for a safe port in Malta.

In all, the ship performed three rescues in 24 hours. In the largest rescue, the Open Arms picked up 294 people, mostly Egyptians, from an overcrowded barge in waters south of Malta during a nighttime operation that spanned nearly five hours before dawn Sunday. Those rescued said they had been at sea for four days.

The packed boat had been spotted by volunteer pilots combing the Mediterranean for people in distress, and a photo showed its decks packed with people waving for help.

Before that, the Open Arms rescued 59 migrants from Syria, Egypt, Sudan and Eritrea, among them 10 minors, from an oil platform they had reached in international waters near Tunisia. Still in the flimsy smugglers’ boat was the wrapped body of a migrant who had been shot on shore by smugglers, Lanuza said.

“The smugglers forced the people to take the corpse with them. They spent a day or so at sea, and kept the corpse until they were saved,” Lanuza said.

On Saturday morning, the Open Arms rescued 19 people from a rubber dinghy off Libya in international waters. They included 16 people from Syria.

A photographer with The Associated Press aboard, the Open Arms, said during each rescue, desperate people flung themselves into the water, complicating the operation.
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Ukraine on Sunday searched for its war dead in Izium and other towns in the northeastern part of the country it reclaimed from Russia in a lightning advance earlier this month.

Izium Mayor Valery Marchenko told state television that “the exhumation is under way, the graves are being dug up and all the remains are being transported to Kharkiv.

“The work will continue for another two weeks, there are many burials,” Marchenko said. “No new ones have been found yet, but the services are looking for possible burials.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday that investigators had discovered new evidence of torture inflicted against some of the soldiers buried in Izium, one of more than 20 towns that Ukraine recaptured in the northeastern Kharkiv region that Russia had held for months. He said that 17 bodies were found at one site, some of which bore signs of torture.

Ukrainian officials said last week 440 bodies were discovered in woodlands near Izium, with most of the dead identified as civilians, Ukraine said the discovery proved war crimes had been committed by Russian forces. Emergency workers have been exhuming the remains.

Oleksandr Ilienkov, the chief of the prosecutor’s office for the Kharkiv region, told the Reuters news agency at the site on Friday: “One of the bodies [found] has evidence of a ligature pattern and a rope around the neck, tied hands.” Forensic examination of the bodies is continuing.

Moscow has repeatedly denied it has targeted civilians during its nearly seven-month invasion. The Kremlin has not commented publicly on the discovery of the graves.

The head of the pro-Russian administration that abandoned the Kharkiv region earlier this month accused Ukrainians of staging the atrocities at Izium. “I have not heard anything about burials,” Vitaly Ganchev told Rossiya-24 state television.

Meanwhile, as the fighting rages on, a British intelligence report said Sunday that Russia has widened its attacks on civilian infrastructure in the past week.

Five civilians were killed in Russian attacks in the Donetsk region in the last day. Ukrainian officials said that several dozen high-rise and private buildings, gas pipelines and power lines were damaged by Russian strikes in Nikopol.

The British report said, “As it faces setbacks on the front lines, Russia has likely extended the locations it is prepared to strike in an attempt to directly undermine the morale of the Ukrainian people and government.”

U.S. President Joe Biden is again warning Russian President Vladimir Putin against using weapons of mass destruction in Ukraine.

“Don’t. Don’t. Don’t. You will change the face of war unlike anything since World War II,” he said in an interview with CBS News scheduled to air Sunday night. Biden would not comment specifically on a U.S. response if Russia were to use chemical or nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

“They’ll become more of a pariah in the world than they ever have been,” he added. “And depending on the extent of what they do will determine what response would occur.”

It was not Biden’s first warning to his Russian counterpart. Biden said in March that the NATO military alliance would respond “in kind” to any use of weapons of mass destruction in Ukraine.

“We will respond if he uses it,” Biden said, referring to Putin. “The nature of the response depends on the nature of the use.”

He spoke after meeting with partners from NATO along with the Group of Seven leading industrialized economies and the European Union.

Just days into the invasion of Ukraine, Putin ordered Russia’s nuclear forces on high alert for the first time since the fall of the Soviet Union, prompting the White House to assemble a team of national security officials — the so-called Tiger Team — to study potential responses in the event Russia deployed chemical, biological or nuclear weapons against Ukraine, neighboring nations or NATO convoys of weapons and aid headed for Ukraine.

In 2000, Russia updated its military doctrine to allow the first use of nuclear weapons “in response to large-scale aggression utilizing conventional weapons in situations critical to the national security of the Russian Federation,” according to the U.S.-based Arms Control Association. The 1997 version of the doctrine had allowed the first use of nuclear arms only “in case of a threat to the existence of the Russian Federation.”

The newest version also states for the first time that Russia has the right to use nuclear weapons to respond to all “weapons of mass destruction” attacks.

In another development, The New York Times reports that Ukrainian military personnel in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut say they believe they are fighting Russian prisoners instead of Russian soldiers.

The publication said it has analyzed a video posted online that apparently shows representatives of The Wagner Group, a private military company, promising inmates they could win their freedom if they completed a six–month, combat tour in Ukraine. The Times said, however, that the video could not be verified.

President Putin has said seizing Bakhmut is one of the main goals of its invasion of Ukraine.

Some material in this report came from Reuters.
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The funeral of the only monarch most Britons have known involves the biggest security operation London has ever seen.

Mayor Sadiq Khan says Monday’s state funeral for Queen Elizabeth II is an “unprecedented” security challenge, with hundreds of thousands of people packing central London and a funeral guest list of 500 emperors, kings, queens, presidents, prime ministers and other leaders from around the world.

“It’s been decades since this many world leaders were in one place,” said Khan. “This is unprecedented … in relation to the various things that we’re juggling.”

“There could be bad people wanting to cause damage to individuals or to some of our world leaders,” Khan told The Associated Press. “So we are working incredibly hard — the police, the security services and many, many others — to make sure this state funeral is as successful as it can be.”

Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy said the “hugely complex” policing operation is the biggest in the London force’s history, surpassing the London 2012 Olympics.

More than 10,000 police officers will be on duty Monday, with London bobbies supplemented by reinforcements from all of Britain’s 43 police forces. Hundreds of volunteer marshals and members of the armed forces will also act as stewards along the processional route.

They are just the most visible part of a security operation that is being run from a high-tech control center near Lambeth Bridge, not far from Parliament.

Street drains and garbage bins are being searched and sealed. On Monday there will be police spotters on rooftops, sniffer dogs on the streets, marine officers on the River Thames and mounted police on horseback.

Flying drones over central London has been temporarily banned, and Heathrow Airport is grounding scores of flights so that aircraft noise does not disturb the funeral service.

Authorities face the challenge of keeping 500 world leaders safe, without ruffling too many diplomatic feathers. Presidents, prime ministers and royalty will gather offsite before being taken by bus to the abbey — though an exception is being made for U.S. President Joe Biden, who is expected to arrive in his armored limousine, known as The Beast.

Another challenge is the sheer size of the crowds expected to gather around Westminster Abbey and along the route the coffin will travel after the funeral, past Buckingham Palace to Hyde Park. From there it will be taken by hearse about 20 miles (32 kilometers) to Windsor, where another 2,000 police officers will be on duty.

The queen is due to be interred in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle alongside her husband Prince Philip, who died last year aged 99.

Police are deploying more than 22 miles (36 kilometers) of barriers in central London to control the crowds, and transit bosses are preparing for jam-packed stations, buses and subway trains as 1 million people flood the ceremonial heart of London. Subways will run later than normal and train companies are adding extra services to help get people home.

While many will be mourning the queen, support for the monarchy is far from universal. Police have already drawn criticism for arresting several people who staged peaceful protests during events related to the queen’s death and the accession of King Charles III.

Cundy said it had been made clear to officers that “people have a right to protest.”

“Our response here in London will be proportionate, it will be balanced, and officers will only be taking action where it is absolutely necessary,” he said.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley said the goal was to keep the event safe, “and try to do it in as unobtrusive a way as possible, because this is obviously a solemn occasion.”

Dean of Westminster David Hoyle, who will conduct the funeral service in the 900-year-old abbey, said preparations were going smoothly — despite the occasional security-related glitch.

“There was a wonderful moment when I had flower arrangers waiting in the abbey, and no flowers, because, quite properly, the police didn’t recognize what the van was and the flowers were sent back,” he said.
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U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden are in London alongside hundreds of world leaders and thousands of ordinary people who flocked to the British capital, joining long lines to pay their final respects to the nation’s longest serving monarch, Queen Elizabeth II.

Biden, who arrived late Saturday, is among hundreds of world leaders who are gathering in Britain to attend the queen’s funeral Monday.

On Sunday, as people milled around central London, world leaders made their way to Lancaster House to deliver condolences over the queen’s death on Sept. 8 at the age of 96.

“This is a time of grief, but also a time of deep gratitude,” said Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who leads one of the 56 countries in the Commonwealth of Nations, an organization of many former British colonies now led by Elizabeth’s eldest son, King Charles III. “Australians give thanks for the life of service of Queen Elizabeth II, a life defined by commitment to family, to country, to [the] Commonwealth.”

Biden and his wife are also expected to pay their respects to Elizabeth Sunday in Westminster Hall, where her body has been lying in state since Wednesday. Members of Europe’s royal families are also expected to attend the services. The king will also host a formal state reception for dignitaries Sunday.

The British crown has extended a controversial funeral invitation to Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is widely believed to be responsible for ordering the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. But they did not invite the leaders of Russia, Belarus, Syria, Afghanistan and Venezuela.

On Sunday, as the skies over London remained clear, thousands of people milled around Westminster, the center of the city. London police cheerfully marshalled the heaving crowds of families, veterans carrying bouquets and children holding lollipops, as the Queen’s image beamed at them from shop windows.
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The annual gathering of leaders at the U.N. General Assembly is taking place this year in the shadow of Queen Elizabeth’s funeral and as the war in Ukraine heads into a possibly decisive period.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is skipping the Queen’s funeral to remain in New York to oversee an Education Summit on Monday. He will then participate in the opening of the annual debate Tuesday morning, telling reporters it would be “inconceivable” that he would miss it.

U.S. President Joe Biden as host country leader would traditionally be the second head of state to address the assembly Tuesday, but as he will be attending Elizabeth’s funeral Monday, U.S. officials say his speech will now shift to Wednesday.

Spotlight

Neither Russian President Vladimir Putin nor Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be coming to New York, but despite this, their conflict will dominate the agenda.

“I think that Joe Biden and other Western leaders will use this as an opportunity to simply hammer home their anger with Russia over this war,” Richard Gowan, U.N. director for the International Crisis Group, told VOA.

He said Western leaders will also be seeking to shore up support from some non-Western countries they feel are trying to avoid taking sides or criticizing Russia.

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told reporters Friday that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “tests the fundamental principles that the U.N. was founded on.” She urged the international community not to abandon those values.

“We must double down on our commitment to a peaceful world and hold even closer our deeply held principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, peace and security,” she said.

“And that’s why next week is so critical. We believe this is a moment to defend the United Nations and to demonstrate to the world that it can still take the world’s most pressing global challenges on.”

On Thursday, the U.N. Security Council will hold a ministerial level meeting on the situation; it could see some heated exchanges between Russian and Western officials. There will also be a separate side event that day on accountability for war crimes committed in Ukraine.

But despite what will be many meetings and events about the conflict, even the secretary-general is not optimistic that there will be the opportunity for any ground-breaking diplomacy on the sidelines of the annual debate.

“My good offices are ready, but I have no illusions … at the present moment, the chances of a peace deal are minimal,” he told reporters Wednesday.

Food crisis

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has driven up global food, fertilizer and fuel prices, pushing fragile countries closer to the brink.

World Food Program Chief David Beasley warns that in 82 countries, as many as 345 million people are acutely food insecure, or “marching toward starvation.”

Somalia is one of the worst off.

Four failed rainy seasons have led to unprecedented drought. Eight million people could soon face famine if October’s rains fail as forecast.

“In total, 300,000 people are expected to be in IPC 5 conditions between October and December,” the Food and Agriculture Organization’s chief economist, Maximo Torero, told U.N. Security Council members Thursday.

IPC 5 is the humanitarian classification for famine.

In 2011-12 more than 250,000 Somalis died from famine. In 2016, there were fears that would be repeated, but international donors rallied to prevent the worst outcome.

Today, leaders know they need to act and do so quickly.

Somalia has sent its special envoy for drought response to New York to muster international support.

“Food is available inside the country — what we need is cash,” Abdirahman Abdishakur told VOA.

He warns that if a scaled-up humanitarian response does not happen in the next few weeks, people will die.

“The famine is real — it is happening,” he said.

On Wednesday, there will be a high-level meeting on responding to urgent needs in the Horn of Africa.

As for rising global food prices, the United States, the African Union, European Union and Spain will co-chair a food security summit Tuesday.

“It is bringing both the South as well as countries — developing countries and donor countries — together in the room to address these issues and how we move forward,” Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield said. “So that we can avoid the crisis that we are actually experiencing right now and see if we can make the situation better in the coming months.”

Improving market supply

The United Nations is counting on a package deal it has brokered with the help of Turkey and agreed by Ukraine and Russia, to put more grain on the global market and lower food prices.

The deal, signed July 22 in Istanbul, allows Ukrainian grain exports out of its Black Sea ports that Russia had blockaded. A separate agreement seeks to remove obstacles to get Russian fertilizer and food exports to world markets. Although not under Western sanctions, some shippers and insurers have been reluctant to do business with Russian companies for fear of running afoul of other sanctions targeting Moscow.

So far, more than 3 million metric tons of Ukrainian grain has gotten to markets in more than 30 countries via the deal, leading to a drop in food prices.

“Prices at the international level have gone down, but it is true that prices at the domestic level have not yet seen the decrease that we have seen in the international market,” said U.N. Conference on Trade and Development chief Rebeca Grynspan, who helped negotiate the deal.

She is also working to get more Russian fertilizer to markets, to ease prices, which she says are currently three times more than they were before the pandemic. If farmers cannot afford fertilizer, their crop yields could shrink, leading to food shortages next year.

“Fertilizer is a very important part of this deal,” Grynspan said.

Multitude of crises

While Ukraine may monopolize the spotlight during the high-level week, there is no shortage of other pressing issues, crises and conflicts for leaders to discuss.

Many will come up in bilateral meetings among top leaders. Others will get a broader setting.

Ahead of the general debate, Secretary-General Guterres is convening an education summit to address the massive disruption caused to schooling by the pandemic. The U.N. says 244 million young people worldwide are still out of school.

A new report from the U.N. children’s agency, UNICEF, estimates that only a third of 10-year-olds worldwide can read and understand a simple written story. That is half what it was pre-pandemic.

This is the first year leaders will meet again in New York in person in large numbers since the pandemic began in 2020, and while COVID-19 will not be in the spotlight, pandemic recovery will be part of economic and health discussions.

As will the climate crisis.

The U.N. chief just returned from Pakistan, where deadly floods have submerged one-third of the country.

“What is happening in Pakistan demonstrates the sheer inadequacy of the global response to the climate crisis, and the betrayal and injustice at the heart of it,” he told reporters.

He will use his platform to press for more investments for climate adaptation and mitigation for the poorest countries, which have contributed the least to climate change.
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U.S. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden are in London where they will attend Queen Elizabeth’s funeral. 

Biden, who arrived late Saturday, is among hundreds of world leaders who are gathering in Britain to attend the queen’s funeral Monday. 

Biden and his wife are expected to pay their respects to Elizabeth Sunday in Westminster Hall, where her body had been lying in state since Wednesday. 

Members of Europe’s royal families are also expected to attend Elizabeth’s services. 

King Charles III, Elizabeth’s son, is holding a formal state reception Sunday for the many dignitaries who have gathered in England’s capital.

The British crown has extended a controversial funeral invitation to Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, who is widely believed to be responsible for ordering the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.  
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Serbian police arrested more than 30 people as thousands of LGBTQ activists turned out for Belgrade’s EuroPride march Saturday, despite a government ban.

The event had been intended as the cornerstone event of the EuroPride gathering. But the interior ministry banned the march earlier this week, citing security concerns after right wing groups threatened to hold protests.

And although the march took place without major incident, local media said clashes broke out between counterdemonstrators and police.

The interior ministry had also barred any counter protests, but some far-right groups vowed to rally and gather in front of churches.

Interior Minister Aleksandar Vulin had warned in a statement that “we will not tolerate any violence in Belgrade streets, any more than illegal marches.”

Model and activist Yasmin Benoit said she had been to many gay pride parades “but this one is slightly more stressful than the others.”

“I’m from the U.K. where everyone is more supportive and it’s more commercial,” she told AFP.

“But here, this is really what pride should be,” she added, referring to the societal struggle at the origins of the movement.

“We are fighting for the future of this country,” said Luka, a Serbian taking part in Saturday’s event.

Gay marriage not recognized

Despite the official ban, demonstrators were able to march in the rain a few hundred meters between the Constitutional Court to a nearby park, a much shorter route than organizers had originally planned.

Gay marriage is not legally recognized in Serbia, where homophobia remains deep-seated despite some progress over the years in reducing discrimination.

The Balkan country, a candidate for EU membership, had been under intense international pressure to allow the march.

More than 20 embassies, including the U.S., France and Britain, had issued a joint statement urging the authorities to lift the ban.

There was a heavy police presence around the pride rally, with officers pushing back the small groups of counterdemonstrators waving crosses and religious insignia.

The interior ministry said 31 people were arrested.

The authorities gave no details on those detained, but AFP journalists saw several counterdemonstrators being taken away.

According to N1 television, there were scuffles between police and the counterdemonstrators, some of whom threw smoke bombs at the officers and damaged several vehicles.

The U.S. embassy had urged its citizens to avoid the event “because of the potential for unruly crowds, violence, as well as possible fines.”

‘Implicit sanctioning of bigotry’

Human rights groups and the European Union called on the Serbian government to rescind the ban.

“The Serbian government’s decision to cancel EuroPride is a shameful surrender to, and implicit sanctioning of, bigotry and threats of unlawful violence,” said Graeme Reid, director of the LGBT rights program at Human Rights Watch.

At least 15 members of the European Parliament announced that they would join the pride march in a show of solidarity.

Belgrade pride marches in 2001 and again in 2010 were marred by violence and rioting after far-right groups targeted the event.

Since 2014, the parade has been organized regularly without any notable unrest but was protected with a large law enforcement presence.

This year’s ban came just days after thousands took part in an anti-pride demonstration in Belgrade, with biker gangs, Orthodox priests and far-right nationalists demanding the EuroPride rally be scrapped.

“I am here to preserve Serbian traditions, faith and culture, which are being destroyed by sodomites,” Andrej Bakic, 36, a counter-protester in a group surrounded by riot police told AFP Saturday.
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Princes William and Harry stood vigil at either end of the coffin of their grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, on Saturday, heads bowed as a line of mourners streamed past the late monarch’s lying-in-state.

The two sons of King Charles, attired in military uniforms, stood in silence at a 15-minute vigil in the vast Westminster Hall where the coffin has been lying since Wednesday, draped in the Royal Standard and with the bejeweled Imperial State Crown on top.

William and Harry were joined by their six cousins, including Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, who earlier paid tribute to Britain’s longest-reigning monarch. The queen died on September 8 at her summer estate in the Scottish Highlands at age 96.

“You were our matriarch, our guide, our loving hand on our backs leading us through this world,” said the sisters, daughters of Prince Andrew. “You taught us so much and we will cherish those lessons and memories forever. For now, dear grannie, all we want to say is thank you.”

Hundreds of thousands of people have lined up for long hours in a queue stretching along the River Thames, waiting to file past the coffin and honor the queen, a testimony to the affection in which she was held.

The other cousins at Saturday’s vigil were Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall, the children of Princess Anne, and Louise and James, the children of Prince Edward.

Earlier on Saturday, Charles and his heir William shook hands and greeted well-wishers in the queue, asking people how long they had been there and whether they were warm enough.

To cheers of “hip, hip, hurrah” and shouts of “God save the King,” Charles and William spoke to mourners near Lambeth Bridge, as they neared the end of the massive line to see the lying-in-state in the historic Westminster Hall.

On Friday night, Charles joined his three siblings, Princess Anne and Princes Andrew and Edward, in a silent vigil at the coffin.

“She wouldn’t believe all this, she really wouldn’t,” William was heard telling one man of the late queen, who came to the throne in 1952. “It’s amazing.”

One woman told Charles it had been “worth the wait” and others wished him well and cheered as he moved down the line.

Ahead of the state funeral at Westminster Abbey on Monday, world leaders also start arriving in the British capital.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese were among the dignitaries to pay their respects on Saturday while New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was seen curtsying to the coffin on Friday.

U.S. President Joe Biden was expected to go to the lying-in-state on Sunday.

On Saturday, Charles met leaders of the 14 countries where he is head of state such as Canada, Australia, and Jamaica after meeting the governors-general — the people who represent the monarch in overseas realms — at Buckingham Palace.

Security operation

London’s police force has described the funeral as the biggest security operation it has ever undertaken as prime ministers, presidents and royals come together and huge crowds throng the streets. The king visited police headquarters on Saturday to thank emergency services workers involved in the planning.

Underscoring the risks, police said one man had been detained and arrested after a witness told Sky News he “ran up to the queen’s coffin.” Footage showed a man being pinned to the ground by police officers and taken away.

By 5 p.m. local time, Britain’s culture ministry said the waiting time to reach the lying-in-state was up to 11 hours.

Inside the silent hall, some mourners wept, many were tearful while current soldiers and veterans saluted their former commander-in-chief. Others in the line fell to their knees.

New friendships, acts of kindness and the struggles of standing in line for hours, sometimes in the cold overnight, have come to define what has become known as just “the queue.”

The state funeral, to be attended by nearly 100 presidents and heads of government, is likely to be one of the biggest ceremonial events ever held in Britain.

Soldiers took part in early morning rehearsals in Windsor, where the queen’s coffin will be taken after the funeral at Westminster Abbey. Marching bands playing music and Grenadier Guards, who wear a tall bearskin hat on ceremonial duties, were seen marching down the High Street in preparation.

Liz Kelshall from Leatherhead, southern England, said she had brought her two children to Windsor so they would never forget the queen.

“It’s really important for them to grow up and remember this and it’s important for us as a family to come and show some respect for an amazing woman,” she said.
…

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived Saturday in Armenia, days after the Caucasus country’s deadly border clashes with Azerbaijan jeopardized Western efforts to broker lasting peace between the arch foes.

The worst clashes since Yerevan’s 2020 war with Baku erupted on Tuesday, claiming the lives of 215 people, before hostilities ended on Thursday after international mediation.

Pelosi said her visit “is a powerful symbol of the United States firm commitment to a peaceful, prosperous and democratic Armenia, and a stable and secure Caucasus region.”

She is the highest-ranking U.S. official to travel to Armenia since the tiny, impoverished nation’s 1991 independence from the Soviet Union.

The three-day visit “will play a big role in ensuring our security,” Armenian Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan told journalists ahead of her arrival.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought two wars, in 2020 and in the 1990s, over the contested Nagorno-Karabakh region, Azerbaijan’s Armenian-populated enclave.

Together with France and Russia, the U.S. co-chairs the Minsk Group of mediators, which had led decades-long peace talks between Baku and Yerevan under the aegis of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

“We will convey the strong and ongoing support of the United States, as an OSCE Minsk Chair and longtime friend to Armenia, for a lasting settlement to the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh,” Pelosi said in a statement.

The latest escalation came as Armenia’s closest ally, Moscow, is distracted by its nearly seven-month war in Ukraine.

Analysts have said the hostilities have largely undone Western efforts to bring Baku and Yerevan closer to a peace deal.

With Moscow increasingly isolated on the world stage following its February invasion of Ukraine, the European Union had taken a lead role in mediating the Armenia-Azerbaijan normalization process.

The six weeks of fighting in 2020 claimed the lives of more than 6,500 troops from both sides and ended with a Russian-brokered cease-fire.

Under the deal, Armenia ceded swaths of territory it had controlled for decades, and Moscow deployed about 2,000 Russian peacekeepers to oversee the fragile truce.

Ethnic Armenian separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh broke away from Azerbaijan when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. The ensuing conflict claimed around 30,000 lives.
…