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Queen Elizabeth’s funeral: Who’s invited and who’s not

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London: Hundreds of foreign royals and leaders are expected to attend the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in London on Monday in one of the biggest diplomatic gatherings in decades.

Westminster Abbey has space for around 2,000 people, so only heads of state and one or two guests have reportedly been invited to Britain´s first state funeral for six decades.

A handful of countries have meanwhile not been invited to the funeral due to political considerations — sparking a furious outburst in at least one case.

Here are some of the key guests, and some who did not make the list:

– World royalty –

A host of royals from Europe and further afield have confirmed their attendance at the funeral of one of the world´s longest-serving monarchs.

Japan´s Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako will come, in their first overseas trip since assuming the throne in 2019. It also marks a departure from Japanese tradition which rarely sees the emperor attend funerals.

Europe´s royal families are closely related after centuries of mingling their bloodlines, so it will be no surprise to see several monarchs from the continent in the congregation.

Dutch King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima and Crown Princess Beatrix, Philippe King of the Belgians, King Harald V of Norway and Prince Albert II of Monaco will all attend.

Denmark´s Queen Margrethe, who scrapped a series of events marking her 50th jubilee following the death of her third cousin Queen Elizabeth, is also coming.

Spain´s King Felipe VI will be there too — and so will his father, former king Juan Carlos I, who abdicated in disgrace in 2014 and now lives in self-imposed exile in the United Arab Emirates.

– Global leaders –

US President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden head the diplomatic guest list, after the White House confirmed they would come to the funeral.

Unlike some other leaders who have been asked to come in coaches arranged by the British government, Biden has reportedly been given permission to use his armoured presidential limousine, known as The Beast.

French President Emmanuel Macron will also attend, the Elysee said, to show the “unbreakable” bond with Britain and pay respects to the “eternal queen”.

He is among the other leaders allowed to use their own transport, British officials said.

Strongmen leaders Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil are also coming.

Despite Britain´s Brexit divorce from the European Union, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and European Council head Charles Michel will be present as well.

Other heads of state at the funeral will include presidents Sergio Mattarella of Italy, Frank-Walter Steinmeier of Germany, Isaac Herzog of Israel and Yoon Suk-yeol of Korea.

In a symbolic move to pay tribute to the queen whose 2011 state visit helped heal decades of tensions, Ireland´s Taoiseach, prime minister Micheal Martin, will also attend.

– Leaders of realms and Commonwealth countries –

Numerous leaders will come from the countries that still counted Elizabeth II as their monarch and from members of the 56-nation Commonwealth.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, whose nations have the British sovereign as their head of state, are all set to come.

From the Commonwealth of mainly former British colonies will come leaders including South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Bangladesh´s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama.

– Not invited –

Russia and Belarus are among a small group of nations to be excluded from the queen´s funeral following Moscow´s invasion of Ukraine, a British government source said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin — under a travel ban to the UK because of sanctions — had already said he would not attend.

But not inviting any Russian representative to the queen´s funeral was “particularly blasphemous towards Elizabeth II´s memory” and “deeply immoral”, the foreign ministry in Moscow said on Thursday.

Military-run Myanmar, a former British colony, and long-time pariah North Korea have also been snubbed, the British source said on condition of anonymity.

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ANF Operation: Police Apprehend 1883 Dealers and Seize 1049 Mt of Drugs

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The Pakistani government along with the military leadership have initiated a strict campaign against drug dealers in an attempt to tackle drug addiction.

1,883 drug dealers have been detained and 1,049.78 metric tonnes of drugs have been recovered by authorities since the start of operations in September 2023.

There were 3.66 metric tonnes of heroin and 47.84 metric tonnes of hashish found among the narcotics confiscated. In addition, 985.20 metric tonnes of various drugs, 9.25 metric tonnes of opium, and 3.83 metric tonnes of meth were seized.

The following drug loads were apprehended by security authorities between September 1 and September 10: 278 kg in Balochistan, 23.63 kg in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 11.14 kg in Gilgit-Baltistan, 226.31 kg in Punjab, and 27.73 kg in Sindh.

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Musadik Malik: 10 Fertiliser Plants Receiving Gas at Different Prices

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According to federal minister of petroleum Musadiq Malik, there are ten fertiliser factories in the nation, and the cost of petrol varies depending on the plant.
In response to a query in the Senate, the Minister of Petroleum stated that indigenous gas supplies to these plants do not involve any subsidies.
Additionally, the Minister stated that two of the nation’s plants run on subsidised LNG, with the difference being cross-subsidized to recover costs from RLNG users.
The suspension of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf member Falak Naz Chitrali from the parliament was demanded by members of the Balochistan Awami Party and the treasury benches later in the Senate session.
It was asked by both parties that the PTI Senator be suspended for a full two working days.
Senate Deputy Chairman Seydaal Khan Nasir adjourned the meeting, setting a new date for Saturday.

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Interior Minister Applauds CTD For Conducting Operation Against Terrorists: Terror Bid Foiled In DG Khan

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Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi praised Punjab’s Counter Terrorism Department for foiling a terrorist plot and taking down Fitna-ul-Khawarij militants in Dera Ghazi Khan.

Fitna-ul-Khawarij’s two terrorists were sent to hell, according to a statement made by the Interior Minister of CTD Punjab.

CTD Punjab, according to Mohsin Naqvi, is spearheading the fight against terrorism.

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