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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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CAA “gets ready” to abolish the travel prohibition to the UK.

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The UK Department for Transport (DfT) is scheduled to travel to Pakistan in mid-January to evaluate the situation, according to sources.

In February, PIA is anticipated to begin direct flight operations to the UK as part of the endeavor. For a safety audit, a team from the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) will be traveling to Karachi from January 15 to 17.

In order to obtain an exemption from the security audit, the CAA has gotten in touch with the UK aviation authorities.

In addition to expressing trust in the manual report that the Pakistani authorities gave, the DfT has indicated that it is willing to approve the exception.

Following earlier audits, the British aviation team will formally do a safety audit of the CAA and PIA. Nadir Shafi, the CAA’s Director-General, is personally in charge of the teams working on the process of starting flights to the UK again.

In the first phase, PIA intends to run direct flights to Manchester, and the CAA is also anticipated to inform the DfT delegation. In the second phase, flights to London and other places will be introduced. PIA will fly to the UK and Europe using its Boeing 777 aircraft.

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The ATC suspends the non-bailable arrest warrant for Gandapur.

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The non-bailable arrest warrant for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur was suspended by an anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Thursday.

On an application submitted by Faisal Malik, the attorney for Gandapur, the warrants were suspended. Gandapur’s arrest warrant was issued by the court in a case that the Hassan Abdal police had filed in relation to the protest on November 26.

In every case, the Peshawar High Court has granted bail to his client, according to advocate Faisal. When he brought the high court’s order to the ATC, the warrant was suspended by the court.

Additionally, the ATC halted the process of designating Gandapur as a declared offender.

He had not appeared before the ATC, therefore on December 27, the ATC started the process of declaring him a proclaimed offender. By January 21, the police were to ensure compliance and submit a report, as instructed by the court.

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Amid expectations of economic stability, the PSX soars to its highest level ever, reaching 118k.

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The KSE-100 index soared to yet another record high during intraday trading on Thursday, demonstrating that bulls were still in control of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).

The benchmark 100 index increased by 1,359.73 points from its previous closing of 117,008.08 to hit an intraday high of 118,367.81 points.

Given the federal government’s ambitious ambition to overhaul the national economy, traders’ large buying binge coincides with predictions of economic stability in the nation.

The five-year national economic plan “Uraan Pakistan,” which aims to achieve sustainable development and economic stability, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on December 31.

Speaking to the audience, the prime minister emphasized that the program would offer a path forward for economic development, emphasizing work creation, infrastructure, energy, the digital economy, and the environment.

Meanwhile, investors’ confidence has also increased due to the falling rate of inflation. This is the lowest level of 4.1 percent in 81 months as a result of government actions.

The consumer price index was measured at 4.1 percent last month, down from 49 percent in June of last year, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. Comparing this to the 29.7 percent inflation rate in December 2023, there has been a notable decrease.

Compared to 2.3 percent in June 2024 and 27.3 percent in December 2023, the wholesale price index was just 1.9 percent last month.

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