Queen Elizabeth funeral presents ‘immense security challenge.’ What to expect
Global News
Hundreds of thousands of people will descend upon London over the coming days as the United Kingdom gets ready to say goodbye to Queen Elizabeth II. What will security be like?
London will be welcoming many from around the world over the coming days as the United Kingdom prepares to say goodbye to Queen Elizabeth II.
From prime ministers to presidents, the funeral of the 96-year-old British monarch is expected to draw in hundreds of thousands of people to the city, with many Canadians likely to be among them.
But with an event of this magnitude, British police are faced with an “immense security challenge” that is going to be witnessed first-hand by many who are there, said Phil Boyle, an associate professor in the department of sociology and legal studies at the University of Waterloo.
“London, already being such a dense, crowded and layered city, provides or presents all kinds of security challenges, and then you add in the heads of state and all the extra security that they would require,” he told Global News.
“It really does look like an immense security challenge, and it is an immense security challenge.”
The death of Queen Elizabeth II has been met with a wave of grief around the world. As global citizens mourn their queen, dignitaries and others are preparing to descend on London for the state funeral on Monday.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Governor General Mary Simon and Canada’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Ralph Goodale will be among the “official mourners” from Canada, Goodale told The Canadian Press on Sept. 11. U.S. President Joe Biden and his wife are also attending the funeral, CNN reported on Monday.
As soon as Canadians arrive at British airports, they should expect to see “heightened police presence immediately,” said Boyle.
The warring sides have yet to negotiate the second and more difficult phase, in which Hamas says it will release dozens more hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire.
U.S.-Russia agreed to restore embassy staffing and create a high-level team to negotiate peace in Ukraine peace and promote economic cooperation.
The U.S. State Department removed the phrase "we do not support Taiwan independence” from the fact sheet last week, drawing ire from Beijing.
The talks, scheduled for Tuesday in Saudi Arabia, mark another consequential step by the Trump administration to reverse U.S. policy on isolating Russia.
The ceasefire's first phase is set to end in two weeks and the second phase has yet to be negotiated, though talks were meant to begin two weeks ago.
The proposal did not offer any specific security guarantees in return, according to one current and one former senior Ukrainian official familiar with the talks.
European leaders are reeling after Trump's decision to upend years of U.S. policy by holding talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in hopes of ending the Russia-Ukraine war.
Sources told Reuters that the United States had sent a document to European capitals asking questions that include possible future troop contributions.
It is the sixth swap since the ceasefire took effect on Jan. 19. Before Saturday, 21 hostages and over 730 Palestinian prisoners were freed.
The latest fighting is part of a major escalation of a conflict over power, identity and resources dating back to the 1990s Rwandan genocide.
The red and white has been a symbol of national pride for many decades, and in the wake of Donald Trump's anti-Canadian rhetoric, a sense of patriotism is sweeping the country.
U.S. Vice-President JD Vance warned governments that internal threats to democracy are a greater threats than external antagonists like China and Russia.
Alarmed that U.S. security priorities lie elsewhere, a group of European countries has been working on a plan to send troops into Ukraine to enforce any peace settlement.