LONDON: Britain’s King Charles III on Sunday led commemorations for the nation ‘s war dead, along with other senior members of the royal family including his son William and his wife Catherine.
The 76-year-old monarch, who is still undergoing treatment for an undisclosed cancer, laid the first wreath at a somber ceremony at the Cenotaph memorial in central London after the traditional two-minute silence at 11:00 am (1100 GMT).
Queen Camilla and Catherine, now in remission after her own cancer diagnosis, watched from the balcony of the Foreign Office overlooking the memorial.
Crowds lined the Whitehall area of the capital as political leaders, including Prime Minister Keir Starmer, current and former members of the armed forces, and war veterans, paid their respects to British and Commonwealth soldiers killed in two world wars and other conflicts.
Around 10,000 armed forces veterans took part in a march-past, including around 20 who served in World War II.
Among those who took part was 101-year-old Sid Machin, one of the last survivors of the Burma (now Myanmar) campaign, who served as part of a special forces unit.
Other members of the royal family including Prince William also laid wreaths.
Prince Harry, 41, who is largely estranged from his family after quitting royal duties along with his wife Meghan in 2020, was not present.
Days ahead of the Remembrance Sunday events, however, he penned a piece released by his US office in which he expressed his pride at being British and urged people not to forget veterans.
The younger son of the king, who did two tours of duty in Afghanistan, said he had witnessed “courage and compassion in the harshest conditions imaginable.”
“But I also saw how easy it can be, once the uniform comes off, for those who gave everything, to feel forgotten,” he said.
On Saturday evening, William and Catherine’s eldest son, Prince George, 12, attended his first tribute for soldiers killed in action at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
It was the first time George, second in line to the throne, had attended the Festival of Remembrance event organized annually by the Royal British Legion, an association dedicated to supporting veterans and their families.
The event, always attended by the monarch and senior members of the royal family, featured readings, prayers, videos and musical performances — including a performance by Rod Stewart.
UK’s King Charles honors nation’s war dead
https://arab.news/yhk6q
UK’s King Charles honors nation’s war dead
- The 76-year-old monarch laid the first wreath at a somber ceremony at the Cenotaph memorial in central London
Bangladesh begins exhuming mass grave from 2024 uprising
- The United Nations says up to 1,400 people were killed in crackdowns as Hasina attempted to cling to power — deaths that formed part of her conviction last month for crimes against humanity
DHAKA: Bangladeshi police began exhuming on Sunday a mass grave believed to contain around 114 unidentified victims of a mass uprising that toppled autocratic former prime minister Sheikh Hasina last year.
The UN-supported effort is being advised by Argentine forensic anthropologist Luis Fondebrider, who has led recovery and identification missions at mass graves worldwide for decades.
The bodies were buried at the Rayerbazar Graveyard in Dhaka by the volunteer group Anjuman Mufidul Islam, which said it handled 80 unclaimed bodies in July and another 34 in August 2024 — all people reported to have been killed during weeks of deadly protests.
The United Nations says up to 1,400 people were killed in crackdowns as Hasina attempted to cling to power — deaths that formed part of her conviction last month for crimes against humanity.
Criminal Investigation Department (CID) chief Md Sibgat Ullah said investigators believed the mass grave held roughly 114 bodies, but the exact number would only be known once exhumations were complete.
“We can only confirm once we dig the graves and exhume the bodies,” Ullah told reporters.
- ‘Searched for him’ -
Among those hoping for answers is Mohammed Nabil, who is searching for the remains of his brother Sohel Rana, 28, who vanished in July 2024.
“We searched for him everywhere,” Nabil told AFP.
He said his family first suspected Rana’s death after seeing a Facebook video, then recognized his clothing — a blue T-shirt and black trousers — in a photograph taken by burial volunteers.
Exhumed bodies will be given post-mortem examinations and DNA testing. The process is expected to take several weeks to complete.
“It’s been more than a year, so it won’t be possible to extract DNA from the soft tissues,” senior police officer Abu Taleb told AFP. “Working with bones would be more time-consuming.”
Forensic experts from four Dhaka medical colleges are part of the team, with Fondebrider brought in to offer support as part of an agreement with the UN rights body the OHCHR.
“The process is complex and unique,” Fondebrider told reporters. “We will guarantee that international standards will be followed.”
Fondebrider previously headed the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team, founded in 1984 to investigate the tens of thousands who disappeared during Argentina’s former military dictatorship.
Authorities say the exhumed bodies will be reburied in accordance with religious rites and their families’ wishes.
Hasina, convicted in absentia last month and sentenced to death, remains in self-imposed exile in India.
