Egypt has taken command of an international naval task force formed last year to maintain maritime security in the Red Sea, a US military statement said on Tuesday.
The 34-nation Combined Task Force 153 was set up last year and is headquartered in Bahrain, also home to the US 5th Fleet.
In a ceremony, US Navy Captain Robert Francis handed command of the force to Rear Admiral Mahmoud Abdel Sattar, marking the first time Egypt assumed command of the force.
“It is my honour to serve as commander of Combined Task Force 153,” the statement quoted Admiral Abdel Sattar as saying. “The focus of my efforts will be to work closely with regional countries, partners and participating nations to maintain maritime security and stability in the region.”
The Egyptian commander is a 27-year naval veteran with extensive experience in submarine operations. He recently served as the chief of staff of a base in Egypt’s Mediterranean city of Alexandria, where the Arab nation’s navy has its headquarters.
Egypt, with 2,000km of coastline on the Red Sea and Mediterranean, has in recent years significantly bolstered its naval capabilities, making its navy the largest in the Middle East and Africa by number of vessels.
It has taken delivery of French-made Mistral troop carriers and German submarines, as well as European and US-made frigates. It also manufactures smaller vessels domestically. Its navy has in recent years kept a busy schedule of joint war games with its counterparts from the US, Europe and the Gulf region.
The security of the Red Sea has become paramount to Egypt and its Arab allies in the Gulf since the capture in 2014 and 2015 by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels of large swathes of Yemen in the south-west corner of the Arabian Peninsula.
The Houthis have on numerous occasions threatened the security of Red Sea shipping lanes. US naval vessels have often intercepted ships with a cargo of Iranian weapons on their way to Yemen.
Piracy is another threat to shipping in the Red and Arabian seas.
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Three-day coronation
Royal purification
The entire coronation ceremony extends over three days from May 4-6, but Saturday is the one to watch. At the time of 10:09am the royal purification ceremony begins. Wearing a white robe, the king will enter a pavilion at the Grand Palace, where he will be doused in sacred water from five rivers and four ponds in Thailand. In the distant past water was collected from specific rivers in India, reflecting the influential blend of Hindu and Buddhist cosmology on the coronation. Hindu Brahmins and the country's most senior Buddhist monks will be present. Coronation practices can be traced back thousands of years to ancient India.
The crown
Not long after royal purification rites, the king proceeds to the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall where he receives sacred water from eight directions. Symbolically that means he has received legitimacy from all directions of the kingdom. He ascends the Bhadrapitha Throne, where in regal robes he sits under a Nine-Tiered Umbrella of State. Brahmins will hand the monarch the royal regalia, including a wooden sceptre inlaid with gold, a precious stone-encrusted sword believed to have been found in a lake in northern Cambodia, slippers, and a whisk made from yak's hair.
The Great Crown of Victory is the centrepiece. Tiered, gold and weighing 7.3 kilograms, it has a diamond from India at the top. Vajiralongkorn will personally place the crown on his own head and then issues his first royal command.
The audience
On Saturday afternoon, the newly-crowned king is set to grant a "grand audience" to members of the royal family, the privy council, the cabinet and senior officials. Two hours later the king will visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the most sacred space in Thailand, which on normal days is thronged with tourists. He then symbolically moves into the Royal Residence.
The procession
The main element of Sunday's ceremonies, streets across Bangkok's historic heart have been blocked off in preparation for this moment. The king will sit on a royal palanquin carried by soldiers dressed in colourful traditional garb. A 21-gun salute will start the procession. Some 200,000 people are expected to line the seven-kilometre route around the city.
Meet the people
On the last day of the ceremony Rama X will appear on the balcony of Suddhaisavarya Prasad Hall in the Grand Palace at 4:30pm "to receive the good wishes of the people". An hour later, diplomats will be given an audience at the Grand Palace. This is the only time during the ceremony that representatives of foreign governments will greet the king.
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