Members of Britain's royal family, including King Charles, Queen Consort Camilla and the Prince and Princess of Wales, on Wednesday attended a coronation rehearsal at Westminster Abbey in London.
In preparation for the event, a laid-back King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla were seen arriving at the venue accompanied by the Prince William, his wife Catherine, and their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
Upon arrival, the royal family were warmly welcomed by the Dean of Westminster and ushered into the historic gothic church, where the king and queen consort will be crowned on Saturday, surrounded by 2,300 guests and a worldwide TV audience of millions.
Prince George, 9, will serve as one of his grandfather's pages of honour, while Prince William will assist the king in donning his golden robe before the crowning.
The king's sister, the Princess Royal, attended the rehearsal after visiting soldiers from The Household Division at Wellington Barracks earlier in the day.
The rehearsal took place amid heightened security after Tuesday's arrest at Buckingham Palace, where a man allegedly threw shotgun cartridges into the grounds.
Early morning rehearsals
Also preparation for the royal coronation on Saturday, central London hosted a large-scale rehearsal in the early hours of Wednesday morning, featuring hundreds of soldiers, many on horseback, and the Diamond Jubilee State Coach and Gold State Coach.
The procession started at Buckingham Palace, passing through Trafalgar Square and Downing Street, before reaching Westminster Abbey.
Royal enthusiasts eagerly awaited the parade's return journey down The Mall, some having waited for more than three hours for the spectacle.
"It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience," said one onlooker as crowds raced through St James's Park to secure the best vantage points near the palace, some attempting to spot their relatives in military attire.
The procession began when soldiers dressed in bright yellow uniforms embarked on the short journey, accompanied by a brass band on horseback.
As the stage coach passed through Westminster, onlookers followed alongside, trying to keep up with the regiments of mounted soldiers.
Various regiments marched down The Mall after 1am, with Buckingham Palace relatively quiet until the sound of bagpipes could be heard shortly after 2.30am.
At least 15 tents are already set up on The Mall, as royal fans test their viewpoints in anticipation of camping out until Saturday.
Soldiers from the armed forces were seen parading in Parliament Square, practising changing positions as Big Ben chimed.
Artillery regiments rehearsed moving cannon on horseback, while others practised the mock-firing of ceremonial weapons.
The procession returned to Buckingham Palace shortly after 3am, with military bands playing in full swing.
The Gold State Coach was spotted passing Buckingham Palace at about 3.20am.
The rehearsal took place hours after a man was arrested outside Buckingham Palace, suspected of throwing shotgun cartridges into the grounds of the royal residence.
The man, who was found to be carrying a knife but not a gun, was held on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon.
Scotland Yard cordoned off the area and a controlled explosion was carried out as a precaution due to the presence of a "suspicious bag".
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
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Omar Yabroudi's factfile
Born: October 20, 1989, Sharjah
Education: Bachelor of Science and Football, Liverpool John Moores University
2010: Accrington Stanley FC, internship
2010-2012: Crystal Palace, performance analyst with U-18 academy
2012-2015: Barnet FC, first-team performance analyst/head of recruitment
2015-2017: Nottingham Forest, head of recruitment
2018-present: Crystal Palace, player recruitment manager
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
Barbie
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Polarised public
31% in UK say BBC is biased to left-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is biased to right-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is not biased at all
Source: YouGov
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The specs: 2018 BMW R nineT Scrambler
Price, base / as tested Dh57,000
Engine 1,170cc air/oil-cooled flat twin four-stroke engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 110hp) @ 7,750rpm
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Fuel economy, combined 5.3L / 100km
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
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Transmission: 8-speed auto
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Specs
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
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On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Skoda Superb Specs
Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
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The Scale for Clinical Actionability of Molecular Targets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The years Ramadan fell in May
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The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
HWJN
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Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Dhadak
Director: Shashank Khaitan
Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana
Stars: 3
BULKWHIZ PROFILE
Date started: February 2017
Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce
Size: 50 employees
Funding: approximately $6m
Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
ENGLAND TEAM
England (15-1)
George Furbank; Jonny May, Manu Tuilagi, Owen Farrell (capt), Elliot Daly; George Ford, Ben Youngs; Tom Curry, Sam Underhill, Courtney Lawes; Charlie Ewels, Maro Itoje; Kyle Sinckler, Jamie George, Joe Marler
Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Ellis Genge, Will Stuart, George Kruis, Lewis Ludlam, Willi Heinz, Ollie Devoto, Jonathan Joseph
