[unable to retrieve full-text content]
Wall Street Banks Reassess China Over Taiwan After Russia Losses BloombergView Full coverage on Google News
HONG KONG: Hong Kong football fans were heard booing China's national anthem on Saturday (Sep 24) at the first match open to spectators in the city since legislation outlawing the practice was passed more than two years ago.
Supporters in Hong Kong have been barred from games for almost three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but boos at the anthem were previously heard in the stands as huge, sometimes violent pro-democracy protests swept the city in 2019.
Police equipped with video cameras looked on as fans booed "March of the Volunteers" for about 10 seconds on Saturday before the Hong Kong team took on Myanmar in front of more than 12,000 spectators, according to local media and an AFP reporter on the scene.
China imposed a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong in 2020 that outlaws acts of secession, subversion, terrorism or collusion with foreign forces.
Hong Kong's legislature also passed a bill specifically criminalising disrespectful acts towards the anthem, with a maximum penalty of three years in jail.
Long queues were seen snaking outside Hong Kong Stadium on Saturday night as fans queued for tickets for the highly anticipated return to action.
When China's national anthem was played, loud booing was clearly audible, though not at levels heard before the security law was passed, according to the AFP reporter.
When the song was over, fans loudly chanted "We are Hong Kong".
In November 2019, long and loud booing at the anthem was heard at two Asian qualifiers for the World Cup when Hong Kong played Bahrain and Cambodia at the same stadium.
The Hong Kong Football Association was fined 30,000 Swiss francs (US$30,500) by FIFA as a consequence.
In July last year, a man was charged with insulting the anthem for booing the song when watching a screening at a local mall of Hong Kong fencer Edgar Cheung receiving a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
Getty Images (2)
Princess of Wales, or Tywysoges Cymru in Welsh, is a courtesy titled that has been used for centuries. Typically held by the wife of the heir apparent to the English (later British) throne, the title currently belongs to Kate Middleton, the wife of Prince William.
Before the spouse of the heir to the British throne held the title, there were native Welsh princesses—yet there's only one wife of a Welsh prince who definitively used the title "Princess of Wales": Eleanor de Montfort, the wife of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd (also known as Llywelyn the Last). Llywelyn ap Gruffydd was one of the last princes of Wales before its conquest by Edward I of England. Yet, for clarity, this list will only define those who use the title who were married to the British heir to the throne.
There's a movement to get rid of the Prince and Princess of Wales titles; actor Michael Sheen said in 2020 that Charles should forfeit the title when he inherits the throne. If he gave up the title, Sheen said, it would be a "really meaningful and powerful gesture for that title to no longer be held in the same way as it has before, that would be an incredibly meaningful thing I think to happen." Sheen added, "Make a break there, put some wrongs of the past right, don't necessarily just because of habit and without thinking carry on that tradition that was started as an humiliation to our country." However, that didn't happen; one of the first things Charles did was bestow the title on his son, Prince William. (More on that appointment, here.)
As the Prince of Wales title has historically been given to the eldest living son and heir apparent of the current British monarch, a Princess of Wales title has not historically been given on its own. (I.e. Queen Elizabeth was not Princess of Wales, because she was not the heir apparent.) Yet, with the 2013 change to the rules of succession, there now can be a female heir apparent—but only time will tell if there will ever be a solo Princess of Wales.
Without further ado, here's a definitive list of all the Princesses of Wales throughout history.
HONG KONG: Hong Kong has lost its crown as Asia's premier finance centre to Singapore in a global ranking list where New York and London maintained their number one and two spots.
Singapore jumped three places to third in the twice-a-year Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) which assesses 119 cities around the world and was published late on Thursday (Sep 22).
Hong Kong has adhered to a version of China's strict zero-COVID rules throughout the pandemic, battering the economy and deepening a brain drain as rival business hubs reopen.
The city still mandates three days of hotel quarantine for all international arrivals while its border with the Chinese mainland is mostly closed.
In contrast, Singapore successfully shifted to endemicity earlier this year and has reopened without restrictions.
The city-state is hosting a slew of financial and business conferences in the coming months as well as a Formula 1 night race next week, while about 4 million people are expected to visit this year.
In a 600-word statement responding to the latest GFCI ranking, Hong Kong's government focused on the city scoring a higher points rating than the year before.
"We will continue to listen to views and be bold in taking forward reforms to consolidate and strengthen Hong Kong's capital market and our role as an international financial centre," the government said.
The statement did not mention the coronavirus or the ongoing pandemic controls.
San Francisco came in at number five in the survey, up two spots. Shanghai, which was shut down earlier this year under China's coronavirus controls, was number six followed by Los Angeles, Beijing and Shenzhen.
Paris took tenth spot, replacing Tokyo, which fell to 16th place.
Queen Elizabeth II died around 3pm on 8 September, three and a half hours before the official announcement, a British magazine has claimed.
Private Eye also claimed the monarch had been quite ill for some time and only managed to do the state appearances she did in the final months of her reign with the help of medication, despite Buckingham Palace blaming "ongoing mobility issues" for her absence.
The magazine said the Queen was "physically weak, although mentally alert".
Private Eye said the Queen had hoped to receive Boris Johnson and new PM Liz Truss for the official handover of power in London, but her doctors told her she was not fit enough to leave Balmoral.
Read More: Lying In State: Mourners describe 'eerie but beautiful' Westminster Hall atmosphere
Despite her limited mobility, she was still able to carry on her normal tasks, including reportedly managing to call her horse racing manager to check on how one of her horses was doing in the days before her death.
But she became seriously ill on 8 September, catching many of those close to her and the wider Royal Family by surprise.
Although most of her family rushed to see her as soon as it became aware she was gravely ill, in the end only Princess Anne and the former Prince of Wales were there at her bedside when she died.
Private Eye said the Queen died around 3pm, but the required phone calls to inform the wider political and media establishment were delayed until all of the Royal Family could be informed.
The magazine claims the way the Royal Family's press team handled the death of the Queen was informed by the death of Prince Philip.
They said Buckingham Palace was still claiming Philip was in "good spirits" when he was "being revived by crash teams" around the time of his death.
Read more: King Charles coronation: When will he be crowned and will there be a bank holiday?
The Palace also struggled to keep a lid on the news of the Queen's health as members of the royal staff began briefing trusted journalists about the seriousness of her situation.
Coincidentally, BBC journalist Yalda Hakim tweeted the Queen had died around the actual time of the Queen's death, despite not knowing this and later retracting the tweet saying she had been mistaken.
On the day of the Queen's death, the nation came to a standstill almost as soon as Buckingham Palace said they were concerned about the monarch's health.
The BBC suspended normal programming from 12.30pm, with an episode of Bargain Hunt cut short.
Politicians were stunned into silence in the middle of a debate on the government's answer to the energy bill crisis.
Royals rushed to Balmoral from across the country with Prince William, Andrew and Edward arriving by car around 5pm.
Initial reports suggested the group arrived before the Queen's death, with only Prince Harry missing out on seeing her one last time, but this now appears to not be the case.
By 2pm, BBC journalists had all switched into black dress and tie.
The Queen's death was announced to the public at 6.30pm.
/cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com/reuters/OJ4ES6PS2JLRVMRPQVP4XVU4YA.jpg)
TAIPEI, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Taiwan aims to end its mandatory COVID-19 quarantine for arrivals from around Oct. 13 and will ease other restrictions from next week as it continues to re-open to the outside world, the government said on Thursday.
Taiwan has kept some of its entry and quarantine rules in place as large parts of the rest of Asia have relaxed or lifted them completely, though in June it cut the number of days required in isolation for arrivals to three from seven previously.
Taiwan has reported six million domestic cases since the beginning of the year, driven by the more infectious Omicron variant. With more than 99% of those showing no or only mild symptoms, the government has relaxed rather than tightened restrictions in its "new Taiwan model".
Cabinet spokesman Lo Ping-cheng told reporters that from next Thursday visa-free entry will be resumed for citizens of all countries that previously had that status. The government will also increase weekly arrival limits for international travellers by 10,000 to 60,000, he said, with no more PCR tests for arrivals.
If "everything is under control", the government is aiming to end mandatory quarantine for all arrivals from around Oct. 13, with arrivals rising to 150,000 a week, Lo said.
"This is the last mile in our fight against the pandemic," he said, speaking after a weekly Cabinet meeting, adding the government is making all preparations needed to reopen its door to international tourists and to revive domestic businesses hit by previous COVID-related curbs.
Those who test positive, however, still need to quarantine at home or in designated hotels, the government said.
While Taiwan's vaccination rate is high, the daily number of cases has been rising again, with more than 46,000 reported on Wednesday.
Throughout the pandemic Taiwanese citizens and foreign residents have not been prohibited from leaving and then re-entering, but have had to quarantine at home or in hotels for up to two weeks.
Before the pandemic, Taiwan was a popular tourist destination for mainly Asian visitors, with Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia the most important markets.
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
[unable to retrieve full-text content]
