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World

New Zealand counts cost of Auckland floods, more rain forecast

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WELLINGTON, Jan 30 (Reuters) – Flood-ravaged Auckland is forecast to receive further heavy rain in the coming days, authorities in New Zealand’s largest city said on Monday, as insurers counted the costs of what looks likely to be the country’s most expensive weather event ever.

Four people lost their lives in flash floods and landslides that hit Auckland over the last three days amid record downpours. A state of emergency remains in place in Auckland. A state of emergency in the Waitomo region south of Auckland was lifted.

Flights in and out of Auckland Airport are still experiencing delays and cancellations, beaches around the city of 1.6 million are closed and all Auckland schools will remain closed until Feb. 7.

“There has been very significant damage across Auckland,” New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins told state-owned television station TVNZ on Monday. “Obviously there were a number of homes damaged by flooding but also extensive earth movements.”

Currently, around 350 people were in need of emergency accommodation, he added.

LOOMING CLOUDS

Metservice is forecasting further heavy rains to hit the already sodden city late on Tuesday.

“We have more adverse weather coming and we need to prepare for that,” Auckland Emergency Management duty controller Rachel Kelleher told a media conference.

Fire and Emergency services received 30 callouts overnight Monday, including responding to a landslide when a carport slid down a hill.

The council has designated 69 houses as uninhabitable and has prevented people from entering them. A further 300 properties were deemed at risk, with access restricted to certain areas for short periods.

The north of New Zealand’s North Island is receiving more rain than normal due to the La Nina weather event.

The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) said Auckland has already recorded more than eight times its average January rainfall and 40% of its annual average rainfall.

INSURERS FACE HEFTY BILL

The cost of the clean up is expected to top the NZ$97 million ($63 million) bill for flooding on the West Coast in 2021 but will not be anywhere near as expensive as the estimated NZ$31 billion insured costs of two major earthquakes in Christchurch in 2010-2011, said Insurance Council of New Zealand spokesperson Christian Judge.

Insurance Australia Group’s (IAG.AX) New Zealand divisions have received over 5,000 claims so far and Suncorp Group (SUN.AX) said it received around 3,000 claims across the Vero and AA Insurance Brands. New Zealand’s Tower (TWR.NZ) said it had received around 1,900 claims.

“The number of claims is expected to rise further over the coming days, with the event still unfolding and as customers identify damage to their property,” IAG said in a statement.

Economists say the recovery and rebuild could add to inflationary pressures in New Zealand as vehicles and household goods need to be replaced and there is an increase in construction work needed to repair or rebuild houses and infrastructure damaged by the flooding.

($1 = 1.5385 New Zealand dollars)

Reporting by Lucy Craymer; Editing by Aurora Ellis and Lincoln Feast

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World

Chris Hipkins set to replace Jacinda Ardern as New Zealand prime minister

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WELLINGTON, Jan 21 (Reuters) – Chris Hipkins, who played a significant role in New Zealand’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, is set to replace Jacinda Ardern as prime minister after emerging on Saturday as the only candidate to lead the ruling Labour Party.

Hipkins, 44, is expected to be confirmed as the new leader at a meeting of Labour’s 64 lawmakers, or Caucus, on Sunday.

“I think we’re an incredibly strong team,” Hipkins told a news conference after the party announced him as the sole candidate.

“We’ve gone through this process with unity and we’ll continue to do that. I’m feeling really fortunate to be working with such an amazing group of people who have a real commitment to the service of the people of New Zealand.”

Known as “Chippy”, Hipkins built a reputation for competence in tackling COVID-19 and was a troubleshooter for Ardern when other cabinet ministers were struggling.

He would not be drawn on his policy plans. A cabinet reshuffle proposed by Ardern would go ahead, but he said he planned to keep Grant Robertson as finance minister.

He said he had spoken to Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who tweeted the two had had “a warm discussion”.

TOUGH FIGHT

In a surprise announcement on Thursday, Ardern said she had “no more in the tank” to lead the country and would step down.

First elected to parliament for the Labour Party in 2008, Hipkins became a household name fronting the government’s response to the pandemic. He was appointed health minister in July 2020 before becoming the COVID response minister at the end of the year.

He is now minister for police, education and public service, as well as leader of the House.

A Horizon Research snap poll obtained by local media organization Stuff on Friday showed that Hipkins was the most popular potential candidate among voters, with the backing of 26% of those surveyed.

He has a big challenge before him, said New Zealander Eva Murphy in Auckland.

“He won’t ever fill the shoes that Jacinda has and it will be interesting to see what Labour come out with in terms of the election campaign over the next year and we’re looking forward to seeing what happens,” she said.

Hipkins’ confirmation by Labour lawmakers on Sunday afternoon is expected to be a formality. Ardern will then tender her resignation to New Zealand’s governor general before Hipkins is appointed.

If confirmed, Hipkins will be prime minister until the party’s term ends.

A general election will be held on Oct. 14, with some opinion polls showing Labour trailing the opposition New Zealand National Party.

A Taxpayers’ Union-Curia poll released on Friday, based on data from before Ardern’s resignation announcement, showed Labour’s popularity falling to 31.7%, behind the Nationals at 37.2%.

New Zealand Green Party, Labour’s traditional coalition partner, said in a statement they were looking forward to working with Hipkins.

“Chris will make an excellent Prime Minister and we look forward to continuing our work together, for the rest of this term and the next,” said Green Party co-leader James Shaw.

Reporting by Lucy Craymer; Additional reporting by Jill Gralow in Auckland; Editing by Deepa Babington, Rosalba O’Brien and William Mallard

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Business

Crypto lending unit of Genesis files for U.S. bankruptcy

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Jan 20 (Reuters) – The lending unit of crypto firm Genesis filed for U.S. bankruptcy protection on Thursday, owing creditors at least $3.4 billion, after being toppled by a market rout along with the likes of exchange FTX and lender BlockFi.

Genesis Global Capital, one of the largest crypto lenders, froze customer redemptions on Nov. 16 after the collapse of major exchange FTX sent shockwaves through the crypto asset industry, fuelling concern that other companies could implode.

Genesis is owned by venture capital firm Digital Currency Group (DCG).

Its bankruptcy filing is the latest in a string of crypto failures triggered by a market collapse that wiped about $1.3 trillion off the value of crypto tokens last year. While bitcoin has rallied so far in 2023, the impact of the market collapse has continued to hit companies in the highly interconnected sector.

The bankruptcy “doesn’t come as a shock to the markets,” said Ivan Kachkovski, currency and crypto strategist at UBS. “It remains to be seen if the chain effect would go on.”

“However, given that the funds have already been frozen for over two months and no other large crypto company reported an associated weakness, it’s likely that the contagion would be limited.”

Genesis’ lending unit said it had both assets and liabilities in the range of $1 billion to $10 billion, and estimated it had more than 100,000 creditors in its filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

Genesis Global Holdco, the parent group of Genesis Global Capital, also filed for bankruptcy protection, along with another lending unit Genesis Asia Pacific.

Genesis Global Holdco said in a statement that it would contemplate a potential sale, or a stock-related transaction, to pay creditors, and that it had $150 million in cash to support the restructuring.

It added that Genesis’ derivatives and spot trading, broker dealer and custody businesses were not part of the bankruptcy process, and would continue their client trading operations.

CREDITORS’ CLAIMS

Genesis owes its 50 biggest creditors $3.4 billion, according to Reuters’ calculations from the bankruptcy filing. Its largest creditor is crypto exchange Gemini, which it owes $765.9 million. Gemini was founded by the identical twin cryptocurrency pioneers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.

Genesis was already locked in a dispute with Gemini over a crypto lending product called Earn that the two firms jointly offered to Gemini customers.

The Winklevoss twins have said Genesis owed more than $900 million to some 340,000 Earn investors. On Jan. 10, Cameron Winklevoss called for the removal of Barry Silbert as the chief executive of Digital Currency Group.

Representations of cryptocurrencies are seen in front of displayed decreasing stock graph in this illustration taken November 10, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

About an hour after the bankruptcy filing, Cameron Winklevoss tweeted that Silbert and Digital Currency Group continued to deny creditors a fair deal.

“Unless Barry (Silbert) and DCG come to their senses and make a fair offer to creditors, we will be filing a lawsuit against Barry and DCG imminently,” Winklevoss said in his tweet thread.

DCG did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the tweets.

Amsterdam-based crypto exchange Bitvavo, said in December it was trying to recover 280 million euros ($302.93 million) which it had lent to Genesis.

Bitvavo said in a blog post on Friday that talks on the repayment “have not yet led to an overall agreement that works for all parties concerned” and that it would continue to negotiate.

The bankruptcy filing “brings the process of negotiations to calmer waters,” Bitvavo said.

LENDING BUSINESS

Genesis brokered digital assets for financial institutions such as hedge funds and asset managers and had almost $3 billion in total active loans at the end of the third quarter, down from $11.1 billion a year earlier, according to its website.

Last year, Genesis extended $130.6 billion in crypto loans and traded $116.5 billion in assets, according to its website.

Its two biggest borrowers were Three Arrows Capital, a Singapore-based crypto hedge fund, and Alameda Research, a trading company closely affiliated with FTX, a source told Reuters. Both are in bankruptcy proceedings.

Three Arrows debt to Genesis was assumed by its parent company Digital Currency Group (DCG), which then filed a claim against Three Arrows. DCG’s portfolio companies also include crypto asset manager Grayscale and news service CoinDesk.

Crypto lenders, which acted as the de facto banks, boomed during the pandemic. But unlike traditional banks, they are not required to hold capital cushions. Earlier this year, a shortfall of collateral forced some lenders – and their customers – to shoulder large losses.

($1 = 0.9243 euros)

Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware, Akanksha Khushi, and Elizabeth Howcroft in London; Editing by Lananh Nguyen, Clarence Fernandez, Kim Coghill, Ira Iosebashvili and Sharon Singleton

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World

One year after volcanic blast, many of Tonga’s reefs lay silent

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Jan 15 (Reuters) – One year on from the massive eruption of an underwater volcano in the South Pacific, the island nation of Tonga is still dealing with the damage to its coastal waters.

When Hunga-Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai went off, it sent a shockwave around the world, produced a plume of water and ash that soared higher into the atmosphere than any other on record, and triggered tsunami waves that ricocheted across the region – slamming into the archipelago which lies southeast of Fiji.

Coral reefs were turned to rubble and many fish perished or migrated away.

The result has Tongans struggling, with more than 80% of Tongan families relying on subsistence reef fishing, according 2019 data from the World Bank. Following the eruption, the Tongan government said it would seek $240 million for recovery, including improving food security. In the immediate aftermath, the World Bank provided $8 million.

“In terms of recovery plan … we are awaiting for funds to cover expenditure associated with small-scale fisheries along coastal communities,” said Poasi Ngaluafe, head of the science division of Tonga’s Ministry of Fisheries.

SILENT REEFS

The vast majority of Tongan territory is ocean, with its exclusive economic zone extending across nearly 700,000 square kilometres (270,271 square miles) of water. While commercial fisheries contribute only 2.3% to the national economy, subsistence fishing is considered crucial in making up a staple of the Tongan diet.

The U.N.’s Food and Agricultural Organization estimated in a November report that the eruption cost the country’s fisheries and aquaculture sector some $7.4 million – a significant number for Tonga’s roughly $500 million economy. The losses were largely due to damaged fishing vessels, with nearly half of that damage in the small-scale fisheries sector, though some commercial vessels were also affected.

Because the Tongan government does not closely track subsistence fishing, it is difficult to estimate the eruption’s impact on fish harvests.

But scientists say that, apart from some fish stocks likely being depleted, there are other troubling signs that suggest it could take a long time for fisheries to recover.

Young corals are failing to mature in the coastal waters around the eruption site, and many areas once home to healthy and abundant reefs are now barren, according to the government’s August survey.

It is likely volcanic ash smothered many reefs, depriving fish of feeding areas and spawning beds. The survey found that no marine life had survived near the volcano.

Meanwhile, the tsunami that swelled in the waters around the archipelago knocked over large boulder corals, creating fields of coral rubble. And while some reefs survived, the crackling, snapping and popping noises of foraging shrimp and fish, a sign of a healthy environment, were gone.

“The reefs in Tonga were silent,” the survey report found.

FARMING REPRIEVE

Agriculture has proved a lifeline to Tongans facing empty waters and damaged boats. Despite concerns that the volcanic ash, which blanketed 99% of the country, would make soils too toxic to grow crops, “food production has resumed with little impacts,” said Siosiua Halavatu, a soil scientist speaking on behalf of the Tongan government.

Soil tests revealed that the fallen ash was not harmful for humans. And while yam and sweet potato plants perished during the eruption, and fruit trees were burned by falling ash, they began to recover once the ash was washed away.

“We have supported recovery works through land preparation, and planting backyard gardening and roots crops in the farms, as well as export crops like watermelon and squash,” Halavatu told Reuters.

But long-term monitoring will be critical, he said, and Tonga hopes to develop a national soil strategy and upgrade their soil testing laboratory to help farmers.

SKY WATER

Scientists are also now taking stock of the eruption’s impact on the atmosphere. While volcanic eruptions on land eject mostly ash and sulfur dioxide, underwater volcanos jettison far more water.

Tonga’s eruption was no different, with the blast’s white-grayish plume reaching 57 kilometers (35.4 miles) and injecting 146 million tonnes of water into the atmosphere.

Water vapor can linger in the atmosphere for up to a decade, trapping heat on Earth’s surface and leading to more overall warming. More atmospheric water vapor can also help deplete ozone, which shields the planet from harmful UV radiation.

“That one volcano increased the total amount of global water in the stratosphere by 10 percent,” said Paul Newman, chief scientist for earth sciences at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. “We’re only now beginning to see the impact of that.”

Reporting by Gloria Dickie in London; Additional reporting by Kirsty Needham; Editing by Katy Daigle and Tomasz Janowski

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Business

Dollar gains as inflation pressures persist; eyes on c.bank meetings

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SINGAPORE, Dec 12 (Reuters) – The dollar climbed on Monday after data on Friday showed U.S. producer prices had risen more than expected last month, pointing to persistent inflationary pressures and a chance the Federal Reserve would keep interest rates higher for longer.

The dollar rose 0.35% against the Japanese yen to 137.05. Against a basket of currencies, the U.S. dollar index eked out a 0.12% gain at 105.18.

The euro was last 0.2% lower at $1.0509.

Sterling fell 0.31% to $1.2229 in Asia trade on Monday, while the Aussie edged 0.34% lower to $0.6773.

The kiwi similarly slipped 0.34% to $0.6393.

The U.S. producer price index for final demand in November was up 0.3% from the previous month and 7.4% from a year earlier, data released on Friday showed, a slight upside surprise from forecasts of a 0.2% and 7.2% increase, respectively.

“There were a little bit of concerns about how inflation would be persistently high and would encourage the Fed to keep policy at a restrictive level for even longer than previously expected,” said Carol Kong, a currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA).

Traders were also kept on edge in the run up to key risk events this week, including U.S. inflation data and a slew of major central bank meetings.

The Federal Reserve once again takes centre stage, and is widely expected to raise interest rates by 50 basis points, though focus will be on the central bank’s updated economic projections and Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference.

“If he does talk more about the risks to the economy … I think that will probably be considered dovish by markets and, of course, markets love dovish comments and how the FOMC will pay more attention to downside risks to the economy,” said CBA’s Kong.

The Bank of England and the European Central Bank (ECB) will also meet this week, and each is likewise expected to deliver a 50 bp rate hike.

“ECB officials have been telling us that they care more about the underlying inflation, which has remained elevated,” said Kong of the upcoming ECB meeting.

“If they do hike by 50 bps … they might follow up with some pretty hawkish comments in Lagarde’s post meeting conference.”

Ahead of the FOMC meeting, November’s U.S. inflation figures are due on Tuesday, with economists expecting core annual inflation of 6.1%.

“The market reaction to U.S. inflation surprises has been asymmetric so far in 2022, with downside surprises having a larger effect than upside ones,” said analysts at Barclays.

“The inflation print will likely be the bigger driver of the two, (given) the Fed’s guidance toward smaller hikes,” they added, referring to influences on the U.S. dollar.
The offshore yuan eased slightly to 6.9798 per dollar, further pressured by worries over a potential spike in COVID cases as China eases its stringent COVID-19 restrictions.

Reporting by Rae Wee; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Bradley Perrett

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World

Russia drones smash power network in Odesa, leaving 1.5 million without power

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KYIV, Dec 10 (Reuters) – All non-critical infrastructure in the Ukrainian port of Odesa was without power after Russia used Iranian-made drones to hit two energy facilities, leaving 1.5 million people without power, officials said on Saturday.

“The situation in the Odesa region is very difficult,” President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.

“Unfortunately, the hits were critical, so it takes more than just time to restore electricity… It doesn’t take hours, but a few days, unfortunately.”

Since October, Moscow has been targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure with large waves of missile and drone strikes.

Norway was sending $100 million to help restore Ukraine’s energy system, Zelenskiy said.

Serhiy Bratchuk, spokesperson for Odesa’s regional administration, said electricity for the city’s population will be restored “in the coming days,” while complete restoration of the networks may take two to three months.

Bratchuk said an earlier Facebook post by the region’s administration, advising some people to consider evacuating, was being investigated by Ukraine’s security services as “an element of the hybrid war” by Russia.

That post has since been deleted.

“Not a single representative of the authorities in the region made any calls for the evacuation of the inhabitants of Odesa and the region,” Bratchuk said.

Odesa had more than 1 million residents before the Feb. 24 invasion that Russia calls a “special military operation” to “denazify” its smaller neighbour.

Kyiv says Russia has launched hundreds of Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones at targets in Ukraine, describing the attacks as war crimes due to their devastating effect on civilian life. Moscow says its attacks are militarily legitimate and that it does not target civilians.

Ukraine’s prosecutor general’s office said two power facilities in Odesa region were hit by Shahed-136 drones.

Ukraine’s armed forces said on Facebook that 15 drones had been launched against targets in the southern regions of Odesa and Mykolaiv, and 10 had been shot down.

Tehran denies supplying the drones to Moscow. Kyiv and its Western allies say that is a lie.

Britain’s defence ministry said on Saturday that it believed Iran’s military support for Russia was likely to increase in the coming months, including possible deliveries of ballistic missiles.

Reporting by Max Hunder and David Ljunggren; Editing by Ros Russell, Daniel Wallis and William Mallard

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Business

Sterling, euro rally against dollar after BoE buys UK bonds

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NEW YORK/LONDON, Sept 28 (Reuters) – After tumbling earlier, sterling rallied against the dollar on Wednesday following the Bank of England’s (BOE) purchase of UK government bonds, letting some air out of the greenback’s progress broadly after it had touched a fresh 20-year high.

The BoE said it received 2.587 billion pounds’ ($2.78 billion) worth of offers in its first bond buyback operation aimed at stabilizing the market, and had accepted only 1.025 billion pounds’ worth. The central bank had committed to buying as many long-dated government bonds, know as gilts, as needed between Wednesday and Oct. 14.

As markets tried to digest what the move meant for the pound, the currency whipsawed during Wednesday’s session, jumping as high as $1.09165 and falling as low as $1.05390. It was last up 1.51% at $1.08921.

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The BoE intervention was driving currency trading broadly, according to Erik Nelson, macro strategist at Wells Fargo.

“You had financial stress everywhere. The yields were rising and the dollar was rising. It was sort of feeding on itself. We needed something or someone to stop the financial stress and financial panic that was happening. The BoE stepped in there,” said Nelson. “The easing of the financial stress has helped sterling and other currencies rally against the dollar.”

But the relief for sterling may be temporary as the UK still has to deal with macro trends such as high inflation.

“It’s a currency-negative policy. You’re offering to limit the increase of yields at a time of high inflation,” said Nelson. “The dollar will continue to go up over the next few months. … The U.S. is growing at a much more solid pace, at least for now, versus the UK and Europe, and the U.S. doesn’t have the same kind of energy crisis as the UK and Europe.”

Currency investors have also been monitoring Russia’s war against Ukraine and energy uncertainty in Europe after leaks on Nord Stream pipelines between Russia and Europe spewed gas into the Baltic Sea, said Brad Bechtel, global head of FX at Jefferies in New York. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and others have attributed the leaks to acts of sabotage.

The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a group of major currencies, was last at 112.660 after hitting a fresh 20-year high of 114.78.

While the dollar initially had broad-based gains, the greenback eased sharply as the U.S. trading session progressed, with the euro last up 1.52% at $0.9739 after falling as low as $0.95355 .

The dollar was last down 0.61% against Japan’s yen at 143.955 after touching a high of 144.860 .

The Australian dollar , which is particularly sensitive to swings in investor sentiment, was last up 1.410%.

Elsewhere in Asia, the offshore yuan hit a record low, pressured by expectations of further U.S. rate hikes.

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Reporting by Sinéad Carew in New York, Rae Wee in Singapore and Alun John in London ; editing by Richard Pullin, Kim Coghill, Shri Navaratnam, Gareth Jones and Jonathan Oatis

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Business

Dollar soars to two-decade high as Putin shakes FX market ahead of Fed

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  • Dollar index at two-decade high
  • Euro slides back toward two-decade lows
  • Putin announces partial troop mobilization for Ukraine
  • Markets gauging Fed hawkishness in Powell briefing

LONDON/NEW YORK, Sept 21 (Reuters) – The dollar surged to a new two-decade high on Wednesday just ahead of another expected aggressive Federal Reserve interest rate hike, as investors fled for safety after a decision by Russian President Vladimir Putin to mobilize more troops for the conflict in Ukraine.

Putin on Wednesday called up 300,000 reservists to fight in Ukraine and said Moscow would respond with the might of all its vast arsenal if the West pursued what he called its “nuclear blackmail” over the conflict there. read more

The news propelled the dollar index, which measures the greenback’s value against six major currencies, to 110.87 <=USD>, its strongest level since 2002.

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The dollar index is up almost 16% this year and set for its biggest annual surge since 1981. It was last trading at 110.71, up about 0.5% on the day.

“Most of the dollar moves today are Putin-related,” said Steven Englander, head of global G10 FX research and North America macro strategy at Standard Chartered in New York..

“When I look at my table, the five worst performing currencies are the Swedish crown, Polish zloty, Czech koruna, Hungarian forint and the euro. That’s more a Putin worry because of hints that Russia might escalate the conflict in Ukraine and on what limits he puts on the weapons they use.”

Dollar index at two-decade high ahead of Fed

European currencies bore the brunt of selling in foreign exchange markets as Putin’s comments exacerbated concern about the economic outlook for a region already hit hard by Russia’s squeeze on gas supplies to Europe.

The euro fell to a two-week low of $0.9885 , within sight of two-decade lows touched earlier this month. It was last down 0.7% at $0.9901.

Sterling fell to a fresh 37-year low of $1.1304 and was last down 0.5% at $1.1335

Later on Wednesday, the Fed is expected to lift interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point for a third straight time and signal how much further and how fast borrowing costs may need to rise to tame inflation. read more

The policy decision, due at 1800 GMT, will mark the latest move in a synchronized policy shift by global central banks that is testing the resilience of the world economy and the ability of countries to manage exchange rate shocks as the value of the dollar soars.

“What the market is looking for is whether (Fed Chair Jerome) Powell says the Fed does not know how far they have to go and they’ll go as far as they need to go,” said Standard Chartered’s Englander.

“If someone asks him whether he sees rates going to 5% and he says he doesn’t see it, but doesn’t rule it out if that’s needed to get inflation down, then that would be really hawkish and means they’re opening up rates to an even higher range than what the market anticipates.”

The Australian and New Zealand dollars meanwhile plumbed multi-year lows. The Aussie dollar hit a trough of US$0.6655, its lowest since June 2020, while the New Zealand currency fell to US$0.5873, its lowest since April 2020.

Against the battered yen, the dollar was up 0.2% at 143.97, holding off recent 24-year peaks

“It was interesting to me that dollar/yen dipped on the news of the announcement, potentially indicating a return of the yen’s safe-haven credentials which have been absent for much of the year,” said Colin Asher, a senior economist at Mizuho Corporate Bank.

========================================================

Currency bid prices at 10:42AM (1442 GMT)

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Reporting by Dhara Ranasinghe in London and Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss in New York; Additional reporting by Lucy Raitano; Editing by Edwina Gibbs, Catherine Evans and Mark Heinrich

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World

King Charles, William greet well-wishers in queen’s queue

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  • Queen Elizabeth’s grandchildren to hold vigil
  • Line to see queen’s coffin stretches to 16.5 hours
  • World leaders start arriving in London for funeral

LONDON, Sept 17 (Reuters) – King Charles and his son William shook hands and greeted well-wishers who had queued for hours in central London on Saturday to file past the coffin of Queen Elizabeth, asking people how long they had been there and whether they were warm enough.

To cheers of “hip, hip, hurrah” and shouts of “God save the King”, Charles and William spoke to mourners near Lambeth Bridge, as they neared the end of the mammoth line to see the lying-in-state in the historic Westminster Hall.

On Friday night, Charles had joined his three siblings — Princess Anne and Princes Andrew and Edward — in a silent vigil at the coffin while their eight children, including William and Harry, will form their own ceremonial guard later on Saturday.

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“She wouldn’t believe all this, she really wouldn’t,” William was heard telling one man of the late monarch who died on Sept. 8 at the age of 96. “It’s amazing.”

One woman told Charles it had been “worth the wait” and others wished him well when he asked how long they had been standing there.

People continued to flock to central London, adding to the hundreds of thousands who have filed past the coffin in a solemn stream to honour Britain’s longest-reigning monarch – a testimony to the affection in which she was held.

Ahead of the state funeral on Monday, world leaders also starting arriving in the British capital.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese were among the dignitaries to pay their respects on Saturday while New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was seen curtsying to the coffin on Friday.

U.S. President Joe Biden was expected to go on Sunday to see Elizabeth lying in state in an oak coffin on a purple-clad catafalque, draped in the Royal Standard and with the bejewelled Imperial State Crown on top.

London’s police force has described the funeral as the biggest security operation it has ever undertaken as prime ministers, presidents and royals come together, and the king visited police headquarters to thank emergency services workers involved in the planning on Saturday.

Underscoring the risks, police said one man had been detained and arrested after a witness told Sky News he “ran up to the queen’s coffin”. Footage showed a man being pinned to the ground by police officers and taken away.

Charles was also due to greet leaders of the 14 countries where he is head of state such as Canada, Australia, and Jamaica after meeting the governors-general – the people who represent the monarch in overseas realms – at Buckingham Palace.

VETERANS SALUTE

By 2 p.m. (1300 GMT), Britain’s culture ministry said the waiting time to reach Westminster Hall was up to 16.5 hours.

Britain’s King Charles greets people queueing to pay their respects to Britain’s Queen Elizabeth following her death, in London, Britain, September 17, 2022. REUTERS/Tom Nicholson

Inside the silent hall, some mourners wept, many were tearful while current soldiers and veterans saluted their former commander-in-chief. Others fell to their knees.

At one point the government had warned it would pause entry to the queue if demand became too high, adding at 1 a.m. (0000 GMT): “Please do not travel.”

New friendships, acts of kindness and the struggles of standing in line for hours, sometimes overnight, have come to define what has become known as just “the queue”.

Film-maker Matthew West described how a military man was offered the chance to get to the front but declined. “That was the highlight. The lowlight was when we stood still for two hours and I lost the will to live.”

The death of the queen at her summer estate in the Scottish highlands has sparked an outpouring of emotion across the country and 10 days of choreographed events.

Having laid at rest in the Scottish capital the coffin was flown south to London, where tens of thousands of people crowded onto a normally busy road in driving rain to observe the flag-draped casket being driven to Buckingham Palace.

FUNERAL PLANS

The queen’s children have described being overwhelmed by the reaction to their mother’s death.

The state funeral, to be attended by nearly 100 presidents and heads of government is likely to be one of the biggest ceremonial events ever held in Britain.

Soldiers took part in early morning rehearsals in Windsor, where the queen’s coffin will be taken after the funeral at Westminster Abbey. Marching bands playing music and Grenadier Guards, who wear a tall bearskin hat on ceremonial duties, were seen marching down the High Street in preparation.

Later on Saturday, the focus will switch to the younger royals and their vigil.

William and his brother Harry, who have grown apart in recent years after Harry moved to the United States, will both stand guard at the coffin in military uniform.

Harry served two tours of duty with the British Army in Afghanistan but so far has appeared in processions in morning suits after he lost his honorary military titles when he stepped back from public royal duties.

The two brothers will be joined by their cousins – Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall, the children of Princess Anne, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, the children of Prince Andrew, and Louise and James, the children of Prince Edward.

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Additional reporting by Sachin Ravikumar and Elizabeth Piper, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien and Alison Williams

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Entertainment

Queen Elizabeth dies at 96, ending an era for Britain

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  • Queen had reigned for 70 years
  • Family had gathered at her Balmoral home
  • Son Charles, 73, becomes king

BALMORAL, Scotland, Sept 8 (Reuters) – Queen Elizabeth, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch and the nation’s figurehead for seven decades, died at her home in Scotland aged 96 on Thursday.

“The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement. “The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow.”

Elizabeth’s eldest son Charles, 73, automatically becomes king of the United Kingdom and the head of state of 14 other realms including Australia, Canada and New Zealand. His wife Camilla becomes Queen Consort.

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News that the queen’s health was deteriorating emerged shortly after midday on Thursday when her doctors said she was under medical supervision, prompting her family to rush to be by her side at her Scottish home, Balmoral.

The queen had been suffering from what Buckingham Palace has called “episodic mobility problems” since the end of last year, forcing her to withdraw from nearly all her public engagements.

Her last public engagement came only on Tuesday, when she appointed Liz Truss prime minister – her 15th premier.

At her palaces and at government buildings across London, flags were lowered to half-mast.

Queen Elizabeth II, who was also the world’s oldest and longest-serving head of state, came to the throne following the death of her father King George VI on Feb. 6, 1952, when she was just 25.

CROWNED

She was crowned in June the following year. The first televised coronation was a foretaste of a new world in which the lives of the royals were to become increasingly scrutinised by the media.

“I have in sincerity pledged myself to your service, as so many of you are pledged to mine. Throughout all my life and with all my heart I shall strive to be worthy of your trust,” she said in a speech to her subjects on her coronation day.

Elizabeth became monarch at a time when Britain still retained much of its old empire. It was emerging from the ravages of World War Two, with food rationing still in force and class and privilege still dominant in society.

Winston Churchill was Britain’s prime minister at the time, Josef Stalin led the Soviet Union and the Korean War was raging.

In the decades that followed, Elizabeth witnessed massive political change and social upheaval at home and abroad. Her own family’s tribulations, most notably the divorce of Charles and his late first wife Diana, were played out in full public glare.

While remaining an enduring symbol of stability and continuity for Britons at a time of relative national economic decline, Elizabeth also tried to adapt the ancient institution of monarchy to the demands of the modern era.

“She has managed to modernise and evolve the monarchy like no other,” her grandson Prince William, who is now heir to the throne, said in a 2012 documentary.

RECORDS

Elizabeth was the 40th monarch in a royal line that traces its origin back to Norman King William the Conqueror who claimed the English throne in 1066 after defeating Anglo-Saxon ruler Harold II at the Battle of Hastings.

Her long reign meant she repeatedly broke records for British rulers. When she surpassed the more than 63 years her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria spent on the throne, she said it was not a landmark to which she had ever aspired.

“Inevitably a long life can pass by many milestones – my own is no exception,” she said.

Her marriage to Prince Philip lasted 73 years, until his death in April 2021, and they had four children, Charles, Anne, Andrew and Edward.

She never gave a media interview and critics said she came across as distant and aloof.

But for the vast majority of her subjects, for whom she was the only monarch they have known, she was a figure who commanded respect and admiration. Her death marks the end of an era.

“In her public duties she was selfless and wise, with a wonderful generosity of spirit. That is how she lived – and how she led,” former Prime Minister John Major said.

“For millions of people – across the Commonwealth and the wider world – she embodied the heart and soul of our nation, and was admired and respected around the globe.”

Opinion polls have suggested that Charles does not enjoy anywhere near the same level of support and there is speculation that the loss of Elizabeth may see a rise in republican sentiment, particularly in the other realms.

“I think it will be an enormous shock to everybody, much more than they realise. I don’t know if it’s an exaggeration to think there will be some sort of almost national nervous breakdown,” royal historian Hugo Vickers said.

He said her reign was unlikely to be rivalled.

“I think to be quite honest, if we lived 1,000 years, we would never see anything quite like it again.”

At her death the queen was head of state of not only the United Kingdom but also of Australia, the Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Tuvalu, the Solomon Islands, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Antigua and Barbuda.

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Additional reporting by Muvija M, Kate Holton, William James, Alistair Smout, Paul Sandle, Kylie MacLellan, Sachin Ravikumar, Farouq Suleiman, Elizabeth Piper, William Schomberg, David Milliken, Hannah McKay and Sarah McFarlane; Reporting by Michael Holden in London and Russell Cheyne in Balmoral; Editing by Kate Holton, Janet Lawrence and Angus MacSwan

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