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China’s Vice President Wang Qishan to Attend Queen Elizabeth’s Funeral

People queue outside the County Hall to pay their respects following the death of Britain's Queen Elizabeth, in London, Britain, September 17, 2022. (Reuters)
People queue outside the County Hall to pay their respects following the death of Britain's Queen Elizabeth, in London, Britain, September 17, 2022. (Reuters)
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China’s Vice President Wang Qishan to Attend Queen Elizabeth’s Funeral

People queue outside the County Hall to pay their respects following the death of Britain's Queen Elizabeth, in London, Britain, September 17, 2022. (Reuters)
People queue outside the County Hall to pay their respects following the death of Britain's Queen Elizabeth, in London, Britain, September 17, 2022. (Reuters)

Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan will attend Queen Elizabeth's funeral at the invitation of the British government, the ministry of foreign affairs said on Saturday.

The BBC reported on Friday that the Chinese delegation visiting London for the queen's Monday funeral would not be allowed to view her coffin at a lying-in-state vigil inside parliament.

Some parliamentarians had raised concerns about inviting representatives from China after several British lawmakers were sanctioned by Beijing for criticizing alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang. China denies any such abuses.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Friday she had not yet seen the report but that "the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II is an important event for the United Kingdom".

"Foreign delegations participating in the event upon invitation from the United Kingdom is a sign of respect to the queen and the importance accorded to (relations with) the United Kingdom," Mao said.

Reuters on Thursday that Wang would likely attend the funeral for Queen Elizabeth, Britain's longest-reigning monarch, according to a British foreign office source.

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Russia Condemns Israel's Killing of Hezbollah Leader Nasrallah

Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addresses his supporters during a religious procession to mark Ashura in Beirut's suburbs November 14, 2013. REUTERS/Khalil Hassan/File Photo
Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addresses his supporters during a religious procession to mark Ashura in Beirut's suburbs November 14, 2013. REUTERS/Khalil Hassan/File Photo
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Russia Condemns Israel's Killing of Hezbollah Leader Nasrallah

Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addresses his supporters during a religious procession to mark Ashura in Beirut's suburbs November 14, 2013. REUTERS/Khalil Hassan/File Photo
Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addresses his supporters during a religious procession to mark Ashura in Beirut's suburbs November 14, 2013. REUTERS/Khalil Hassan/File Photo

Russia strongly condemns Israel's killing of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the foreign ministry said on Saturday, calling on Israel to stop hostilities in Lebanon.

"This forceful action is fraught with even greater dramatic consequences for Lebanon and the entire Middle East," the ministry said in a statement.

Hezbollah confirmed on Saturday Nasrallah had been killed, issuing a statement hours after the Israeli military said it had eliminated him in an airstrike on the group's headquarters in Beirut's southern suburbs on Friday.
Nasrallah's death marked a devastating blow to Hezbollah as it reels from an intense campaign of Israeli attacks, and even as the news emerged some of the group's supporters were desperately hoping that somehow he was still alive, Reuters reported.

"God, I hope it's not true. It's a disaster if it's true," said Zahraa, a young woman who had been displaced overnight from Hezbollah's stronghold in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
"He was leading us. He was everything to us. We were under his wings," she told Reuters tearfully by phone.
She said other displaced people around her fainted or began to scream when they received notifications on their phone of Hezbollah's statement confirming his death.
Nasrallah, who led Hezbollah since the group's previous leader was killed in an Israeli operation in 1992, was known for his televised addresses - watched carefully by both the group's backers and its opponents.
"We're still waiting for him to come out on the television at 5 p.m. and tell us that everything is okay, that we can go back home," Zahraa said.
In some parts of Beirut, armed men came into shops and told owners to shut them down, witnesses said. It was not immediately clear what faction the armed men belonged to.
Sprays of gunshots were heard in the Hamra district in the city's west as mourners fired in the air, residents there said. Crowds were heard chanting, "For you, Nasrallah!"