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UK Royals Unveil Emoji, Procession Details For Coronation

Published

2 years ago

April 10, 2023

Britain’s royal family revealed new details Sunday about King Charles III’s coronation next month, including a new Twitter emoji based on the crown the monarch will wear at the landmark ceremony.

Charles, 74, immediately became king when Queen Elizabeth II died last September after her record-breaking 70-year reign but will be formally crowned at a May 6 service inside London’s Westminster Abbey.

The three-day weekend will also feature a star-studded concert, nationwide “big lunch” and volunteering initiatives, as well as the traditional royal processions associated with the coronation.

Unveiling a host of ceremonial details, Buckingham Palace said the new emoji created to mark the historic occasion is based on the 17th-century St Edward’s Crown.

The centrepiece of Britain’s famous Crown Jewels and worn by Charles’s late mother at her coronation in 1953, it has been altered for him to wear seven decades later.

The motif will appear on Twitter when any of various hashtags — including #Coronation, #CoronationBigLunch and #TheBigHelpOut — are used.

It follows royal social media channels deploying a crown-wearing corgi emoji, named PJ, for Elizabeth’s platinum jubilee last year — just three months before her death aged 96.

Corgis were the late queen’s favourite canine breed.

The latest plans released for the coronation ceremony — which will also see Charles’s wife Camilla crowned queen consort — confirmed it will be less elaborate than the one staged in 1953.

The royal couple will travel along a shorter procession route and break with tradition by only using the elaborate 260-year-old Gold State Coach on their return to Buckingham Palace.

The pair will make the 1.3-mile (2.1-kilometre) outward journey — known as the King’s Procession — from the palace in the more modern, comfortable Diamond Jubilee State Coach.

It has shock absorbers, heating and air conditioning.

The service will begin at 11:00 am (1000 GMT) and is expected to be much shorter than in 1953, when it lasted almost three hours.

The palace also confirmed the priceless array of regalia from the Crown Jewels to be used during the hour-long ceremony, which will include among other elements an orb, swords and sceptres.

On Friday, it revealed over 850 community and charity representatives from across the UK have been invited to the service, which will also be attended by foreign royals, leaders and heads of state.

They include 450 recipients of the British Empire Medal — awarded for achievement or contribution of service in local communities — and 400 young people representing charitable organisations.
AFP

Headline

Again, Russia Claims Another Village In Ukraine’s Region

Published

2 days ago

August 25, 2025

Editor

The Russian army Monday claimed to have captured another village in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, moving deeper into Ukrainian territory as peace efforts stall.

Russian forces are slowly but steadily gaining ground in costly battles for largely devastated areas in eastern and central Ukraine, normally with few inhabitants or intact buildings left.

Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had seized the settlement of Zaporizke in the region, which Russian troops recently advanced into for the first time in the three-and-a-half-year offensive.

Kyiv denies that Russian troops have gained a foothold in the Dnipropetrovsk region, an important industrial hub.

After another push by US President Donald Trump to broker a Ukraine-Russia summit, hopes for peace dimmed when Russia last week ruled out any immediate meeting between presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky.

The central region of Dnipropetrovsk has previously been largely spared from fighting that has ravaged swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine, until Russia said its forces broke through in July.

Dnipropetrovsk is not one of the five Ukrainian regions — Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Crimea — that Moscow has publicly claimed as Russian territory.

Ukraine said Russia had launched over 100 drones Monday, killing a 37-year old civilian driver and wounding two people in the northeastern Sumy region.

Moscow said Kyiv had launched about two dozen drones targeting western Russia

Headline

US Comedian Reggie Carroll Shot Dead In Mississippi

Published

2 days ago

August 25, 2025

Editor

A United States comedian, Reginald “Reggie” Carroll, has been shot dead in Southaven, Mississippi.

The 52-year-old Carroll, widely known as the Knockout King of Comedy, was reportedly killed on Wednesday, August 20, 2025, after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds.

The Southaven Police Department confirmed the incident in a Facebook statement on Saturday.

“Southaven officers located one male victim suffering from gunshot wounds.

“The officers and medical personnel provided life saving techniques but the individual succumbed to his injuries,” the statement partly read.

The victim was later identified as Carroll, a Baltimore native.

Police said one suspect was arrested and charged with his murder.

“One male is in custody and has been charged with the murder of Reginald Carroll.

“Our thoughts are with the family of Mr. Carroll.

“Thank you to the community for their patience and understanding,” the department added.

The police further assured that there was no ongoing threat to residents, describing the case as “an isolated shooting.”

Carroll, who built his career in stand-up comedy, gained national recognition touring with Katt Williams and headlining his own showcase, Knockout Kings of Comedy.

He also featured in the 2000 edition of Showtime at the Apollo, appeared on the UPN sitcom The Parkers alongside Mo’Nique and Countess Vaughn, and starred in the 2022 television film Rent & Go.

In 2023, he produced the stand-up special Knockout Kings of Comedy.

The Southaven Police Department disclosed that an investigation into his death is ongoing.

Headline

US Defends New Social Media Vetting For Nigerian Visa Applicants

Published

2 days ago

August 25, 2025

Editor

The U.S. Mission in Nigeria on Monday reaffirmed that the safety and security of the United States remain the cornerstone of its visa application and decision-making process.

The US said this following its directive last week that mandates Nigerians to disclose all social media usernames and handles used over the past five years as part of the visa application process.

US Mission said Nigerian visa applicants must provide a comprehensive list of their social media profiles on the DS-160 visa application form, and warned that omitting the information could lead to visa denials.

Reacting to the development, the Federal Government said US citizens intending to visit Nigeria will be subjected to the same measures.

“The best we can do is to carry out reciprocal action. Some people from the US might want to apply for a visa, and we will adopt the same measures,” spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, said last Monday.

However, in a statement released Monday on X, the US Mission said prospective visa applicants undergo careful vetting to maintain a safe and welcoming environment in the US.

It said, “The safety and security of the United States is at the heart of every #USVisa application and decision process.

“That’s why prospective applicants undergo careful screening to ensure a safe and welcoming environment for all.”

The Mission added, “These measures help protect American citizens and communities while supporting secure and responsible travel.”