Muhammad Ali funeral: Tens of thousands to say farewell in Louisville

Tens of thousands of people are set to say a final farewell to boxing legend Muhammad Ali in his home city of Louisville in Kentucky.

The heavyweight champion and rights activist died last Friday aged 74.

A procession will take Ali's body past key sites in his life, ahead of an interfaith memorial service.

Actor Will Smith and ex-boxer Lennox Lewis will be among the pallbearers, while former President Bill Clinton will deliver one of the eulogies.

Tens of thousands are expected to line the streets for the procession, while free tickets for the 18,000-strong memorial service, taking place at a major sports centre, were snapped up within half an hour.

The motorcade procession will begin at about 09:00 local time (13:00 GMT) and take the coffin past his childhood home, the Ali Center, the Center for African American Heritage and then down Muhammad Ali Boulevard.

The procession, expected to take about 90 minutes, will end at the Cave Hill Cemetery where Ali will be laid to rest in a private ceremony.

The funeral service at the KFC Yum! Centre will begin at 14:00 local time.

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Muhammad Ali: 1942-2016

Comedian Billy Crystal will also deliver a eulogy, while sports journalist Bryant Gumbel, the daughter of civil rights activist Malcolm X, Attallah Shabazz, and Ali's wife, Lonnie, and daughters, Maryum and Rasheda, are also expected to speak.

Among those expected to attend the service are Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and King Abdullah of Jordan.

President Barack Obama will not be there, as he is to attend his eldest daughter Malia's graduation.

But in a video message, he said: "This week we lost an icon. A person who for African Americans, I think, liberated their minds in recognising that they could be proud of who they were."

Muhammad Ali 

Born Cassius Marcellus Clay, 17 January 1942 

61 fights

over a professional career lasting 21 years

56 wins

including 37 knockouts

• 3 times crowned World Heavyweight Champion 
• 1 Light-heavyweight Olympic gold medal 
• 31 straight wins before being beaten by Joe Frazier 

Getty

White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett - who knew Ali - will represent the president.

Lennox Lewis, a former world heavyweight boxing champion himself, said it was an honour to be a pallbearer and that Ali's memory would never fade.

"The term 'float like a butterfly, sting like a bee' will always be remembered. He is an icon and a legend of boxing," he said.

The other pallbearers are family and friends, along with Will Smith, who portrayed Ali in the 2001 film about the boxer's life.

Abi Ajram, 48, who has made a 4,000-mile trip from London to pay his respects, told PA: "I feel Muhammad Ali deserved the world turning up for him. He was the number one."

The funeral service will be streamed live online.

One sour note was the report that some people were trying to sell the free tickets to the service on the internet.

Ali family spokesman Bob Gunnell said he was "personally disgusted" at attempts to profit from the event.

'Teaching moment'

The funeral events began on Thursday with a Muslim prayer service attended by 14,000 people.

Ali wanted the service, known as a Jenazah, to be "a teaching moment", according to Imam Zaid Shakir, who led it.

Muslim scholar Sherman Jackson said: "The passing of Muhammad Ali has made us all feel a little more alone in the world. Something solid, something big, beautiful and life-affirming has left."

Boxing promoter Don King, civil rights leader Jesse Jackson and singer Yusuf Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens, were among those at the event.

American Muslims attending the service and watching on TV said they hoped that the public prayers would help Americans to become more familiar with Islam and its practices.

In 1964, Ali famously converted to Islam, changing his name from Cassius Clay, which he called his "slave name".

He first joined the Nation of Islam, a controversial black separatist movement, before later converting to mainstream Islam.

In his boxing career, he fought a total of 61 times as a professional, losing five times and winning 37 bouts by knockout.

Soon after retiring, rumours began to circulate about the state of his health.

Parkinson's Syndrome was eventually diagnosed but Ali continued to make public appearances, receiving warm welcomes wherever he travelled.

He lit the Olympic cauldron at the 1996 Games in Atlanta and carried the Olympic flag at the opening ceremony for the 2012 Games in London.

He was crowned "Sportsman of the Century" by Sports Illustrated and "Sports Personality of the Century" by the BBC.

Istanbul bombing: Kurdish TAK claims responsibilility

The Kurdish group says attack was revenge for Turkish army operations in the Kurdish-dominated southeastern region.

Armed group Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK) has claimed responsibility for a recent suicide bombing in Istanbul that killed 11 people.

The TAK, which is seen as a splinter group of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), said Tuesday's attack was revenge for Turkish army operations in the Kurdish-dominated southeastern region.

In an online statement on Friday, TAK said the attack was a suicide bombing.

The group also repeated a warning that foreign tourists should not visit Turkey for their own safety.

The car bomb destroyed a police bus in central Istanbul during the morning rush hour near the main tourist district, a major university and the mayor's office.

EU Debate: 'Boris Is Only Interested In No 10'

Boris Johnson came under repeated attack in the latest EU referendum debate - with a Tory Cabinet colleague accusing him of putting his personal ambitions ahead of the country.

Energy Secretary Amber Rudd tore into the former London mayor several times during the televised event on ITV, accusing him of peddling "misinformation".

Ms Rudd - representing the Remain campaign alongside Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Labour's Angela Eagle - went on the offensive from the start, accusing the Leave side of talking nonsense.

And during an exchange on immigration numbers, she told the audience: "I fear that the only number Boris is interested in is the one that says No 10."

The Remain side repeatedly focused their attacks on Mr Johnson

Mr Johnson retorted that he was backing Leave because David Cameron had failed to secure the changes which would have enabled him to meet his commitment to cut net migration to below 100,000 in his EU re-negotiation.

"That did not happen in the re-negotiation. We didn't get anything of the kind," he said.

"There has got to be democratic consent for the scale of the flows that we are seeing."

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Ms Rudd turned on her Tory colleague again in her closing remarks, describing Mr Johnson as "the life and soul of the party, but not the one you want driving you home at the end of the evening".

After the debate Vote Leave's Priti Patel said Ms Rudd's attacks against Mr Johnson were "totally unnecessary", adding: "I have the view that when you resort to personal insults you have lost the argument."

Representing the Leave campaign, Mr Johnson, Labour's Gisela Stuart and energy minister Andrea Leadsom repeatedly hammered home their "take back control" campaign message.

Ms Leadsom clashed with Ms Rudd - her departmental colleague in the Conservative Government - when she quoted a former Interpol chief who said EU membership was like "hanging out a sign welcoming terrorists to Europe".

Ms Rudd shot back: "This is what I call scaremongering, when people talk about immigration in that tone. It is completely unacceptable."

The Leave campaign's controversial claim that Brexit would free up £350m a week the UK sends to Brussels came under scrutiny - on the day prominent Tory Dr Sarah Wollaston switched sides to Remain in protest at its continued use.

Ms Sturgeon declared: "It is a scandal that is still emblazoned across the campaign bus because it's an absolute whopper."

Ms Rudd added: "What is so misleading about this is the fact that being in the European Union makes us money.

"We're going to repaint that bus and put a leprechaun on one end, a great big rainbow on one side and a pot of gold at the end.

"Because that's all it is - pure fantasy."

Labour's Yvette Cooper, who backs Remain, told Sky News she agreed with the claim that Mr Johnson was positioning himself for Mr Cameron's job.

She said: "Most people do think that, Boris Johnson has flipped his position around so many different times on all of this. In the end I think for him actually this is about his personal position. 

"I think it's far more about an argument about the future of the Tory party then it is about the future of the country. And that's dangerous for the country."

Queen And Duke To Celebrate Birthdays Together

A new photograph of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh has been released to mark their joint birthday celebrations.

It came as a weekend of events to celebrate Her Majesty's official 90th birthday get under way today, with Prince Philip also marking his 95th birthday.

The picture was taken by Annie Leibovitz at Windsor Castle after Easter and shows the couple, who have been married for 68 years, sitting side by side.

The Queen is wearing a pale pink cardigan with a pink and white striped blouse in the portrait, while the Duke is wearing a pink shirt under a light brown jacket.

As a couple they have marked many milestones together, with the Queen often taking centre stage and the Duke of Edinburgh supporting her as Britain's longest serving consort.

His friend, Martin Palmer, told Sky News that Prince Philip is probably more than happy that the attention will be on his wife's birthday, but expects the family will still make a fuss.

He said: "The great thing about Philip is he's not pompous. So I think he will enjoy the informality ... He'll just have a good time with his family and close friends and carry on as usual."

The Queen was born on 21 April, but public celebrations for her birthday traditionally happen in June.

In the first of three days of celebrations for the Queen, a service of thanksgiving will take place at St Paul's Cathedral, followed by a lunch for the Governors General of all Commonwealth Realms at Buckingham Palace.

On Saturday nearly 1,500 service personnel, together with 200 horses and over 400 musicians will perform the annual Trooping the Colour ceremony.

And on Sunday, The Mall will be transformed into a giant street party called The Patron's Lunch to celebrate Her Majesty's patronage of more than 600 organisations - with 10,000 people sitting down for lunch at a cost of £150 per ticket.

Prince Philip will attend all the events with the Queen.

Despite turning 95 today it will be business as usual, just like the hundreds of engagements he still carries out every year.

Peter Westgarth, chief executive of the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme, told Sky News: "There is definitely an understanding out there that somebody at 95 still being a stalwart to the Queen is an extraordinary thing and I think that is appreciated.

"However he does so much more - so, so much more - and thus being our 60th anniversary he has been involved in some amazing events for us."

India Will Become the World’s Most Populous Country by 2022, the U.N. Says

India is on track to become the world’s most populous nation in less than a decade — or six years earlier than previously thought, according to the U.N.

With 1.38 billion people compared with India’s 1.31 billion, China is currently the world’s most populous country. Figures for both countries are expected to swell to around 1.4 billion by 2022, at which point India’s population is likely to expand beyond China’s.

At the end of the next decade, in 2030, India is projected to have 1.5 billion people, a figure that’s forecast to balloon to 1.7 billion by 2050. China’s population, on the other hand, is forecast to remain relatively stable until the 2030s, at which point the U.N. says it is likely to “slightly decrease.” In a forecast published two years ago, India had been expected to overtake China around the year 2028.

The projections from the population division of the U.N.’s economic and social affairs unit were published in a new reportthat also forecast an expansion in the world’s overall population to 8.5 billion by 2030. By the middle of the century, there are likely to be as many as 9.7 billion people worldwide, with six of the 10 largest countries — India, China, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan and the U.S. — expected to have populations exceeding 300 million people.

“While the global projections should not be cause for alarm, we must recognize that the concentration of population growth in the poorest countries presents a distinct set of challenges, making it more difficult to eradicate poverty and inequality, to combat hunger and malnutrition, and to expand educational enrollment and health systems,” John Wilmoth, who heads the U.N. division that produced the report, told the Associated Press.

India’s population is not growing the fastest, however, with Nigeria growing at such a rapid pace that it is expected to have more people than the U.S. by 2050, at which point it is likely to become the third most populous country in the world.

Biden's 'Furious Anger' Over Stanford Rape

US vice president Joe Biden has written an open letter in support of a rape victim whose attacker at Stanford University received a "lenient" six-month sentence.

The politician, who has been a long-time campaigner on violence against women, commended her courage in reliving the assault through a harrowing witness statement which has caused a national outcry.

The 7,000-word statement gives a compelling account of the crime and its consequences and has been read online by millions of people worldwide since it was released by the district attorney.

In her statement, the 23-year-old victim told her attacker: "You took away my worth, my privacy, my energy, my time, my safety, my intimacy, my confidence, my own voice, until today."

In his letter to the victim, published by BuzzFeed, Mr Biden acknowledged the nation was "not satisfied" with the trial of Brock Turner, who will be eligible for release in September after receiving considerably less than the six-year sentence recommended by prosecutors for the assault of the unconscious woman.

"I am filled with furious anger - both that this happened to you and that our culture is still so broken that you were ever put in the position of defending your own worth," Mr Biden wrote.
He also criticised the "callous" remarks made by the rapist's father, who said his son had paid "a steep price … for 20 minutes of action".

Security Tightened After Tel Aviv Shootings

Israeli police say thousands of officers will be deployed across Jerusalem's Old City tomorrow to keep the peace during Muslim prayers.

Large numbers of Palestinians are expected to make their way to the holy site on the first Friday in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The site has been a flashpoint of violence in the past, and tensions are exceptionally high after two Palestinian gunmen killed four Israelis in Tel Aviv on Wednesday.

A couple comfort one another after the attacks

Up to six others were wounded in the attack, at an open-air food market near the defence ministry and army headquarters.

A police commander said the two Palestinians behind the "harsh terror attack" had been "neutralised" at the scene.

One was arrested and the other was said to be in a stable condition after being taken to hospital for treatment.

It is believed the two men are cousins in their 20s and had been eating at one of the restaurants near the Sarona shopping complex when they opened fire.

The Israeli military says it will deploy two additional battalions in the West Bank on Friday in response to the shootings.

An attack victim is wheeled into hospital for treatment

In a statement it said the decision had been taken "in accordance with situation assessments" and the troops would include infantry and elite reconnaissance units.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued a statement saying he rejected "all operations that target civilians regardless of the source and their justification".

Earlier, the military said it had revoked most permits for Palestinians to visit Israel and travel abroad during Ramadan as a precautionary measure.

Police and ambulance crews at the scene of the attack

The Israeli defence body COGAT said Palestinians were also being prevented from leaving and entering the West Bank village of Yatta, where the suspected attackers came from.

In a further reprisal, Israel's Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman has announced the bodies of Palestinians killed while carrying out attacks will no longer be returned for burial.

Israeli officials have long argued attackers' funerals often turn into rallies that promote further violence.

Meanwhile, friends and colleagues have been remembering one of the victims, university professor Michael Feige.

Mr Feige was a professor of sociology and anthropology of Israeli society at Ben-Gurion University and an award-winning author.

In a statement, colleagues said they were "stunned" by his "incomprehensible loss".

"Michael was a friend, scholar and teacher," they said, and "above all ... the incarnation of a man of reason, tolerance and peace."