Queen Elizabeth II on Friday toured a new exhibition of gifts given to her on Commonwealth tours, but wondered whether some were “illegal” and would have to be handed back.
Three whale teeth fashioned into necklaces had the Head of the Commonwealth wondering whether they were “illegal” and would have to go back to Fiji.
The items were part of a public exhibition opening today at her Buckingham Palace official residence in London, celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Commonwealth.
CRAFTWORK
The exhibition not only displays gifts from around the world, including dazzling jewelry and ethnic craftwork, but also shows off dresses and gowns worn by Queen Elizabeth during her Commonwealth tours since she inherited the throne in 1952.
During her preview tour, the 83-year-old sovereign questioned whether the sperm whale teeth should be on display, saying “only they’re illegal now.”
Sir Hugh Roberts, director of the Royal Collection, replied: “Well, I suppose Ma’am, luckily they were given to you long enough ago for that not to be, I think, too much of an issue.”
Laughing, the queen said: “I hope not, it would be awful if somebody comes round and says you’ve got to return them.”
EMPIRE
Born out of the British empire, the Commonwealth of Nations brings together around a third of the world’s countries and a quarter of the world’s population.
The modern Commonwealth was formed in 1949 when eight countries — Australia, the UK, Canada, Ceylon, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa — signed the Declaration of London after a six-day conference.
The UK’s environment ministry later eased the queen’s fears by saying that “historic” sperm whale teeth did not need a Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species License if they were simply on display.
CONFRONTATION: The water cannon attack was the second this month on the Philippine supply boat ‘Unaizah May 4,’ after an incident on March 5 The China Coast Guard yesterday morning blocked a Philippine supply vessel and damaged it with water cannons near a reef off the Southeast Asian country, the Philippines said. The Philippine military released video of what it said was a nearly hour-long attack off the Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Shoal, 仁愛暗沙) in the contested South China Sea, where Chinese ships have unleashed water cannons and collided with Philippine vessels in similar standoffs in the past few months. The China Coast Guard and other vessels “once again harassed, blocked, deployed water cannons, and executed dangerous maneuvers” against a routine rotation and resupply mission to
GLOBAL COMBAT AIR PROGRAM: The potential purchasers would be limited to the 15 nations with which Tokyo has signed defense partnership and equipment transfer deals Japan’s Cabinet yesterday approved a plan to sell future next-generation fighter jets that it is developing with the UK and Italy to other nations, in the latest move away from the country’s post-World War II pacifist principles. The contentious decision to allow international arms sales is expected to help secure Japan’s role in the joint fighter jet project, and is part of a move to build up the Japanese arms industry and bolster its role in global security. The Cabinet also endorsed a revision to Japan’s arms equipment and technology transfer guidelines to allow coproduced lethal weapons to be sold to nations
Thousands of devotees, some in a state of trance, gathered at a Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Bangkok renowned for sacred tattoos known as Sak Yant, paying their respects to a revered monk who mastered the practice and seeking purification. The gathering at Wat Bang Phra Buddhist temple is part of a Thai Wai Khru ritual in which devotees pay homage to Luang Phor Pern, the temple’s formal abbot, who died in 2002. He had a reputation for refining and popularizing the temple’s Sak Yant tattoo style. The idea that tattoos confer magical powers has existed in many parts of Asia
ON ALERT: A Russian cruise missile crossed into Polish airspace for about 40 seconds, the Polish military said, adding that it is constantly monitoring the war to protect its airspace Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and the western region of Lviv early yesterday came under a “massive” Russian air attack, officials said, while a Russian cruise missile breached Polish airspace, the Polish military said. Russia and Ukraine have been engaged in a series of deadly aerial attacks, with yesterday’s strikes coming a day after the Russian military said it had seized the Ukrainian village of Ivanivske, west of Bakhmut. A militant attack on a Moscow concert hall on Friday that killed at least 133 people also became a new flash point between the two archrivals. “Explosions in the capital. Air defense is working. Do not