Headlines
World leaders gathering for Lee Kuan Yew's funeral
Singapore, March 28
A host of world leaders,
including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former US president Bill
Clinton, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Chinese Vice President
Li Yuanchao and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, have confirmed their
presence on Sunday at the state funeral of Singapore's founding father
Lee Kuan Yew, media reports said.
The queue for the people to pay
their last respects to the late leader had swelled at parliament house
on Saturday evening and the average wait time was about eight hours, The
Straits Times daily reported. Authorities said that by 6 p.m. 415,000
people had visited parliament house where Lee's body lies in state.
The
funeral procession for Lee on Sunday will cover a distance of 15.4 km
and the funeral service will be held at the National University of
Singapore, according to the State Funeral Organising Committee.
Among
the world leaders expected to attend the funeral ceremony are
Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah,
South Korean President Park Geun-hye, Thai Prime Minister Prayut
Chan-o-cha, Myanmarese President Thein Sein, Cambodian Prime Minister
Hun Sen, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, Vietnamese Prime Minister
Nguyen Tan Dung and Laos Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong, media
reported.
The list of dignitaries also includes former Hong Kong
chief executive Tung Chee Hwa, British First Secretary of State William
Hague, Canada's Governor General David Johnston, First Deputy Prime
Minister of Russia Igor Shuvalov, Bhutan King Jigme Khesar Namgyel
Wangchuk and Queen Jetsun Pema Wangchuk, Kazakhstan Prime Minister Karim
Massimov, New Zealand's Governor-General Jerry Mateparae, Philippines
President of the Senate Franklin Drilon, and Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim bin
Hamad Al Thani.