BRUNEI: BRITAIN'S QUEEN ELIZABETH II VISIT скачать в хорошем качестве

BRUNEI: BRITAIN'S QUEEN ELIZABETH II VISIT

(18 Sep 1998) Natural Sound Britain's Queen Elizabeth visited one of the most magnificent mosques in modern Islam Friday on day two of her tour of Brunei, the oil-rich sultanate on the northern tip of Borneo. Most of the 312,000 people in this tiny Southeast Asian kingdom are Muslim. This three day tour marks the British royal couple's first state visit to Brunei since 1972, 12 years before the sultanate gained full independence from the United Kingdom. The Queen and her husband, Prince Philip, were met at the airport by Crown Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah, and then escorted to the royal palace. There, they were greeted with an honour guard and welcomed by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, wearing a grey, Western suit and a traditional Malay cap. The British royals have chosen Brunei and Malaysia for their only state visits this year, vowing to stand by the two former British colonies in Southeast Asia during tough economic times. Though Brunei today is one of the wealthiest countries in the world -- people pay no taxes and medical care and education are free -- it has not been immune to the Asian contagion that's gripped the region. As well as facing tough economic times, Brunei's absolute monarchy is also embroiled in a family feud that's believed to have cost it 16 billion US dollars. Amadeo, Brunei's international flagship company run by the jet-setting younger brother of the sultan, Prince Jefri Bolkiah, has collapsed and he remains in self-imposed exile abroad. In Buckingham Palace's push to promote the British royals as more people-friendly, the Queen will visit a health clinic at a village built on stilts along the Brunei River. This Brunei visit is being tightly orchestrated and little controversy is expected to emerge. However, the British royal visit to neighboring Malaysia, beginning on Sunday, could be more of a test. The just-sacked deputy prime minister there has provoked a ground swell of hostility against the 17-year leadership of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...