The revered king died in October 2016 aged 88.

A series of Buddhist rites began in the royal palace before the royal urn was moved onto a chariot to begin a large procession to the cremation site.

The late king will be cremated later on Thursday, in a royal pyre to be lit by his son, King Maha Vajiralongkorn.

The funeral officially started on Wednesday with a merit-making ceremony, a Buddhist rite, in the Grand Palace.

Many buildings in Bangkok’s old quarter are draped in yellow marigolds, and huge crowds are lining the streets for the funeral procession.

The chariot carrying the urn in the second part of the funeral procession has been used since the late 18th Century. Weighing just under 14 tonne, it is being pulled by more than 200 soldiers.

The elaborate ceremony is estimated to have drawn as many as 250,000 people from across Thailand.

Many of the mourners arrived at the capital days ago, and waited in the streets overnight for the procession, clutching portraits of the late king.

Thursday has been declared a public holiday, with many businesses shut all day or closing at midday.

Members of royal families and dignitaries from more than 40 countries will attend the cremation.

King Vajiralongkorn will light the funeral pyre at 22:00 local time (15:00 GMT) and his father’s ashes will be collected and transported back to the palace on Friday.

Two more days of ceremonies will follow.

The late king was seen as a stabilising figure in a country hit by cycles of political turmoil and multiple coups.

Since his death on 13 October 2016, Thailand has observed a year of official mourning, with many people wearing black.

Preparations for this week’s events took almost a year and have included setting up the large cremation complex near the palace.

The funeral site features sculptures of mythical creatures and auspicious animals such as lions and elephants.

According to Buddhist tradition, the funeral rituals are modelled after the universe and the cremation pyre represents a sacred mountain.

The funeral ceremonies come with strict guidelines for those attending. Thailand’s lese-majeste law, which forbids any insult to the monarchy, is among the harshest in the world.

Roads across Bangkok’s historic centre are shut for the day and while tourists are not expected to wear black like most Thais, they have been asked to dress and behave respectfully.

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Source: BBC

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The government had airlifted the money, reported to be around 3 million dollars, to Brazil to pay the appearance fees of the players of the Black Stars after they had threatened to boycott Ghana’s final group game against Portugal.

The players were reportedly paid an amount of  100 thousand dollars each, with reports claiming that officials of the Ghana Football Association  also received a percentage of the amount.

However, Mr Afriyie Ankrah, speaking to Paul Adom Otchere on Good Evening Ghana on Sunday, refuted the claims, saying that only the players and the members of the technical team received the money, adding that no GFA official had received some the money.

According to him, the money, which was paid only to the players was paid in cash because the players reneged on their agreement to have their winning bonuses paid into their Unibank accounts.

He also said the decision to pay the money to the players in cash was taken  based on the advice of the coach Akwasi Appiah.

The former sports minister also denied accusations that he flew business class with his family while the players flew coach on the same plane.

He stated that his family, while they did join him in Brazil later, were not on the same flight as the players.

He said that the players “had a lot of fun” on the flight, saying that most the players had decided not to sit in business class, although “there was enough space,” preferring to fly coach, where they could “stretch their seats.”

Reports had also claimed that the minister and a player had engaged in intimate relations with some of the female ambassadors.

Mr. Afriyie Ankrah again denied the claims, saying he did set eyes on any of the ambassadors throughout their stay in Brazil.

“The only time I went to the ambassador hotel,…, the female ambassadors and Dumelo had gone to camp.

“For the entire period I was in Brazil till today, I have not set my eyes, not even once, on any of those two female ambassadors.”

He further denied claims that Agyeman Badu, the Black Stars player in question, could not have been intimate with any of the female ambassadors, as the players had not had any interactions with the ambassadors.

“The fan park was not in Maceio (where the players were based), the players were never at the fan park and could not have interacted with anybody.”

He added that unless “you had accreditation you couldn’t have access to the players.”

By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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