Britain's King Charles Meets Cheering Australian Crowds, Says 'Great Joy' to Return

Britain's King Charles and Queen Camilla attend Church on a tour of Australia St Thomas' Anglican Church, North Sydney, Australia, October 20, 2024. Ian Vogler/Pool via REUTERS
Britain's King Charles and Queen Camilla attend Church on a tour of Australia St Thomas' Anglican Church, North Sydney, Australia, October 20, 2024. Ian Vogler/Pool via REUTERS
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Britain's King Charles Meets Cheering Australian Crowds, Says 'Great Joy' to Return

Britain's King Charles and Queen Camilla attend Church on a tour of Australia St Thomas' Anglican Church, North Sydney, Australia, October 20, 2024. Ian Vogler/Pool via REUTERS
Britain's King Charles and Queen Camilla attend Church on a tour of Australia St Thomas' Anglican Church, North Sydney, Australia, October 20, 2024. Ian Vogler/Pool via REUTERS

Hundreds of well-wishers greeted Britain's King Charles and Queen Camilla in Sydney on Sunday as the royal couple attended church, with the king saying it was a "great joy" to return to Australia in his first visit to an overseas realm as sovereign.

Charles' 16th official visit to Australia, where he attended school for six months as a teenager in 1966, is also his first major foreign trip since being diagnosed with cancer, according to Reuters.

"What a great joy it is to come to Australia for the first time as sovereign and to renew a love of this country and its people which I have cherished for so long," he said in a speech at the New South Wales parliament.

New South Wales state lawmaker Kellie Sloane, whose electorate covers some of Sydney's most famous beaches, wrote on social media platform X after chatting with the king that he "sends his best to the 'amazing' surf clubs at Bondi Beach".

The royal couple were earlier greeted at St Thomas' Anglican Church by the archbishop of Sydney, Kanishka Raffel, and children from the church's Sunday school who waved Australian flags.

Camilla was given a flower bouquet by the minister's wife, Ellie Mantle, who asked if they had recovered from jet lag after the long flight to Australia on Friday. "Sort of," Camilla replied.

Inside the church, Charles and Camilla signed two bibles, including one that belonged to Australia's first minister and chaplain of the First Fleet of ships that took convicts from Britain to the penal colony of Australia in 1788.

Outside, the royal couple shook hands and chatted with a large crowd of cheering fans, some singing "God Save the King".

It was the public's first opportunity to meet Charles and Camilla since they arrived in Australia's biggest city on Friday night, and several hundred well wishers outnumbered a dozen protesters.

Travelling across Sydney Harbour, Charles visited the New South Wales parliament, marking the 200th anniversary of Australia's oldest legislature.

The king presented the lawmakers with an hour-glass to time their speeches, and highlighted the fundamental role of strong parliaments to democracies that serve today's diverse societies.

"Democracy has, I believe, an extraordinary capacity for innovation, compromise and adaptability as well as stability," he said.

The royal couple will travel to Canberra on Monday to meet Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the national parliament and visit the Australian War Memorial.

Albanese met the couple on Friday at Admiralty House, the historic government harbourside residence where they are staying, for what he said was an informal drink and chat.

The king will attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa after the six-day Australia tour.

Charles had made a significant personal donation to create a skills program to tackle climate change and boost higher education in small island states, including the Pacific Islands, the Association of Commonwealth Universities said on Sunday.

Mid-career professionals and civil servants will benefit from the fellowships, in a program that aims to retain talent in small island states and bolster resilience to the impacts of climate change such as rising sea levels.



Saudi Arabia Highlights Global Leadership in Protecting Children in Cyberspace

Saudi Arabia Highlights Global Leadership in Protecting Children in Cyberspace
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Saudi Arabia Highlights Global Leadership in Protecting Children in Cyberspace

Saudi Arabia Highlights Global Leadership in Protecting Children in Cyberspace

As part of the global initiative “Child Protection in Cyberspace” (CPC) launched by Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, the permanent mission of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations in Geneva organized a side event focused on enhancing capacity building to protect children in cyberspace as a shared global responsibility.

The event was held on the sidelines of the 59th session of the UN Human Rights Council in partnership with the National Cybersecurity Authority (NCA) and the Global Cybersecurity Forum (GCF), the Saudi Press Agency reported on Tuesday.

The CPC initiative aims to provide a safe and empowering environment for children worldwide.

The session, attended by the permanent representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations, Ambassador Abdulmohsen Majed bin Khothaila, featured participation from the GCF, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and the WeProtect Global Alliance.

The session highlighted Saudi Arabia’s pioneering efforts in protecting children in cyberspace through a comprehensive and proactive approach that includes implementing national frameworks, developing educational programs, and enhancing international cooperation in the field.

These efforts align with the objectives of Vision 2030, which places investment in human capital at the core of social and economic development.

Meanwhile, the GCF launched a joint project with UNICEF aimed at training and preparing over 5 million parents and caregivers worldwide on best practices to protect children from cyber risks, along with providing specialized technical support to child helpline service providers in 30 countries.

The session concluded with participants emphasizing the importance of building effective partnerships between countries, international organizations, and the private sector to implement comprehensive capacity-building programs and ensure the protection of children in cyberspace.