A warm welcome for Denmark's new king and Australian-born queen; foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong travels to the Middle East for a week-long trip; and in sport, Novak Djokovic survives a first round scare against newcomer Dino Prizmic in the Australian Open.
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TRANSCRIPT
- A warm welcome for Denmark's new king and Australian-born queen
- Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong travels to the Middle East for a week-long trip
- Novak Djokovic survives a first round scare against newcomer Dino Prizmic in the Australian Open
Denmark officially has a new king and queen, King Frederik X and Australian-born wife Mary.
The pair shared a kiss to mark the moment.
The hugely popular royal couple are set to bring generational change to the Danish throne, more than 23 years after their fairytale romance started in a Sydney pub during the 2000 Olympics.
Tens of thousands of people in Copenhagen braved the 3-degrees-Celsius temperature to catch a glimpse of the new monarchs as church bells rang out across the capital.
These residents say they are proud of their new king and queen.
"He will be fantastic (King Frederik X). We loved his speech and everything he said and we're looking so much forward to him being our king from now."
"It was good, a bit emotional also. it's new times because I love also our Queen as well."
The handover comes after Margrethe II announced her surprise abdication in a New Year's Eve message.
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Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong will become the most senior Australian politician to visit Israel since the Hamas October 7 attack.
It will be her first trip to the Middle East as foreign minister.
Wong is leaving today for the week-long trip to Jordan, Israel, the West Bank, and the United Arab Emirates.
The foreign minister will meet with the Israeli families of hostages and survivors of the October 7 attack.
She will also meet with Palestinians impacted by Israeli settler violence in the West Bank.
Wong says 100 days into the conflict, it is important that all efforts are put into advocating a pathway out of the conflict.
She says she will be seeking progress on a number of issues including: the delivery of vital aid, the greater protection of civilians, and the upholding of international law.
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Israeli tanks and aircraft have hit targets in southern and central Gaza, with fierce gun battles in some areas.
Communications and internet services were down for the third day running, complicating the work of emergency and ambulance crews trying to help people in areas hit by fighting.
Israel's military also said it destroyed several silos used by Hamas to fire missiles at Israel.
Meanwhile, relatives and friends of more than 130 Israelis held captive in Gaza have held events calling for their release.
Idit Ohel is the mother of 22-year-old pianist Alon Ohel who is being held captive by Hamas militants.
She says time is running out.
"I want to say that it has been a 100 days today. And time, we don't have a a lot of time at all. Time is running out and I feel that we need to do something now."
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In tennis,
Novak Djokovic has survived a fright against fearless teenager Dino Prizmic to secure a first-round win in the opening day of the Australian Open.
18-year-old qualifier Prizmic, playing in his first ever grand slam, took the second set off Djokovic and broke in the third, before the 24-time Grand Slam winner came back to win the match in four sets at Rod Laver Arena.
Djokovic, who is chasing an 11th Australian Open title, has told official broadcaster Channel 9 he was impressed by the young Croatian's game.
"He deserved every applause, every credit that he got tonight. He's (an) amazing player, so mature for his age. He handled himself on the court incredibly well."
With no Ash Barty or Nick Kyrgios this year, Australian hopes are pinned on men's World Number 10 Alex De Minaur, among 11 locals in day-two action.
De Minaur faces Canadian Milos Raonic this evening.
