The Star Online: World Updates
The Star Online: World Updates |
- It's a boy for Britain's William and Kate
- One killed in attack on pro-Mursi protest in Cairo - state news website
- World awaits first glimpse of Britain's new prince
| It's a boy for Britain's William and Kate Posted: LONDON (AFP) - Britain's Prince William and his wife Kate were celebrating after she gave birth to a baby boy, providing the royal family with a future king and sparking a global media frenzy. Cheering crowds rushed towards the gates of Buckingham Palace as it was announced that the Duchess of Cambridge had produced a healthy male heir weighing 8lbs 6oz (3.8 kilos). The as-yet unnamed baby is third in line to the throne and in the direct line of succession after Queen Elizabeth II's eldest son and heir Prince Charles, and then his eldest son William. "We could not be happier," William, the son of Charles and the late Princess Diana, said in a brief statement. US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle led international tributes to the "joyous occasion" while Canada was the first of the 15 overseas Commonwealth realms, countries where the queen is monarch, to hail the birth.  An easel stands in the forecourt of Buckingham Palace in London on July 22, 2013, to announce the birth of a baby boy, at 4.24pm to Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, at St Mary's Hospital. Prince William's wife Kate on Monday gave birth to a baby boy who will one day be heir to the British throne, Kensington Palace said in a statement. - AFP PHOTO The former Kate Middleton, 31, spent ten hours in labour after she and William arrived around dawn at the private Lindo wing of London's St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, in central London. "Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge was safely delivered of a son at 4:24 pm (1524 GMT)," Kensington Palace said in a statement just over four hours after she gave birth. "The baby weighs 8lbs 6oz. The Duke of Cambridge was present for the birth." It was in the same hospital wing that the late Princess Diana gave birth to William in 1982. Royal aides later placed a formal bulletin on a gold easel in the forecourt of Buckingham Palace which said that both Kate and her son were "doing well". Royal doctor Marcus Setchell added: "Wonderful baby. Beautiful baby". The queen, 87, said she was "delighted" while Prince Charles said he was overjoyed. British landmarks including the London Eye and BT Tower were lit in red white and blue to celebrate the baby's birth while cannon fire will ring out across the capital on Tuesday. An easel stands in the forecourt of Buckingham Palace in London on July 22, 2013, to announce the birth Newspapers splashed the arrival over their front pages, with many saying simply: "It's a boy." The arrival of a royal baby and a new generation for the British monarchy had been hotly anticipated ever since the couple married in 2011 after a decade-long romance. The popular couple have been widely credited with revitalising "The Firm", as the British royals are known, following decades of scandal and the death of Diana in a Paris car crash in 1997. The palace said the boy's name would be revealed later, but he will be known as Prince of Cambridge. Bookmakers say the favourites are George and James, traditional names for a future monarch. William, also 31 has been on annual leave and will take two weeks' paternity leave from his job as a Royal Air Force search and rescue pilot. The birth came later than widely expected, adding to the sense of anticipation -- as well as the frustrations of hundreds of members of the international media who waited outside the hospital for three weeks. Head of news at the Royal Household, Ed Perkins, leaves the hospital with news of the birth in London on July 22, 2013 Prince Charles said that he and his second wife Camilla were "overjoyed at the arrival of my first grandchild". "It is an incredibly special moment for William and Catherine and we are so thrilled for them on the birth of their baby boy," the 64-year-old heir to the throne said in a statement. "Grandparenthood is a unique moment in anyone's life, as countless kind people have told me in recent months, so I am enormously proud and happy to be a grandfather for the first time and we are eagerly looking forward to seeing the baby in the near future." The fact that it is a boy averted the need to rush through new succession laws across the 16 Commonwealth realms, which would mean that a royal princess could no longer be overtaken by any future younger brothers. Royal fanatics gathered in London could not hide their excitement. "We think it's so exciting that there is a new third in line to the throne," said Janice, a visitor from Ohio in the United States. "We came here on Thursday and were very hopeful we would be here for the exciting news, we don't have royalty, so to us this is very very exciting." The new arrival is Queen Elizabeth's third great-grandchild. British Prime Minister David Cameron said outside his Downing Street office that it was "wonderful news" for Britain -- a nuclear-armed UN Security Council permanent member and the world's sixth biggest economy. "It is an important moment in the life of our nation. A proud nation is celebrating with a very proud and happy couple tonight," Cameron said. The Obamas said they wished William and Kate "all the happiness and blessings parenthood brings", adding: "The child enters the world at a time of promise and opportunity for our two nations." Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd called it "a happy day for our close friends in Britain and the Commonwealth." "Prince William demonstrated deep compassion when he met with families in Victoria who had lost everything during the Black Saturday bushfires of February 2009," recalled Rudd. The pregnancy was announced in December when Kate was admitted to hospital with severe morning sickness. A pall fell over the proceedings when a nurse at the hospital committed suicide following a prank call by two Australian radio hosts pretending to be the queen and Prince Charles.-AFP |
| One killed in attack on pro-Mursi protest in Cairo - state news website Posted: CAIRO (Reuters) - One man was killed and 15 people were injured in an attack on a protest by hundreds of supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi near Cairo University early Tuesday morning, state-run news website said. Al-Ahram Online said police fired tear gas to quell the violence and several cars in the area were smashed or set on fire. Police sources said hundreds of Pro-Mursi supporters clashed with local residents, street sellers and others near Cairo University's main campus in Giza province, south of Cairo. They said gunshots were fired and stones were thrown during the incident. One person was killed and around 20 were injured on Monday in clashes between supporters and opponents of Mursi in central Cairo. Around 100 were killed since the army's overthrow of Mursi, elected last year, on July 3 after mass protests. (Reporting by Yasmine Saleh and Ahmed Tolba, Writing by Yasmine Saleh) |
| World awaits first glimpse of Britain's new prince Posted: LONDON (Reuters) - The world was awaiting the first glimpse of Britain's new prince on Tuesday with camera crews poised to photograph Prince William and his wife, Kate, leaving a London hospital with their baby son. Kate, 31, gave birth to the couple's first child, who is third in line to the British throne, on Monday afternoon, ending weeks of feverish anticipation about the arrival and surprising royal watchers, who were widely expecting a girl. The baby's name will be announced later but George and James, both traditional royal names, were favoured choices with British bookmakers for the child, who could one day be king. The popular couple sidestepped tradition by announcing the birth via a press release but were expected to adhere to protocol by giving the public the first sight of the royal baby on the steps as they leave St. Mary's Hospital in west London. "All we will probably see is a glimpse of the top of the baby's head but they will stick to this tradition," said Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty magazine. "After that we won't see them for some time. Having a baby is a very private moment and they are a private couple so the next time we see the baby will be the official photo and that could be weeks." Kensington Palace announced the arrival of a boy weighing 8 lbs 6 oz (3.8 kg) at about 8:30 p.m. on Monday, four hours after his birth, saying Kate and her child were doing well and would remain in hospital overnight. Prince William was with them. Their son is third in line to the throne after grandfather Prince Charles and father Prince William, 31, and pushes the fun-loving Prince Harry, William's brother, into fourth place. BOOST FOR BRITAIN Congratulations flooded in from all over the world after the announcement of the birth, which was followed moment-by-moment by the world media as well as the British press with the excitement seen as a boost for Britons facing economic austerity. British tabloid newspaper The Sun temporarily renamed itself The Son in honour of the baby while the left-leaning Guardian newspaper provided readers of its website with a "Republican" button so that they could filter out the barrage of royal news if they wanted. The birth fuels a new wave of popularity for the House of Windsor led by the younger royals, William and Harry, who were both born to the late Princess Diana at St. Mary's Hospital. Support for the royals dipped after Diana's death in a car crash in Paris in 1997, a year after her divorce from Prince Charles, as the royals were accused of being out of touch with modern Britain in the way they handled the death of the popular princess. But last year's celebrations of Queen Elizabeth's 60th year on the throne showed the affection with which she is held by most of the population despite a small Republican movement. Hordes of TV crews and photographers, and royal fans wrapped in Union Jacks, remained camped outside the hospital overnight Monday, waiting for the first photo of the baby, who will be called the Prince of Cambridge. Prince William and Kate, who met when they were students at St. Andrews University in Scotland about 10 years ago, have officially been known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge since their sumptuous royal wedding in April 2011. Tourists in London were revelling in the celebrations that top a run of British sporting victories and an unusual heatwave. "For me it's a wonderful, historic event. You spend a lot of time studying these things. To actually get to be here to witness one is tremendous," said George Boudreau, 48, a history professor from Philadelphia, outside Buckingham Palace. |
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