International students will be allowed to work 24 hours a week starting in September
Immigration Minister Marc Miller says international students will be able to work off-campus for up to 24 hours per week starting in September.
King Charles III arrived in Berlin on Wednesday for his first foreign trip as the monarch, hoping to improve the U.K.'s relations with the European Union and show he can win hearts and minds abroad, just as his mother did for seven decades.
Charles and Camilla, the queen consort, landed at Berlin's government airport in the early afternoon. The King, dressed in a black coat, and his wife, in a light blue coat and a feather-trimmed teal hat worn at a jaunty angle, paused at the top of their plane's stairs to receive a 21-gun salute as two military jets performed a flyover.
The royal couple said in a joint statement, released on their official Twitter account, that it was a "great joy" to be able to develop the "longstanding friendship between our two nations."
An hour later, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife, Elke Buedenbender, welcomed them with military honours at the German capital's historic Brandenburg Gate.
Soldiers hoisted the British and German flags as the national anthems were played. Steinmeier and Charles then strolled past the cheering, flag-waving crowd, shaking hands and chatting briefly with people.
Some took close-up pictures on their phones as Charles and Camilla approached, while others gave them flower bouquets. One woman handed Charles a gift bag. Journalists and security personnel trailed the royal couple and their German hosts as they made their way back to their motorcade.
Charles, 74, who ascended the throne after the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September, is set to be crowned on May 6. As Britain's head of state, the King meets weekly with the prime minister and retains his mother's role as leader of the Commonwealth.
He had initially planned to visit France before heading to Germany, but the first leg of his trip was cancelled due to massive protests over the French government's efforts to raise the country's retirement age by two years.
Billed as a multi-day tour of the EU's two biggest countries, the trip was designed to underscore British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's efforts to rebuild relations with the bloc after six years of arguments over Brexit and highlight the countries' shared history as they work together to combat Russian aggression in Ukraine.
Now everything rests on Germany, where the King faces the first big test of whether he can be an effective conduit for the "soft power" the House of Windsor has traditionally wielded, helping Britain pursue its geopolitical goals through the glitz and glamour of a 1,000-year-old monarchy.
Highlighting the diplomatic importance of the trip, Charles was accompanied by Britain's Foreign Secretary, James Cleverley.
Charles, a former naval officer who is the first British monarch to earn a university degree, is expected to insert heft where his glamorous mother once wielded star power.
During an afternoon reception and again at a white tie evening banquet at Palace Bellevue, the German president's official residence, Steinmeier remarked on the significance of Charles's first visit taking him to Berlin, calling it "a wonderful personal gesture and at the same time an important sign for German-British relations."
Steinmeier noted that Britain began the tortuous process of leaving the EU on March 29, 2017.
"For me personally, this was a sad day," he said. "Today, exactly six years later, we open a new chapter."
Steinmeier paid tribute to Charles' mother Elizabeth, stressing how much she had done to foster German-British ties.
"Your family stands for continuity, for stability, particularly in times of change," he said, noting that Charles, too, had visited Germany more than 40 times as a prince.
It was a subject picked up by Charles, who said the countries' friendship was of great importance to his mother, who enjoyed immense popularity in Germany.
"The relationship between Germany and the United Kingdom matters greatly to me too," he said. "I am more convinced than ever of its enduring value to us all."
"It means so much to us that my wife and I could come to Germany for this very first overseas tour of my reign," said Charles. "I can only assure you that throughout the time that is granted to me as King, I will do all I can to strengthen the connections between us."
Switching from English to near-flawless German, Charles insisted: "Our ties will become even stronger, I'm convinced of that, if we work together for a sustainable future in prosperity and security."
The banquet was attended by guests including former Chancellor Angela Merkel and scientist Ozlem Tureci, who co-founded the German company BioNTech that developed the first widely approved coronavirus vaccine.
On Thursday, the King is scheduled to give a speech to the Bundestag, Germany's parliament. He will also meet Chancellor Olaf Scholz, talk to Ukrainian refugees, and meet with British and Germany military personnel who are working together on joint projects. In the afternoon he will visit an organic farm outside of Berlin.
The royal couple plan to go to Hamburg on Friday, where they will visit the Kindertransport memorial for Jewish children who fled from Germany to Britain during the Third Reich, and attend a green energy event before returning to the U.K.
The King was urged to make the trip by Sunak, who during his first six months in office negotiated a settlement to the long-running dispute over post-Brexit trading rules for Northern Ireland and reached a deal with France to combat the people smugglers ferrying migrants across the English Channel in small boats. Sunak hopes goodwill created by a royal visit can help pave the way for progress on other issues, including Britain's return to an EU program that funds scientific research across Europe.
Britain's senior royals are among the most recognizable people on the planet. While their formal powers are strictly limited by law and tradition, they draw attention from the media and the public partly because of the historic ceremonies and regalia that accompany them -- and also because the public is fascinated by their personal lives.
Elizabeth's influence stemmed in part from the fact that she made more than 100 state visits during her 70 years on the throne, meeting presidents and prime ministers around the world in a reign that lasted from the Cold War to the information age.
Politicians were eager to meet the monarch for tea, if for no other reason than she'd been around so long.
------
Kirka reported from London
Immigration Minister Marc Miller says international students will be able to work off-campus for up to 24 hours per week starting in September.
Toronto police say 12 people are facing a combined 102 charges in connection with an investigation into a major credit fraud scheme.
Members of Parliament are questioning why Canadian security officials did not inform them that they had been the target of Beijing-linked hackers, after learning from the FBI that the international parliamentary alliance they are a part of was in the crosshairs of the Chinese cyberattack in 2021.
Norovirus is spreading at a 'higher frequency' than expected in Canada, specifically, in Ontario and Alberta, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.
B.C. Premier David Eby has joined other politicians denouncing remarks at a demonstration in Vancouver where protesters chanted “long live Oct. 7,” praising that day's attacks by Hamas on Israel.
Moderate drinking was once thought to have benefits for the heart, but better research methods have thrown cold water on that.
Tobacco manufacturers have until Tuesday to ensure every king-size cigarette produced for sale in Canada has a health warning printed directly on it.
The clock is ticking ahead of the deadline to file a 2023 income tax return. A personal finance expert explains why you should get them done -- even if you owe more than you can pay.
Anne Hathaway first shared she lost interest in drinking after a bad hangover in 2018. She’s now five years sober.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.