Australia mourns victims of Bondi Beach shooting with flags at half-mast

Thousands of Australian came together on Monday to mourn the victims of a mass shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, the worst such attack seen in the country since 1996.

The horrific incident occurred at around 18:40 local time on Sunday at the renowned tourist attraction, leaving 16 people dead and 42 injured.

Hours after the sun rose on Monday morning, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese came to the site and laid flowers. He said that flags would fly at half-mast across the country to mourn the victims.

People continued to add to the makeshift memorial, remembering victims and offering support to grieving families.

"I don't think you can make sense of it. It is a senseless act," said a local resident.

Over 1,000 people had gathered to celebrate the first day of Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, when the gunmen launched their brutal assault.

Among the injured victims were two police officers who were hospitalized for treatment. By Monday afternoon, 27 patients were still receiving care across Sydney, some of whom remain in critical condition, a spokesperson for the medical authority said.

Authorities believe the intended targets were members of the Jewish community who had gathered at Bondi to celebrate the first night of the festival of Hanukkah.

"All it is hate. It's just purely two people that came down to Bondi yesterday with the intent of killing Jews," said a resident.

Hundreds of people officers have been deployed to search for evidence and to reassure a community struggling to come to terms with the violence.

"It's a very sad day. When I was waking up, I was still in shock. I couldn't really understand what was happening. I was just really, really shocked from yesterday. It was really terrifying for all of the Jews, all around the world even," the resident continued.

"We have to move on, and we keep living here. And we have to live here with that memory," said another.

Australia is known for having among the strictest gun control laws in the world - introduced after another mass shooting nearly three decades ago. On Monday, the country's leaders at a snap National Cabinet meeting agreed to take decisive action to strengthen gun laws following the fatal mass shooting.

Albanese said in a statement that the state and territory leaders have commissioned their respective police ministers and attorneys-general to develop options on strengthening gun laws, including limiting the number of firearms allowed to be held by one individual and limiting firearms licenses to Australian citizens.

Additionally, the prime minister said that the National Firearms Agreement that was established after 35 people were fatally shot at Port Arthur in the island state of Tasmania in 1996 will be renegotiated to ensure it remains "as robust as possible" in the changing security environment.

Australia mourns victims of Bondi Beach shooting with flags at half-mast

Australia mourns victims of Bondi Beach shooting with flags at half-mast

Australia mourns victims of Bondi Beach shooting with flags at half-mast

Australia mourns victims of Bondi Beach shooting with flags at half-mast

Australia mourns victims of Bondi Beach shooting with flags at half-mast

The inaugural International Forum on Mutual Learning Among Civilizations opened in China's Macao Special Administrative Region on Tuesday, attracting over 300 participants.

The forum, scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, brings together representatives of government and international organizations, and leading experts from around the world to have dialog and academic exchanges.

Under the theme of "Mutual Learning among Civilizations, Inheritance and Development," the conference features two parallel sub-forums -- "Mutual Learning among Civilizations and Diverse Coexistence" and "Conservation and Sustainable Development of Cultural Heritage"-- alongside a series of academic salons. It will also feature nearly 20 keynote speeches and discussions.

At the forum, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao SAR government O Lam highlighted Macao's historical role as a bridge between civilizations.

"This is Macao, strong in a gentle mood, adhering to tradition in fashion, maintaining peace, harmony, courtesy and integrity. Human civilization has never advanced without exchanges and mutual learning. Macao's recent history of five centuries stands as a living record of the harmonious coexistence and common development of Chinese and Western civilizations. Here, there has been no clash of civilizations, only cultural convergence; no hierarchy of values, only dialog on an equal footing. Macao, with its history of integration of Chinese and Western civilizations, offers practical evidence, and will continue to evidence that the old logic of zero-sum game is unsustainable, while cooperation and harmony represent the true direction of human civilization," she said.

Qian Chengdan, professor of history from Peking University, also underscored the importance of civilizational diversity.

"Diversity of civilizations is among the most fundamental and vital attributes of humankind. It is hard to imagine a world with only one civilization, one voice. If there were only one single civilization and one single voice, mutual learning among civilizations will be out of the question," he said.

Macao hosts inaugural International Forum on Mutual Learning Among Civilizations