Australia

Australian PM announces bravery award for heroes of Bondi Beach attack

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced plans Thursday for a national bravery award to recognize civilians and first responders who confronted the worst of evil during an antisemitic terror attack that left 15 dead and has cast a heavy shadow over the nation's holiday season. Albanese said he plans to establish a special honors system for those who placed themselves in harms way to help during the attack on a beachside Hanukkah celebration, like Ahmed al Ahmed, a Syrian-Australian Muslim who disarmed one of the assailants before being wounded himself. Sajid Akram, who was killed by police during the Dec. 14 attack, and his 24-year-old son Naveed Akram are accused of perpetrating Australia's worst massacre since 1996. Speaking at a press conference after a Christmas Day lunch at a charitable foundation in Sydney, Albanese described a Christmas defined by a sharp contrast between extremist violence and the best of humanity. This Christmas is a different one because of th

Australian state tightens gun, protest laws after Bondi Beach attack

The New South Wales government convened an emergency session of parliament to approve measures such as limiting the number of firearms an individual can own

APSEZ completes acquisition of NQXT Australia, revises FY26 Ebitda guidance

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone has completed the NQXT Australia acquisition and raised FY26 Ebitda and cargo volume guidance, citing the terminal's growth and cash flows

Bondi Beach attack raises fears of Islamic State's resurgence in Asia

The extremist network has expressed admiration for the shooting - and while not officially claiming responsibility has acknowledged the influence of their ideology on the gunmen

Australian police allege gunman in Bondi Beach shooting trained with father

A suspected gunman accused of killing 15 people at Sydney's Bondi Beach conducted firearms training in an area of New South Wales outside of Sydney with his father and recorded a video about their justification for the attack, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported Monday, citing police documents. The police statement of facts was made public following Naveed Akram's video court appearance Monday from a Sydney hospital. The statement alleges the 24-year-old and his father, 50-year-old Sajid Akram, threw four improvised explosive devices toward at crowd involved in a Jewish event at Bondi Beach on Dec. 14, but they didn't explode, ABC reported. The New South Wales court media unit could not immediately provide a copy of the statement. Police shot the father dead at the scene and wounded the son. The son was charged last week with 59 offenses, including 15 counts of murder and one of committing a terrorist act.

Australia to start gun buyback programme after Bondi Beach terror attack

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Friday announced the government will introduce legislation to help fund the buyback

Kneejerk reactions not enough to stop the next Bondi Beach attack

Faced by such a targeted act of violence after years of increasing antisemitic attacks, it's unsurprising that Jewish Australians feel they've been left unprotected

Australia to toughen hate speech laws after Bondi Beach Jewish attack

The prime minister is under intense pressure over his centre-left government's handling of a rising tide of antisemitism over the past two years that critics say culminated in Sunday's massacre

Meta moves to single age-check system as global child safety rules tighten

Meta aims to roll out one age-check system for Facebook and Instagram as global child safety laws grow and pressure on tech firms increases

Suspected gunman in Bondi Beach massacre charged with 15 counts of murder

A suspected gunman in Sydney's Bondi Beach massacre was charged with 59 offences, including 15 charges of murder, police said Tuesday. The 24-year-old man was charged in Sydney hospital on Wednesday, where he has been since police shot him and his gunman father at Bondi on Sunday. The 50-year-old father died at the scene, a police official said. The charges include one count of murder for each victim who died and one count of committing a terrorist act.

Sydney's Bondi beach shooter awakens from coma as first funeral held

New South Wales police were expected to start questioning 24 year-old Naveed Akram on Wednesday, Commissioner Mal Lanyon said

Australia beach shooting suspect had roots in Hyderabad: Telangana Police

Sajid Akram, one of the suspects in the recent mass shooting at Bondi beach in Australia, is a native of Hyderabad, the Telangana Police said on Tuesday. He migrated to Australia 27 years ago and had limited contact with his family in Hyderabad, the Telangana DGP office said in a statement. The factors that led to radicalisation of Sajid Akram and his son Naveed Akram appear to have no connection with India or any local influence in Telangana, it said. Sajid Akram completed his B.Com in Hyderabad and migrated to Australia in search of employment in November 1998, it said.

Sydney’s Bondi beach shooting: What happened, who the attackers were, and what we know so far

At least 16 people were killed and dozens were injured after a mass shooting during a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach.

Bondi Beach mass shooting inspired by Islamic State: Australian police

A mass shooting in which 15 people were killed during a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney's Bondi Beach was a terrorist attack inspired by Islamic State, Australia's federal police commissioner Krissy Barrett said Tuesday. The suspects were a father and son, aged 50 and 24, authorities have said. The older man was shot dead while his son was being treated at a hospital on Tuesday. A news conference by political and law enforcement leaders on Tuesday was the first time officials confirmed their beliefs about the suspects' ideologies. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the remarks were based on evidence obtained, including the presence of Islamic State flags in the vehicle that has been seized. There are 25 people still being treated in hospitals after Sunday's massacre, 10 of them in critical condition. Three of them are patients in a children's hospital. Also among them is a man who was captured on video appearing to tackle and disarm one assailant, before pointing the man's weapon

Donations for Bondi Beach hero who tackled gunman near $2 million

Ahmed al Ahmed, a 43-year-old fruit and tobacco shop owner, saved many lives at Sydney's Bondi Beach by charging at one of the gunmen targeting the Jewish crowd

Bondi Beach attack spurs worldwide mourning and calls for tougher gun laws

Hanukkah events and vigils took place in central Melbourne on Monday evening, with landmarks lit up to commemorate the Bondi victims

Australia Hanukkah shooting: US Jewish groups urge stricter event security

Leading Jewish groups in the United States are urging all Jewish organisations to ratchet up security measures at public events -- including restrictions on access -- following the deadly mass shooting that targeted a Hanukkah celebration on a popular Australian beach. The groups -- including three which specialise in security issues -- said Jewish public events in the coming days should be open only to people who had been screened after preregistering. Provide details of location, time, and other information only upon confirmed registration, the groups' advisory said. Have access control (locks and entrance procedures) to only allow known, confirmed registrants/attendees into the facility/event. Coinciding with this urgent appeal for increased precautions, some rabbis said their synagogues would proceed with large-scale celebrations, intended to demonstrate resilience. The mass shooting is the latest reminder of the Jewish community's longstanding reality of having to factor securi

Australian PM Albanese grapples with fallout after Jewish massacre

Last December, offenders broke into the Adass Israel Synagogue in Ripponlea, Victoria, and spread accelerant in what police described as a probable terrorist attack

Sydney attack: Australian intel had probed gunman in 2019 over IS links

Naveed Akram reportedly had close links with Matari, who is currently serving a 7-year prison sentence for planning an IS insurgency in Australian

EAM Jaishankar offers support to Australia after terror attack in Sydney

The attack, which authorities have declared a terrorist incident, targeted Jewish Australians who had gathered to celebrate the first day of Hanukkah