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The alleged gunmen behind the Bondi beach terror attack are a father and son suspected of using legally obtained firearms to commit the massacre, according to police.
Naveed Akram, 24, was arrested at the scene and taken to a Sydney hospital with critical injuries. His 50-year-old father, who the Sydney Morning Herald first reported to be Sajid Akram, was shot dead by police.
The pair allegedly killed 15 people, while dozens more were injured in the shootings that took place on Sunday during a gathering to celebrate the first night of Hanukah.
Were either known to the authorities? Naveed Akram was examined by security agencies in October 2019 because of his alleged associations with others, said the prime minister, Anthony Albanese. He said the alleged shooters were not thought to be “part of a wider [terrorist] cell”.
Are gun laws being discussed? Yes, the New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, said there would “almost certainly” be changes to gun laws, and police were investigating whether there had been a failure of their systems in relation to how licensed weapons could have been used in a terror attack.
This is a developing story: follow the latest updates on our liveblog.
Director and actor Rob Reiner found dead at home with wife, Michele Singer Reiner
Authorities are investigating an “apparent homicide” after Rob Reiner, the director of movies including When Harry Met Sally, Stand By Me and The Princess Bride, was discovered dead at his Los Angeles home with his wife, Michele Singer Reiner.
It emerged on Sunday afternoon that authorities had discovered the bodies of a 78-year-old man and a 68-year-old woman inside a home owned by Reiner in Brentwood, Los Angeles.
Los Angeles police department then confirmed its robbery homicide division was investigating the deaths as an “apparent homicide”. TMZ and People reported that the pair had suffered wounds consistent with a knife attack.
What have the police said? The LAPD’s chief detective, Alan Hamilton, said the investigation was ongoing. “At this time, the LAPD is not seeking anyone as a suspect or as a person of interest … and we will not be doing that until we conduct our investigation and we move forward.”
Authorities release sole person of interest in Brown University shooting
Authorities are releasing the only person of interest detained in connection with a mass shooting at Brown University that killed two students and injured nine, after the investigation took law enforcement in a “different direction,” officials said Sunday night.
The release of the person, announced in a late-night news conference, leaves authorities without any known suspect in the killings that have shaken the Ivy League campus.
The announcement came more than 12 hours after officials had announced that they had taken a person into custody, but the Rhode Island attorney general, Peter Neronha, said authorities has concluded there was “no basis to consider him a person of interest”.
What are next steps in the investigation? Police are now canvassing for video surveillance.
In other news …
Ukraine is willing to drop its ambition to join Nato, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said, in a big concession for Kyiv, which has aspired to membership of the alliance to safeguard against Russian attacks.
The former House speaker Nancy Pelosi has said she believes she may not see a female US president in her lifetime: “It’s not a glass ceiling – it’s a marble ceiling.”
Hong Kong’s pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai faces life in prison after being convicted of national security and sedition offences.
Donald Trump said on Sunday that his domestic policy chief’s top priority is building a triumphal arch in Washington DC, despite millions of Americans struggling to make ends meet amid a deepening affordability crisis.
Stat of the day: Average annual cost of Obamacare premiums expected to rise from $888 to $1,904 in 2026
With subsidies for Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance set to expire, the average amount Americans enrolled on the plan can expect to pay annually for premiums is estimated to soar from $888 this year to $1,904 in 2026, according to an analysis. Experts warn that many Americans who rely on “Obamacare” are likely to switch to plans with lower monthly premiums and high deductibles or to opt out of buying any coverage, with knock-on effects across the sector.
Building Power: New Yorkers are banding together to protect street vendors from ICE
New York City’s street vendors – 96% of whom identify as immigrants – have been increasingly targeted by the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration this year. Groups such as the Street Vendor Project are fighting back by handing out “know your rights” information, training volunteers and distributing whistles for people to use if they see Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
Don’t miss this: Where are the Assads now?
A year after Bashar al-Assad was deposed and fled to Moscow under cover of darkness, the former Syrian president is reported to be giving ophthalmology another try. “He’s studying Russian and brushing up on his ophthalmology again,” said a friend of the Assad family who has kept in touch with them.
He is said to have “very little, if any, contact with the outside world”, with a source close to the Kremlin saying Assad was also largely “irrelevant” to Russia’s political elite. Drawing on well-placed sources, social media and leaked data, here’s what we know about the family today.
Climate check: What to know about the atmospheric rivers inundating the Pacific north-west
A week of record rains and flooding rivers has forced people in Washington and British Columbia to evacuate, with mudslides, closed roads and homes swept away. The deluge was due to a weather event known as an atmospheric river, which researchers have found is being worsened by the climate crisis.
Last Thing: Green sleeves? Laundry detergent being tweaked owing to gen Z’s love of matcha
In a sign of the times, matcha has been crowned the “stain of the year”, with Unilever even tweaking its laundry detergent formulas to more effectively target the Japanese green tea. Also high up on the list? Aperol and bubble tea. Donna Macnab, Unilever’s director of laundry research and development, said the world of stains offered an “interesting reflection on our lifestyles and routines”.
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