Good morning. As you receive this email it is Monday evening in Sydney, where the Jewish community, the city and the country are grappling with grief after the deadliest terrorist attack in Australia in modern times.
On Sunday evening, at least 15 people, including one child, were killed after two men, said by police to be a father and son armed with guns, opened fire on a Hanukah celebration at Bondi beach in Sydney. Dozens more were injured in what police have declared a targeted antisemitic terrorist attack. The older of the two men was shot by police and is dead.
This newsletter will bring you up to speed with the latest details. Before that, here are the headlines.
Five big stories
UK news | British police forces are stepping up security in Jewish communities after the antisemitic terror attack at Bondi beach in Australia.
Jimmy Lai | The Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon is facing life in prison after being found guilty of national security and sedition offences, in one of the most closely watched rulings since the city’s return to Chinese rule in 1997.
Immigration | Human rights and refugee campaigners are calling on the Home Office to be transparent about the numbers of asylum seekers who die in its care by publishing quarterly data as other government departments do.
Security | Assassination plots, sabotage, cyber-attacks and the manipulation of information by Russia and other hostile states mean that “the frontline is everywhere”, the new head of MI6 will warn on Monday.
US news | A JetBlue flight from the small Caribbean nation of Curaçao halted its ascent to avoid colliding with a US air force refuelling tanker on Friday, and the pilot blamed the military plane for crossing his path.
In depth: ‘An attack on Jewish Australians is an attack on every Australian’
It should have been a celebratory summer evening on one of Australia’s most famous beaches. Instead, shortly before 6.50pm on Sunday, gunfire erupted at a family-friendly Hanukah event at Archer Park, just behind Bondi beach, sending hundreds of people fleeing in terror. Police say the attack, allegedly carried out by a father and son, deliberately targeted Sydney’s Jewish community.
Overnight I exchanged emails with Guardian Australia senior reporter Ben Doherty, who lives in Bondi. He told me: “We could hear the gunshots – at first sounding like fireworks – from home.
“But the rapid roar of sirens, and of police helicopters, soon overwhelmed those, and marked this as something else entirely. Community WhatsApp groups lit up with warnings to keep away from the beach.”
Ben said that Bondi beach, busy and bathed in late-afternoon summer sunshine, was turned into a scene of chaos and confusion.
“No-one knew if the risk had passed or if there were more gunmen still on the loose. People had fled to the beach and from it, some running up the sand, some into the water, to escape the gunshots. People fell over themselves to escape, fell over each other as they ran in opposite directions, unsure of where safety lay.”
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How did the attack unfold?
Shortly before 6.47pm local time, police and emergency services were called to Archer Park, where a Hanukah festival organised by Chabad of Bondi was under way.
Witnesses described hearing dozens of gunshots as people ran for cover, grabbing children and vaulting barricades. Video shared online showed two gunmen firing from a nearby footbridge. Other footage captured a bystander tackling and disarming one of the alleged attackers – an act police and politicians later said saved lives.
More than 40 ambulance resources, including helicopters and specialist paramedics, were dispatched to the scene. The beach, packed with locals and tourists after a 32C day, was locked down as police urged the public to shelter and avoid the area. By about 8.30pm, police said there were no further active shooters.
At least 16 people were killed, including one alleged gunman. Among the dead was Rabbi Eli Schlanger, a London-born father-of-five who was assistant rabbi at Chabad of Bondi. Those killed ranged in age from 10 to 87. An Israeli citizen was also among those killed.
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What have police and security agencies said?
New South Wales police declared the shooting a terrorist incident late on Sunday night local time.
Police said two gunmen were allegedly involved. They were later identified as father and son, Sajid Akram, 50, and Naveed Akram, 24. Sajid was killed at the scene, while Naveed was in a critical condition in hospital. Authorities initially investigated whether there was a third attacker but later ruled that scenario out.
The NSW police commissioner, Mal Lanyon, said bomb disposal units were sent to examine a nearby vehicle believed to contain several improvised explosive devices (IED). Police confirmed another firearm and a third IED had been located at the Bondi crime scene on Monday.
Forty-two people were taken to hospital, including two police officers whose injuries were described as “serious, verging on critical”.
Australia’s domestic intelligence chief, Mike Burgess, said one of the alleged gunmen was known to authorities, but not assessed as an immediate threat.
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How have politicians responded?
Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, convened the national security committee on Sunday evening and described the shooting as “an act of evil antisemitism”.
“This was a targeted attack on Jewish Australians on the first day of Hanukah, which should be a day of joy,” he said. “An attack on Jewish Australians is an attack on every Australian.”
The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, said the attackers had fired on “a crowded group of families”, and he praised the “extraordinary bravery” of members of the public who intervened.
King Charles, who remains head of state in Australia, condemned what he called a “dreadful antisemitic terrorist attack.”
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A moment of courage
Footage from the scene showed a bystander rushing a gunman, wrestling a shotgun from his hands and preventing further shots being fired.
Minns said the man’s actions were “the most unbelievable scene I’ve ever seen” and credited him with saving lives.
Australian media later identified the man as Ahmed, a fruit shop owner and father of two, who was himself injured during the attack and taken to hospital.
***
PM to toughen gun control laws
Albanese quickly vowed to toughen gun control laws, saying proposed reforms would be discussed with state and territory leaders at a meeting on Monday. Reforms could include limiting the number of firearms someone can own and an audit of existing licences, he said.
More details about Sajid and Naveed Akram emerged on Monday. The government said Naveed was an Australian-born citizen. His father, Sajid, had arrived in 1998 on a student visa, transferred in 2001 to a partner visa, and had been on three resident return visas after overseas trips.
Albanese confirmed Naveed had come to the attention of the domestic intelligence agency, Asio, in October 2019 due to his being “associated with others”, but the agency found “there was no indication of any ongoing threat or threat of him engaging in violence”.
What else we’ve been reading
As an ardent footballer always desperate to make a comeback despite the fact I never had a heydey, I loved, loved, loved our weekend interview with Chloe Kelly, especially as she talks about scoring that penalty against Spain. Poppy Noor, newsletters team
Late breaking news has come in that director and actor Rob Reiner has been found dead at his Los Angeles home with wife Michele Singer Reiner. Our picture desk has put together this tribute gallery. Martin
Emma Beddington on the shame of having someone go through your social media, linked to Trump’s latest worrying antics, was excellent as it was horrifying. Poppy
Designer Petra Fagerström is intriguing in this interview by Eni Subair in the Face, talking about how her fear of AI in creative processes has led her to working closely with an AI company to develop tools. Martin
I loved Tim Dowling this weekend on the rise of men’s shapewear – do men need “extra support” down there? You be the judge ... Poppy
Sport
Football | Eddie Howe vowed he would not allow Newcastle’s 1-0 derby defeat against Sunderland on Sunday to define his side’s season. Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola has warned that Manchester City are growing in resilience after Erling Haaland and Phil Foden secured the side three points against Crystal Palace, their fifth win a row.
Cricket | The England team need to be introduced to the concept of consequences after two Ashes flops, writes Mark Ramprakash.
Football | In the pick of Sunday’s WSL games, Khadija Shaw’s phenomenal scoring record for Manchester City was extended to 103 goals in all competitions, with a stunning four goals in the league leader’s 6-1 defeat of Aston Villa.
The front pages
“At least 16 dead in terror attack on Jewish festival” is the Guardian splash, and news of the mass shooting at Sydney’s Bondi beach dominates the front pages. “Hero of the Bondi Beach massacre” says the Mail, in reference to the man who disarmed one of the two alleged attackers. The i paper leads with “The hero of Bondi beach”, the Telegraph has “Hate and heroism on Bondi” and the Mirror runs “Horror and heroism at Bondi”. Top story at the Times is “Bloodbath at Bondi beach” and the Sun says “Bondi fiends dad & son”. The FT leads with “Investors seek protection as fear of AI meltdown tests Wall Street’s nerves”.
Today in Focus
Labubus, TikTok and KPop Demon Hunters: how childhood went east Asian
From matcha and bubble tea to manga and Studio Ghibli, east Asian culture has become mainstream culture for millions of young people around the world. Nosheen Iqbal asks Jeff Yang if east Asia replaced the US as the world’s cultural centre.
Cartoon of the day | Tom Gauld
The Upside
A bit of good news to remind you that the world’s not all bad
Otters have been rare visitors in towns and cities across the UK but after decades of intense conservation work, that is changing. In the past year alone, the aquatic mammal has been spotted dragging fish along a riverbank in Stratford-Upon-Avon, plundering garden ponds near York and causing chaos in a Shetland family’s kitchen.
The dumping of waste in British rivers during the industrialisation period led to disastrous consequences for otters, which consumed the toxins from factories and pesticides. Bans on harmful pollutants, improved water quality and a targeted reintroduction campaign in the east of England have now helped their return. Dr Elizabeth Chadwick, the head of Cardiff University’s Otter Project, says: “If we can use otters as a sort of charismatic ambassador for river health, that can be really quite a powerful thing.”
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Bored at work?
And finally, the Guardian’s puzzles are here to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow.
