Australia

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Australia Shooting Hero Gets a Big Reward

$1.5M raised for Ahmed al Ahmed—'the best of our country,' according to PM Anthony Albanese

(Newser) - Ahmed al Ahmed went out for coffee at Sydney's Bondi Beach and ended up at the center of one of Australia's worst hate attacks—but also a national outpouring of gratitude, per CBS News . The 44-year-old Syrian-Australian shop owner, a Muslim father of two, was filmed ducking between...

Surviving Bondi Suspect Hit With 59 Charges

Suspect Naveed Akram, 24, survived massacre that killed 15; other suspect, now dead, was his father

(Newser) - The lone surviving suspect in Sunday's Bondi Beach massacre is now facing a sweeping list of 59 charges, including 15 counts of murder and terrorism, New South Wales police say. Authorities allege 24-year-old Naveed Akram and his father, 50-year-old Sajid Akram, opened fire at a Hanukkah celebration attended largely...

Couple Bravely Confronted Shooter—and Were First to Die

Dashcam video shows Boris and Sofia Gurman grappling with Sajid Akram at Bondi Beach

(Newser) - The bystander shot multiple times after wrestling a weapon from a gunman in Australia wasn't the only victim whose heroism was on display. Dashcam video from Sunday's Bondi Beach attack shows an older couple confronting a gunman and seizing his weapon moments before they were fatally shot, according...

Bondi Beach Mass Shooting Inspired by Islamic State: Police

Australian police say mass shooting was a terrorist act

(Newser) - 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...

A Day After Mass Shooting, Australia Eyes Its Gun Laws

Leaders weigh tighter licensing in wake of mass shooting involving legally-owned weapons

(Newser) - Australia is debating reforms to its gun laws—already among the strictest in the world—after Sunday's deadly mass shooting at Sydney's Bondi Beach. The elder of the father-son shooting suspects had a license to own firearms, New South Wales police say. He allegedly owned six weapons, four...

Hero Who Disarmed Australia Shooter May Lose His Arm

Still, Sydney shop owner Ahmed al Ahmed 'doesn't regret what he did'

(Newser) - The man seen on video tackling a gunman during Sydney's Bondi Beach mass shooting has no regrets, though he's now at risk of losing his arm. Identified as Ahmed al Ahmed, a shop owner in his 40s who emigrated from Syria in 2006 and was granted Australian citizenship...

Australian Beach Massacre Leaves 11 Dead, 29 Wounded

At least two gunmen opened fire at Jewish event at Bondi Beach; one of the shooters is dead

(Newser) - A beach massacre at a Jewish event in Australia killed 11 people and wounded 29, reports the Guardian . Authorities are calling it a terrorist attack. Details were changing quickly, with the initial death toll among victims revised down from 12.
  • Police say at least two shooters opened fire Sunday at
...

Reddit Goes After Australia's Social Media Ban on Kids

Australian ban didn't stand for long without court challenges

(Newser) - Reddit on Friday filed a court challenge to Australia's world-first law that bans Australian children younger than 16 from holding accounts on the world's most popular social media platforms. California-based Reddit Inc.'s suit filed in the High Court follows a case filed last month by Sydney-based...

Aussie Lawmaker Finds Bull, Horse in His Living Room

'Note to self: The dogs can't be trusted with door security'

(Newser) - Australian lawmaker Andrew Mackay cut his dinner short when he discovered that his dogs had ushered a bull and a horse into his home. The Northern Territory politician says he and his fiancée were out to dinner in Darwin when he checked his pet camera and spotted what he...

Skydiver Cuts Himself Free After Parachute Snag on Plane

ATSB finds safety lapses as pilot lands damaged plane safely

(Newser) - Midair skydiving videos are usually all about the view, not about someone hanging off the wing of the plane by a parachute line or two (or 11). Australia's transport safety watchdog, however, has released dramatic footage from a Sept. 20 jump over Queensland's Mission Beach, in which an...

More Countries Are Coming for Kids' Social Media

Denmark, Malaysia to follow Australia's lead in 2026

(Newser) - Denmark is planning to follow Australia's lead and severely restrict social media access for young people, per the AP . The Danish government announced last month that it had secured an agreement by three governing coalition and two opposition parties in parliament to ban access to social media for anyone...

World Watches as Australia Boots Kids Off Social Media

Rahm Emanuel wants the US to follow suit

(Newser) - Tuesday's the day many Australian youth have been dreading. The country's unprecedented social media ban for under-16s goes into effect, with more than 1 million accounts set to be deactivated, per NBC News . The ban, the first of its kind, is an experiment of sorts, closely watched by...

Ex-Nurse Convicted in Brutal Beach Slaying

Rajwinder Singh had to be extradited to Australia from India, where he fled after 2018 murder

(Newser) - After four years on the run and a murder trial resulting in a hung jury, former nurse Rajwinder Singh has been convicted of killing an Australian woman whose body turned up on a remote beach in 2018. Toyah Cordingley, 24, was stabbed more than two dozen times while walking her...

Trump Eyes Aussie Retirement Model as a Possible Fix for US

Administration is looking 'very seriously' at superannuation system

(Newser) - Looking overseas for fresh ideas, President Trump says his team is studying Australia's retirement savings program as a possible model for revamping how Americans prepare for their later years. Trump said Australia's "superannuation" system—requiring employers to contribute 12% of an employee's income to a retirement...

Albanese Marries in Office, a First for an Australian PM

Wedding in Canberra featured dog ring bearer and custom beer cans

(Newser) - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made history over the weekend by becoming the first prime minister in the country's history to get married while in office. Albanese wed his partner, Jodie Haydon, in a private ceremony at the Lodge, his official residence in Canberra, on Saturday afternoon, just after...

Moments After Swimming With Dolphins, She Was Dead

Swiss couple attacked by suspected bull shark off Australia's east coast

(Newser) - A Swiss man risked his life Thursday in a failed attempt to save his girlfriend from a shark attack off Australia's east coast, and nearly died himself. Authorities believe Lukas Schindler, 26, and 25-year-old Livia Muhlheim, both Swiss nationals, were attacked early Thursday while swimming near Kylies Beach, a...

Woman, Man on Morning Swim Mauled by Shark—One Fatally

The 2 were taking an early swim in an Australia national park

(Newser) - A shark killed a woman and seriously wounded a man taking an early morning swim with her at a national park beach on Australia's east coast Thursday, police said. The attack occurred at Crowdy Bay National Park, which is known for beach camping, fishing spots, and hiking tracks 224...

Aussie Under-16s Really Not Happy With Social Media Ban

Two 15-year-olds are taking their right to TikTok, etc., to the nation's highest court

(Newser) - Australia's social media ban for anyone under 16 is facing a high-profile legal challenge from two teenagers, who say the measure tramples their constitutional rights to free communication. The law, which takes effect Dec. 10, requires platforms like Facebook , TikTok, and YouTube to block accounts for anyone under the...

Non-Muslim Australian Senator Punished for Burqa Protest

Pauline Hanson barred from Parliament for the rest of the year as punishment

(Newser) - The Australian lawmaker who has twice worn a burqa to Parliament in what her critics call a racist gesture was barred from the chamber for the rest of the year Tuesday, the AP reports. Pauline Hanson, who heads an anti-Muslim, anti-immigration party, wore the Muslim garment on Monday to highlight...

Study Reveals Just How Much Childhood Is Changing

There's a sharp drop in the number of kids who read for pleasure

(Newser) - Social media is altering childhood in extreme ways, suggests a major new study out of Australia. In a press release that calls it "one of the world's largest studies of after-school activities," researchers at the University of South Australia collected data on how more than 14,000...

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