Plus: Celebrating the winter solstice at Stonehenge ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
|
| Hello. The suspected gunmen in the Bondi Beach attack had practised shooting weeks before the deadly incident and started the attack by throwing explosives which failed to detonate, according to new Australian court documents. In Moscow, another Russian general has died in a car bombing and in rebel-held Myanmar our South Asia correspondent Yogita Limaye meets civilians fleeing junta air strikes. | |
|
|
|
|
TOP OF THE AGENDA | Bondi gunmen threw explosives in attack and had practised shooting, police say |
|
| | A screenshot from a video on Naveed Akram's phone shows his father conducting firearms training, police allege. Credit: Supplied | The suspected Bondi Beach gunmen threw explosives at the start of the attack and had practised shooting weeks before, according to court documents. Fifteen people were killed and dozens more injured when two gunmen opened fire on a Hanukkah celebration on 14 December. Explosives - including a "tennis ball bomb" - failed to detonate, according to the documents. Naveed Akram, 24, has been charged with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder. A second gunman - his father, Sajid Akram - was shot dead by police at the scene. According to police, the pair "meticulously" planned the attack for several months. |
|
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| Russian general killed in car bomb, Moscow says | Lt Gen Fanil Sarvarov died on Monday morning after an explosive device planted under a car detonated in Moscow. | Read more > |
| | Epstein files Trump image reinstated after backlash | Several items, including the image of the president, were removed due to victims' concerns, the deputy attorney general said. | Find out more > |
| | Official says US pursuing third oil tanker | The US Coast Guard is in "active pursuit" of another vessel in international waters near Venezuela as tensions continue to rise. | Get the latest > |
| | All pupils kidnapped from Nigerian school now free | Teachers and 130 schoolchildren taken from a Catholic boarding school last month have been released, authorities say. | Read more > |
| | Bourbon maker Jim Beam halts Kentucky production | The famous brand is pausing the operation at its main distillery for a year to "invest in site enhancements" | Get the details > |
| |
|
|
| | - Free-speech: A university has been threatened with legal action after a talk by a leading sex and gender academic was disrupted by protesters.
- Christmas past: London's Charles Dickens museum is depicting what the festive season would have looked like in the A Christmas Carol author's day.
|
|
|
|
|
| BEYOND THE HEADLINES | In rebel-held Myanmar, civilians face air strikes and a sham election |
|
| | | Iang Za Kim had to flee her home after the junta launched air strikes nearby. Credit: Aamir Peerzada/BBC | Iang Za Kim's face quivers as she recounts the air strike on her village in Myanmar's western Chin State, writes South Asia correspondent Yogita Limaye. She's among thousands of civilians who've fled their homes in recent weeks after the Burmese military launched a fierce campaign of air strikes and a ground offensive in rebel-held areas across the country, ahead of elections starting on 28 December. |
|
| |
|
|
|