Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Monday that tougher gun laws would be discussed at a National Cabinet meeting, indicating a potential tightening of the country’s already strict firearms regulations following a deadly antisemitic attack at Sydney’s Bondi Beach. Speaking to the media ahead of the 4:00 pm local meeting, Albanese said the agenda would include stricter controls, such as limiting the number of firearms an individual can hold and implementing periodic licence reviews. “People's circumstances change. People can be radicalised over time. Licences should not be permanent,” he said, emphasizing the need for ongoing oversight.

Albanese added that the federal government would propose measures to strengthen monitoring mechanisms. Later, he convened the National Cabinet to respond to what he described as an act of terror and antisemitism at Bondi. On X, he stated, “We stand with Jewish Australians and against hatred and violence. Australia is stronger than those who try to divide us, and we will come through this together.”

The attack targeted Jewish community members celebrating Hanukkah at Bondi Beach. Authorities have declared it a terrorist incident. According to New South Wales Health, 27 people remain hospitalized after the shooting. Investigators revealed the attack was carried out by a father-son duo; police killed the father at the scene, while the 24-year-old son is hospitalized. The son had previously been assessed by Australia’s domestic intelligence agency, ASIO, which had found no prior threat indicators. The father, who arrived in Australia in 1998, had a recreational hunting licence and was a member of a gun club.

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns promised an “overwhelming” response, while nationwide security remains heightened. Australia already enforces some of the world’s strictest gun laws, introduced nearly 30 years ago after a mass shooting in Tasmania killed 35 people, leading to rapid reforms that restricted gun ownership and imposed strict licensing. Data from the Australian Institute of Criminology shows that between July 2023 and June 2024, Australia recorded 31 gun-related murders, a rate of 0.09 per 100,000 people.
Disclaimer: This image is taken from X/@AlboMP.

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado was intent on reaching Oslo this week, hoping to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in person. Leaving her place of concealment and securing safe passage to Norway meant navigating military roadblocks, surviving hours on turbulent seas, and trusting that the small boats ferrying her to a Caribbean island would not be targeted by a US drone strike. A private aircraft awaited her there.

Although she arrived in Norway after the award ceremony had already taken place, the hazardous journey energized her followers and highlighted her continued influence after a year spent in hiding from President Nicolás Maduro’s government. Her escape also reinforced her role in the escalating confrontation between Caracas and Washington. New details surrounding the operation have revealed the involvement of a discreet rescue firm led by former US special operations and intelligence personnel, who coordinated the covert removal of one of Venezuela’s most prominent political figures without detection.

“We weren’t the first to attempt this,” said Bryan Stern, a combat veteran and head of Grey Bull Rescue. Based in Tampa, the organization was founded after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, and Machado’s extraction marked its 800th mission. Despite the team’s extensive experience evacuating clients from dangerous situations, this mission stood apart. “Our systems are built to move people nobody knows,” Stern explained. “Maria is very much known — and that was the real challenge.”
Disclaimer: This image is taken from Reuters.

The Melbourne Global Centre – Delhi recently hosted a special session on writer-diplomat Abhay K.'s book Nalanda: How it Changed the World. The discussion explored Nalanda Mahavihara’s historical role as a global hub of knowledge. Abhay K. emphasized the university’s wide-ranging academic disciplines, from astronomy and mathematics to medicine, philosophy, and poetry, noting how its interdisciplinary learning, diverse faculty, and merit-based scholarships offer a model for contemporary education.

During the event, Abhay K. remarked, “We aimed to highlight Nalanda’s contributions, its origins, and its decline. It is essential to understand Nalanda’s full narrative rather than fragments. This is precisely why I wrote the book. This conversation at the Melbourne Global Centre celebrates Nalanda’s international and universal outlook. Today, participants from Australia and India have come together to discuss the world’s first university, Nalanda.”

The session included students and officials from the Australia India Institute. Lisa Singh, CEO of the Australia India Institute–Delhi, commented, “This has been an important day for our institute and a personal privilege to engage with Abhay K., an esteemed author and poet. Experiencing his narrative style interwoven with poetry through this book has been truly enlightening.”

Abhay K. also highlighted the revival of Nalanda University, whose new Rajgir campus was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2024. He traced the spread of Buddhist thought from Nalanda to countries like China and Mongolia, emphasizing its strategic location and global influence. The event reaffirmed Nalanda’s legacy as a world-renowned centre of learning and its lasting impact on modern education and thought.
Disclaimer: This image is taken from ANI.

Speaking at the House Foreign Affairs South and Central Asia Subcommittee hearing on “The US-India Strategic Partnership: Securing a Free and Open Indo-Pacific”, Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director of the Observer Research Foundation America, highlighted India’s growing role in maritime security. He said the Indian Navy has stepped up patrols and contributed to maritime burden sharing in the Indian Ocean and Pacific, particularly in response to China’s recent military expansions.

Jaishankar noted that China has modernized its nuclear arsenal, expanded its navy, and developed new unmanned and cyber capabilities. He also recalled the 2020 border clashes, which left 20 Indian military personnel dead, and pointed to China’s network of dual-use ports across the Indo-Pacific as a strategic concern. He added that India and the US share strategic interests, including trade imbalances with China, rare earth export restrictions, and stabilizing the Middle East.

Sameer Lalwani, Senior Fellow at the German Marshall Fund, cautioned that the India-China relationship remains adversarial due to ongoing border disputes and China’s coercive economic policies. He also noted India’s declining dependence on Russia for defense and energy and stressed the need to close the “say-do gap” in US-India initiatives to fully realize strategic and deterrence benefits.
Disclaimer: This image is taken from ANI.

Andrea Heng and Susan Ng discuss the impact of the US reviewing visa applicants’ social media histories, especially as tourist numbers are expected to rise for the football World Cup, with insights from Steven Okun, CEO of APAC Advisors.

Disclaimer: This Podcast is taken from CNA.

After three days of discussions between Ukrainian and US officials in Miami, Florida, no clear progress was achieved by Saturday. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will now shift his focus to Europe, heading to London on Monday for direct talks with the leaders of Britain, France, and Germany. Andrea Heng and Genevieve Woo speak with Dr. Cedomir Nestorovic, Professor of Geopolitics at ESSEC Business School Asia Pacific, for the latest insights.

Disclaimer: This Podcast is taken from CNA.

Pippa and Kiran talk about the prime minister’s Monday speech and consider whether it will distract from claims that the chancellor misled the public with her budget statements. Also: disorder at Your Party’s inaugural conference.

Disclaimer: This Podcast is taken from The Guardian.

Author and columnist Sean Kelly argues that even though Labor holds a strong majority and the opposition is distracted by internal conflict, there are indications that Anthony Albanese’s government may squander the chance voters have given them. Kelly speaks with Guardian Australia’s political editor Tom McIlroy about his new Quarterly Essay, where he explores Labor’s shift from idealistic ambitions to a more pragmatic approach. The former staffer to Rudd and Gillard says that although Albanese’s cautious style has helped him win two elections, it may now prove to be the prime minister’s biggest vulnerability.
Disclaimer: This Podcast is taken from The Guardian.