07/10/2025

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Man held over Sydney mass shooting SYDNEY: A 60-year-old man was in custody in Australia yesterday after police said he shot up to 50 bullets into a busy Sydney street, wounding more than a dozen people. o 16 wounded, say police Office worker Joe Azar said he was working across the road when he heard what he thought were fireworks or rocks being thrown at the windows. “In my 35 years in the police, there’s been very few incidents of this nature where somebody is randomly targeting people in the street,” he said. The accused shooter was taken to hospital and treated for minor injuries to the area around his eyes sustained during his arrest. No charges have been laid against the alleged gunman yet. “serious and terrifying”. The gunman’s motive was unclear but there were “no known links to terrorism activity or any gang activity”, he told local radio station 2GB. One witness who gave his name as Tadgh told the national broadcaster ABC he had been watching rugby when he first heard the gunshots.

“Some guy’s windshield blew up, then the bus stop glass shattered,” Azar told The Sydney Morning Herald . “The surreal feeling kicked in like, ‘Oh, this is what’s happening,’” he said. “It was frantic. It all happened so quick, so I couldn’t comprehend what was going on.” Police had initially said up to a hundred bullets were fired and 20 people were wounded. But yesterday, New South Wales Police Acting Superintendent Stephen Parry revised the number of shots to around 50 and the toll of wounded to 16.

Police were called on Sunday evening to the city’s Inner West, where the alleged gunman was firing from his property at random at passing cars and police. A large contingent of police swarmed the area and locked down the street, before entering the property above a business and arresting the man. They seized a rifle from the scene.

One man self-presented to hospital with a gunshot wound following the incident, but would likely survive, police said. The remaining people were treated by ambulance staff for minor injuries, including shattered glass as bullets hit their car windows. New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon yesterday described the shooting as

“It was very loud and ‘bang, bang, bang’ and flash-bangs and sparks and smoke and the whole works. It was something out of a movie, really,” he said. Mass shootings are relatively rare in Australia. A ban on automatic and semi-automatic weapons has been in place since 1996. – AFP

Trump administration brands US cities war zones CHICAGO: The Trump administration branded Chicago a “war zone” on Sunday as a justification for deploying soldiers against the will of local Democratic officials, while a judge blocked the White House from sending troops to another Democrat-run city.

New Zealand pays US$3.5m to Samoa WELLINGTON: The New Zealand government said yesterday it would pay the Samoan government US$3.51 million (RM14.79 million) following the sinking of a Royal New Zealand Navy vessel off the coast of Samoa last year. Manawanui , the navy’s specialist dive and hydrographic vessel, ran aground near the southern coast of Upolu last October as it was conducting a reef survey. The ship’s crew abandoned the ship, which later capsized and sank. All 75 crew members survived. An initial inquiry into the grounding found it was caused by a series of human errors. Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement the payment follows a request from the government of Samoa. “We recognise the impact the sinking has had on local communities and acknowledge the disruption it caused,” Peters said. Manawanui remains on the reef but salvors have removed diesel fuel, oil and other pollutants from the ship along with equipment, weapons and ammunition and shipping containers have all been removed. Peters says New Zealand continues to work with Samoa on decisions around the ship and its future. “Working with the government of Samoa, our focus continues to be on minimising any possible environmental impact and supporting the response. These are our absolute priorities.” – Reuters

An escalating political crisis across the country pits President Donald Trump’s anti-crime and migration crackdown against opposition Democrats who accuse him of an authoritarian power grab. In the newest flashpoint, Trump late on Saturday authorised deployment of 300 National Guard soldiers to Chicago, the third-largest city in the United States, despite the opposition of elected leaders including the mayor and state Governor JB Pritzker. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defended the move on Sunday, claiming on Fox News that Chicago is “a war zone”. But Pritzker, speaking on CNN’s State of the Union show, accused Republicans of aiming to sow “mayhem on the ground. They want to create the war zone, so that they can send in even more troops”. In a statement, the governor called the proposed deployment “Trump’s invasion”, saying “there is no reason” to send troops into Illinois or any other state without the “knowledge, consent, or cooperation” of local officials. A CBS poll found that 58% of Americans oppose deploying the National Guard to cities. Trump – who last Tuesday spoke of using the military for a “war from within” – shows no sign of backing off his hardline campaign. On Sunday, he said “Portland is burning to the ground. It’s insurrectionists all over the place.” Key ally Mike Johnson, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, echoed the president’s rhetoric on Sunday, telling NBC that National Guard troops deployed in Washington had responded to a “literal war zone”. Trump’s campaign to use the military on home soil hit a roadblock on Saturday in Portland, Oregon, when a court ruled the deployment was unlawful. Trump has repeatedly called Portland “war ravaged”, but US District Judge Karin Immergut issued a temporary block, saying “the president’s determination was simply untethered to the facts”. “This is a nation of Constitutional law, not martial law,” Immergut wrote in her ruling. – AFP

Federal agents arresting a protester in Portland on Sunday. – GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFPPIC

Australia, Papua New Guinea sign defence deal MELBOURNE: Australia has signed a new defence agreement with Papua New Guinea, its first in more than 70 years, as Canberra seeks to block China from expanding its security presence in the Pacific. Anthony Albanese told press in Canberra. “By continuing to build our security relationships in the region, we safeguard our own security.” The treaty allows as many as 10,000 Papua New Guineans to serve with the Australian Defence Force, under dual arrangements.

“This treaty was not conceived out of geopolitics or any other reason. But out of geography, history and the enduring reality of our shared neighbourhood,” said Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape. The Papua New Guinea Cabinet approved the Pukpuk treaty, which means crocodile, last week. “We still retain our relationship with China and other nations,” Marape said. – Reuters

Under the Pukpuk defence treaty, which is the first signed by Papua New Guinea, Australia and its northern neighbour are obliged to come to each other’s aid if attacked. “This is a historic agreement,” Prime Minister

Albanese said both nations have agreed “not to undertake any activities or enter into any agreements that would compromise the implementation of this treaty”.

Albanese (right) greets Marape. – AFPPIC