17/02/2026

TUESDAY | FEB 17, 2026

/thesuntelegram FOLLOW / Malaysian Paper

ON TELEGRAM m RAM

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Bondi massacre accused appears in court

o No plea recorded

facing difficult questions about whether they could have acted earlier. Naveed was flagged by Australia’s intelligence agency in 2019, but he slipped off the radar after it decided that he posed no imminent threat. Police documents released following the attack said the two had carried out “firearms training” in what was believed to be the New South Wales countryside before the shooting. They said the suspects planned the attack for months, releasing pictures showing them firing shotguns and moving in what they described as a “tactical manner”. The pair also recorded a video in October railing against “Zionists” while sitting in front of a flag of the IS group and detailing their motivations for the attack, police said. And they made a reconnaissance trip to Bondi Beach just days before the killings, documents showed. And a few weeks before the attack, the pair returned to Sydney from a four-week trip to the southern Philippines. – AFP

hearing, which dealt mostly with technical matters such as suppressing the identification of some victims, local media said. He reportedly spoke only one word, “yeah”, when asked by the judge whether he had heard a discussion about the extension of suppression orders. Naveed will next appear in court on March 9. Speaking outside the court, Naveed’s lawyer Ben Archbold said his client was being held in “very onerous conditions”, national broadcaster ABC said. He also said it was too early to say whether Naveed would plead guilty. The mass shooting sparked national soul searching about antisemitism, anger over the failure to shield Jewish Australians from harm and promises to stiffen gun laws. Among the victims of December’s attack were an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor, a couple who confronted one of the gunmen and a 10-year-old girl, Matilda, who was described at her funeral as a “ray of sunshine”. Police and intelligence agencies are also

SYDNEY: Bondi Beach shooting accused Naveed Akram appeared in court via video link yesterday, in his first public hearing since the nation’s worst mass shooting in nearly three decades. Naveed and his father, Sajid, allegedly attacked a Hanukkah celebration in December. Sajid was shot and killed by police during the attack. Naveed has been charged with terrorism, 15 counts of murder, dozens of counts of causing wounds to a person with intent to kill and planting explosives. He appeared in a Sydney court for about five minutes via video link from prison, according to a statement from the court and local media. The timeline of evidence was also discussed, the court said. Naveed wore a green jersey during the SYDNEY: Australian police yesterday appealed for the urgent return of an 85 year-old man kidnapped in what they said was a case of mistaken identity. Police received reports early on Friday that octogenarian Chris Baghsarian had been lifted from his home by three intruders in Sydney’s North Ryde suburb. The kidnappers had been targeting an individual linked to the western Sydney based Alameddine crime network, national broadcaster ABC said. Grandfather Baghsarian, however, is “not involved in any criminal world”, Robbery and Serious Crime Squad Commander Andrew Marks told journalists yesterday. “I’m a million percent confident they have the wrong person. “It’s not an instance where they are randomly taking people for the sake of it. They were intending to take somebody, but have taken the wrong person.” In what he admitted was a “very strange appeal” he urged the kidnappers to release their geriatric prisoner as soon as possible. Baghsarian was wearing grey pajamas and a red and green flannel shirt at the time of the kidnapping, police said. The victim requires daily medical attention and his family are in deep distress. Videos and photos have circulated within Sydney’s criminal underworld of Baghsarian with severe injuries. – AFP Intruders kidnap sick granddad by mistake

N. Korea provides housing for families of troops killed in Ukraine SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un presided over a completion ceremony of a new housing district in Pyongyang for families of troops who died fighting for Russia in Ukraine, state media Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said yesterday. In a speech, Kim said the new district symbolised the “spirit and sacrifice” of the dead troops, adding that the homes were meant to allow bereaved families to “take pride in their sons and husbands and live happily”. Kim said he had pushed to finish the project “even one day earlier” in the hope it might bring “some small comfort” to the troops’ families. Photographs released by KCNA showed Kim accompanied by his daughter Ju Ae consoling family members of the fallen soldiers and visiting their newly completed homes. There has been growing speculation over whether the teenager is being groomed to be Kim’s successor. Ju Ae has appeared alongside her father in the past three years at an expanding range of events, including missile tests, military anniversaries and major national celebrations, in a sign that the state propaganda apparatus is gradually elevating her visibility. Under a mutual defence pact with Russia, in 2024 North Korea sent some 14,000 soldiers to fight alongside Russian troops against Ukraine, where more than 6,000 of them were killed, according to South Korean, Ukrainian and Western sources. North Korea has staged public ceremonies in recent months to honour its war dead, including the unveiling of a new memorial complex in Pyongyang adorned with sculptures of troops. The opening comes ahead of the Ninth Congress of the ruling Workers’ Party, which is set to convene later this month and is expected to serve as a major political showcase for Kim’s achievements and policy priorities. – Reuters Kim and his daughter Ju Ae visiting the families of fallen soldiers at their new homes in Pyongyang. – KCNA VIA KNS/AFPPIC power, including about 10,000 customers in Wellington, said authorities, who have urged motorists to stay off roads, while several schools were closed as emergency crews tackled widespread damage. Raw sewage discharged after this month’s failure of Wellington’s main wastewater treatment plant in a storm was washed back onto the south coast by the weekend storm, in an incident some residents called a “poonami” on social media. – Reuters

WHEEL OF FIRE ... A Chinese artist uses spun molten iron to create a light show in a Beijing park on Sunday ahead of the Lunar New Year. – AFPPIC

Wild New Zealand storm disrupts transport, leaves thousands without power AUCKLAND: Heavy rain and strong winds disrupted flights, trains and ferries, forcing the closure of roads across large parts of New Zealand’s North Island yesterday, while snapping power links to tens of thousands. Air New Zealand said it hoped to resume services when conditions ease later, after it paused operations at Wellington, Napier and Palmerston North airports. told the New Zealand Herald newspaper. “I’ve never seen huge trees blowing around this much,” she said. “It’s so bad. I haven’t seen anything like it.”

The Wellington region accounted for more than half the 852 emergency calls received overnight, said Ken Cooper, assistant national commander of the emergency services. “We had a very busy night and our firefighters are continuing to respond to calls,” he said. More than 30,000 properties were without

Online images showed flooded semi-rural neighbourhoods, inundated homes, trees fallen on vehicles and collapsed sections of road after waters receded. The weather had been “absolutely terrifying”, Marilyn Bulford, who lives in the rural town of Bunnythorpe, about 160km north of Wellington,

Domestic media reported a few flights had resumed operating by afternoon from the airport in Wellington, the capital, although cancellations were still widespread after airport authorities said most morning flights were disrupted.