One of the suspected gunmen of the Bondi Beach massacre shooting in Australia has been identified as Naveed Akram

MxM News

What was supposed to be a peaceful Sunday evening celebration of Hanukkah on one of the world’s most famous beaches instead descended into chaos and bloodshed, as two attackers opened fire on crowds gathered at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, killing 12 people — including one of the gunmen — and injuring at least 11 others.

The violence erupted shortly after 5 p.m. local time, just as more than a thousand people were gathering for “Hanukkah by the Sea,” an annual event held near a playground at the Bondi foreshore. According to Australian outlets, the shooting began as families were lighting candles and singing, sending parents scrambling to shield children and worshippers diving for cover along the promenade.

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns confirmed late Sunday that one attacker was killed at the scene and a second was arrested. He said the evidence already points unmistakably toward an anti-Jewish terror attack. “What should have been a night of peace and joy was shattered by a horrifying, evil attack,” Minns told reporters, noting investigators believe the plot was “designed to target Sydney’s Jewish community.”

NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said well over a thousand people were present when the shooting started, including two state police officers who were among those struck by gunfire, according to ABC News. Police also located what appeared to be an improvised explosive device in the vicinity shortly after the initial gunfire. Bomb technicians neutralized the device while officers locked down the area and urged residents to shelter in place.

Around 9 p.m., with ambulances and tactical units pouring in, authorities described the unfolding chaos as a “developing incident” and warned anyone nearby to stay indoors. Multiple victims were treated on the sand and the surrounding walkways before being rushed to hospitals across Sydney.

As investigators piece together the attackers’ movements and motive, officials say the toll could have been even worse given the size of the crowd and the presence of children throughout the event. What remains is a shaken city, a grieving Jewish community, and a country once again confronting the threat of political and religious extremism on its own soil.

MxM News

President Trump revealed Wednesday afternoon that U.S. authorities intercepted a Cuba-bound oil tanker off the Venezuelan coast, a dramatic move aimed at tightening the squeeze on illicit oil networks operating throughout the region. Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump described the vessel as “a very large tanker — the largest one ever seized in action,” hinting that more developments are coming. He declined to get into specifics, saying only that the operation happened “for a very good reason.” When asked about the tanker’s crude, Trump didn’t overcomplicate it. “Well, we keep it, I guess,” he said.

According to a U.S. official familiar with the operation, the seizure was executed by the Coast Guard with support from the U.S. Navy after a federal judge green-lit the warrant roughly two weeks ago. Another official told the New York Times the ship — identified as the Skipper — had been sailing under a falsified flag and has a documented history of trafficking illicit Iranian oil. The vessel, although carrying Venezuelan crude at the time, was seized because of those Iranian smuggling ties, not because of any direct connection to Nicolás Maduro’s regime.

Today, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, and the United States Coast Guard, with support from the Department of War, executed a seizure warrant for a crude oil tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran. For multiple… pic.twitter.com/dNr0oAGl5x

— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) December 10, 2025

Vanguard, a UK-based maritime risk firm, confirmed Wednesday that the Skipper fits the profile of a tanker previously sanctioned by the United States for operating under the alias Adisa while moving banned Iranian oil. A source speaking to Politico said the ship was on its way to Cuba, where state-run Cubametales intended to flip the cargo to Asian brokers — an increasingly common workaround as U.S. sanctions isolate both Havana and Caracas from traditional buyers. With most Venezuelan product now flowing to China under the sanctions regime, oil traders began recalibrating almost immediately after the news broke. Prices ticked upward modestly as markets waited to learn whether any Venezuelan crude was on board and how much would be effectively taken off the table.

Maduro, for his part, avoided directly mentioning the seizure during a speech later Wednesday, instead railing against the United States and claiming Venezuela’s military stands ready “to break the teeth of the North American empire, if necessary.” His bluster did little to obscure the reality: the Trump administration just disrupted yet another shadowy oil operation linking Caracas, Havana, and Tehran — and sent a clear signal that these networks will be confronted, tanker by tanker.