Sydney beach attack. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said a shooting at a Jewish holiday celebration in Sydney yesterday—which killed fifteen people, making it the deadliest attack on Australian soil since 1996—was an act of terrorism. Twenty-seven people remain hospitalized, police said today. One suspect was apprehended and the other was killed; Australian officials said they were a father and son. Albanese said his government would step up measures to protect the Jewish community and study tightening the country’s gun laws.
Hong Kong verdict ... A Hong Kong court found pro-democracy activist and media tycoon Jimmy Lai guilty on multiple counts of conspiracy in a closely watched national security trial. Lai pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing. International human rights groups condemned the verdict as part of a crackdown on free speech in the territory. Trump said earlier this year that he would raise Lai’s case directly with Chinese President Xi Jinping but did not immediately comment on the verdict.
… and party dissolution. Hong Kong’s largest pro-democracy party, the Democratic Party, voted to disband yesterday. Chair Lo Kin-hei said the political environment in the territory was an “important point” behind the decision to liquidate, which was backed by 97 percent of members. Unnamed senior party members told Reuters that Chinese officials had threatened them with possible arrest if the party maintained its operations.
U.S. troops killed in Syria. Trump pledged “very serious retaliation” on social media after two U.S. service members and one American civilian interpreter were killed in Syria. He wrote that the self-declared Islamic State was responsible and that the attack occurred in a part of the country not fully controlled by the Syrian government. Three other U.S. service members and two members of Syrian security forces were also wounded. A spokesperson for Syria’s Interior Ministry said the gunman, who was killed during the attack, had been part of the government’s security forces.
Chile’s president-elect. Far-right former lawmaker José Antonio Kast defeated Communist candidate Jeannette Jara in the runoff election yesterday by around 58.2 to 41.8 percent of the vote. Kast pledged economic revival, a crackdown on crime, and to ramp up the deportations of undocumented immigrants. Kast’s election is the latest in a broad trend of right-wing leaders coming to power in the region.
Strike on Hamas leader. Israel’s military said Saturday that it killed Hamas leader Ra’ad Sa’ad Saturday in a Gaza airstrike. The military said Sa’ad was “heavily involved” in planning Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack and blaming him for violations of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire. Hamas confirmed Sa’ad’s death and said that the Israeli airstrike that killed him was a ceasefire violation.
Lawsuit over visa fee. Twenty U.S. states with Democratic attorneys general announced a lawsuit Friday against the Trump administration over its $100,000 fee for H-1B skilled worker visa petitions. The states argued the fee disregards Congress’ authority to set immigration policy. Multiple other lawsuits against it have already been filed this year. A White House spokesperson said the new fee was lawful and aimed to “put American workers first.”
U.S.-Korea mineral processing. Minerals firm Korea Zinc will build a roughly $7.5 billion processing facility in Tennessee with backing from the U.S. government, it announced today. It will be the first new zinc smelter and critical minerals processing plant in the United States since the 1970s. The U.S. Department of Defense will hold a 40 percent stake in a joint venture created for the project, Korea Zinc said, while the company itself will hold less than 10 percent. The Commerce Department projected $6.6 billion in investment for the project, saying it is part of broader goals to reshore critical minerals production and build out strategic industries; China currently dominates processing of such minerals.
