While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Dec 15, 2025
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Local media has named the alleged assailant as Naveed Akram from the Sydney suburb of Bonnyrigg.
PHOTOS: AFP, UNCOVERREPORT/X
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Father-son duo allegedly behind Bondi Beach shooting
Australian police said on Dec 15 that the alleged offenders behind an attack at a Jewish celebration in Sydney’s Bondi beach that killed 15 people, were a father-and-son duo. One of the gunmen was also killed, bringing the death toll to 16.
Police added that the victims included a 10-year-old girl.
It was the country’s worst gun attack in about 30 years.
The father, a 50-year old, was killed at the scene while his 24-year-old son was in critical condition in the hospital, the police said in the press conference on Dec 15.
S’pore strongly condemns act of terrorism, says PM Wong in letter to Australian PM
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said that Singapore strongly condemns the Dec 14 shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach that has killed at least 16 people and left 40 people hospitalised.
In a letter to his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese on Dec 14, PM Wong wrote: “Singapore strongly condemns this act of terrorism. Such acts have no place in our societies, and undermine the peace and security we all cherish.”
Two suspected gunmen had opened fire near the famed beach as around 1,000 people celebrated the first night of the Jewish Hannukah festival on the evening of Dec 14.
Jimmy Lai’s supporters queue in Hong Kong overnight for verdict
PHOTOS: AFP
Supporters of Hong Kong democracy activist Jimmy Lai queued outside a Hong Kong court overnight before Dec 15's verdict in his landmark trial as international calls have grown to release the China critic who has already spent five years in jail.
Lai, 78, the millionaire founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper and one of the most prominent critics of China's increasingly tight controls under President Xi Jinping, has pleaded not guilty to the three charges against him.
Two counts - of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security - carry prison terms of up to life in prison for Lai, a British citizen.
Ukraine drops NATO goal as peace talks in Berlin extend into second day
PHOTO: AFP
President Volodymyr Zelensky offered to relinquish Ukraine’s ambition of joining the NATO military alliance as he held hours of talks with US envoys in Berlin on Dec 14 to end the war with Russia, with negotiations set to continue on Dec 15.
No more details were immediately available of the meetings between Mr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner in the latest push to end Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War Two.
Mr Zelensky’s adviser Dmytro Lytvyn said the president would comment on the talks on Dec 15 once they were completed. Officials, Mr Lytvyn said, were considering the draft documents.
Singapore retain men’s table tennis team gold at SEA Games
ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO
Double drama was what fans got as the men’s and women’s table tennis team finals got under way at the Central Westgate Mall on Dec 14, as the Singaporean men retained their title against Vietnam after a hard-fought battle, while the women had to settle for silver against hosts Thailand.
Despite being plagued by injuries, the Republic’s trio of Koen Pang, Izaac Quek and Josh Chua managed to fend off Vietnam to clinch a 3-2 victory.
Struggling with a shoulder injury, world No. 135 Koen Pang was first upset by 814th-ranked Nguyen Anh Tu 14-16, 11-8, 11-5, 11-7.
