Entertainment
Australia plans gun buyback after Bondi massacre, as surfers honour victims
- Community gathers at beach vigil, paddle-out to honour 15 killed.
- Police detain seven men in separate incident.
- Shooting appears to have been inspired by Daesh: officials.
SYDNEY: Australia will launch a national gun buyback scheme following the mass shooting in Sydney, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Friday, as hundreds of surfers and swimmers paddled out at Bondi Beach to honour victims.
The buyback would be similar to gun reforms introduced soon after the massacre in 1996 in Tasmania’s Port Arthur after a lone gunman killed 35 people, which prompted authorities to implement some of the world’s toughest gun laws.
“Australia’s gun laws were last substantially reformed in the wake of the Port Arthur tragedy. The terrible events at Bondi show we need to get more guns off our streets,” Albanese said during a media briefing.
Fifteen people were killed and dozens wounded on Sunday in Bondi after two gunmen opened fire at people celebrating Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights.
A 50-year-old gunman, who was killed at the scene, held a firearm license and had six guns registered, drawing criticisms that Australia’s gun laws needed an overhaul.
An estimated four million firearms are currently in the country, Albanese said. The government would target surplus, newly banned and illegal firearms, with the costs to be shared between the federal and state governments, he said.
Following the Port Arthur massacre, Australia announced a gun buy-back scheme and secured the surrender of about 640,000 prohibited firearms nationwide. The total cost of compensation to owners was about A$304 million ($201 million).
Neighbouring New Zealand announced sweeping gun reforms, including gun buyback schemes, after the Christchurch terror attack in 2019.
Seven men detained
Albanese, under pressure from critics who say his centre-left government has not done enough to curb a surge in antisemitism since the start of the Gaza war, has said the government would also strengthen hate laws.
The government said it has consistently denounced antisemitism over the last two years and passed legislation to criminalise hate speech. It expelled the Iranian ambassador after accusing Tehran of directing two antisemitic arson attacks.
Authorities have said Sunday’s shooting appears to have been inspired by Daesh, and police have ramped up patrols and policing in an effort to prevent further violence.
Late on Thursday, police said they had intercepted two cars and detained seven men in Sydney’s southwest after receiving information that “a violent act was possibly being planned.”
New South Wales state Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said the men could be released soon after assessing that the specific threat posed by them was unknown, and officials would continue to monitor them.
Lanyon said police were not prepared to take any risks after suspecting the group was planning to visit Bondi.
There was no “confirmed link” between the detained men and the two Bondi gunmen, but they likely had similar ideologies, he added.
Daesh has called the Bondi mass shooting a “source of pride”, in an article published on the group’s Telegram channel, though it did not explicitly claim responsibility.
Police and additional security have been deployed at Sydney’s Lakemba mosque, one of the largest in Australia, ahead of Friday prayers, Australian media reported.
Australia’s Jewish community gathered at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Friday for prayers, while hundreds of swimmers and surfers formed a huge circle in the waters off the beach to honour victims.
Community leaders described the support as deeply moving amid heightened fears over a surge in antisemitic incidents.
“Over the past two years, there’s been a lot of people who have been questioning whether we’re still welcome here in Australia because we saw people calling for our death on the streets on a weekly basis,” Rabbi Yosef Eichenblatt from Sydney’s Central Synagogue told ABC News, after attending the paddle-out event.
“So it’s been so heart-warming to see the outpouring of love and support. It’s really so therapeutic.”
Ryan Gosling, the three-time Oscar-nominated actor has accepted an invitation to visit the set of Days of Our Lives after a heartfelt exchange with the show’s legendary star Deidre Hall that captured Hollywood’s attention this week.
It started when Gosling, appearing on the Happy Sad Confused podcast while promoting Project Hail Mary, spoke warmly about growing up watching the long-running soap and singled out Hall’s portrayal of Marlena Evans as formative viewing.
He was particularly taken by the show’s possession storyline, and used the moment to make a broader point about how underappreciated soap actors are.
“They do not get the love they deserve,” he said.
“The amount they have to memorize the night before, like 10 pages of dialogue. They get one take, and it’s impossible scenarios.”
Watching Hall move between playing an ordinary person and someone “possessed by the devil,” he added, was “an incredible acting class.”
Hall, who has played Marlena since 1976, responded with a video message thanking Gosling and inviting him to come and see the set for himself.
“We’re just thrilled to be acknowledged and to be so well spoken of,” she said, sharing that the cast had watched Gosling’s comments together behind the scenes.
Gosling’s reply, posted to Eva Mendes and Project Hail Mary‘s Instagram accounts, left no room for ambiguity.
“This is a very enthusiastic yes to a very cordial invitation,” he said.
“I will be there to thank you in person… It wasn’t Marlon Brando. It wasn’t De Niro. It was you.” He also called Hall his “OG acting inspiration”, a line that, given the company it puts her in, is quite the tribute.
Project Hail Mary is currently in cinemas, with new episodes of Days of Our Lives streaming on Peacock.
AJ McLean is a friend Britney Spears can lean on during her tough time amid ongoing legal woes after her DUI arrest.
The Backstreet Boys member, 48, spoke in support of Spears during the iHeartRadio Music Awards 2026, as he revealed that they are also neighbours.
“We see each other every so often,” McLean said, adding, “live in the same neighborhood in the same area.”
The singer, who was nominated for the favourite onscreen category at the awards, noted that he “always just give[s] her a hug and check[s] on her” whenever he runs into the pop icon, in conversation with Page Six.
The Everybody hitmaker also added that he wishes “her the best,” without mentioning the arrest. When asked if he has spoken to her recently, he told the outlet that he hasn’t.
This comes after Spears was arrested in Ventura County, California earlier this month after she as caught swerving and speeding allegedly under the influence.
She was later released in the morning and her manager Cade Hudson released an official statement saying her actions were “inexcusable.”
While the Toxic songstress has not addressed the situation herself, an insider spilled that she is devastated and scared beyond measure for what the consequences would be.
Britney Spears is right now trying really hard to get her life back on track after her recent shocking DUI arrest earlier this month.
The singer, 44, stayed away from alcohol for more than three weeks and is now regularly attending AA meetings in Los Angeles.
According to a source, Britney has been very open during these sessions, “Britney has been very open and honest in her AA meetings, she has said she loves pouring her heart out as she knows that is the best way to heal and feel better,” the insider shared.
They also added that she is being careful and focused on things which matters, saying: “The only thing she has indulged in is fancy coffee drinks. She is being super careful because she wants to be there for her kids.”
Britney is said to be spending time with her two sons more now, Sean Preston and Jayden James, who have been close to her in recent weeks.
Their presence, however, meant a lot to the music icon as she works through this phase.
The Toxic singer’s arrest happened on March 3 and she is expected to appear in court on May 4.
Britney’s team already said that she wants to take the right steps and move forward in a better way.
Tiger Woods arrested at crash scene on suspicion of DUI, sheriff says
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