• PM targets extremist preachers and hate-linked visas.
• Plan to list organisations tied to hate speech.
• Serious race-based vilification to become federal offence.

SYDNEY: Australia’s prime minister vowed to stamp out extremism on Thursday as the nation mourned the youngest victim of the Bondi Beach shooting, a 10-year-old girl remembered as “our little ray of sunshine”.

Father-and-son gunmen are accused of firing into crowds at a beachside Jewish festival on Sunday evening, killing 15 in an onslaught authorities linked to “Daesh ideology”.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese promised a sweeping crackdown to banish the “evil of antisemitism from our society”.

“Australians are shocked and angry. I am angry. It is clear we need to do more to combat this evil scourge,” he told reporters.

This included new powers to target extremist preachers and to refuse or cancel visas for those who spread “hate and division”.

Australia would develop a regime for listing organisations whose leaders engage in hate speech, he said.

“Serious vilification” based on race would become a federal offence.

As the prime minister spoke, mourners gathered for the funeral of 10-year-old Matilda, the youngest victim slain in the attack.

“Matilda is our little ray of sunshine,” said the rabbi leading the service, reading out a message from her school.

“She is genuinely the most kind, caring and compassionate young girl, who brightened everyone’s day with her radiant smile and infectious laugh.”

Black-clad mourners clutched bouquets of lilies as they filed into the funeral at Sydney’s Chevra Kadisha, a Jewish society responsible for customary burial rites.

Others held balloons emblazoned with pictures of bumblebees, a reference to the young girl’s nickname “Matilda Bee”.

Photos taken in the hours before the first bullets were fired showed the young girl stroking animals at a petting zoo and smiling after having her face painted.

Matilda’s family — who have asked media not to publish their last name — left Ukraine to settle in Australia before the Russian invasion.

“I couldn’t imagine I would lose my daughter here. It’s just a nightmare,” mother Valentyna told reporters ahead of the funeral.

“It just stays here and here, and I can’t get it out,” she said, pointing to her head and heart.

Her father, Michael, said they chose her name as a nod to Australia, where the beloved folk song “Waltzing Matilda” is sung as an unofficial national anthem.

“We came here from Ukraine, and Matilda was our firstborn here in Australia,” he said earlier this week.

“And I thought that Matilda was the most Australian name that could ever exist.

“So just remember. Remember her name.”

Extremist ideology

Sajid Akram and his son Naveed are accused of opening fire on the Jewish Hanukkah celebration in an antisemitic attack.

Father Sajid, 50, was killed in a shootout with police but 24-year-old Naveed survived.

Reportedly an unemployed bricklayer, Naveed was charged on Wednesday with 15 murders, an act of terrorism, and dozens of other serious crimes.

Authorities believe the pair were radicalised by ” Daesh ideology”.

Australian police are investigating whether the pair met with extremists during a visit to the Philippines weeks before the shooting.

The Philippines said on Wednesday there was no evidence that the country was being used for “terrorist training”.

Questions are mounting over whether authorities could have acted earlier to foil the gunmen.

Naveed came to the attention of Australia’s intelligence agency in 2019.

But he was not considered to be an imminent threat at the time.

The attack has also revived allegations that Australia is dragging its feet in the fight against antisemitism.

“We stand at a very important moment,” government envoy for antisemitism Jillian Segal said Thursday.

“Not only for our community, but for fighting antisemitism around the world.”

Australia’s leaders have agreed to toughen laws that allowed Sajid Akram to own six guns.

The Bondi Beach attack is the deadliest mass shooting since 35 people were killed in the Port Arthur massacre of 1996.

That shooting sparked sweeping reform of Australia’s gun laws.

However, in recent years a steady rise has been documented in privately owned firearms.

• Trump addresses 2025 accomplishments amid low approval ratings.
• Poll shows only 33% approve of Trump’s economic handling.
• Speech may tout policies to come next year.

In a rare evening address from the White House, US President Donald Trump boasted on Wednesday of his accomplishments and blamed his Democratic predecessor for soaring consumer prices as his party braces for a tough midterm election next year.

“Eleven months ago, I inherited a mess, and I’m fixing it,” Trump said in his opening remarks.

The Republican president, who regularly complains that he does not get credit for his accomplishments, touted his administration’s work this year on a range of issues from reducing border crossings to bringing down prices of some goods.

The address offered an opportunity for the president, if he could stay on message, to address people’s concerns about affordability, an issue that Trump, a Republican, has repeatedly referred to as a Democratic hoax. And again on Wednesday, he blamed the previous administration led by former President Joe Biden, even as Trump conceded that prices remain high.

“I am bringing those high prices down and bringing them down very fast,” he said.

Trump’s Republicans are seeking to maintain control of the House of Representatives and Senate in the November elections next year, while Democrats are highlighting affordability concerns and differences over healthcare policy in an attempt to wrest power away.

High inflation during Biden’s four years in office helped Trump beat former Vice President Kamala Harris in last year’s election. But Trump’s tariff policies this year have created uncertainty and lifted prices in an economy that has now been overseen by his administration for nearly a year — and Trump, like Biden before him, has been struggling to persuade Americans that the economy is healthy.

A new Reuters/Ipsos poll on Tuesday showed just 33% of US adults approve of how Trump has handled the economy.

Trump’s remarks took place in the White House’s Diplomatic Reception Room and not the Oval Office, as presidential addresses often do.

Before the speech, the Senate’s top Democrat, Chuck Schumer of New York, contended that Trump had failed to live up to his campaign promises.

“He promised he’d bring costs down on day one. That was his number-one promise. That was the number-one reason he won the election. And costs are going up and up and up,” Schumer said at a news conference on Capitol Hill.

The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in Dubai has rolled out a pilot initiative that uses drones to clean traffic lights, as part of efforts to modernise its operational systems.

According to an official statement, the initiative aligns with the authority’s future-focused vision of improving efficiency, optimising resource use and enhancing road safety.

The move aims to eliminate the need for cranes and heavy machinery, reducing safety risks during maintenance.

Officials say the use of drones will also lower costs, save fuel and water, and help reduce environmental pollution.

The statement said that in the first phase, drones were tested on traffic signals along Morocco Street and other key junctions. 

During the trials, traffic was temporarily halted.

It says that drones can clean a section of a traffic signal in just three to four minutes, cutting cleaning time by 25 to 50%, while the initiative is also expected to reduce costs by about 15%.

The project cuts operational costs by limiting the use of heavy equipment, while supporting sustainability goals through lower fuel and water consumption and reduced emissions from conventional machinery, the RTA said in its statement published on its website.

Abdullah Ali Lootah, Director of the Roads and Facilities Maintenance Department at RTA, said, “The authority aims to adopt cutting-edge technologies to enhance maintenance work and ensure sustainable operational efficiency across Dubai’s road network.”

“The pilot phase involved comparing drone-based cleaning with traditional methods in terms of time, cost, quality of execution and compliance with safety requirements.”

Lootah added that the first phase included several trial runs at the intersection of Marrakech Street and Rabat Street, with limited traffic closures to ensure safety during the initial testing period. 

“Preliminary results showed a reduction in operational time of between 25% and 50%, with the drone cleaning one side of a traffic signal in just three to four minutes,” the official said.

He noted that operational costs were estimated to have fallen by up to 15% compared with traditional methods, a figure expected to rise to 25% in the future with the use of more advanced drone technologies.

Lootah confirmed that the pilot project would continue to ensure the effective use of drones in maintenance work. 

“The next phase will focus on refining cleaning methods to maximise safety and avoid disrupting traffic flow, helping improve operational quality and strengthen Dubai’s road infrastructure and transport network,” he said.