The surviving suspect in the mass shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, on Sunday, in which at least 15 people were killed, has been charged with murder and terrorism, the police said on Wednesday.
The United States has dramatically intensified its military air campaign in Somalia, carrying out 111 strikes against armed groups, also killing civilians, since President Donald Trump returned to office, according to the New America Foundation, which monitors the operations.
In the most recent one, the US Africa Command conducted an air strike on December 14, approximately 50 kilometres (31 miles) northeast of the city of Kismayo, targeting what it said were members of the Somali armed group, al-Shabaab.
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The escalation began in February when Trump launched his administration’s first strike in Somalia. Months later, a senior US Navy admiral said the US had carried out what he said was the “largest air strike in the history of the world” from an aircraft carrier, marking a sharp departure from the previous administration’s approach.
The strike total this year already surpasses the combined number carried out under Presidents George W Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, and it puts Trump on track to potentially exceed even his own first-term record of 219 strikes.
The intensified campaign targets both al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda affiliate that has fought Somalia’s government since 2007 and controls large areas of the south-central regions, and ISIL (SIS) in Somalia, a smaller offshoot concentrated in the northeast with an estimated 1,500 fighters.
Somalia’s war with armed groups was Africa’s third-deadliest over the last year, killing 7,289 people, according to the US-based Africa Center for Strategic Studies.
The United States has been allied with Somalia’s federal government, training elite forces and conducting air strikes in support of local operations. US troops have also been based in the country.
The surge in strikes follows a directive by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that reversed Biden-era restrictions requiring White House approval for strikes outside warzones, giving AFRICOM commanders greater authority to launch attacks.
David Sterman, a senior policy analyst at the New America Foundation, told Al Jazeera there appeared to be “a demand signal from the White House for escalation” and “a willingness to allow more clearly offensive uses of strikes with less scrutiny and regulation”.
Sterman, who has monitored the strikes, identified two main drivers behind the increase.
More than half the strikes have supported a US-backed campaign by Somalia’s autonomous Puntland region against ISIL-Somalia, launched after the group attacked a military convoy in December 2024.
The strikes have shifted from occasionally targeting senior figures to sustained operations aimed at members of the group who have hemmed themselves into the caves in the mountains in northern Somalia, Sterman added.
The remainder focus on al-Shabaab’s advances against Somali government forces in the south, as US strikes support a Somali National Army that has faced setbacks on the ground this year.
The February 1 operation that opened the campaign saw 16 F/A-18 Super Hornets launch from the USS Harry S Truman in the Red Sea, dropping 60 tonnes of munitions on cave complexes in the Golis Mountains. The strike killed 14 people, according to Africa Command.
Somali civilians under US fire
However, the intensified operations have raised concerns about civilian casualties.
The investigative outlet Drop Site News reported in December that US air strikes and Somali forces killed at least 11 civilians, including seven children, during a November 15 operation in the Lower Jubba region, citing witnesses.
Africa Command confirmed conducting strikes to support Somali troops, but did not respond to Drop Site requests for comment on the civilian deaths.
The US military recently stopped providing civilian casualty assessments in its strike announcements.
According to the military publication Stars and Stripes, the pace of operations now exceeds even the US’s claimed counter-narcotics strikes in the Caribbean.
In the meantime, Trump launched racist verbal attacks earlier this month on Somali immigrants in the US state of Minnesota, as federal authorities prepared to launch a major immigration crackdown targeting hundreds of undocumented Somalis in the state of Minnesota.
His comments have been denounced in several quarters, from Mogadishu to Minneapolis.
As Amazon’s Zoox ramps up its bid to compete with Google’s Waymo, co-founder and chief technology officer Jesse Levinson says one key feature sets the self-driving robotaxi unit apart from its rival.
While a Waymo’s interior resembles a traditional car—with two rows of seats and a screen or steering wheel on the front left—Zoox’s vehicle features two rows of seats facing one another, a configuration Levinson says is better suited for groups.
“It’s just a much better experience, so your time in the vehicle is dramatically nicer,” he said at Fortune’s Brainstorm AI event in San Francisco earlier this month. “You have much more space. If you’re with friends, it’s dramatically more social, because you’re facing each other.”
Waymo has largely dominated the robotaxi space since its first public launch in 2020, with a fleet size of more than 2,000, which recently completed 100 million miles driven autonomously. The company reached 10 million rides across the five cities where it is operational in May, double the number of trips recorded five months prior. Zoox, by comparison, is playing catch-up. After launching its first public robotaxi service in Las Vegas with free rides on its app in September, Zoox will begin offering paid rides in Las Vegas in early 2026, and expects to do the same in San Francisco later in the year, Levinson said. A few weeks ago, the robotaxi service, with a test fleet of about 50 across the two cities, passed its one million-mile technical benchmark.
A new driver-less experience
Levinson suggested that what separates Zoox from Waymo and even Tesla’s Cybercab (which is slated to begin production in April 2026, according to CEO Elon Musk) is that it was never designed to have a driver.
“The cars that have been designed over the last 100 years are for humans,” Levinson said. “All the choices, their shape, their architecture, what components they have in them—they were all designed for human drivers.”
Zoox can create a more pleasurable experience for users because it is not a traditional car retrofitted for autonomy, Levinson argued. He also said the battery life is longer than competitors’, an added safety feature that increases the likelihood a passenger will arrive at their destination, even if a hardware component malfunctions.
While Waymo is partnering with companies like DoorDash to deliver takeout and groceries, Zoox is less focused on automated delivery—an area Amazon has been developing outside the subsidiary, particularly by optimizing last-mile delivery to lower costs and improve reliability. Instead, Zoox is focused on building what Levinson calls “a whole new category of transportation,” designed solely to move people from one point in a city to another.
“So they’d love to save money, obviously, but that’s not as exciting as creating this market,” he said. “And the addressable market for moving people around cities is just profoundly huge.”
South Africa has accused the US of using Kenyan nationals who did not have work permits at a facility processing applications by white South Africans for refugee status.
Seven Kenyans were arrested after intelligence reports revealed that people “had recently entered South Africa on tourist visas and had illegally taken up work” at the centre, said a statement from South Africa’s department of home affairs.
The BBC has approached the US State Department for comment.
While the US is trying to reduce overall levels of migration, it says that members of South Africa’s white Afrikaner community can get asylum because they face persecution – a claim South Africa’s government strongly rejects.
The US has reduced its yearly intake of refugees from around the world from 125,000 to 7,500, but says it will prioritise Afrikaners, who are mostly descendants of Dutch and French settlers.
This is one of the issues that have caused a sharp deterioration in relations between South Africa and the Trump administration.
South Africa says the Kenyan nationals arrested in Tuesday’s raid will now be deported and will be banned from entering the country for five years.
They had previously been denied work visas but were found “engaging in work despite only being in possession of tourist visas, in clear violation of their conditions of entry into the country”, the statement said.
South Africa also expressed concern that foreign officials appeared to have coordinated with undocumented workers and said it had reached out to the US and Kenya to resolve the matter.
The home affairs department said the raid showcased the commitment that South Africa shared “with the United States to combating illegal immigration and visa abuse in all its forms”.
No US officials were arrested and the operation was not at a diplomatic site, it said.
While the State Department is yet to respond to the BBC’s request for comment, in a statement issued to US publications, Tommy Pigott, principal deputy spokesperson for the State Department, said the department was “seeking immediate clarification from the South African government” on the issue and expected “full cooperation and accountability”.
“Interfering in our refugee operations in unacceptable,” US publication The Hill quoted Pigott saying.
The processing of applications by white South Africans is being done by two companies, RSC Africa and Amerikaners, according to the US embassy in South Africa.
RSC Africa is a Kenyan-based refugee support centre operated by Church World Service (CWS) while Amerikaners is a South African platform aimed at providing information to white South Africans interested in the US resettlement offer.
The BBC has asked RSC Africa for comment, while Amerikaners told the BBC they could not talk to the media.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that Afrikaners are being subjected to a “genocide” in South Africa, even though there is no evidence that white farmers are more likely to be the victims of crime than their black counterparts.
He offered Afrikaners refugee status earlier this year after South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a law allowing the government to seize land without compensation in rare instances.
A first group of about 50 people flew to the US on a chartered plane – it is not clear how many others have moved, or are in the process of applying.
Because of the legacy of the racist apartheid system, the majority of privately owned farmland in South Africa is owned by the white community and South Africa’s government is under pressure to provide more land to black farmers. However, it stresses that no land has yet been seized under the new law.
South Africa has repeatedly tried to mend fences with the Trump administration, most famously when Ramaphosa led a high-level delegation to the White House earlier this year.
One video featured firebrand South African opposition figure Julius Malema singing: “Shoot the Boer [Afrikaner], Shoot the farmer”.
However, a South African court has ruled that this song, which Malema often chants at his political rallies, is not hate speech.
Last month, the US boycotted the G20 summit in South Africa and has said it would not invite South African officials to its meetings since it took over leadership of the grouping of the world’s biggest economies.
Elsewhere at Island, the label promoted Marshall Nolan to Executive Vice President, Head of Commercial Strategy, in April.
Ellis joined Island Records in 2020 as Senior Director, A&R.
Prior to that, Ellis “nurtured talent” at Interscope Records, working with The 1975, The Japanese House, Jack Garratt and Pale Waves.
“Caroline has impeccable taste and a rare ability to connect with artists, building the kind of trust that fuels great music.”
Jackie Winkler
“Caroline has impeccable taste and a rare ability to connect with artists, building the kind of trust that fuels great music,” said Winkler. “Her exceptional ear and steady temperament are true assets to the team, and I’m thrilled to see her step into this richly deserved role as VP of A&R.”
“The legacy of Island Records is never lost on me; it’s incredibly rewarding to be able to help shape the future of the label.”
Caroline Ellis
“The legacy of Island Records is never lost on me; it’s incredibly rewarding to be able to help shape the future of the label,” said Ellis.
“I feel very fortunate to be part of a team that’s so deeply invested in the quality and craft of music, as well as the experience of the artists behind it.”Music Business Worldwide
Israeli authorities are engaged in multiple major efforts, including building settlements and pursuing annexation, to ensure there will be no Palestinian state in the future.
Israeli authorities are expected to advance plans to build 9,000 new housing units in an illegal settlement on the site of the abandoned Qalandiya airport in occupied East Jerusalem, in another attempt to cut off Palestinian lands from each other and block any possibility of a contiguous Palestinian state ever emerging.
The so-called Atarot neighbourhood in northern East Jerusalem, reminiscent of the E1 plan to undermine Palestinian statehood, is to be discussed and have its outlines approved on Wednesday by the District Planning and Building Committee, according to Israeli group Peace Now.
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The advocacy group said the new settlement is envisioned to be built within a densely populated Palestinian urban area, stretching from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank and Kafr Aqab in the north through the Qalandiya refugee camp, ar-Ram, Beit Hanina and Bir Nabala.
It would build an Israeli enclave in an area where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians live in close proximity, with the aim of blocking development in a key area and further damaging the likelihood of a sovereign Palestinian state being established.
“This is a destructive plan that, if implemented, would prevent any possibility of connecting East Jerusalem with the surrounding Palestinian area and would, in practice, prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel,” Peace Now said.
Translation: The massacre government is working to establish a new ultra-Orthodox mega-settlement across the Green Line north of Jerusalem. The new political attack called ‘Atarot’ is planned to be built in the heart of the Palestinian state that will be established alongside Israel. This involves 9,000 housing units that Israel will have to evacuate. Isn’t it a shame?
The organisation said the far-right government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seizing every moment to bury chances for a future of peace and compromise.
“Especially now, when it is clear to everyone that the ideas of ‘managing the conflict’ and ‘decisive victory’ have led to a security disaster for Israel, we must act to resolve the conflict.”
The plan’s advancements date back to early 2020, when Israel’s Housing Ministry sent it to the Jerusalem municipality to prepare it for approval. It completed the bureaucratic preparation process within months, but faced objections from the Environmental Protection and Health ministries, according to Peace Now, which said the administration of United States President Barack Obama had also opposed it.
It would need further government consideration and approval before being given legal effect and moving towards tender processes to select construction contractors.
Most of the plan area is designated as “state land” by Israeli authorities, meaning they would not have to seek permission from Palestinian landowners.
Israel has been quickly advancing with several major projects to build illegal settlements on occupied Palestinian territory and pursuing annexation of the occupied West Bank, alongside its genocidal war on Gaza that started in October 2023 and has now killed more than 70,000 people.
The E1 plan, which would see the construction of thousands of illegal Israeli homes in the occupied West Bank, is hailed by Israeli officials despite international condemnation.
Israel’s security cabinet last week signed off on plans to formalise 19 illegal settlements across the West Bank.
Demolitions and widespread arrests
Israeli forces continue to launch raids across the occupied West Bank and support violent settlers in attacking Palestinian lands while issuing permits to demolish Palestinian homes.
Israeli authorities began carrying out demolition operations Wednesday morning in the town of Biddu, located northwest of occupied East Jerusalem, under the pretext that the Palestinian buildings lacked permits.
In the central part of the West Bank, settlers, who have been rampaging with impunity often backed by the Israeli military, burned Palestinian vehicles and wrote racist slogans in the village of Ein Yabrud in Ramallah on Wednesday.
Several Palestinians were also arrested during raids across the West Bank, including in Nablus.
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Fitter and Faster Swim Camps is the proud sponsor of SwimSwam’s College Recruiting Channel and all commitment news. For many, swimming in college is a lifelong dream that is pursued with dedication and determination. Fitter and Faster is proud to honor these athletes and those who supported them on their journey.
Team Pittsburgh Elite Aquatics’ Nazar Zoukovski has verbally committed to the University of Arizona, joining the Wildcat men’s 2026 recruiting class.
I am extremely humbled and thrilled to announce my commitment to the University of Arizona to pursue my academic and athletic journey. I am very thankful for my family, friends, and coaches that I have had along the way to guide me to where I am today. Thank you to the coaching staff at U of A for this amazing opportunity. BEAR DOWN!!
As a junior at Upper Saint Clair High School in Pittsburgh, Zoukovski finished in the top five in both of his individual races at the PIAA 3A State Championship in March; his top finish came in the 200 freestyle, where he set a new lifetime best of 1:39.68 on his way to 3rd place. He also added a 5th-place finish in the 100 free in 44.99; he set his best time in the prelims of that race, just two hundredths better in 44.97. He has since bested the 100 free mark at the LESD Mark J. Braun Fall Classic this past November in 44.62. His 200 free has also been faster since those championships, clocking 1:39.40 at the PEAQ Halloween Invitational in October.
Zoukovski recently wrapped up competition at the Speedo Winter Junior Championships – East. There, he finished 28th in the 100 free, (44.93), 34th in the 50 free (20.50), 59th in the 200 free (1:39.80), and 73rd in the 100 butterfly (49.88).
In March, Zoukovski raced at the ISCA International Senior Cup, where he logged a pair of best times that still stand today. Including the 500 free (4:35.08) and 200 IM (1:53.15).
Best Times SCY:
50 Free: 20.28
100 Free: 44.62
200 Free: 1:39.40
500 Free: 4:35.08
100 Fly: 48.80
100 Back: 52.03
200 IM: 1:53.15
The Arizona men finished runners-up to in-state rivals Arizona State last season at the Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championships.
Based on Zoukovski’s best times, he would have finished 30th in the 100 free, 41st in the 200 free, and 36th in the 500 free at those championships last season.
Zoukovski does sit just outside of scoring position in the 100 free, his best time is less than half a second outside of what qualified as an alternate (44.19), and just over half a second from ‘C’ final qualification (44.06).
The change could be made to swap the 200 for the 100 fly, which would have placed his best time 28th, even closer to that scoring position. His 100 free is strong, and he has a number of strong options. With his range, he should be able to find the perfect mix to score some potential Big 12 points.
If you have a commitment to report, please send an email with a photo (landscape, or horizontal, looks best) and a quote to Recruits@swimswam.com.
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A team of Australian bodyboarding ratbags has managed to capture staggering footage of an extraordinary oceanic phenomenon: a place where four 12-ft (3.7-m) waves regularly converge into an oval dip, with explosive results.
You wouldn’t want to be a fish in this particular neighborhood. There you’d be, minding your own business, swishing some tail, opening and closing your mouth, enjoying the simple things in life – and then an instant later you’d find yourself locking eyes with a seagull, having been launched more than 130 ft (40 m) into the air by a naturally-occurring water cannon of spectacular proportions.
A sequence of wild videos were captured by Chris White and “drone guy” Ben Allen, during filming for Tension 11, an independent boogie-boarding film released on YouTube. White had seen the wave before, and captured it in still images for his coffee table book, Dark Light.
“The very first time I laid eyes on it,” says White, “I wasn’t filming, I just had my still camera. We were exploring the waves and we just randomly ended up there… Got this photo of… At this point I thought it was just two waves hitting each other. Everywhere I posted it, people thought it was fake, because it looks like it’s mirrored. And then it explodes… I’ve always been curious, does that happen every time the swell’s big?”
If the ocean had a belly button…
Tension Movies
It seems the answer is yes. White returned to the spot more or less by memory, after deciding to revive his iconic Tension films, first released in 2000 on VHS tapes. Stab Mag‘s Ethan Davis describes the original films beautifully, as “scrappy, prank heavy documents of slab hunting and bad ideas that stitched hardcore bodyboarding together with a Jackass level disregard for consequences. They became cult classics on the fringe and occasional public menaces when the jokes escaped containment and landed on A Current Affair or Today Tonight, framed as evidence of Australia’s moral decline. Which, naturally, only made them funnier.”
Little seems to have changed in that regard, bless their cotton socks; the Tension 11 trailer (NSFW) is brim-full of butts, farts, nude karate and crudely-sketched genitalia as well as death-defying wave riding. An accurate representation, in my experience, of the Australian adolescent experience at the time.
But the team also grabbed a stack of footage of this unique ocean phenomenon happening over and over again. And it’s not two waves converging – in many cases it’s actually two giant 12-footers colliding with another two smaller waves backwashing out from the shore, plunging simultaneously into a gap left by hydrodynamic forces over a reef close to the surface, causing a huge volume of water to rocket skyward as if a depth charge has gone off underneath the waves.
The team was lucky not to have their drone blasted out of the air as they filmed it. At this point, it’s only fair to hand you over to White and Allen. Excuse the language; I don’t think many of us would do much better under the circumstances. And if you’re not a fan of some very Australian whoopin’ and hollerin’, best pop the sound off, because they do get a tad excited.
HOW WE FOUND THE CRAZIEST WAVE ON EARTH
The Tension team won’t be revealing where they found it: “I wanna go back so bad,” says White, “but at the same time, I don’t wanna kill someone. It’s scary to think what could happen.” Both agree that some of their board-riding co-conspirators would likely find it hard to resist the idea of sitting over the dip, hoping to get launched skyward. But the plan is to return to the spot again for a future Tension 12 project.
Still, it’s staggering footage of an extraordinary natural event, and I can’t help but get swept up in the sheer joy of these two marvelous drongos as they recount the story. Godspeed, you mad bastards.
