Court appearance for alleged Bondi shooter | SBS News In Easy English 16 February 2026

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TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to SBS News in Easy English. I'm Biwa Kwan.

The man accused of taking part in the Bondi terror attack has appeared in court.

24-year-old Naveed Akram appeared via video link at Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court.

He faces 59 charges, including murder and terrorism offences.

Deputy Chief Magistrate Sharon Freund has extended the suppression orders protecting victims and survivors of the attack, who have not chosen to identify themselves publicly.

The order allows victim-survivors to choose if and when they go public with their story.

The next court date is set for April the 9th.

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Police have returned to the remote homestead in South Australia, as they continue their renewed search into the disappearance of four-year-old Gus Lamont.

Earlier this month, South Australian police announced that they are now treating the case as a major crime - and that someone who lived with Gus is now considered a suspect.

Detectives are conducting a search for evidence at the property that is expected to last for at least two days.

Gus Lamont went missing at Oak Park Station homestead in September last year.

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Federal Education Minister Jason Clare says the needs of the future are the reason for more tertiary education funding today.

He says a record number of Australians will go to university this year.

Data shows the volume of university applications for commencing undergraduate students is up 4.6 per cent - compared to the same time last year.

Mr Clare says the government must expand on this legacy of the previous Labor governments of Bob Hawke and Paul Keating to meet future economic demands.

"The target now is by the middle end of the century that 80% of people have a TAFE qualification or university degree - and if we're going get there, that means investing in TAFE, and investing in universities, so that more people get these skills."

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The International Monetary Fund is praising the federal government's handling of the economy- but warns the job isn't finished yet.

The fund says the government has managed the economy well in difficult conditions.

But it's also calling for prioritisation of infrastructure investment, a rise in the GST rate, increased resource taxes, and lowering of the company tax rate.

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Bangladesh's prime minister-elect Tarique Rahman has acknowledged the challenges facing the country, and blamed the ousted former Prime Minister Sheik Hasina for the country's economic woes.

Mr Rahman is set to be sworn in on Tuesday, after his party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, won a two-thirds majority in a historic election on Friday.

At a local market in Dhaka, a resident says he hopes the new government can offer employment opportunities to its people.

"I expect the new government to develop the country, free it from extortion, and build a country free from terrorism, as well as provide employment and eliminate unemployment in the country."

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Around the globe, Muslims are planning for Ramadan, which begins in Australia on Thursday.

Nearly a quarter of the world's population, including hundreds of thousands of people in Australia, observe the holy month.

The month is a period of fasting and worship when Muslims abstain from eating and drinking from sunrise until sunset, and pray and donate to charity.

In the Pakistani capital Karachi, people thronged markets over the weekend to stock up on supplies.

Some shoppers, like Gulqadam Malik, are concerned about rising food prices due to inflation.

"Last year, if someone had gram flour, pulses, cooking oil, and other items that are needed during Ramadan, they would have bought 10 kilograms of that, but today they are forced to buy only five kilograms, meaning people have reduced the quantity."

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Australia's most-successful-ever Winter Olympics has become even better, with skiier Matt Graham picking up a bronze medal in the new dual moguls event.

Australia now has five medals at these Milano-Cortina games: three gold, one silver, and one bronze.

It's a second career medal for Graham, who won silver in Pyeongchang in 2018.

And that's SBS News in Easy English. I'm Biwa Kwan.


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