Australia to toughen gun laws after deadly attack on Jewish festival

Good morning and welcome again to FirstFT Asia. In right now’s e-newsletter:

• Australia agrees on gun regulation reform

• The elite British non-public college that misplaced its approach in Singapore

• Xi assaults ‘reckless’ authorities spending

• Is there a proper approach for CEOs to stop?

We begin in Australia, which has agreed a string of measures to toughen nationwide firearms legal guidelines, a day after gunmen killed 15 folks in an assault on a Jewish competition in Sydney.

What to know: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated his cupboard and state leaders had agreed to speed up the creation of a nationwide firearms registry and would supply A$100mn ($66mn) to the states and territories. Different measures embody limits on what number of firearms a single individual can personal and making it a requirement that gun consumers are Australian residents. “Leaders agreed that sturdy, decisive and centered motion was wanted on gun regulation reform as an instantaneous motion,” a joint cupboard assertion stated.

Talking earlier within the day after visiting the scene of Sunday’s assault at Bondi Seaside, Albanese stated authorities would do “no matter is important” to guard Australia’s Jewish neighborhood, saying antisemitism was “a scourge and we’ll eradicate it collectively”.

Earlier reforms: Australia adopted among the world’s most stringent gun legal guidelines after 35 folks had been killed by a lone gunman in Port Arthur, Tasmania, in 1996. The measures included a gun amnesty and buyback scheme because the nation moved to ban the kind of semi-automatic weapon used. Nonetheless, there are actually regarded as extra weapons in circulation than in 1996, with highly effective long-arm rifles and shotguns standard with hunters. Read the full story.

• ‘A fruits of hate’: Bondi Seaside has develop into a spot of heartache for the nation’s Jews — and the main target of fury over its authorities’s handling of rising antisemitism.

• ‘Hero’ who tackled Bondi gunman: Ahmed al Ahmed drew worldwide reward for disarming one of many shooters within the lethal assault. His dad and mom, who moved to Australia from Syria two months in the past, spoke to local media about their son.

Right here’s what else we’re maintaining tabs on right now:

• Financial knowledge: The US and Hong Kong report November employment knowledge.

• Volkswagen: The carmaker will stop manufacturing vehicles at its web site in Dresden after right now, marking the primary time within the firm’s 88-year historical past that it’s going to shut manufacturing at a web site in Germany.

5 extra high tales

1. A Hong Kong court docket discovered media billionaire Jimmy Lai responsible on nationwide safety expenses, in essentially the most carefully watched trial since Beijing’s crackdown on the town’s pro-democracy motion six years in the past. The trial has been considered as a barometer for political and media freedoms within the semi-autonomous Chinese language territory. Lai faces up to life in prison.

2. Donald Trump stated talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin had introduced a peace deal in Ukraine “nearer now than we’ve got ever been”, at the same time as European officers stated delicate territorial points had but to be resolved. Trump was talking simply hours after officers from Ukraine, Germany and the US claimed progress in drafting a deal to end Russia’s invasion.

3. The US has backed a $7.4bn funding in a essential minerals processing plant to be constructed by Korea Zinc as Washington tries to counter China’s dominance over the availability chain for strategic metals. The undertaking comes after South Korea agreed to speculate $350bn within the US in return for decrease tariffs as a part of a commerce deal signed in late October. Read the full story.

4. Brussels plans to scrap the EU’s 2035 combustion engine ban, permitting carmakers to proceed making a restricted variety of petrol and diesel-fuelled autos after the prohibition was meant to return into impact. The European Fee is ready to propose a revision of the law today.

5. Federal Reserve governor Stephen Miran has stated that “phantom inflation” is distorting the US central financial institution’s decision-making and inflicting it to maintain rates of interest too excessive. Miran, a staunch ally of Trump and a vocal proponent of decrease charges, said that when “noise” was stripped out, underlying inflation was near the Fed’s goal.

FT Investigation

Former workers allege bullying, misogyny and safeguarding lapses on the Singapore department of an elite British college, saying revenue was prioritised over training and welfare. Specialists warn the scenario reveals the risks of franchising prestigious college manufacturers with out ample oversight.

We’re additionally studying . . . 

Chart of the day

Chinese language funding declined additional final month whereas retail gross sales weakened sharply, as President Xi Jinping launched an unusually blunt attack on “reckless” government spending that Beijing believes is constraining progress.

Take a break from the information . . . 

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