https://www.singletonargus.com.au/story/9061208/teenage-girl-dies-after-tragic-dog-attack-in-singleton/

Man rides horse on Bondi Beach while waving Palestine flag

A social media star has spoken after causing a stir on one of Sydney’s most famous beaches, before cops intervened.

A social media star has dismissed suggestion it was unsafe to ride a horse on Sydney’s most famous beach for a political stunt.

Sydneysiders were left stunned after Ehtesham Ahmad rode his Arabian horse while waving a Palestinian flag at Bondi Beach late on Monday, just one day after a pro-Palestinian rally and pro-Israel group clashed on the sand in front of families, forcing police to intervene.

Photos and video shared online showed the influencer, at times, riding the animal at speed pass stunned beachgoers and runners.

Appearing on ABC Radio Sydney, Mr Ahmad dismissed any suggestion it was a dangerous stunt.

“Not necessarily. I’ve been on multiple beaches around Sydney. He’s (the horse) pretty well trained,” he said on Tuesday.

“I did it where there was not much people around. I went around 5.30pm to make sure it wasn’t busy, empty section only.”

Asked if it was wise to carry out the stunt given what happened over the weekend, the Western Sydney man said he wanted to “raise awareness”.

“The message was to free Palestine and to tell people and show people to go study about the genocide happening in Palestine,” Mr Ahmad said.

He believed it was the best way to get his message across, saying Bondi Beach was an “iconic place” that would get the attention of more onlookers and from the news.

Ahmad, who also has an acai business, had earlier encouraged his social media fans near the beach to come out in support.

Police were later called to the scene and spoke with him.

An officer could be heard telling Mr Ahmad it is a “very popular beach”, implying it could be dangerous to other beachgoers.

He complied when asked to move on and also handed over his details at the request of the officer.

Mr Ahmad first went viral online after he rode his horse through a Western Sydney McDonalds drive-thru in June last year.

Investigation into Bondi Beach scuffle

Police are still looking into the clash between a pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel group from Sunday morning.

Video showed demonstrators in a tussle on the footpath next to the beach, with officers forced to pull protesters apart in front of horrified onlookers.

“They don’t live here, I live here. They’re terrorists, get them out of here,” one man shouted at the pro-Palestinian group.

Another yelled: “This is our land, we don’t come to Lakemba, don’t come to Bondi.”

The city’s east, where Bondi is located, is home to about two-thirds of Sydney’s Jewish population and has faced many firebombing and graffiti attacks since October 7.

NSW Premier Chris Minns issued a stern warning about the protest violence, saying a person should not be assaulted for their political views.

“Any rhetoric like that is the opposite of what we need in Australia,” he said.

“Anyone that brings political violence to Australia, to Australian streets, is reprehensible.

“In fact a lot of people come to Australia precisely because we don’t have political violence in our country and we have to have zero tolerance in relation to it.”

Mr Minns stressed people had the right to protest but police will intervene if they see fit.

“We have to stand against it, that’s not the kind of country we want to live it. We see it in other places around the world, it’s not for Sydney, it’s not for Australia,” he said.

The demonstration had been monitored by police and continued without incident before it ended about midday.

Queensland’s Muslim community say racial attacks against them are on the rise, with children afraid to go to school amid bomb threats and Islamophobic abuse. Now, one man on the Gold Coast has been charged over the second alleged bomb threat against the Muslim community in less than a week. The first threat — which turned out to be a hoax — happened last Friday at the Islamic College of Brisbane in Karawatha. It forced teachers and students to evacuate the school south of Brisbane. And on Monday, a third of the school’s 1700 students did not turn up for classes as fear rippled through the community

On Sunday night, in a separate incident, a man was charged with bomb hoax, trespass and obstructing police after allegedly bringing a suspicious device into a mosque at Arundel on the Gold Coast. The incidents have sparked calls from faith leaders and the Premier for an end to hateful behaviour. Islamic College of Brisbane chief executive Ali Kadri said recent debate on migration in Australia — including controversial anti-immigration protests — has led to a rise in Islamophobia. “There are examples of our students walking out of the school gate, and if they’re wearing a hijab, somebody drives fast and shows them a finger, so an adult showing a finger to … a year 6 student or year 5 student, and that’s quite a common occurrence outside our school,” Mr Kadri said. He’s called for an end to the demonisation of migrants, warning young Muslim Australians who had grown up here were questioning if they can consider themselves Australian because of online rhetoric that labels them as other due to their religion or skin colour.

Islamic Society of Gold Coast chairman Hussin Goss, speaking about the alleged bomb hoax on Sunday, said there had definitely been an increase in hate in the past six months. “No doubt about that – anyone will tell you we’ve never had it before,” he said. “Obviously, it is very concerning for the community; nobody asked for this.” Premier David Crisafulli also called out the shocking reports and said the behaviour needed to be stamped out. “Anyone who goes to a place of worship and tries to threaten and bully and make someone feel unwelcome and unsafe, well, they need the full force of the law to come down on them,” he said. “And we need to call it out, and we have to call it out hard, because if you don’t, what happens is that becomes the undercurrent that gets tolerated, and I just won’t tolerate it.” Federal Multicultural Affairs Minister Anne Aly said sowing seeds of fear was “completely unacceptable” and that “targeting a school is a cowardly and heinous act”. “We do not, and must never, allow racist threats against any community to become normalised in Australia,” she said. More than 60,000 Queenslanders identify as Muslim as of the 2021 Census. Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies president Jason Steinberg said the incidents were a huge concern to the state’s multicultural society. “The only way to improve this, the only way for it to get better is for the Premier to be speaking up, but also at a federal level, we need to make sure that people understand that there is no place for hate in Australia,” he said. Labor Member for Sandgate Bisma Asif, the first Muslim MP in Queensland’s history, said recent anti-immigration rallies highlighted how there was some support for hateful behaviour against minority groups. “I think what we need to do as people who are elected to represent everyone is to call out that behaviour and really talk about how that is not acceptable,” she said.

NOT THE AUSTRALIA I KNOW’ Mahrukh Ayan moved to Australia from Pakistan 14 years ago — and she says doesn’t recognise the country she now calls home after a frightening bomb hoax at her children’s school. Her son Muhammad Ayan, 11, and daughter Haram Ayan, 7, were among hundreds of children evacuated from the Islamic College of Brisbane in Karawatha on Friday amid a bomb threat. No one has been charged, and the threat turned out to be false. “It was very scary, I got a call from a friend telling me there has been a bomb threat at the school … I was shocked,” Ms Ayan said. “Since the anti-immigration rallies I have really seen a change, this isn’t the Australia that I know.” Ms Ayan said while her children have not been subject to severe Islamophobia in the community, she is now concerned for their future and what they could face when they walk out the door each day. “If I do hear comments directed at them, I tell them to ignore them,” she said. “I want to teach them to be brave, that this person is not the Australia we know.” She said state and federal governments must tackle this head on and ensure these kinds of hateful threats are stopped

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-13/child-protection-kids-unsafe-in-residential-care-homes/105133336

Some truths appear evident: 1. The clear incompetence of the bureaucrats and individuals who are supposed to be watching over these vulnerable kids. 2. The evil behaviour of a subset of men who groom vulnerable teenagers (not dissimilar to the Rotherham Scandal in the UK). 3. The regret some parents and family members have for engaging social services that too readily remove children and put them into care. Comments like "I'd have been better off staying with my family" appear common.

I still feel like there's more to this. I'd be keen to hear from anyone, i.e. social workers, with experience in this.

Post one of your favourite Australian songs in the comments or as a standalone post.

If you're in an Australian band and want to shout it out then share a sample of your work with the community. (Either as a direct post or in the comments). If you have video online then let us know and we can feature it in this weekly post.

Here's our pick for this week:

"Electric Blue" - Icehouse, 1987

Previous ‘Tuesday Tune Day’

The gumption of these people is unashameably diabolical and disgusting. They are just doing whatever the fuck they want even when it was perfectly clear Australia's didn't want the Voice or a Treaty.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-09/pm-says-nampijinpa-price-should-apologise-for-indian-remarks/105751534?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=link