Image source: Indiaweekly, The Indian Express and WION; Edited by Dinesh Raj M   The alleged 50-year-old terror suspect, Sajid Akram, who was gunned down by Australian police after Sunday’s bloodbath on Sydney’s Bondi beach in which 15 people were killed, has been identified as an Indian passport holder who moved Down Under in Nov 1998 and had limited contact with his family since. Fifteen people were killed in the mass shooting that occurred during Hannukah celebrations at the beach in which three Indian students were also injured. Hot off the Press Australian police said the father and son travelled to the Philippines last month. The Philippines Bureau of Immigration confirmed that Sajid travelled on an Indian passport, while Naveed used an Australian one. Once the shooters’ link to India emerged, the Telangana police shared details of the Akram family. According to the police, Sajid has a B.Com degree and migrated to Australia in November 1998 in search

The festive period is upon us, so welcome once again to our guide to the titles across the IT journo landscape, revealing who’s open, who’s closed and all the rest. Journos reading this, please drop your masthead’s Summer Shutdown periods and Influencing will update this story accordingly.  Publications:  EFTM: Managing Editor Trevor Long said, “EFTM never rests,” suggesting it will write through the break.  InnovationAus: Associate Editor Justin Hendry said the publication will finish up on Friday, December 19 and return on Monday, January 6.  techpartner.news: nextmedia Publishing Director’s Velvet-Belle Templeman said they finish up today, Wednesday, December 17, and return on Wednesday, January 8.  iTnews: Templeman also said iTnews will be running a skeleton crew through the festive period.  CyberDaily: Deputy Editor David Hollingworth said CyberDaily will still be producing material for each non-public ho

Morning and welcome to Wednesday.  They say there are several stages of grief and that's playing out in real time in our dailies following the Bondi massacre, with recriminations starting to flow, both from some of the bereaved and also from writers and even ex-Prime Minister John Howard who at age 86 has come out swinging, saying Anthony Albanese needs to do more.  Let's start with The Sydney Morning Herald which has an excellent picture by Jessica Hromas taken in Bondi yesterday of heavily armed police and their kitted-out vehicles which the SMH uses big on the front page and leads to an analysis piece by chief reporter Jordan Baker - she takes over the Herald's editor's chair next year. The question in a piece which straddles pages 4 and 5 is, as the headline says, 'Where was the back-up in Bondi?' It's a very balanced story, with quotes from senior officers pointing out, for example, that general duties police - the ones first on th

  Compass Communications has secured the PR mandate for Genovation Technological Solutions. Founded in 2021, Genovation is a deep-tech company working in artificial intelligence and machine learning. Its flagship platform, Mentis, is a cost-effective, Made-in-India agentic AI solution designed to enhance enterprise decision-making. Under the mandate, Compass Communications will drive media visibility, strategic communications and thought leadership. The agency will also focus on highlighting Genovation’s original intellectual property, R&D capabilities and privacy-focused AI systems. Genovation Founder and CEO Anurita Das said the collaboration would help strengthen the company’s communication efforts. Compass Communications Co-founder Rohan Srinivasan said the agency looks forward to supporting Genovation’s growth.

  A two-day All India Media Meet of media employees’ unions concluded on Monday, December 15, with newspaper and news agency workers from across the country deliberating on the future of print journalism and the challenges faced by its workforce. According to The Tribune, at the meeting, the unions resolved to demand the constitution of a new wage board to ensure fair pay for newspaper and news agency employees. They also decided to oppose the four labour codes, stating that the proposed laws could dilute workers’ rights. The meet, hosted by The Tribune Employees Union, was held under the theme “Why Print Media Will Always Be Relevant”, highlighting the continued importance of newspapers in the digital age. Addressing the gathering, Himachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri praised The Tribune for its independent and non-sensational journalism. He said that while many newspapers were witnessing increasing corporatisation, The Tribune had retained its unbias

The Supreme Court on Monday granted interim bail to journalist Mahesh Langa in a money laundering case linked to allegations of fraud against him. A bench headed by the Chief Justice of India directed the Special Court handling the case to conduct the trial on a day to day basis. The court asked both Langa and the Enforcement Directorate to cooperate fully and made it clear that no adjournments should be sought during the trial. In its order, the Supreme Court said Langa and his lawyer must assist the Special Court at all stages. The court noted that the Gujarat High Court has not stayed the trial, and therefore the proceedings must continue without delay. The court also placed a restriction on Langa, asking him not to publish or write any articles, in his role as an Assistant Editor, on the allegations that are currently being heard by the Special Judge in Ahmedabad. At the same time, the court said Langa is free to raise all legal arguments, objections and defence points before

Image source: Punjab Kesari, India Today and Odisha Connect; Edited by Dinesh Raj M   India’s flagship rural jobs programme is on the brink of its biggest rewrite in two decades. The Centre is preparing to repeal the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and replace it with a new framework that promises more workdays on paper but tighter controls in practice. The proposed shift touches the core of rural welfare: who pays, when work is available, and who decides how much employment a State can actually offer. Hot off the Press Reporting for The Times of India, Subodh Ghildiyal and Dipak Dash say the new law — the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025 — will raise guaranteed work from 100 to 125 days, but fundamentally alter the scheme’s DNA. Unlike MGNREGA’s demand-driven model, the new programme will run on fixed, “normative” allocations decided by the Centre. States crossing tha