The Terrorist Attack on Bondi Beach

President Lukashenko of Belarus might be "Europe's Last Dictator," but this weekend, U.S. and European leaders negotiated for the release of 123 prisoners in Belarus, including Maria Kalesnikava, a beloved political figure. Meanwhile, in Nigeria, some of the recently-kidnapped Catholic school students were reunited with their families. Who took them, and where are the other children and school staffers? Plus: we're covering the special U.S. military operation in the Indian Ocean, the terrorist attack on Bondi Beach, rising antisemitism in Australia, and the mass shooting at Brown University. 

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Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome
• 0:16 Europe's Last Dictator
• 2:06 U.S. vs. Iran
• 2:54 Who is kidnapping students in Nigeria?
• 5:02 Terrorism in Australia
• 6:21 Mass shooting at Brown University
• 9:22 Follow Giffords and Moms Demand Action
• 11:23 Until next time!

Transcript

Welcome to The Friday Brief, a news podcast by Girl Friday. I’m Phoenix Ricks, the CEO of Girl Friday and your host. This is your brief for December 14, 2025. 

Reuters reported that President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus freed 123 prisoners this weekend, including political figure Maria Kalesnikava. The United States participated in the negotiations, and the Trump administration agreed to lift sanctions on a component in fertilizers that Belarus is known for creating. I covered the tense 2020 election in Belarus for The Friday Brief, back when it was a weekly newsletter, along with the subsequent exiles and swift detentions of Lukashenko’s opposition. There was so much hope for democracy during that election season. A clear leader had emerged, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, and it was incredible to see the enthusiasm around her and the other women, like Maria, who galvanized support for her campaign. Together, they appealed to voters across generations by focusing on envisioning a brighter future for Belarus. Unfortunately, we know how that chapter of the story ended, and Sviatlana ultimately left Belarus for safety, and Maria was detained. I love following Sviatlana on social media. She highlights her ongoing meetings with world leaders as she advocates for a free and fair election system in her home country. I’m delighted to see that Maria is among the freed prisoners. Outside of advocacy and campaigning, Maria is a talented musician; she plays the flute. You can follow Sviatlana on Instagram at prezident.sveta; president is spelled with a Z in this case, and Sveta is S-V-E-T-A. I hope one day soon she will be able to tell us where to follow Maria’s work, too. 

I’ve been tracking U.S. military actions in international waters, mainly to see what is happening off the coast of South America. But this weekend, we, perhaps oddly, all learned about a special mission elsewhere. The Wall Street Journal just reported that a “U.S. special operations team in the Indian Ocean raided a ship headed to Iran from China last month and seized military-related articles.” This is, to my understanding, an unusual public acknowledgment of this type of military operation, and it was apparently designed to halt Tehran's efforts to rebuild its military capabilities. 

Over the past several weeks, you’ve probably seen Donald Trump’s comments about alleged targeted violence against Christians in Nigeria. This administration’s new, somewhat surprising focus on Nigeria has taken on a life of its own. Even Nicki Minaj is now involved. There’s a lot to cover within how this administration has approached the issue, and I will get to that, but the most important story to share today is the recent update about the children who were kidnapped from a Catholic school in Nigeria last month. ABC News says that 100 of the kidnapped children were returned. They had been taken at gunpoint from school by still unidentified bandits who have not claimed responsibility. This kidnapping appears to be financially motivated instead of politically or ideologically driven. So, right now, it appears that these are not terrorists; they are ransom-oriented kidnappers. While this recent release represents some progress, not all of the children and staff were set free. One parent said, in part, “There is still one abducted. But I am now happy with this one that I have gotten." His other child is one of at least 150 students and staff who need to be released. This Catholic school abduction is unfortunately not an isolated incident in Nigeria. Mere days earlier, 25 students were abducted in a nearby state. Hopefully, international attention, like from the Vatican, can pressure governments to move faster on finding existing kidnapped children and preventing future armed school attacks. 

Now speaking about armed attacks, we have two horrific stories from this weekend on opposite sides of the world. NBC News reported on more than a dozen deaths after a mass shooting at Bondi Beach in Australia. At least 40 other people were hospitalized as a result of this terrorist attack. Police identified the two alleged gunmen as a father and son. The father was fatally shot by law enforcement, and the son “suffered critical injuries.”  This attack targeted Jewish people who had gathered for a Hanukkah event at the beach. I watched some of the videos as they emerged on social media, including the one of the man who disarmed one of the gunmen. NBC News says that he suffered two gunshot wounds. According to Australia’s 7News, his name is Ahmed al Ahmed. As we learn more about this specific attack, there are existing reports about the general increase in antisemitism in Australia. CNN reported that in response to this tragedy, Benjamin Netanyahu said that Australia had poured “oil on the flames of antisemitism.” 

Back in the United States, The Providence Journal reported that the police in Rhode Island have detained a person of interest in the mass shooting at Brown University, which left two students dead and wounded nine other people. As of this recording, the police had not yet called this person a suspect. The Providence Police Chief said the investigation is moving "extremely fast," but added, "In this police department, we stay grounded in fact.” 

We have so many mass shootings in the United States that anniversaries of mass shootings are shared. Today is the anniversary of the Sandy Hook shooting. No one can forget where they were on this day in 2012, learning the news about all of those tiny elementary school children and their teachers being terrorized and killed by a gunman. Twenty-six families were shattered that day. And that’s when we should have all collectively said, as so many other countries have done, that we would do whatever it takes to stop mass shootings. But, we didn’t. And all of these years later, we still have regular mass shootings. In fact, two of the Brown University students who appeared on national news while sheltering in place talked about surviving other mass shootings. One had survived being critically wounded. When she talked about that school shooting, I immediately knew which one she was referencing, because I remembered a friend posting on social media about knowing one of the victims. 

There are so many mass shootings in the U.S. that we’re all just a few degrees from impact. I did not grow up in Florida, and yet I know someone whose sibling survived the Parkland shooting. I remember when mass school shootings were thought to only occur at large public high schools, schools like Columbine. But then we had mass shootings in smaller schools, shootings in younger grades, and mass violence in private education. You cannot insulate yourself from these incidents by region, religion, grade, school size, or socioeconomic status. They are too widespread. If you are in the United States and you are not already engaged in gun safety advocacy and supporting gun sense candidates, today is the day to start. We can demand change in the U.S., but it begins with all of us being educated about gun control. The topic has often been treated too delicately, in my opinion, as if people’s desire to own unnecessary high-capacity weapons is more important than our shared public safety. 

I follow Giffords, founded by mass shooting survivor Gabby Giffords, and Moms Demand Action, founded by advocate Shannon Watts. Giffords says we need to focus on closing loopholes in our federal background checks system, passing and strengthening extreme risk laws, banning large-capacity magazines, and regulating assault weapons. ABC News spoke to a student at Brown University who described his path to safety during the shooting. He said, "So, imagine a hundred kids trying to rush out through two exits. It's just silence and gunshots behind us. Folks coming out of the science building had no idea what was going on. So, as I was running, I started shouting, 'Active shooter! Run!” He ended up sheltering in a friend’s apartment. He said, "We hid in her bathroom for like two hours, four of us in a small bathroom for two hours. And it was terrifying, but I think, thanks to her, I'm alive right now." To all of my fellow Americans, please remember, we don't have to live like this. 

Thank you for listening to The Friday Brief. We are almost on our 50th episode! Thank you for supporting this podcast through two seasons. I’m getting ready for the third season, which, thanks to your feedback, will be daily. Check out thefridaybrief.com, and follow The Friday Brief on Instagram. Until next time, I’m Phoenix Ricks, signing off from Washington, DC. Let’s work together for a world of good.