Australia shooting, India-Oman Free Trade Agreement, and more: The week in 5 charts

(1) Shooting in Australia kills 15

Two men opened fire on a celebratory gathering in Bondi Beach, Australia, killing at least 15 people on Sunday last week (December 14, 2025) in what was the bloodiest shootings in the country’s recent history. Around a 1,000 people had gathered near the beach for Hanukkah, a Jewish festival. Both shooters were licensed to possess firearms.

Following the incident, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese proposed stricter gun laws, including limits on the number of guns a licensed owner can obtain. In this context, here is a look at the history of shootings in America.

Australia sees relatively fewer deaths from firearms than countries like Colombia or America, where deaths per 1,00,000 population were around 30 and 6 respectively in 2023.

Moreover, this death rate has reduced over the years in Australia since 1990. It increased to 0.49 in 1996, after one shooter killed 35 people in the tourist area of Port Arthur using three high-powered firearms, including a semi-automatic rifle. The then-Prime Minister John Howard implemented changes in gun laws, including buybacks that reduced number of guns in circulation and banning certain kinds of firearms.

The Bondi Beach shooting put the spotlight on gun laws again. The fact that one of the shooters was not even an Australian citizen has drawn the ire of gun owners regarding the lax precautions taken by the government, according to Reuters. Variations in gun laws by State, surface-level background checks and reversal of some provisions introduced after 1996 have all made current gun laws inefficient, Reuters found.

(2) India signs Free Trade Agreement with Oman

India signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with Oman on Thursday this week (December 18, 2025) during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s three-day visit to the country, roughly three months after the U.S. imposed 50% tariffs on several Indian imports. The CEPA will make 99% of India’s exports to the country duty-free.

It also aims to boost intra-corporate transfers for corporate employees and longer allowed stays for contractual service suppliers. Several labour-intensive sectors will get tariff relief, while some other sensitive sectors remain protected. The deal gains significance as Indian and American leaders have met around four times to negotiate U.S. tariffs since August without a final deal in sight yet. The deal with Oman reduces tariff burdens and makes Indian exports more competitive.

Here’s a look at key numbers defining the trade relationship between the two countries.

Oman was the 25th largest source of imports for India in FY 2024 – 25, making up 0.9% of all imports. Similarly, Oman was the destination for 0.9% of total exports India’s exports. On the other hand, 7.16% of Oman’s imports came from India and 3.75% of its exports were destined for India.

India imported petroleum products, fertilisers, organic and inorganic chemicals amongst the top product imports from Oman. Among major Indian exports to Oman are petroleum products, organic and inorganic chemicals, nuclear equipment and cereals.

(3) Violence in Bangladesh after political leader’s death

Violence broke out in Bangladesh following the death of political leader and well-known India-critic Sharif Osman Hadi on Friday (December 19, 2025). Hadi – known for his role in the July protests that ended former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s rule – had been attacked by two assailants on a motorbike while on a political campaign on December 12 and had been airlifted to Singapore for treatment. Bangladesh’s Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus announced he had succumbed to injuries early Friday.

Soon after, violence broke out across the country, with news media houses identified as pro-India being torched, Hasina’s father’s house vandalised and protests spilling into the streets. Hundreds of students gathered outside Dhaka University and chanted “Who are you, who am I – Hadi, Hadi”. Students were a key segment of protesters in July.

For the last two years, the neighbouring country has been in a state of unrest ever since the ouster of Hasina in August 2024. An interim government headed by Yunus has been in charge of the country, which has elections slated for next year. Here is a timeline of events from 2024 that have put the country in a state of chaos.

(4) MGNREGS scheme replaced with VG-RAM-G Bill

The Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme was replaced with a modified employment scheme called the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill through passage in both Houses of Parliament on Thursday (December 18, 2025).

Here is how the new Bill differs from the previous scheme.

Paragraph on criticisms

Here is a look at the scale of the scheme across India. Demand for the scheme varies by State, with over 18 crore person days in Uttar Pradesh for 2025 – 26. A person day is defined as one day of work for one person. Andhra Pradesh follows with over 16 crore person days.

Critics have made a couple key arguments against the new scheme. One, the cumulative 60-day pause on public works during peak agricultural season gives labourers weaker bargaining ability since agricultural labour will be the only work available during the pause. Two, the 25-day increase in guaranteed work is meaningless when only a portion of the labour force got work for even 100 days in the previous scheme. Three, the new scheme increases financial burden on States that are facing falling revenues due to GST restructuring.

The Centre, on the other hand, has argued that the financial sharing has been calibrated to State capacities and will not be a burden for the States. About the 60-day pause, it presents it as a way to ensure no labour shortage.

(5) Malayalam film veteran Sreenivasan passes away

Malayalam film veteran Sreenivasan passed away on Saturday (December 20, 2025) due to illness. Tributes poured in from Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, senior members from the CPI(M) and Congress and people in the industry. Sreenivasan gathered many feathers in his cap with over five decades as an actor, filmmaker, scriptwriter and scenarist, delivering nuanced character work and industry-defining hits.

Over five decades, he was part of 225 films in various capacities, including hits like Katha Parayumbol in 2017. The last film he acted in was Nancy Rani that came out this year. Here is a look at his legacy over the years.

Sreenivasan is survived by two sons who are also actors and his wife.

Published – December 22, 2025 12:20 pm IST