PM says ‘we grieve for the light and laughter so many have lost’ – as it happened

Religious and community leaders light candles attend at a memorial prayer service at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney on Wednesday. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAP

9.40am GMT

What we learned, Wednesday 17 December

That’s where we’ll leave you this evening. Here’s a snapshot of the events of today:

• Alleged Bondi gunman Naveed Akram, who survived a shootout with police, has been charged with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder and terrorism charges, after waking from his coma on Tuesday.

• As at 7.30pm tonight, there were 17 people still receiving care in Sydney hospitals for injuries sustained in Sunday’s shooting.

• Funerals for victims of the shooting began today, including that of Rabbi Eli Schlanger.

• Waverley Council has cancelled New Year’s Eve events at Bondi beach “due to the current situation on the ground”.

• NSW parliament will be recalled on Monday 22 and Tuesday 23 December to consider new, tougher firearm legislation.

• The NSW premier, Chris Minns, has also flagged his intention to tighten laws around protests, raising civil liberties concerns.

• Former Liberal MP Josh Frydenberg has claimed Anthony Albanese should accept personal responsibility for the deaths on Sunday.

• The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, has pushed back on proposed changes to gun laws, saying Australia’s “gun laws work”

• Jack Hibbert, a probationary constable injured during the Bondi shooting, has lost sight in one eye after being shot in the head while trying to save people on the beach.

• The Australian National Imams Council, as the highest Islamic and religious authority in Australia, together with its member imams and religious leaders, unequivocally condemned Islamic State and the attackers.

Thanks for your company today. We’ll be back with you again early tomorrow morning. In the meantime, please look after yourselves, your loved ones and your communities.

Updated at 9.47am GMT

9.34am GMT

‘He has the impulse to protect people’: Ahmed al-Ahmed’s father praises son in interview

In an interview aired on BBC radio, the father of Ahmed al-Ahmed, who wrestled and disarmed one of the alleged gunmen on Sunday, noted through a translator that his son had a police and security background:

My son is a hero. He served with the police and in the central security forces, and he has the impulse to protect people. When he saw people lying on the ground, and the blood everywhere. Immediately his conscience is so compelled him to pounce on one of the terrorists and to rid him of his weapon. I feel pride and honour because my son is a hero of Australia.

Updated at 9.40am GMT