Top World News
‘Pure political pork’: government ends energy bill rebate as treasurer flags ‘difficult’ budget decisions
Chalmers flags pressure on national finances as Reserve Bank contemplates possibility of interest rate rises next year Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastJim Chalmers has foreshadowed more “difficult decisions” in next week’s mid-year budget update after cabinet decided not to extend billions of dollars in energy bill rebates into the new year.The withdrawal of the power bill subsidies comes as the Reserve Bank’s monetary policy board mulls a recent rebound in inflation that could force the central bank to hike interest rates next year. Continue reading...
Anika Wells claimed more than $8,500 for family travel to Melbourne during AFL grand final weekends over three years
Exclusive: Labor’s minister for communications and sport has stood by her use of family travel expenses as within the rulesFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAnika Wells claimed more than $8,500 in family travel expenses to Melbourne during AFL grand final weekends in 2022, 2023 and 2024, when she received free suite tickets to the matches.The minister for communications and sport has stood by her use of family travel expenses as within the rules, but the Coalition opposition is demanding reforms to expense rules and an inquiry into Wells’ spending by the independent parliamentary expenses authority (IPEA), which tracks and reports politicians’ spending on travel and office expenses. Continue reading...
Kremlin Welcomes Trump's Move To Stop Calling Russia 'Direct Threat'
The Kremlin on Sunday welcomed US President Donald Trump's move to stop calling Russia a direct threat and said his new national security strategy, which portrays European powers as in decline, largely accorded with Russia's own perceptions.
Seizure of South Yemen by UAE-backed forces could lead to independence claim
STC troops now control all eight governorates, a major setback for Emirates’ regional rival Saudi ArabiaThe United Arab Emirates-backed military leadership in South Yemen has seized power across the whole of the south of the country, a move that opens up the possibility that the South will declare independence and revert Yemen to being two states for the first time since 1960.As many as 10,000 troops from the Southern Transitional Council (STC) poured into the oil-rich Hadramaut governorate last week and later into Marah, the less-populated governorate bordering Oman, which had not previously been under its control. Continue reading...
Ex-Honduran president thanks God – and Trump – for drug-trafficking pardon
Juan Orlando Hernández thanked the Lord for being ‘a free man’ and then Trump for ‘changing my life’Former Honduras president Juan Orlando Hernández recently thanked God and Donald Trump – in that order – for being pardoned by the latter of a drug trafficking conviction won by federal US prosecutors less than two years earlier.Speaking in a video posted to social media and referring to the US president, Hernández eventually said Trump “changed my life, and I’ll never forget that”. But first he praised God, saying in Spanish, “You saw the injustice and suffering, and in your infinite mercy you helped us.” Continue reading...
Local authorities in England and Wales warn finances at ‘breaking point’
More councils expected to fall into bankruptcy in near future as they face nervous wait over government fundingLocal authorities in England and Wales have warned their finances are at “breaking point” with more councils expected to fall into bankruptcy in future, as they face a nervous wait to discover their government funding this month.Council leaders expect changes to annual funding arrangements will result in steep cuts for many local authorities, preventing many from balancing their books and providing basic services to citizens. Continue reading...
‘I’d defend our nation’: Poles prepare for growing threat of war
From digging trenches and building walls, to learning survival skills, Poland is increasingly aware of risks posed by its eastern neighboursCezary Pruszko still remembers the civil defence training of his Communist-era schooldays – map reading, survival skills, and a sense that the danger of war was real and ever present.“My generation grew up with those threats. You didn’t have to explain why this mattered,” said the 60-year-old Pruszko, as he refreshed those skills at an army base outside Warsaw on a recent frosty Saturday morning. With dozens of other Polish civilians, he toured a bomb shelter, fitted gas masks and practised striking sparks from a flint to start a fire. Continue reading...
‘Portrait of a man’, who was 18th-century Corsican independence leader, goes on sale
Painting of Enlightenment figure, whose constitution for the island inspired revolutionaries in US, is up for auctionThirty years ago, a painting by the British artist Sir William Beechey was sold as “portrait of a man”.The anonymous buyer, however, knew precisely who the unnamed man in the picture was: Pascal Paoli, the 18th-century Corsican independence leader and icon of the Enlightenment. Continue reading...
Indonesia is repatriating 2 Dutch drug traffickers convicted on drug trafficking charges
Indonesian officials say that two Dutch nationals imprisoned for drug trafficking will be repatriated to the Netherlands on Monday
Turkish police officer dies from gunshot wounds suffered in Istanbul drug raid
Turkish officials say a police officer has died after being shot during a drug raid in Istanbul
Japan PM vows ‘resolute’ response after Chinese aircraft accused of locking radar on to Japanese fighter jets
China’s ambassador summoned over alleged weekend incident that saw Chinese J-15 fighter aircraft twice train their radar on Japanese F-15sThe diplomatic dispute between Japan and China appeared to deepen over the weekend after Chinese military planes were accused of locking their radar on to Japanese fighter jets near the Okinawa islands.Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, vowed to “respond calmly and resolutely” to the alleged incident, saying her country would take all possible measures to strengthen maritime and airspace surveillance and closely monitor Chinese military activities. The country’s foreign ministry also summoned China’s ambassador on Sunday. China’s government has roundly rejected Japan’s accusations, instead lodging its own counterprotests. Continue reading...
A second flight of Iranian deportees, carrying 55, has left the US, Iran says
Iranian officials say a second flight carrying deported Iranians has left the United States
