Federal politics live: US condemns Australia's joint sanctions on Israeli ministers
Australia's sanctions against two far-right Israeli government ministers have been condemned by the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong on Wednesday morning announced Australia would join New Zealand, Canada, Norway and the United Kingdom in sanctioning Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.
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The Australian
34 minutes ago
- The Australian
The ASX 200 fell on Trump's latest announcement
The Australian sharemarket snapped its recent record run after US President Donald Trump and Iran defence minister Aziz Nasirzadeh exchanged threats. The benchmark ASX 200 index slid 27 points or 0.31 per cent to 8,565.10, after reaching a record close on Wednesday on the back of trade talks. The broader All Ordinaries also fell, losing 23.60 points or 0.27 per cent closing at 8,796.00. The Australian dollar slipped 0.25 per cent and is now buying 64.92 US cents. Seven of the 11 sectors actually finished in the green, led by energy stocks but a fall in the index heavy banks and material shares dragged the market lower. Despite the market falling, seven of the 11 sectors finished in the green. Picture: NewsWire / Jeremy Piper The market initially traded higher before falling throughout the day, on the back of commodity prices after Mr Trump and Mr Nasirzadeh exchanged threats as the US President vowed to not let Iran enrich its uranium. Despite the price of oil spiking by 5 per cent to nearly $US70 a barrel it was a mixed day for the producers. Woodside Energy shares slipped 0.21 per cent to $23.47, while Santos is up slightly by 0.15 per cent to $6.71. Gold miners were among the major winners with Northern Star Resources up 1.23 per cent to $21.43, while Newmont jumped 2.98 per cent to $83.21 and Genesis Minerals soared 6.03 per cent to $4.75. On the other hand, the index heavy financials slipped during Thursday's trading. Commonwealth Bank fell 0.48 per cent to $180.53, NAB dropped 0.20 per cent $38.99, Westpac slumped 0.83 per cent to $33.35 and ANZ finished in the red down 0.50 per cent to $29.79. Capital. Com senior financial market analyst Kyle Rodda said Thursday's run up in the oil price built on a move that began with hopes from the US-China trade progress. 'News out of the Middle East that diplomats were being evacuated from the US embassy in Baghdad due to threats from Iran sparked fears about disruptions in energy markets and unsettled broader market sentiment,' he said. The ASX 200 snapped a winning streak on Thursday. Picture: NewsWire / Christian Gilles Mr Rodda also said data out of the US showed it had dipped further into its oil reserves than predicted. 'The imbalance between the supply and demand outlook in oil markets, especially after OPEC's recent decision to not increase output in July, appears to be reversing, pushing up oil prices. Last night's rally drove oil prices through a critical resistance zone.' In company news, shares in online luxury fashion retail platform Cettire slumped 31.18 per cent to a record low price of $0.32 after a major profit warning. Shares in Myer also fell 0.7 per cent to $0.69 after the department store retailer told the market director Jacquie Naylor would retire from the board after six years in the job. Monash IVF shares were on the rise up 9.1 per cent to $0.66 after announcing chief executive Michael Knaap had left the business after a second embryo mix up in three months. Read related topics: ASXDonald Trump
SBS Australia
an hour ago
- SBS Australia
SBS Examines: Australia tej cai tshiab tiv thaiv thiab daws tej hate speech li cas?
Lub ob hlis ntuj ces tsev tsoom fwv teb chaws tau tsim tau tsab cai Criminal Code Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill siv, ces thiaj tau muaj cov kev pauv hloov rau tej cai tswj tej kev ua txhaum cai vim ntxub lwm tsav neeg ntawm tsab cai Criminal Code Act of 1995. Tsab cai no raug Mark Dreyfus uas yog pab nom Labor tus nom kws lij choj teb chaws coj los sab laj hauv tsev tsoom fwv tsaib no. Nws tau hais tias cov kev pov puag tshiab no yuav pab kom tsab cai no muaj peev xwm los raus tes rau tej xwm txheej no thaum ntxov kom tiv thaiv tsis txhob muaj tej xwm txheej kub ntxhov. Tej cai tshiab no pab kom peb xa tau ib tsab xo meej tseeb qhia rau tej neeg uas pheej xav tsim teeb meem kom muaj kev sib tawg tswj rau peb. Thiab peb yuav tsis cia kom pheej muaj cov kev hais lus ntxub lwm tsav neeg ntawm lub teb chaws no los yog ua lwm cov kev ntxub ntxaug uas ntxhob los yog hawv tawm tsam nrog lwm tus. Tab sis muaj ib txhia kws hais tias tseem tshuav ntau yam yuav tau los ua mas thiaj yuav pab tau tej zejzog uas raug lwm tus hais lus ntxub ntxaug lawv. Ua ntej yuav txog pej kum haiv hnub International Day for Countering Hate Speech hnub tim 18 lub 6 hli ntuj no, peb nug txog tias seb Australia tej cai hate speech laws tshiab no ho muaj hom phiaj dab tsi los daws tej teeb meem uas ua rau muaj rau peb lub teb chaws li cas, thiab ho tshuav yam twg uas tseem muaj peev xwm ua pab ntxiv.
The Australian
an hour ago
- The Australian
US review on AUKUS nuclear submarine deal makes sense
The Americans are clearly having second thoughts on the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal. And who can blame them? The Albanese government has no credibility on defence with anyone, including the Americans. Elbridge Colby, the US Under-Secretary of Defence for Policy, will conduct a 30-day review to determine whether AUKUS fits in with Donald Trump's America First policies. Colby is a thoughtful and hugely influential strategic leader in the US. He is also one of the chief sceptics of AUKUS. The Australian embassy in Washington, under ambassador Kevin Rudd, has put enormous effort into trying to bring Colby round on AUKUS. Colby, like US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, considers Australia's defence effort, of a pitiful 2 per cent of GDP on defence spending, to be completely inadequate and obviously lacking all credibility. No country in history has gone down the road of acquiring nuclear-powered submarines without hugely increasing their defence budget. The Albanese government is trying to have all the benefits of AUKUS but not actually do anything substantial or timely about defence. It's interesting that in Hegseth's remarks relating to Australia at the recent security conference in Singapore, he mentioned various joint projects involving the US and Australia but didn't mention AUKUS at all. That's because the Trump administration understands that the most acute strategic challenge to Australia and regional security generally comes from China over the next 10 years, not in 30 years when Australia will notionally have its AUKUS fleet of nuclear-powered submarines. Colby also has fundamental doubts about the US industrial capacity to produce enough Virginia-class submarines to have one spare for Australia in the early 2030s. In order for the sale of Virginia subs to Australia to go ahead, the US must reach a production rate of well over two Virginias a year. The production rate is well below that. In the past, Colby has expressed a simple contradiction: if the US is short of nuclear-powered submarines itself why would it take one, and eventually three to five, out of its order of battle to sell them to Australia? The Albanese government, as a cheap alternative to producing a serious defence effort of its own, has committed to donating several billion dollars to the US to expand US industrial capacity. Defence Minister Richard Marles recently gave Hegseth a cheque for $800m. The Albanese government surely feels that by handing over hard money early, it will at least have bought kind comments from the Trump administration. And, of course, when the early 2030s finally come around, any outcome is possible. The US president at the time (JD Vance?) will go ahead with the deal only if it serves the US national interest and won't diminish its capability. It's hard to see how taking a Virginia-class sub out of the US Navy and putting it in Australia's navy will really satisfy those criteria. Instead, Australia could suffer further delay, and perhaps get, initially as a training boat, a much older sub. The Americans would also be aware that the necessary work to make the West Australian naval base at Stirling fit for US nuclear submarine basing, even temporary basing, is moving at a glacial pace, and is subject to the usual environmental green regulation madness and delays Australia specialises in. The bottom line is the Albanese government has not done enough within AUKUS to be a credible partner. And it has certainly not done enough with Australian defence capabilities outside AUKUS to make Australia credible in its own defence, or a seriously credible alliance partner for the US. The only foreign capital it consistently pleases these days is Beijing. If AUKUS were to fall over, it would be a blow to US credibility; it would also be a savage blow to Australian credibility, which is already in tatters. At the same time, there is no sign Anthony Albanese himself has any relationship with Donald Trump. Albanese promised he would visit the US early in this term. The decision not to go to Washington in connection with the G7 meeting in Canada next week is a sign of political cowardice on his part. He rightly has little or no confidence in his ability to handle a public encounter with Trump. Now it's not even clear if he can secure a proper meeting with Trump in Canada. The government's one commitment is to do and say the absolute minimum on security matters, in the hope controversy and difficulties blow over. It's not a remotely adequate approach. Read related topics: AUKUS Greg Sheridan Foreign Editor Greg Sheridan is The Australian's foreign editor. His most recent book, Christians, the urgent case for Jesus in our world, became a best seller weeks after publication. It makes the case for the historical reliability of the New Testament and explores the lives of early Christians and contemporary Christians. He is one of the nation's most influential national security commentators, who is active across television and radio, and also writes extensively on culture and religion. He has written eight books, mostly on Asia and international relations. A previous book, God is Good for You, was also a best seller. When We Were Young and Foolish was an entertaining memoir of culture, politics and journalism. As foreign editor, he specialises in Asia and America. He has interviewed Presidents and Prime Ministers around the world.
