Putin approves revamp of Russia's navy: Kremlin aide
Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved a new naval strategy which aims to fully restore Russia's position as one of the world's leading maritime powers, Kremlin aide Nikolai Patrushev says.
Russia has the world's third most powerful navy after China and the United States, according to most public rankings, although the navy has suffered a series of high-profile losses in the Ukraine war.
Patrushev, a former KGB officer who served with Putin in the northern Russian city of St Petersburg during Soviet times, said in an interview published on Monday that the new naval strategy - entitled "The Strategy for the Development of the Russian Navy up to 2050" - had been approved by Putin in late May.
"Russia's position as one of the world's greatest maritime powers is gradually recovering," Patrushev told the Argumenti i Fakti newspaper in an interview.
"It is impossible to carry out such work without a long-term vision of the scenarios for the development of the situation in the oceans, the evolution of challenges and threats, and, of course, without defining the goals and objectives facing the Russian navy," Patrushev said.
Patrushev gave no further details about the strategy, although Russia has ramped up spending on defence and security to Cold War levels as a percentage of gross domestic product.
A 2021 US Department of Defence report said China had the largest navy in the world and that Beijing's overall battle force was expected to grow to 460 ships by 2030.
Open source data suggests Russia has 79 submarines, including 14 nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, as well as 222 warships.
Its main fleet is the Northern Fleet, headquartered in Severomorsk on the Barents Sea.
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Australia news as it happened: Albanese addresses shooting of Nine journalist; Monash IVF caught in second embryo transfer bungle;
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The activists set out from Sicily a week ago to protest Israel's ongoing military campaign in the Gaza Strip and its tight restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid, which have put 2.3 million Palestinians at risk of famine. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which organised the voyage, said the activists were 'kidnapped by Israeli forces' about 200 kilometres off Gaza while trying to deliver desperately needed food, baby formula and medical supplies. With AP, Reuters 2.26pm Media union weighs in on Lauren Tomasi shooting By Amber Schultz The union representing Australian journalists has condemned the 'deliberate' targeting of Nine US Correspondent Lauren Tomasi, who was shot with a rubber bullet while reporting on immigration protests in Los Angeles. Loading In a statement on social media, the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance said the 'shocking' footage was 'evidence of the lengths media workers go to report the truth'. 'Tomasi appears to be deliberately shot while she is speaking to the camera. Journalists reporting from the frontline of protests and wars fulfil the essential role of bearing witness, and should be accorded the same protections as other frontline workers,' the statement read. 'We are grateful to learn both Lauren and her camera person are safe, but this situation highlights the need to centre worker safety. No one deserves to be shot or injured during the course of their work.' 2.13pm Ban on machete sales working despite eBay ads, says Consumer Affairs Victoria By Madeleine Heffernan Consumer Affairs Victoria says its crackdown on the sale of machetes is working, despite advertisements for the weapons appearing on online marketplace eBay. 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'And we're reasonably confident at the moment that that technology is working, and it would remain very difficult to purchase a machete on eBay.' The machete ban came into effect on May 28. Maximum penalties for breaching an interim product safety ban are $2.5 million for individuals and $50 million for companies. The government will move to permanently ban the possession, use and sale of machetes in Victoria later this year. 1.56pm Another election on the cards for Tassie By Alexander Darling Tasmanians – and the AFL – are watching and waiting to see if Liberal premier Jeremy Rockliff will call a snap election today. Last week, Rockliff narrowly lost a no-confidence motion moved against him in parliament by the state opposition. Loading Following this, Rockliff broke with parliamentary convention and chose not to step down. He is expected to visit the state's governor today to make the election request, following a sitting of state parliament to pass an emergency budget bill to ensure public servants get paid. Labor said it moved the no-confidence motion in response to what it called issues of financial management, government plans to privatise public assets and cost blowouts on projects such as new Spirit of Tasmania ferries. If an election is called, it will be the second for Tasmania in as many years and the fourth election in seven years, when elections are meant to be held every four years. On Tuesday morning, Police Minister Felix Ellis claimed he had texts 'sent by a member of [opposition leader Dean Winter's] inner sanctum' proving Winter's no-confidence motion was a power grab rather than moved in the interests of Tasmanians. Winter has tipped the purse strings would be tightened during an election campaign. 'This will not be a spendathon from Labor. Our state can't afford it,' he said. Over the weekend, Rockliff ruled out privatisations as a way of balancing the budget, in an attempt to defuse opposition attacks. The turmoil in the state's politics is likely to have repercussions for the Tasmania Devils, the planned 19th team in the AFL. The AFL Commission is meeting today and the political situation is likely to be on the agenda. 1.45pm What we know so far By Carla Jaeger Thanks for tuning into our live coverage of the latest national and international news, headed by Amber Schultz. I'm Carla Jaeger, and I'll be anchoring the blog for the rest of the afternoon. If you're just joining us, here's what you may have missed: A formal investigation is under way into the shooting with a rubber bullet of Nine News correspondent Lauren Tomasi, who was covering the ICE protests in Los Angeles. An IVF clinic in Melbourne has transferred the wrong embryo into a Melbourne woman, the second incident admitted by the fertility giant in as many months. Federal Treasury secretary Steven Kennedy has been appointed the new chief of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's department. The announcement was made during Albanese's National Press Club address.
