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Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
Australia pays US second $800m for AUKUS amid review
Australia has paid the United States $A800 million in the second instalment under the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal, despite an ongoing formal review of the agreement by US President Donald Trump's administration. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed the latest instalment on Wednesday, following an initial $A500 million paid in February. In 2023, the United States, Australia and Britain unveiled details of a plan to provide Australia with nuclear-powered attack submarines from the early 2030s to counter China's ambitions in the Indo-Pacific. Australia committed to spend $A368 billion over three decades in its biggest-ever defence deal. Canberra is due to pay the US $A3 billion by the end of the year to support the expansion of American submarine shipyards, Reuters reported in April. "There's a schedule of payments to be made. We have an agreement with the United States as well as with the United Kingdom, it is about increasing their capacity, their industrial capacity," Albanese told national broadcaster ABC. "As part of that as well, we have Australians on the ground, learning those skills." Trump launched a formal review of AUKUS in June to examine whether the pact met his "American First" criteria. It will be led by Elbridge Colby, who in the past has expressed scepticism about AUKUS. Australia, which sees the submarines as critical to its own defence as tensions grow over China's military build-up, has maintained it is confident the pact will proceed. "We support AUKUS," Albanese said. "We have an agreement to a treaty level, with our partners, signed, of course in San Diego with the United States and United Kingdom." Washington will sell several Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines to Australia, while Britain and Australia will later build a new AUKUS-class submarine.
Herald Sun
2 hours ago
- Herald Sun
Japan PM plans to resign after election debacle: local media
Don't miss out on the headlines from Breaking News. Followed categories will be added to My News. Having done a trade deal with US President Donald Trump, Japan's prime minister will soon announce his resignation, reports said Wednesday, after his latest election debacle left his coalition without a majority now in both houses of parliament. The reports said Shigeru Ishiba had conveyed his intention to step down to those close to him, following the announcement Wednesday of a US-Japan trade deal. Sunday's upper house election was calamitous for Ishiba's centre-right Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has governed almost continuously since 1955. Voters angry at inflation turned to other parties, notably the "Japanese first" Sanseito, whose "anti-globalist" drive echoes the agenda of populist movements elsewhere. Ishiba plans to vacate the top job by the end of August, the Mainichi daily reported. The Yomiuri newspaper said he would announce his resignation in July but did not give details of when he would leave office. These and other reports said calls for the 68-year-old to depart had grown louder within the LDP since the results of the upper house election. But he communicated his decision after striking a trade deal with Washington that cut a threatened 25-percent tariff to 15 percent ahead of an August 1 deadline. In the election on Sunday, the LDP and its junior partner Komeito fell three seats short of retaining a majority. It came only months after Ishiba's coalition was forced into a minority government in the more powerful lower house, in the LDP's worst result in 15 years. Ishiba won the party leadership in September, on his fifth try, to become the 10th LDP prime minister since 2000 -- all of them men. Since the October snap lower house election, the ruling coalition has been forced to bargain with opposition parties to pass legislation. After years of stagnant or falling prices, consumers in the world's fourth-largest economy have been squeezed by inflation since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. In particular, the price of rice has doubled, while resentment has also lingered over an LDP funding scandal. "I really hope things will get better in Japan, but the population is declining, and I think living in Japan will get tougher and tougher," Naomi Omura, an 80-year-old from Hiroshima, told AFP in Tokyo on Wednesday. "It is disappointing that Japan cannot act more strongly" towards the United States" but "I think it was good that they agreed on a lower tariff", she said. Tetsuo Momiyama, an 81-year-old Tokyo resident, said Ishiba "is finished already". "It's a good timing for him to go," Momiyama said. hih-oh-kaf/mtp Originally published as Japan PM plans to resign after election debacle: local media
9 News
4 hours ago
- 9 News
Obama issues rare statement after ‘ridiculous' Trump claim
Barack Obama has issued a statement rejecting treason claims made by US President Donald Trump. Added an hour ago Heavy metal pioneer and Black Sabbath lead singer Ozzy Osbourne has died aged 76. 44 minutes ago 02:19 Barack Obama has issued a statement rejecting treason claims made by US President Donald Trump. an hour ago 01:54 Heavy metal pioneer Ozzy Osbourne has died aged 76, just weeks after his final show. 12 hours ago 02:24 Australia has joined with two dozen other nations to condemn Israel's aid model and urgently declare the war in Gaza must end. a day ago 02:11 A Bangladesh Air Force training aircraft has crashed into a school campus, killing at least 19 people. a day ago 01:49 Carnival Cruise Lines opens Celebration Key, $600m new private island in the Bahamas a day ago 01:23 Tesla's retro-futuristic diner has opened in Los Angeles, the restaurant features a drive-in movie theatre, classic diner food, Tesla merchandise and a Tesla Bot serving popcorn. a day ago 01:24 Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who starred on The Cosby Show, has died in a drowning accident in Costa Rica. a day ago 01:22 Two people have been seriously injured in a bizarre series of events in Germany's north-west. 2 days ago 01:33 The Pope has condemned the 'barbarity' of Israel's war in Gaza, after at least 93 people were killed while trying to reach aid. 2 days ago 01:53 US President Donald Trump is celebrating the first six months of his second term in office as he continues to face backlash over the handling of the Epstein files. 2 days ago 00:28 At least 32 people have been killed by Israeli fire while on their way to aid centres in Gaza, according to local officials. 3 days ago 00:15 Dozens of people have died in Ha Long Bay in Vietnam after a tourist boat capsized. 3 days ago 01:39
