Zelenskiy calls for more pressure on Russia
A Russian missile strike on a nine-story Kyiv apartment building is a sign that more pressure must be applied on Moscow to agree to a ceasefire, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says, as Moscow intensifies attacks in the war.
The drone and missile attack on Kyiv early on Tuesday, the deadliest assault on the capital this year, killed 28 people across the city and wounded 142 others, Kyiv Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko said.
Zelenskiy, along with the head of the presidential office, Andrii Yermak, and Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, visited the site of the apartment building in Kyiv's Solomianskyi district on Thursday morning, laying flowers and paying tribute to the 23 people who died there after a direct hit by a missile brought down the structure.
"This attack is a reminder to the world that Russia rejects a ceasefire and chooses killing," Zelenskiy wrote on Telegram, and thanked Ukraine's partners who he said are ready to pressure Russia to "feel the real cost of the war."
Tuesday's attack on Kyiv was part of a sweeping barrage as Russia once again sought to overwhelm Ukrainian air defences. Russia fired more than 440 drones and 32 missiles in what Zelenskiy called one of the biggest bombardments of the war, which began on February 24, 2022.
As Russia proceeds with a summer offensive on parts of the roughly 1000km front line, US-led peace efforts have failed to gain traction. Russian President Vladimir Putin has effectively rejected an offer from US President Donald Trump for an immediate 30-day ceasefire, making it conditional on a halt on Ukraine's mobilisation effort and a freeze on Western arms supplies.
Meanwhile, Middle East tensions and US trade tariffs have drawn away world attention from Ukraine's pleas for more diplomatic and economic pressure to be placed on Moscow.
In recent weeks, Russia has intensified long-range attacks that have struck urban residential areas. Yet on Wednesday, Putin denied that his military had struck such targets, saying that attacks were "against military industries, not residential quarters."
Putin told senior news leaders of international news agencies in St Petersburg, Russia, that he was open to talks with Zelenskiy, but repeated his accusation that the Ukrainian leader had lost his legitimacy after his term expired last year — allegations rejected by Kyiv and its allies.
"We are ready for substantive talks on the principles of a settlement," Putin said, noting that a previous round of talks in Istanbul had led to an exchange of prisoners and the bodies of fallen soldiers.
A new round of such exchanges took place in Ukraine's Chernihiv region on Thursday, involving the repatriation of Ukrainian prisoners of war who, according to Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War or KSHPPV, were suffering from severe health issues caused by injuries and prolonged detention.
The exchange was confirmed by Russia's defence ministry, which released a video of Russian servicemen at an exchange area in Belarus after being released in the prisoner swap.
Commenting on the exchange, Zelenskiy wrote on Telegram: "We are working to get our people back. Thank you to everyone who helps make these exchanges possible. Our goal is to free each and every one."
Many of the exchanged Ukrainian POWs had spent over three years in captivity, with a large number captured during the defence of the now Russian-occupied city of Mariupol in 2022, according to the KSHPPV, which added that preparations for another prisoner exchange are ongoing.
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News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
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The Advertiser
2 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Judge blocks Trump plan to force immigration crackdown
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The judge, an appointee of Democratic President Barack Obama, issued a preliminary injunction preventing such a condition from being enforced against the 20 states that sued along with their government subdivisions, like cities. The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment. It has argued the policy was within the department's discretion. The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by a group of Democratic state attorneys general who argued the administration was seeking to unlawfully hold federal funds hostage to coerce them into adhering to the Republican president's hardline immigration agenda. They sued after US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy notified states in April they could lose transportation funding if they didn't cooperate with the enforcement of federal law, including efforts to enforce immigration law. Since returning to office on January 20, Trump has signed several executive orders that have called for cutting off federal funding to so-called sanctuary jurisdictions that do not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as his administration has moved to conduct mass deportations. Sanctuary jurisdictions generally have laws and policies that limit or prevent local law enforcement from assisting federal officers with civil immigration arrests. California Attorney General Rob Bonta, in a statement, hailed McConnell's ruling, saying Trump had been "treating these funds – funds that go toward improving our roads and keeping our planes in the air – as a bargaining chip." A federal judge has blocked Donald Trump's administration from forcing 20 Democrat-led states to cooperate with immigration enforcement in order to receive billions of dollars in transport funding. Chief US District Judge John McConnell ruled the Department of Transportation lacked the authority to make the demand, and that the condition violated the US Constitution. McConnell said the administration provided no plausible connection between cooperating with immigration enforcement and the purposes Congress intended for the funding, which is to support highways, bridges and other transportation projects. "Congress did not authorise or grant authority to the Secretary of Transportation to impose immigration enforcement conditions on federal dollars specifically appropriated for transportation purposes," McConnell wrote. The judge, an appointee of Democratic President Barack Obama, issued a preliminary injunction preventing such a condition from being enforced against the 20 states that sued along with their government subdivisions, like cities. The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment. It has argued the policy was within the department's discretion. The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by a group of Democratic state attorneys general who argued the administration was seeking to unlawfully hold federal funds hostage to coerce them into adhering to the Republican president's hardline immigration agenda. They sued after US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy notified states in April they could lose transportation funding if they didn't cooperate with the enforcement of federal law, including efforts to enforce immigration law. Since returning to office on January 20, Trump has signed several executive orders that have called for cutting off federal funding to so-called sanctuary jurisdictions that do not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as his administration has moved to conduct mass deportations. Sanctuary jurisdictions generally have laws and policies that limit or prevent local law enforcement from assisting federal officers with civil immigration arrests. California Attorney General Rob Bonta, in a statement, hailed McConnell's ruling, saying Trump had been "treating these funds – funds that go toward improving our roads and keeping our planes in the air – as a bargaining chip." A federal judge has blocked Donald Trump's administration from forcing 20 Democrat-led states to cooperate with immigration enforcement in order to receive billions of dollars in transport funding. Chief US District Judge John McConnell ruled the Department of Transportation lacked the authority to make the demand, and that the condition violated the US Constitution. McConnell said the administration provided no plausible connection between cooperating with immigration enforcement and the purposes Congress intended for the funding, which is to support highways, bridges and other transportation projects. "Congress did not authorise or grant authority to the Secretary of Transportation to impose immigration enforcement conditions on federal dollars specifically appropriated for transportation purposes," McConnell wrote. The judge, an appointee of Democratic President Barack Obama, issued a preliminary injunction preventing such a condition from being enforced against the 20 states that sued along with their government subdivisions, like cities. The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment. It has argued the policy was within the department's discretion. The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by a group of Democratic state attorneys general who argued the administration was seeking to unlawfully hold federal funds hostage to coerce them into adhering to the Republican president's hardline immigration agenda. They sued after US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy notified states in April they could lose transportation funding if they didn't cooperate with the enforcement of federal law, including efforts to enforce immigration law. Since returning to office on January 20, Trump has signed several executive orders that have called for cutting off federal funding to so-called sanctuary jurisdictions that do not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as his administration has moved to conduct mass deportations. Sanctuary jurisdictions generally have laws and policies that limit or prevent local law enforcement from assisting federal officers with civil immigration arrests. California Attorney General Rob Bonta, in a statement, hailed McConnell's ruling, saying Trump had been "treating these funds – funds that go toward improving our roads and keeping our planes in the air – as a bargaining chip." A federal judge has blocked Donald Trump's administration from forcing 20 Democrat-led states to cooperate with immigration enforcement in order to receive billions of dollars in transport funding. Chief US District Judge John McConnell ruled the Department of Transportation lacked the authority to make the demand, and that the condition violated the US Constitution. McConnell said the administration provided no plausible connection between cooperating with immigration enforcement and the purposes Congress intended for the funding, which is to support highways, bridges and other transportation projects. "Congress did not authorise or grant authority to the Secretary of Transportation to impose immigration enforcement conditions on federal dollars specifically appropriated for transportation purposes," McConnell wrote. The judge, an appointee of Democratic President Barack Obama, issued a preliminary injunction preventing such a condition from being enforced against the 20 states that sued along with their government subdivisions, like cities. The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment. It has argued the policy was within the department's discretion. The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by a group of Democratic state attorneys general who argued the administration was seeking to unlawfully hold federal funds hostage to coerce them into adhering to the Republican president's hardline immigration agenda. They sued after US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy notified states in April they could lose transportation funding if they didn't cooperate with the enforcement of federal law, including efforts to enforce immigration law. Since returning to office on January 20, Trump has signed several executive orders that have called for cutting off federal funding to so-called sanctuary jurisdictions that do not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as his administration has moved to conduct mass deportations. Sanctuary jurisdictions generally have laws and policies that limit or prevent local law enforcement from assisting federal officers with civil immigration arrests. California Attorney General Rob Bonta, in a statement, hailed McConnell's ruling, saying Trump had been "treating these funds – funds that go toward improving our roads and keeping our planes in the air – as a bargaining chip."
The Advertiser
2 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Breaking up is hard to do but there comes a time
This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to The wedding, only weeks away, is off. Dreams have dissolved in a swirling fog of bitterness, betrayal and resentment. But it's a gut-wrenching sadness that will linger, not only for the couple involved but for friends and family grieving a future that will never arrive. When something you believe in falls apart, anger eventually turns to sorrow for all that is lost. These friends of ours spent a year planning their celebration. An apartment was bought. Rings and outfits purchased. Guests had paid for flights and accommodation. How to make sense of something when love abruptly turns to cold silence? You sift through the rubble looking for those tell-tale signs of cold feet and gnawing doubts that only the aftermath reveals; how one partner clung to the dream more than the other; how others saw worrying signs but looked the other way, choosing fantasy over reality. Then the hardest thing: moving on. Australia faces a similar dilemma over its alliance with the US. We now have a sullen and aloof partner who wants different things. Donald Trump is swinging a wrecking ball through a century's worth of carefully-crafted international diplomacy, treating historic loyalties as nothing more than leverage and Australia as a second-class ally whose phone calls are no longer returned. Trump's administration is actively reviewing AUKUS - the security pact promised to be the cornerstone of our future defence. He questions the value of NATO, blithely undermines long-standing commitments to the Pacific region and is openly cynical about the old world order. He not only flirts with dictators but courts them. The US is an old lover grown contemptuous of traditional values. Australia is the still-believing partner, too quick to forgive, desperately believing the relationship can still be retrieved. It's time to move on. The Australian public certainly thinks so. The latest annual survey by the US-based Pew Research Centre shows we rank behind only Sweden when it comes to anti-Trump sentiment, viewing him as dangerous and a threat to peace and the global economy. To alienate so many old friends in a few months is no mean achievement. Or an accident. Enter Anthony Albanese, his historic election victory all but forgotten in a world punch drunk from endless economic and military crises. His task - almost certainly the legacy-defining mission of his prime ministership - is to ease Australia from an increasingly unreliable relationship with the US and steer a new path for our nation. There is a blueprint of sorts for him to follow. Paul Keating saw this moment coming years ago. After decades of burying our dead in America's wars because we believed it would do the same for us, Keating said it was time for us to end our US dependency and embrace Asia, the dynamic, complex and rapidly emerging region in which we live. The former PM was ridiculed for saying we needed to grow up and stop acting like a deputy sheriff. At the time China was still a rising power. It has now risen. India is on the same path. Nations like Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan and South Korea are our neighbours, trading partners and should be our strategic peers. Yet we continue treating them like brief stopovers on our way to the glamour of old London and Washington. But nostalgia is not a strategy. Growing up and moving on means investing in regional alliances, not relying on a nation teetering on the brink of civil breakdown. Trust can only be established in southeast Asia by making decisions in the best interests of us and our region, not parroting US policy that these days is increasingly erratic and unhinged. No one says we should completely walk away from America. We've long had a close and co-dependent relationship - culturally and militarily. Completely severing ties would be foolish. But like the sudden relationship implosion and hastily cancelled wedding of my friends, Australia faces two choices: to wallow in the loss of an alliance growing increasingly distant, or accept that a once strong and mutually beneficial partnership has become too one-sided. The healthy alternative? Get out into the world and make some new friends. We stopped clinging to England's skirts a long time ago. Surely we are a nation with enough ingenuity, resilience and self-belief to walk away from another damaged relationship and preserve our sense of self-worth. It might be Donald Trump's lasting contribution to international diplomacy: follow America's lead and put yourself first. HAVE YOUR SAY: Should Australia distance itself from the US and forge greater military and economic partnerships in Asia? Do you still trust the US to support Australia in the event of a conflict? Do you find Trump's disdain for the old world order refreshing or a calamity causing greater instability? Have you or someone you know been left at the altar? Email us: echidna@ SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: - An election promise to implement a 2030 greenhouse gas emissions target has been abandoned by the Northern Territory as it vigorously pushes for more mining and energy projects. - New Zealand has suspended millions of dollars in budget funding to the Cook Islands, as the relationship between the two constitutionally linked countries continues to deteriorate amid the island group's deepening ties with China. - Up to 105 cases of land clearing, mainly for farming, could soon be under investigation by authorities after a citizen science project uncovered 90,000 hectares of bush bulldozed over the past five years. THEY SAID IT: "The view here (in Australia) is that the US will rescue us if we ever really have a problem. And I don't think that's true ... I think you're unwise for believing it's true." - Tucker Carlson YOU SAID IT: There's nothing like curling your toes in front of a roaring fire. But if you can smell the smoke it's most likely doing you harm. David thinks wood heaters should be banned: "I've had a gutful and a lung full of the smoke seeping into my house on winter evenings and filling my lungs in the backyard, not to mention polluting my freshly hung washing. I have several friends who are 'green' in many respects, but will not give up their beloved wood-fired heaters. The science is uber clear; in the ACT these heaters contribute to between 11 and 63 deaths each year. The ACT government needs to step up and fulfil its duty of care obligation to Canberrans." "I live in Hadspen near Launceston and both towns are surrounded by hills which trap smoke in still conditions," writes Rowan. "Launceston has the worst air quality of any city in Australia - beating Sydney. The love of wood fires in Tasmania is immutable. Despite new housing being built with reverse-cycle heating (called heat-pumps down here) and electricity at 15c per kWh, people still install these stink-heaters. I feel sorry for the wildlife that cannot escape and for their habitat which is often illegally logged to feed these heaters." Murray writes: "I have a bit of lung disease caused by smoking, back in the day when everyone smoked. So when we bought our cottage in the country the first thing we did was pull out the log burner. It was out of the ark anyway. When I go out on a still, cold morning and smoke is in the air, my breathing is awful. Does that mean our neighbours must get rid of their fires? Of course not." "I loved my wood fire back in the day, but I've bowed to the knowledge it was bad for me, my neighbours and the environment," writes Keith. "However, I can't wean myself off the comfort of the bouncing flame in the living room so I've installed an electric fire. It's not quite the same but it can still generate a feeling of wellbeing on a cold morning or evening." This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to The wedding, only weeks away, is off. Dreams have dissolved in a swirling fog of bitterness, betrayal and resentment. But it's a gut-wrenching sadness that will linger, not only for the couple involved but for friends and family grieving a future that will never arrive. When something you believe in falls apart, anger eventually turns to sorrow for all that is lost. These friends of ours spent a year planning their celebration. An apartment was bought. Rings and outfits purchased. Guests had paid for flights and accommodation. How to make sense of something when love abruptly turns to cold silence? You sift through the rubble looking for those tell-tale signs of cold feet and gnawing doubts that only the aftermath reveals; how one partner clung to the dream more than the other; how others saw worrying signs but looked the other way, choosing fantasy over reality. Then the hardest thing: moving on. Australia faces a similar dilemma over its alliance with the US. We now have a sullen and aloof partner who wants different things. Donald Trump is swinging a wrecking ball through a century's worth of carefully-crafted international diplomacy, treating historic loyalties as nothing more than leverage and Australia as a second-class ally whose phone calls are no longer returned. Trump's administration is actively reviewing AUKUS - the security pact promised to be the cornerstone of our future defence. He questions the value of NATO, blithely undermines long-standing commitments to the Pacific region and is openly cynical about the old world order. He not only flirts with dictators but courts them. The US is an old lover grown contemptuous of traditional values. Australia is the still-believing partner, too quick to forgive, desperately believing the relationship can still be retrieved. It's time to move on. The Australian public certainly thinks so. The latest annual survey by the US-based Pew Research Centre shows we rank behind only Sweden when it comes to anti-Trump sentiment, viewing him as dangerous and a threat to peace and the global economy. To alienate so many old friends in a few months is no mean achievement. Or an accident. Enter Anthony Albanese, his historic election victory all but forgotten in a world punch drunk from endless economic and military crises. His task - almost certainly the legacy-defining mission of his prime ministership - is to ease Australia from an increasingly unreliable relationship with the US and steer a new path for our nation. There is a blueprint of sorts for him to follow. Paul Keating saw this moment coming years ago. After decades of burying our dead in America's wars because we believed it would do the same for us, Keating said it was time for us to end our US dependency and embrace Asia, the dynamic, complex and rapidly emerging region in which we live. The former PM was ridiculed for saying we needed to grow up and stop acting like a deputy sheriff. At the time China was still a rising power. It has now risen. India is on the same path. Nations like Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan and South Korea are our neighbours, trading partners and should be our strategic peers. Yet we continue treating them like brief stopovers on our way to the glamour of old London and Washington. But nostalgia is not a strategy. Growing up and moving on means investing in regional alliances, not relying on a nation teetering on the brink of civil breakdown. Trust can only be established in southeast Asia by making decisions in the best interests of us and our region, not parroting US policy that these days is increasingly erratic and unhinged. No one says we should completely walk away from America. We've long had a close and co-dependent relationship - culturally and militarily. Completely severing ties would be foolish. But like the sudden relationship implosion and hastily cancelled wedding of my friends, Australia faces two choices: to wallow in the loss of an alliance growing increasingly distant, or accept that a once strong and mutually beneficial partnership has become too one-sided. The healthy alternative? Get out into the world and make some new friends. We stopped clinging to England's skirts a long time ago. Surely we are a nation with enough ingenuity, resilience and self-belief to walk away from another damaged relationship and preserve our sense of self-worth. It might be Donald Trump's lasting contribution to international diplomacy: follow America's lead and put yourself first. HAVE YOUR SAY: Should Australia distance itself from the US and forge greater military and economic partnerships in Asia? Do you still trust the US to support Australia in the event of a conflict? Do you find Trump's disdain for the old world order refreshing or a calamity causing greater instability? Have you or someone you know been left at the altar? Email us: echidna@ SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: - An election promise to implement a 2030 greenhouse gas emissions target has been abandoned by the Northern Territory as it vigorously pushes for more mining and energy projects. - New Zealand has suspended millions of dollars in budget funding to the Cook Islands, as the relationship between the two constitutionally linked countries continues to deteriorate amid the island group's deepening ties with China. - Up to 105 cases of land clearing, mainly for farming, could soon be under investigation by authorities after a citizen science project uncovered 90,000 hectares of bush bulldozed over the past five years. THEY SAID IT: "The view here (in Australia) is that the US will rescue us if we ever really have a problem. And I don't think that's true ... I think you're unwise for believing it's true." - Tucker Carlson YOU SAID IT: There's nothing like curling your toes in front of a roaring fire. But if you can smell the smoke it's most likely doing you harm. David thinks wood heaters should be banned: "I've had a gutful and a lung full of the smoke seeping into my house on winter evenings and filling my lungs in the backyard, not to mention polluting my freshly hung washing. I have several friends who are 'green' in many respects, but will not give up their beloved wood-fired heaters. The science is uber clear; in the ACT these heaters contribute to between 11 and 63 deaths each year. The ACT government needs to step up and fulfil its duty of care obligation to Canberrans." "I live in Hadspen near Launceston and both towns are surrounded by hills which trap smoke in still conditions," writes Rowan. "Launceston has the worst air quality of any city in Australia - beating Sydney. The love of wood fires in Tasmania is immutable. Despite new housing being built with reverse-cycle heating (called heat-pumps down here) and electricity at 15c per kWh, people still install these stink-heaters. I feel sorry for the wildlife that cannot escape and for their habitat which is often illegally logged to feed these heaters." Murray writes: "I have a bit of lung disease caused by smoking, back in the day when everyone smoked. So when we bought our cottage in the country the first thing we did was pull out the log burner. It was out of the ark anyway. When I go out on a still, cold morning and smoke is in the air, my breathing is awful. Does that mean our neighbours must get rid of their fires? Of course not." "I loved my wood fire back in the day, but I've bowed to the knowledge it was bad for me, my neighbours and the environment," writes Keith. "However, I can't wean myself off the comfort of the bouncing flame in the living room so I've installed an electric fire. It's not quite the same but it can still generate a feeling of wellbeing on a cold morning or evening." This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to The wedding, only weeks away, is off. Dreams have dissolved in a swirling fog of bitterness, betrayal and resentment. But it's a gut-wrenching sadness that will linger, not only for the couple involved but for friends and family grieving a future that will never arrive. When something you believe in falls apart, anger eventually turns to sorrow for all that is lost. These friends of ours spent a year planning their celebration. An apartment was bought. Rings and outfits purchased. Guests had paid for flights and accommodation. How to make sense of something when love abruptly turns to cold silence? You sift through the rubble looking for those tell-tale signs of cold feet and gnawing doubts that only the aftermath reveals; how one partner clung to the dream more than the other; how others saw worrying signs but looked the other way, choosing fantasy over reality. Then the hardest thing: moving on. Australia faces a similar dilemma over its alliance with the US. We now have a sullen and aloof partner who wants different things. Donald Trump is swinging a wrecking ball through a century's worth of carefully-crafted international diplomacy, treating historic loyalties as nothing more than leverage and Australia as a second-class ally whose phone calls are no longer returned. Trump's administration is actively reviewing AUKUS - the security pact promised to be the cornerstone of our future defence. He questions the value of NATO, blithely undermines long-standing commitments to the Pacific region and is openly cynical about the old world order. He not only flirts with dictators but courts them. The US is an old lover grown contemptuous of traditional values. Australia is the still-believing partner, too quick to forgive, desperately believing the relationship can still be retrieved. It's time to move on. The Australian public certainly thinks so. The latest annual survey by the US-based Pew Research Centre shows we rank behind only Sweden when it comes to anti-Trump sentiment, viewing him as dangerous and a threat to peace and the global economy. To alienate so many old friends in a few months is no mean achievement. Or an accident. Enter Anthony Albanese, his historic election victory all but forgotten in a world punch drunk from endless economic and military crises. His task - almost certainly the legacy-defining mission of his prime ministership - is to ease Australia from an increasingly unreliable relationship with the US and steer a new path for our nation. There is a blueprint of sorts for him to follow. Paul Keating saw this moment coming years ago. After decades of burying our dead in America's wars because we believed it would do the same for us, Keating said it was time for us to end our US dependency and embrace Asia, the dynamic, complex and rapidly emerging region in which we live. The former PM was ridiculed for saying we needed to grow up and stop acting like a deputy sheriff. At the time China was still a rising power. It has now risen. India is on the same path. Nations like Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan and South Korea are our neighbours, trading partners and should be our strategic peers. Yet we continue treating them like brief stopovers on our way to the glamour of old London and Washington. But nostalgia is not a strategy. Growing up and moving on means investing in regional alliances, not relying on a nation teetering on the brink of civil breakdown. Trust can only be established in southeast Asia by making decisions in the best interests of us and our region, not parroting US policy that these days is increasingly erratic and unhinged. No one says we should completely walk away from America. We've long had a close and co-dependent relationship - culturally and militarily. Completely severing ties would be foolish. But like the sudden relationship implosion and hastily cancelled wedding of my friends, Australia faces two choices: to wallow in the loss of an alliance growing increasingly distant, or accept that a once strong and mutually beneficial partnership has become too one-sided. The healthy alternative? Get out into the world and make some new friends. We stopped clinging to England's skirts a long time ago. Surely we are a nation with enough ingenuity, resilience and self-belief to walk away from another damaged relationship and preserve our sense of self-worth. It might be Donald Trump's lasting contribution to international diplomacy: follow America's lead and put yourself first. HAVE YOUR SAY: Should Australia distance itself from the US and forge greater military and economic partnerships in Asia? Do you still trust the US to support Australia in the event of a conflict? Do you find Trump's disdain for the old world order refreshing or a calamity causing greater instability? Have you or someone you know been left at the altar? Email us: echidna@ SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: - An election promise to implement a 2030 greenhouse gas emissions target has been abandoned by the Northern Territory as it vigorously pushes for more mining and energy projects. - New Zealand has suspended millions of dollars in budget funding to the Cook Islands, as the relationship between the two constitutionally linked countries continues to deteriorate amid the island group's deepening ties with China. - Up to 105 cases of land clearing, mainly for farming, could soon be under investigation by authorities after a citizen science project uncovered 90,000 hectares of bush bulldozed over the past five years. THEY SAID IT: "The view here (in Australia) is that the US will rescue us if we ever really have a problem. And I don't think that's true ... I think you're unwise for believing it's true." - Tucker Carlson YOU SAID IT: There's nothing like curling your toes in front of a roaring fire. But if you can smell the smoke it's most likely doing you harm. David thinks wood heaters should be banned: "I've had a gutful and a lung full of the smoke seeping into my house on winter evenings and filling my lungs in the backyard, not to mention polluting my freshly hung washing. I have several friends who are 'green' in many respects, but will not give up their beloved wood-fired heaters. The science is uber clear; in the ACT these heaters contribute to between 11 and 63 deaths each year. The ACT government needs to step up and fulfil its duty of care obligation to Canberrans." "I live in Hadspen near Launceston and both towns are surrounded by hills which trap smoke in still conditions," writes Rowan. "Launceston has the worst air quality of any city in Australia - beating Sydney. The love of wood fires in Tasmania is immutable. Despite new housing being built with reverse-cycle heating (called heat-pumps down here) and electricity at 15c per kWh, people still install these stink-heaters. I feel sorry for the wildlife that cannot escape and for their habitat which is often illegally logged to feed these heaters." Murray writes: "I have a bit of lung disease caused by smoking, back in the day when everyone smoked. So when we bought our cottage in the country the first thing we did was pull out the log burner. It was out of the ark anyway. When I go out on a still, cold morning and smoke is in the air, my breathing is awful. Does that mean our neighbours must get rid of their fires? Of course not." "I loved my wood fire back in the day, but I've bowed to the knowledge it was bad for me, my neighbours and the environment," writes Keith. "However, I can't wean myself off the comfort of the bouncing flame in the living room so I've installed an electric fire. It's not quite the same but it can still generate a feeling of wellbeing on a cold morning or evening." This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to The wedding, only weeks away, is off. Dreams have dissolved in a swirling fog of bitterness, betrayal and resentment. But it's a gut-wrenching sadness that will linger, not only for the couple involved but for friends and family grieving a future that will never arrive. When something you believe in falls apart, anger eventually turns to sorrow for all that is lost. These friends of ours spent a year planning their celebration. An apartment was bought. Rings and outfits purchased. Guests had paid for flights and accommodation. How to make sense of something when love abruptly turns to cold silence? You sift through the rubble looking for those tell-tale signs of cold feet and gnawing doubts that only the aftermath reveals; how one partner clung to the dream more than the other; how others saw worrying signs but looked the other way, choosing fantasy over reality. Then the hardest thing: moving on. Australia faces a similar dilemma over its alliance with the US. We now have a sullen and aloof partner who wants different things. Donald Trump is swinging a wrecking ball through a century's worth of carefully-crafted international diplomacy, treating historic loyalties as nothing more than leverage and Australia as a second-class ally whose phone calls are no longer returned. Trump's administration is actively reviewing AUKUS - the security pact promised to be the cornerstone of our future defence. He questions the value of NATO, blithely undermines long-standing commitments to the Pacific region and is openly cynical about the old world order. He not only flirts with dictators but courts them. The US is an old lover grown contemptuous of traditional values. Australia is the still-believing partner, too quick to forgive, desperately believing the relationship can still be retrieved. It's time to move on. The Australian public certainly thinks so. The latest annual survey by the US-based Pew Research Centre shows we rank behind only Sweden when it comes to anti-Trump sentiment, viewing him as dangerous and a threat to peace and the global economy. To alienate so many old friends in a few months is no mean achievement. Or an accident. Enter Anthony Albanese, his historic election victory all but forgotten in a world punch drunk from endless economic and military crises. His task - almost certainly the legacy-defining mission of his prime ministership - is to ease Australia from an increasingly unreliable relationship with the US and steer a new path for our nation. There is a blueprint of sorts for him to follow. Paul Keating saw this moment coming years ago. After decades of burying our dead in America's wars because we believed it would do the same for us, Keating said it was time for us to end our US dependency and embrace Asia, the dynamic, complex and rapidly emerging region in which we live. The former PM was ridiculed for saying we needed to grow up and stop acting like a deputy sheriff. At the time China was still a rising power. It has now risen. India is on the same path. Nations like Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan and South Korea are our neighbours, trading partners and should be our strategic peers. Yet we continue treating them like brief stopovers on our way to the glamour of old London and Washington. But nostalgia is not a strategy. Growing up and moving on means investing in regional alliances, not relying on a nation teetering on the brink of civil breakdown. Trust can only be established in southeast Asia by making decisions in the best interests of us and our region, not parroting US policy that these days is increasingly erratic and unhinged. No one says we should completely walk away from America. We've long had a close and co-dependent relationship - culturally and militarily. Completely severing ties would be foolish. But like the sudden relationship implosion and hastily cancelled wedding of my friends, Australia faces two choices: to wallow in the loss of an alliance growing increasingly distant, or accept that a once strong and mutually beneficial partnership has become too one-sided. The healthy alternative? Get out into the world and make some new friends. We stopped clinging to England's skirts a long time ago. Surely we are a nation with enough ingenuity, resilience and self-belief to walk away from another damaged relationship and preserve our sense of self-worth. It might be Donald Trump's lasting contribution to international diplomacy: follow America's lead and put yourself first. HAVE YOUR SAY: Should Australia distance itself from the US and forge greater military and economic partnerships in Asia? Do you still trust the US to support Australia in the event of a conflict? Do you find Trump's disdain for the old world order refreshing or a calamity causing greater instability? Have you or someone you know been left at the altar? Email us: echidna@ SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: - An election promise to implement a 2030 greenhouse gas emissions target has been abandoned by the Northern Territory as it vigorously pushes for more mining and energy projects. - New Zealand has suspended millions of dollars in budget funding to the Cook Islands, as the relationship between the two constitutionally linked countries continues to deteriorate amid the island group's deepening ties with China. - Up to 105 cases of land clearing, mainly for farming, could soon be under investigation by authorities after a citizen science project uncovered 90,000 hectares of bush bulldozed over the past five years. THEY SAID IT: "The view here (in Australia) is that the US will rescue us if we ever really have a problem. And I don't think that's true ... I think you're unwise for believing it's true." - Tucker Carlson YOU SAID IT: There's nothing like curling your toes in front of a roaring fire. But if you can smell the smoke it's most likely doing you harm. David thinks wood heaters should be banned: "I've had a gutful and a lung full of the smoke seeping into my house on winter evenings and filling my lungs in the backyard, not to mention polluting my freshly hung washing. I have several friends who are 'green' in many respects, but will not give up their beloved wood-fired heaters. The science is uber clear; in the ACT these heaters contribute to between 11 and 63 deaths each year. The ACT government needs to step up and fulfil its duty of care obligation to Canberrans." "I live in Hadspen near Launceston and both towns are surrounded by hills which trap smoke in still conditions," writes Rowan. "Launceston has the worst air quality of any city in Australia - beating Sydney. The love of wood fires in Tasmania is immutable. Despite new housing being built with reverse-cycle heating (called heat-pumps down here) and electricity at 15c per kWh, people still install these stink-heaters. I feel sorry for the wildlife that cannot escape and for their habitat which is often illegally logged to feed these heaters." Murray writes: "I have a bit of lung disease caused by smoking, back in the day when everyone smoked. So when we bought our cottage in the country the first thing we did was pull out the log burner. It was out of the ark anyway. When I go out on a still, cold morning and smoke is in the air, my breathing is awful. Does that mean our neighbours must get rid of their fires? Of course not." "I loved my wood fire back in the day, but I've bowed to the knowledge it was bad for me, my neighbours and the environment," writes Keith. "However, I can't wean myself off the comfort of the bouncing flame in the living room so I've installed an electric fire. It's not quite the same but it can still generate a feeling of wellbeing on a cold morning or evening."
