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1 week ago | 
straitstimes.com | Jonathan Pearlman
US President Donald Trump (left) and British PM Keir Starmer speak to reporters together during their meeting at the G-7 Summit in Kananaskis, Canada. PHOTO: AFP– A much-vaunted meeting between Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Donald Trump to discuss the future of a three-way security pact that also involves Britain did not take place as planned at the Group of Seven (G-7) summit in Calgary, after the American leader abruptly left to deal with the Israel-Iran war.
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1 week ago | 
thesaturdaypaper.com.au | Jonathan Pearlman
Ukraine: As Donald Trump attended a Group of Seven summit in Canada this week and criticised the group for expelling Russia, Moscow launched one of its heaviest attacks on Kyiv since its invasion in 2022. Despite leaving the summit a day early to deal with the Israel–Iran war, Trump’s mood among the leaders of the world’s advanced economies was relatively cordial. He finalised a free trade deal with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and signed a joint statement on the Israel–Iran war.
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1 week ago | 
thesaturdaypaper.com.au | Jonathan Pearlman
In 1992, shortly after he was re-elected, Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin told an academic workshop in Tel Aviv that he believed the country’s greatest threat was the prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran.
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1 week ago | 
straitstimes.com | Jonathan Pearlman
SYDNEY – Australia’s most populous and least affordable city Sydney has a problem: It desperately needs more housing but is struggling to find a large parcel of empty land on which to build it. The city of 5.6 million people has a growing population and spiralling property and rental prices that have made it one of the world’s least affordable cities.
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2 weeks ago | 
thesaturdaypaper.com.au | Jonathan Pearlman
Donald Trump deployed thousands of marines and National Guard troops to Los Angeles this week to quell protests against deportations of migrants, defying the objections of California governor Gavin Newsom. Threatening to arrest Newsom, Trump described the protesters this week as “insurrectionist mobs” and claimed that Los Angeles had been “invaded and occupied by Illegal Aliens and Criminals”.
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2 weeks ago | 
thesaturdaypaper.com.au | Jonathan Pearlman
Israel launched strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities and military leaders on Friday in a major attack that could lead to an all-out war between two of the region’s most powerful nations. Explosions were reported across Iran early on Friday morning as Israel hit Iran’s main nuclear enrichment site at Natanz, a missile base in Khorramabad, and military leaders and nuclear scientists in Tehran, the capital.
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2 weeks ago | 
thesaturdaypaper.com.au | Jonathan Pearlman
Israel launched strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities and military leaders on Friday in a major attack that could lead to an all-out war between two of the region’s most powerful nations. Explosions were reported across Iran early on Friday morning as Israel hit Iran’s main nuclear enrichment site at Natanz, a missile base in Khorramabad, and military leaders and nuclear scientists in Tehran, the capital.
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2 weeks ago | 
straitstimes.com | Jonathan Pearlman
SYDNEY – National carrier Qantas promotes itself with the proudly patriotic slogan “Spirit of Australia” – and its decision to close its Singapore-based subsidiary Jetstar Asia was widely seen as a shrewd move to return to the comfort of its highly profitable domestic market. Analysts saw the move as a bid to shift aircraft and capital from the competitive low-cost market in South-east Asia to the Australian market, where Qantas’ only serious competitor is Virgin Australia.
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3 weeks ago | 
thesaturdaypaper.com.au | Jonathan Pearlman
Ukraine: Ukraine bombed a Russian bridge to Crimea and launched an ambitious drone attack against Russian planes this week as direct talks between the two countries failed to secure a ceasefire deal. In an operation Ukraine said took 18 months to organise, 117 drones were smuggled into Russia and placed near air bases across the country, including in Siberia and the Arctic. Last Sunday, Ukraine launched the drones and damaged or destroyed 20 long-range bombers, according to US officials.
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3 weeks ago | 
straitstimes.com | Jonathan Pearlman
SYDNEY – Until August 2024, Ms Seleneah More, a regular bus user in Brisbane, was spending about A$40 (S$33) a week on public transport. Her partner spent the same amount on transport, while her 12-year-old son spent about A$20 a week. The burden of this weekly expense was lifted on Aug 5, 2024, when the Queensland state government offered 50-cent fares for all rides on the state’s buses, trains and light rail, regardless of the distance.
