Politics

Political news that affects economic policies and markets.

Politics
Starmer shares UK's Middle East peace plan with Trump
The United Kingdom's Prime Minister Keir Starmer shared the U.K.-led peace plan for the Middle East with United States President Donald Trump during the President’s visit to Scotland. Starmer has worked on the plan with France and Germany over the weekend during an emergency call with the countries' leaders, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz. “The Prime Minister welcomed the President’s efforts to secure this, and shared the plans he is working on with other European leaders to bring about a lasting peace,” a No 10 spokesperson said. While specifics of the plan have not been released yet, Sanders said the proposal would also be presented to allies, including Arab states, in the coming days. Starmer said the British are “revolted” by the images they’re seeing in Gaza and urged Trump to help set up new food centres in Gaza without fences after the U.S.-led arrangement had led to the killing of many Palestinians. “It’s a humanitarian crisis, it’s an absolute catastrophe,” Starmer said. “Nobody wants to see that. I think people in Britain are revolted at seeing what they’re seeing on their screens, so we’ve got to get to that ceasefire.” Israel has announced that it would suspend fighting in Gaza in three areas f
Politics
Trump: Russia must agree to peace in '10 or 12 days'
United States President Donald Trump has set a deadline of “10 or 12 days” for Russia to agree to a peace deal with Ukraine, before the U.S. adds further sanctions on Russia. Russian and Ukrainian officials have held several rounds of talks in 2025, including agreeing to a prisoner exchange last week, but reported no progress towards a ceasefire. Russian President Vladimir Putin has not attended these negotiations. “I’m going to make a new deadline of about 10, 10 or 12 days from today,” Trump said. “There’s no reason in waiting. There’s no reason in waiting. It’s 50 days. I want to be generous, but we just don’t see any progress being made.” “Trump's playing the ultimatum game with Russia: 50 days or 10,” wrote Putin advisor and former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on X. “Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country.” Trump had said earlier this month that he would impose tariffs of up to 100% on Russia’s trading partners if it did not end its invasion of Ukraine within 50 days. He also said last week that he was considering adding secondary sanctions before the 50-day deadline ended, which would target countries purchasing oil from Russia. U
Politics
China calls for AI governance as US opts to deregulate
Chinese Premier Li Qiang's push for a global AI cooperation body is a testament to AI's massive growth potential, but fractured governance and the US-China rivalry risk turning it into a zero-sum game that could stifle innovation worldwide. The fallout hits every corner of the tech ecosystem, from chipmakers scrambling to meet demand to startups navigating export restrictions, as nations desperately balance innovation speed against mounting security threats. Over the weekend, Li's speech at Shanghai's annual World AI Conference warned of urgent consensus needs amid escalating hazards that threaten to fragment the global technology landscape into competing blocs. "Rapid AI advancement brings opportunities and obstacles demanding collective input for [the] equilibrium between innovation and protection," Li said. Li skipped naming the U.S. directly, but slammed AI development as potentially becoming "exclusive" for a few wealthy nations, blaming artificial chip shortages and deliberate talent barriers. That was an indirect salvo aimed at Donald Trump's July 23 executive order axing "woke" biases in AI while slashing regulations to lock in U.S. dominance and accelerate American technological supremacy. The deregulati
Politics
Donald Trump makes rare visit to the Federal Reserve
United States President Donald Trump toured the renovation site of the Federal Reserve headquarters in Washington DC, which has caused ongoing tension. The tension between Trump and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell was apparent in an exchange about the cost of the renovation project. Trump cited a figure above US$3 billion, which is higher than the US$2.5 billion in expected costs. Powell corrected Trump, claiming that his figure included the cost of a third Fed building that was refurbished several years ago and reopened in 2021. “You just added in a third building, is what that is,” Powell said. “It was built five years ago.” The rare visit comes as the Trump administration tries to mount pressure on the Fed to lower interest rates or convince Powell to stand down as chairman. Previously, there were rumours surrounding Trump firing Powell, but these have since been dispelled as Trump said it was “highly unlikely” he would fire Powell in the near term. The visit also comes as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called for a review of the overall function of the Federal Reserve.
Politics
Morrison urges US to tighten alliances to combat China
Scott Morrison appeared before a committee of the United States Congress to urge them to “never be casual” about China's economic threats and their willingness to weaponise trade. The former prime minister said during his leadership, Australia had been punished for its loyalty to the U.S., and now had many lessons to offer Americans, including the importance of strengthening alliances. Morrison argued for tighter ties between Australia, the U.S. and like-minded democracies to better ward off any threat. "Strengthening and deepening the networks of U.S. alliances and partners is critical to resilience and deterrence. This is as true in the economic sphere as it is in the security sphere,” he said. Morrison was invited to testify before the committee, which was formed in 2023 to assess the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) threat and develop an action plan to defend the American people. Morrison warned that once the Labor party defeated the Coalition in the 2022 election, China had changed tactics with Australia through more “charm and flattery” to manipulate Australia and isolate the U.S. He warned that diplomacy with China would never lead to effective solutions. "We have to be clear-eyed about this and not preten

Politics
US to exit UNESCO again, citing Palestine, bias claims
The United States has formally notified the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) of its intent to withdraw from the organisation by 31 December 2026, marking its third departure in history. White House Deputy Press Secretary Kelly posted on X: “President Trump has decided to withdraw from UNESCO – which supports woke, divisive cultural and social causes. The President will always put America First. Our membership in all international organizations must align with our national interests.” UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay (pictured) expressed deep regret, stating that the move undermines multilateralism and could disadvantage U.S. communities seeking World Heritage status and academic collaboration. Azoulay pointed out that the withdrawal was anticipated and that UNESCO had taken steps since 2018 to diversify its funding. The U.S. now contributes just 8% of the agency’s budget. Voluntary contributions have doubled over the past seven years, and UNESCO’s overall budget has grown. Despite the financial impact, Azoulay pledged that UNESCO would continue its work in Holocaust education, AI ethics, cultural preservation, and girls’ education. These are areas praised by American
Politics
Labor to introduce legislation that lowers student debt
The Labor government will introduce legislation promising to shave 20% off all student debt. The legislation is set to wipe A$16 billion in student debt for around three million Australians and will target HELP debt, VET loans and apprenticeship loans. According to calculations, those with average HELP debt of A$27,600 will have A$5,520 wiped from their outstanding loans and those at the upper end, with debt exceeding A$60,000, could see a reduction of more than A$12,000. The legislation will also see the minimum employment threshold rise from A$54,000 to A$67,000, meaning low-income earners will not have to start paying back their debt. Education Minister Jason Clare says the changes are aimed at taking the weight off the shoulders of recent graduates. “You don’t start paying off your university degree until your degree starts to pay off for you,” he said. While the Coalition was in favour of the legislation change, the Greens have spoken out against the change. “Since the Labor government was elected, an increase in student debt because of indexation means that the promise of a 20% reduction effectively shrinks to just 7.9%,” Greens higher education spokesperson Senator Mahreen Faruqi said. “In opposition
Politics
Bessent calls for review of the US Federal Reserve
United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called for a review of the Federal Reserve to look at its overall function in an interview with CNBC. In the interview, Bessent said the entire institution of the Federal Reserve needed to be examined. “Has the organisation succeeded in its mission? If this were the [Federal Aviation Administration] and we were having this many mistakes, we would go back and look at why this has happened,” he told CNBC’s Squawk Box. The comments were made amid intensifying conflict between the White House and the central bank, with President Donald Trump sharply criticising Fed chair Jay Powell for putting off borrowing cuts and considering firing him. Bessent even doubled down on these calls on X. He said he believed the Fed should conduct an exhaustive internal review of its non-monetary operations. “The Fed does regular reviews of its monetary policy framework,” he posted. “I would urge Fed leadership to similarly undertake, publish and implement a comprehensive institutional review across its entire mission to buttress its credibility.” The Trump administration has also recently opened a new front for its campaign against the Fed, with the president's budget director Russel
Politics
Newspoll: Coalition support at all-time low; Albo rises
The Coalition experienced a collapse in the latest Newspoll since the election, with core support at a 40-year low. This comes as Anthony Albanese begins his second term as Prime Minister and Sussan Ley takes over the leadership of the Liberal Party from Peter Dutton. The exclusive newspoll conducted for The Australian was the first since the federal election on 3 May, and shows that primary support for the two major parties has fallen to a historic low of 65% as more Australians begin to support minor parties. With preference flows factored in, Labor has extended its two-party preferred lead from 55.2%-48.8% at the election to 57%-43% over the Coalition, marking the second highest lead for Labor since August 2022. At the same time, support for The Coalition has suffered a decline to its lowest ever recorded election primary vote of 31.8%, which has now dipped even lower to 29%. It is also an 11-point decrease from its recent peak of 40%, when the Albanese government was thought to be heading towards defeat. As for other parties, Pauline Hanson’s One Nation has gained 1.6% to a total of 8% support, and the Greens have remained steady at 15%. On an individual level, Albanese’s approval rating has improved from