Sterling, yen dragged by fiscal and political worries
The pound and the yen came under strain on Wednesday, weighed down by renewed investor concerns over global fiscal health and political uncertainty in...
Australia will not raise its defence spending targets despite pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, choosing instead to follow its own military strategy, Defence Minister Richard Marles said on Thursday.
Speaking on the sidelines of the NATO summit in the Netherlands, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles told reporters that the country would maintain its current defence budget path, focusing on national priorities rather than international pressure.
Marles' comments come as U.S. President Donald Trump continues to push allies to spend more on defence, threatening those who resist with tougher trade policies. Trump recently criticized Spain for refusing to adopt NATO’s proposed 5% of GDP defence spending target and suggested punitive trade measures may follow.
Australia, which is not a NATO member, currently spends around 2% of GDP on defence and plans to increase this to 2.3% by 2033–2034. Marles emphasized that this decision reflects Australia’s own strategic assessments, not external demands.
“We have gone through our own process of assessing our strategic landscape... and what that has seen is the biggest peacetime increase in Australian defence spending,” he said.
Despite efforts by Canberra to secure a first face-to-face meeting between a senior Australian official and President Trump, Marles did not speak directly with the U.S. president or Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth during the summit.
Australia is also in talks to gain exemptions from new U.S. tariffs, including a 50% levy on steel and aluminium, but officials have not indicated whether a breakthrough is likely.
A powerful eruption at Japan’s Shinmoedake volcano sent an ash plume more than 3,000 metres high on Sunday morning, prompting safety warnings from authorities.
AnewZ has learned that India has once again blocked Azerbaijan’s application for full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, while Pakistan’s recent decision to consider diplomatic relations with Armenia has been coordinated with Baku as part of Azerbaijan’s peace agenda.
The UK is gearing up for Exercise Pegasus 2025, its largest pandemic readiness test since COVID-19. Running from September to November, this full-scale simulation will challenge the country's response to a fast-moving respiratory outbreak.
A Polish Air Force pilot was killed on Thursday when an F-16 fighter jet crashed during a training flight ahead of the 2025 Radom International Air Show.
The pound and the yen came under strain on Wednesday, weighed down by renewed investor concerns over global fiscal health and political uncertainty in Japan.
The price of gold surged sharply on Wednesday, reaching a new record of $3,530.08 per ounce. Analysts say the rise is driven by expectations of a U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) rate cut in September and concerns over the central bank’s independence.
The New York Stock Exchange opened sharply lower on 2 September as investors weighed the legality of Donald Trump’s tariffs – a federal appeals court has ruled most of them illegal.
Eurozone annual inflation reached 2.1% in August, up from 2% in July, Eurostat announced on Wednesday.
Kraft Heinz is breaking up into two separate companies a decade after its high-profile merger, aiming to unlock greater shareholder value.
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