AnewZ Morning Brief - 20 October, 2025
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for October 20th, covering the latest developments you need to know....
Australia’s Labor party has promised a free medical advice line and expanded Medicare funding as cost-of-living pressures dominate the election campaign.
Australia’s Labor government has pledged to strengthen the country’s universal healthcare system with a free medical advice line and telehealth service if it wins the May 3 general election, where cost-of-living pressures are a key issue.
Centre-left Labor traditionally champions the protection of Australia’s Medicare system, setting itself apart from the conservative Liberal-National opposition, which emphasizes economic management and border protection.
The government has made Medicare a core election issue, pledging an extra $5.43 billion for the program in February amid concerns about declining bulk billing — a system where doctors bill Medicare directly, leaving patients with no out-of-pocket costs.
Health Minister Mark Butler said the new hotline would provide 24-hour access to medical staff for urgent care needs. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is expected to formally announce the policy on Sunday in Sydney, a critical election battleground.
Peter Dutton, leader of the Liberal-National coalition and Albanese’s main rival, has pledged $5.76 billion in Medicare funding if his coalition wins on May 3.
Early voting began Tuesday, with polls showing Labor holding a narrow lead. The campaign has been dominated by cost-of-living promises and competing plans to boost housing affordability.
At least 69 people have died and almost 150 injured following a powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Cebu City in the central Visayas region of the Philippines, officials said, making it one of the country’s deadliest disasters this year.
A tsunami threat was issued in Chile after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck the Drake Passage on Friday. The epicenter was located 135 miles south of Puerto Williams on the north coast of Navarino Island.
The war in Ukraine has reached a strategic impasse, and it seems that the conflict will not be solved by military means. This creates a path toward one of two alternatives: either a “frozen” phase that can last indefinitely or a quest for a durable political regulation.
A shooting in Nice, southeastern France, left two people dead and five injured on Friday, authorities said.
Snapchat will start charging users who store more than 5GB of photos and videos in its Memories feature, prompting backlash from long-time users.
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is facing its first lawsuits in the United Kingdom over claims that its talc-based products cause cancer, as it continues to battle tens of thousands of similar cases in the United States.
The World Health Organization on Monday issued a health advisory warning about three contaminated cough syrups identified in India, urging authorities to report any detection of these medicines in their countries to the health agency.
Around 6,000 students in Malaysia have been infected with influenza and some schools have been closed for the safety of children and staff, an education ministry official said.
Indian police have arrested the owner of Sresan Pharmaceutical Manufacturer, the cough syrup company linked to the deaths of at least 19 children in the central state of Madhya Pradesh, a senior police officer told Reuters on Thursday.
More than 200 health facilities in war-hit eastern Congo have run out of medicines due to widespread looting and supply chain disruptions during fighting this year, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Wednesday.
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