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.
Hundreds of people gathered for a second consecutive week at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, on Friday (12 December), to support the family of Master Sg...
Britain’s King Charles III said on Friday, 12 December, that his cancer treatment is expected to be reduced in the coming year, using a televised ad...
Talks aimed at ending the war between Ukraine and Russia are set to continue in Berlin this weekend, with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff due to meet Ukraini...
Türkiye’s Trade Minister Omer Bolat said Friday that discussions in Washington with U.S. officials have strengthened efforts to expand bilateral tr...
Lebanon is prepared to demarcate its border with Syria, President Joseph Aoun said on Friday, while noting that the dispute over the Shebaa Farms coul...
The possibility of restricting social media access for children is a hot topic in the European Union and the United Kingdom, after Australia implemented a world-first ban for those under 16. Lawmakers have labelled the ban a “real-world test” of how far governments can go to protect young people.
Wildfires swept through thousands of hectares of bushland in New South Wales, Australia, on Saturday, prompting authorities to issue top-level evacuation warnings for thousands of residents in the country’s most populous state.
Australia has moved to directly pressure the Taliban leadership, imposing financial sanctions and travel bans on four senior officials it says are responsible for the steady erosion of women’s rights in Afghanistan.
December 2025 promises a month full of transformative moments, from significant legal releases and international meetings to cultural milestones and controversial elections. Here’s a look at the key stories set to unfold.
Japan has lifted a tsunami advisory issued after an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.9 hit the country's northeastern region on Friday (12 December), the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said. The JMA had earlier put the earthquake's preliminary magnitude at 6.7.
Iran is preparing to host a multilateral regional meeting next week in a bid to mediate between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The United States issued new sanctions targeting Venezuela on Thursday, imposing curbs on three nephews of President Nicolas Maduro's wife, as well as six crude oil tankers and shipping companies linked to them, as Washington ramps up pressure on Caracas.
The resignation of Bulgaria's government on Thursday (11 December) puts an end to an increasingly unpopular coalition but is likely to usher in a period of prolonged political instability on the eve of the Black Sea nation's entry into the euro zone.
An extratropical cyclone has caused widespread disruption across Brazil’s São Paulo state, with powerful winds toppling trees and power lines, blocking streets and leaving large parts of the region without electricity.
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Thursday that he still hopes the U.S. administration will reconsider its decision to withdraw from the organisation next month, warning that its exit would be a loss for the world.
The United States has signed significant health cooperation agreements with Uganda and Lesotho, further strengthening bilateral relations and advancing global health initiatives, the U.S. State Department announced on Wednesday.
A viral claim circulating online that Denmark requires sperm donors to have an IQ of at least 85 is misleading. While one Danish sperm bank, Donor Network, does use an IQ threshold, there is no nationwide legal requirement for donors to meet a specific level of intelligence.
Chinese scientists have unveiled a new gene-editing therapy that they say could lead to a functional cure for HIV, making it one of the most promising developments in decades of global research.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has declared the end of a 16th Ebola outbreak, closing a two month emergency in Kasai Province that pushed national and international teams into an intensive response.
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