Anthony Albanese News

Australia has urged an estimated 15,000 of its citizens living in Lebanon to leave, flagging a risk Beirut airport may close and the difficulty of evacuating large numbers if the situation worsens. Israel widened its airstrikes in Lebanon on Wednesday and at least 72 people were killed, and Israel's military chief said a ground assault was possible. Britain is moving troops to Cyprus, joining two Royal Navy ships already there, to be in a position to help evacuate nationals trapped in Lebanon. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government had made contingency plans that could include evacuations by water, but declined to give details.

Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers will become the first government minister from Australia in that key economic role to visit China in seven years

US Indo-Pacific strategy, is a tool used by Washington to contain China to perpetuate its hegemony, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a media briefing, fielding a spate of questions on the Quad summit. Hosted by President Joe Biden, the Quad Summit took place on Saturday in his hometown Wilmington, Delaware. The summit was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia, and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan. Lin accused the US of pooling together countries to muster military and security cooperation under the pretext of maritime issues to contain China by peddling the China threat narrative.

Quad unveiled major steps to expand maritime security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific and called for lasting peace in Ukraine with Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserting that the grouping is for a rules-based global order that respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations. In the annual Quad summit hosted by outgoing US President Joe Biden at his home state of Delaware, the leaders, without directly naming China, expressed serious concern over the situation in the South China Sea and nearby waters and condemned the «dangerous» use of coast guard and maritime militia vessels in that region. Besides Modi and Biden, the fourth in-person summit on Saturday was attended by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese.

Quad scholarships, worth USD 500,000, to students from the Indo-Pacific. This initiative will enable recipients to pursue a four-year undergraduate engineering programme at a Government of India-funded technical institution. Notably, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Prime Minister Kishida Fumio of Japan, and President Joe Biden of the United States--met for the fourth in-person Quad Leaders Summit, hosted by President Biden in Wilmington, Delaware. Wilmington is Biden's home town.

Biden was caught on a hot mic telling leaders of the Quad nations that China was testing them, thus reflecting upon the American seriousness of the emerging Chinese threat. Biden's remark came during the Quad Leaders' Summit on Saturday, which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. «We believe Xi Jinping is looking to focus on domestic economic challenges and minimise the turbulence in China,» Biden told the leaders at the Summit. His opening remarks were caught on the hot mic as pool reporters were leaving the Summit venue. Biden was heard saying that Chinese President Xi Jinping is «looking to buy himself some diplomatic space, in my view, to aggressively pursue China's interest.»

Indo-Pacific region following a meeting of its leaders. The summit, hosted by US President Joe Biden in Wilmington, Delaware, included Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. The Wilmington Declaration, released after the fourth in-person Quad Summit, stated, «Four years since elevating the Quad to a leader-level format, the Quad is more strategically aligned than ever before and is a force for good that delivers real, positive, and enduring impact for the Indo-Pacific.» «We celebrate the fact that over just four years, Quad countries have built a vital and enduring regional grouping that will buttress the Indo-Pacific for decades to come,» the declaration said.

Fumio Kishida on the sidelines of the Quad Summit here and exchanged views to deepen bilateral cooperation further. Modi and Kishida met on Saturday in Wilmington, where they participated in the Quad Leaders' Summit, hosted by US President Joe Biden. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also attended the Summit. Modi and Kishida reviewed the India-Japan relationship and talked about ways to expand the bilateral relations. «PM @narendramodi met PM @kishida230 of Japan on the sidelines of Quad Summit in Delaware,» the official account of the Ministry of External Affairs said in a post on X.

Quad countries on Saturday announced Maritime Initiative for Training in the Indo-Pacific" (MAITRI) to enable Indo-Pacific partners to maximize tools provided through Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) and other initiatives. The Quad countries said they are proud to announce an ambitious expansion of their partnership to deliver trusted technology solutions to the broader Indo-Pacific region. «Anchored by shared values, we seek to uphold the international order based on the rule of law. Together, we represent nearly two billion people and over one-third of global gross domestic product. We reaffirm our steadfast commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific that is inclusive and resilient,» read the Wilmington Declaration Joint Statement released after the Quad Summit.

Wilmington on Saturday morning (local time) for the Quad Summit in US President Joe Biden's hometown, Delaware. Biden is hosting the leaders of India, Australia, and Japan and will hold bilateral meetings with them. The gathering will be the first time that Joe Biden, as President, has ever asked a foreign leader to visit Wilmington, a reflection of his closeness with each dignitary: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Quad summit this weekend, Australian PM Anthony Albanese appears to have broken ranks with the US and Canada, co-members of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, on the issue of Indian «spies» in Australia by pointing out that such matters are raised privately. Responding to media queries during his ongoing US trip on the «nest of Indian spies» in Australia, Albanese said, «Well, what I do is act diplomatically and have those discussions, and that will, no doubt, be something that is raised.

United States will host a meeting of the Quad on September 21, according to a release from the White House. US President Joe Biden will host the fourth in-person meet of the group — consiting of India, Australia and Japan — in Wilmington, Delaware. «The President looks forward to welcoming Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, and Prime Minister Kishida Fumio of Japan,» the White House release said. The September meet will be the final Quad meeting for the American President as well as Japan's Kishida, who are due to step down soon.

An ambitious plan to build a massive solar farm in remote northern Australia to transmit energy by a submarine cable to Singapore is a step closer after the Australian government granted environmental approvals for the $19 billion project on Wednesday

SYDNEY—WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange landed in Australia as a free man for the first time in more than a decade, waved to supporters as he exited his airplane and then disappeared from public view. His immediate priorities: eating real food, playing with his children and going to swim in the ocean. But people close to Assange think he will eventually return to the public spotlight, fighting for press freedom, defining his legacy and promoting human rights.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang says he has agreed with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to properly manage their nations’ differences as they emerge from a hostile era in which minister-to-minister contacts were banned and trade barriers cost Austr...

Li Qiang, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and senior ministers of both administrations met at Parliament House on Monday to discuss thorny issues, including lingering trade barriers, conflict between their militaries in international waters and China’s desire to invest in critical minerals. Li, China’s most senior leader after President Xu Jinping, arrived in the South Australian state capital of Adelaide on Saturday and the national capital of Canberra late Sunday in the first visit to the country by a Chinese premier in seven years.

Li Qiang's visit to Australia on Sunday focused on positive aspects of the bilateral relationship including shared giant pandas and a rebounding wine trade after he urged both countries to put aside their differences. China's most powerful leader after President Xi Jinping arrived late Saturday in Adelaide, the capital of South Australia state, which has produced most of the Australian wine entering China since crippling tariffs were lifted in March that had effectively ended a 1.2 billion Australian dollar (USD 790 million) a year trade since 2020. Li visited Adelaide Zoo, which has been home to China-born giant pandas Wang Wang and Fu Ni since 2009, before he was to have lunch at a restaurant at an Adelaide winery.

Australian court on Monday rejected a bid by the country's cyber safety regulator to extend a temporary order for Elon Musk-owned X to block videos of the stabbing of an Assyrian church bishop, which authorities had called a terrorist attack.

Australia unveiled plans Thursday to keep burning natural gas beyond 2050, saying its reliance on the fossil fuel would not derail a pledge to reach net zero emissions in the next 30 years. Resources minister Madeleine King said gas «will remain an important source of energy» in Australia, outraging environmental groups who branded the Future Gas Strategy a "climate disaster".

China said on Tuesday its military took steps to warn and alert an Australian aircraft after Australia blamed a Chinese fighter jet for endangering one of its military helicopters during an «unsafe» confrontation over the Yellow Sea.

SYDNEY—Elon Musk criticized an order by Australian authorities to remove a video of the stabbing of a religious leader, with the billionaire owner of social-media platform X arguing it sets a dangerous precedent that effectively allows one country to control the entire internet. The row has intensified in recent days, with Australia’s eSafety commissioner—the official in charge of monitoring social media for harmful content—taking X to court for not doing enough to remove the content after it received a formal notice to take it down. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has also weighed in, arguing that Musk is fighting for the right to show violent videos on his platform.