Global Pulse

作者： admin

  • Buddha and a road trip: Sussan Ley breaks silence on life after Liberal spill

    Buddha and a road trip: Sussan Ley breaks silence on life after Liberal spill

    Almost a year after her abrupt ousting as leader of Australia’s Liberal-National Coalition, former opposition leader Sussan Ley has opened up for the first time about the fallout of the February leadership spill that ended her top political role, and the unplanned cross-country American road trip that helped her rebuild her sense of purpose.

    The long-serving Member for Farrer stepped into the Liberal leadership role in 2023, but her tenure collapsed in just months amid two turbulent, public splits between the Liberal Party and its coalition partner, the Nationals. In a candid opinion piece published in *The Australian Financial Review* on Saturday, Ley described the leadership spill that removed her from office as the most catastrophic turning point of her life.

    In the immediate aftermath of the spill, Ley withdrew from public life entirely: she switched off her phone, retreated from the political sphere, and spent days in reflection. Drawing on two unexpected sources of guidance, she turned to Buddhist teachings — which reminded her that “you only lose what you cling to” — and the uncompromising ethos of The Clash’s frontman Joe Strummer, who long championed radical honesty in public life.

    Recalling the emotional toll of the moment, Ley compared her burnt-out state to a windscreen cracked by a falling rock: all the structural pieces remain in place, but the driver can no longer see clearly through the damage. “Recognising the symptoms of burnout does little to blunt their impact,” she wrote.

    Rather than lingering on the political defeat, Ley soon acted on a long-held dream of exploring Middle America. She booked a one-way plane ticket to Los Angeles, traveled north to North Dakota, and embarked on a rambling, unscripted journey by Greyhound bus all the way to the southern tip of Texas. Traveling light, she brought just one backpack, a single pair of sturdy boots, and a playlist packed with punk music.

    Along the route, she stayed in budget, modest hotels and rode alongside ordinary passengers she described as “people in transition and disarray”. Crossing through South Dakota, she noted the omnipresence of small-town convenience stores; as she moved further south into the border regions, Spanish became the primary language heard along highways, and the landscape took on the rough, unregulated energy of the historic Wild West. On her rides, she encountered people moving through the region carrying everything from cash to narcotics to undocumented migrants, she said.

    During her trip, Ley made a stop to search for the controversial border wall built under former U.S. President Donald Trump, and spoke with a U.S. Border Patrol officer who declined to have his photo taken. What struck Ley most about the country was not the deep political divisions that have long defined American public life — “America has always argued with itself,” she noted — but a widespread, underlying weariness that cut across all regions and groups. While it remains a cultural truism that hard work brings success, Ley observed that many ordinary Americans now feel that working hard is no longer enough to get ahead.

    By the end of her journey, Ley reached a stark conclusion about the current state of the U.S.: the country does not feel like a single unified nation, but rather a collection of separate societies that barely communicate with one another. Despite that sober observation, the trip left Ley with a renewed sense of connection to marginalized people, and she wrote that she felt “harmony with the downtrodden” while riding the public bus network across the country.

    Ley contracted influenza A during her travels and returned to Australia physically unwell, but the numb, defeated feeling that had lingered since the leadership spill had completely lifted. Following her departure, Angus Taylor was selected to replace her as Liberal leader. For Ley, the weeks of traveling alongside ordinary people carrying far heavier burdens than her own helped her accept the end of her career in national leadership, and restored a clear, balanced perspective on her place in the world.

  • Russian attacks kill 4 in Kyiv and surrounding region as air defenses fall short

    Russian attacks kill 4 in Kyiv and surrounding region as air defenses fall short

    Four civilians, including a three-year-old child, have been killed in a fresh wave of Russian aerial assaults targeting Kyiv and its surrounding regions, Ukrainian local officials confirmed Saturday, as Ukrainian forces carried out another strike on a Russian oil refinery deep inside Russian territory. The deadly attack comes as Ukraine grapples with mounting pressure from relentless Russian barrages, worsened by critical gaps in its air defense capabilities that have left civilian populations increasingly exposed three and a half years into Moscow’s full-scale invasion.

    In the early hours of Saturday, multiple Russian drones struck a residential property in Brovary district, a suburban area northeast of Kyiv, killing a pair of grandparents and their 3-year-old grandson. Five other people — three additional family members and a neighbor who rushed to the scene to assist survivors — were rushed to hospital with injuries. Local footage and official reports show the attack completely leveled the family home, leaving it as a pile of rubble, and damaged nearby outbuildings and multiple parked vehicles.

    Inside Kyiv city proper, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed one additional fatality in a separate strike that saw Russia launch six ballistic missiles targeting civilian infrastructure across the capital. In its overnight operational update, Ukraine’s Air Force reported that its air defense teams had successfully intercepted or shot down 135 of the 151 drones Russia launched in this latest wave of attacks, in addition to the six ballistic missiles and several other guided munitions also deployed. Russia has repeatedly denied intentionally targeting civilian populations and infrastructure, despite consistent patterns of strikes hitting residential areas, medical facilities and public utilities across Ukraine since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022.

    Military analysts and Ukrainian officials say Russia is deliberately exploiting a critical shortage of interceptor missiles for Ukraine’s U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems, the only weapon in Ukraine’s arsenal capable of shooting down incoming Russian ballistic missiles. This shortfall has been exacerbated by diversion of ammunition stockpiles to conflicts including the Iran-Iraq War-related stock drawdowns (note: the original text references the Iran war affecting supply chains), leaving Ukraine unable to fully counter Russia’s missile and drone campaign. Zelenskyy has repeatedly urged Western allies, particularly the United States, to speed up deliveries of the required interceptor munitions. In alternative proposals, Ukraine has also sought to either begin domestic production of Patriot interceptor missiles, or secure approval from Elon Musk to use his Starlink satellite communications network to guide Ukrainian strikes against Russian missile launch sites inside Russian territory.

    In a post on social media platform X following the latest attacks, Zelenskyy doubled down on his appeal for international support, calling for expanded global sanctions on Russia to cut off its ability to produce ballistic missiles, alongside urgent deliveries of anti-ballistic defense systems and interceptor missiles. A day before the attacks, Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense released data showing that Ukrainian air defenses had shot down or intercepted around 5,300 of the roughly 9,000 drones and missiles Russia launched against Ukrainian targets in the preceding month, putting the overall interception rate just below 60 percent.

    In a reciprocal strike inside Russia, local officials in the southern Krasnodar region reported that five people were wounded when falling drone debris sparked a large fire at the Ilsky Oil Refinery over the weekend. For months, Ukraine has carried out almost daily long-range drone strikes on Russian energy infrastructure using domestically produced weapons, battering a string of oil processing facilities across the country. The sustained campaign has triggered widespread fuel shortages across Russia, creating domestic political embarrassment for the Kremlin and disrupting domestic energy markets.

    The weekend’s violence unfolded just hours after Zelenskyy arrived in Serbia Friday for his first official visit to the country, one of the few European states that has maintained open, friendly relations with Russia despite the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. “Important talks are scheduled for today and tomorrow,” Zelenskyy told reporters ahead of his meetings with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Prime Minister Đuro Macut. “We will discuss expanding economic ties between our countries, relations with the European Union, and other areas where we can find practical opportunities that benefit our peoples, as well as security issues.”

    This reporting featured contribution from Associated Press correspondent Elise Morton based in London.

  • Families retrieve bodies after a 14-year-old killed at least 7 in a shooting outside Bangkok

    Families retrieve bodies after a 14-year-old killed at least 7 in a shooting outside Bangkok

    BANGKOK — A day after a 14-year-old school student carried out one of the deadliest mass shootings in Thailand’s recent history, grieving relatives arrived Saturday to claim the bodies of their loved ones, as the country grapples with shocking new details of the violence and rising concerns over gun access. The attack unfolded in the early hours of Friday in Nonthaburi province, a residential area just northwest of Bangkok. Officials confirmed the teenager first fatally shot his two grandparents at the family home, where he lived, before traveling to Debsirin Nonthaburi School and opening fire just after 10 a.m. The gunman eventually died by suicide at the school, bringing the total death toll to seven. As of Saturday, Thailand’s Ministry of Health reported 16 wounded victims remained hospitalized, with seven in critical condition. Most of those injured in the attack are between 12 and 14 years old, matching the age range of the shooter’s peers at the school. By early Saturday afternoon, all eight bodies — five school employees, the 14-year-old attacker, and his two grandparents — had been released from Bangkok’s Institute of Forensic Medicine to families for funeral arrangements. Wiroon Supasingsiripreecha, head of the forensic institute, told reporters that nearly all fatally wounded victims suffered a single lethal gunshot wound to a vital area, such as the head or chest. The wound suffered by the 14-year-old shooter aligns with the weapon recovered at the scene, he added, with more comprehensive forensic analysis, including toxicology screenings, expected to be released in the coming days. Officials confirmed the weapon used in the attack, described as a small, compact firearm, was legally registered to the shooter’s grandfather, raising new questions about firearm storage and regulation in the country. While preliminary reports indicate the teenager had shown visible signs of stress linked to academic and school pressures, some family members told local Thai media they had no prior knowledge of any mental health struggles or behavioral issues he may have been experiencing. In the wake of the attack, school administrators announced all classes would be suspended from August 10 through August 14, with all staff instructed to work remotely during that period. On Saturday, the campus stood eerily quiet, with only a small contingent of police stationed at the main entrance. A small number of mourners trickled in throughout the day to lay flowers at the gate, while parents arrived to collect personal belongings left behind by their children when the shooting unfolded. Charin Siriananchai, a local resident who brought his 9-year-old and 6-year-old sons to pay respects, said the entire neighborhood was stunned by the violence. “Everyone was saddened and shocked, because it was unexpected that this would happen in Thailand, and also it’s quite a great loss,” he said. One father of a student who was on campus during the attack, who asked to remain anonymous, said his son remains traumatized by the event and is unable to sleep alone. The deadly attack has once again put a spotlight on Thailand’s gun ownership regulations, which are among the most lax in Asia. According to 2017 data from Small Arms Survey and GunPolicy.org, the most recent comprehensive international study on the topic, Thailand has roughly 15.1 civilian-owned guns per 100 residents. That rate is far higher than most of its Southeast Asian neighbors — neighboring Malaysia counts less than one gun per 100 residents — and gives Thailand the second highest rate of civilian gun ownership in Asia, behind only Pakistan. 2023 statistics from World Population Review put Thailand’s firearm death rate at 3.49 per 100,000 people. While that rate is far lower than that of Latin America and the Caribbean, it is among the highest in Asia, with only the Philippines recording a higher rate in Southeast Asia. Though mass indiscriminate shootings remain rare in Thailand, the country has seen a steady increase in high-profile fatal shootings in recent years. In February 2024, a 17-year-old stole a service weapon from a police officer and carried out an attack at a public high school in southern Thailand, killing one person and wounding two others during a two-hour standoff that included hostage-taking. In 2023, a 14-year-old boy was charged in a fatal shooting at a major shopping mall in central Bangkok that left multiple people dead and injured.

  • Donald Trump splashes $560m on regional NSW mine for US ‘warfighters’

    Donald Trump splashes $560m on regional NSW mine for US ‘warfighters’

    In a major move aimed at strengthening U.S. national security and reducing reliance on adversarial nations for strategically vital materials, the Trump administration has greenlit a $560 million conditional loan to an Australian-listed minerals firm to develop a high-grade scandium project in the tiny outback town of Fifield, New South Wales. The funding, awarded through the Office of Strategic Capital (OSC) under the recently renamed U.S. Department of War (formerly the Department of Defense), will support Melbourne-based Sunrise Energy Metals Limited to build out its full domestic scandium value chain starting at the Syerston Scandium Project, located in NSW’s Central West region.

    Scandium, classified as a critical rare earth material, is a core input for high-priority sectors including aerospace, advanced defense manufacturing, and clean energy technology. It is an essential component for products ranging from fifth-generation F-35 fighter jets to electric vehicle components and advanced semiconductors. For decades, global scandium supply has been heavily concentrated in three countries: China, Russia, and Ukraine – a dynamic that has raised persistent national security concerns for U.S. policymakers.

    This transformation is set to reshape the local economy of Fifield, a former gold rush town with a total population of just 128. According to data from Sunrise Energy Metals’ official website, the Fifield deposit holds approximately 80% high-grade scandium ore, making it one of the most promising undeveloped scandium resources in the world. “Under the leadership of President Donald J. Trump, securing our critical minerals supply chain is a top national security priority,” said OSC Director David A. Lorch in an official statement.

    Lorch emphasized that the public-private partnership behind the project, which totals nearly $1 billion (equivalent to $1.4 billion Australian dollars) in combined capital, marks a defining milestone in building long-term supply chain resilience for a mineral that grows more important by the day. “This would help address foreign dependencies in scandium supply and facilitate scandium’s use in critical defence and commercial applications,” he added.

    As part of the financing agreement, the U.S. Department of War will receive a right of first offer on all output from the Sunrise project, ensuring U.S. defense and industrial manufacturers have priority access to the domestically aligned supply of scandium. OSC Senior Managing Director Peter B. Zuckerman noted that a U.S.-aligned scandium supply chain would eliminate U.S. warfighters and manufacturers’ reliance on geopolitical competitors, while also drawing significant private capital investment into the country’s frontline industrial base. The project has secured full backing from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, per the department’s statement.

    This investment builds on existing bilateral cooperation between the U.S. and Australia on critical minerals. Back in October, President Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced a joint bilateral framework focused on critical and rare earths during a meeting at the White House. Australia holds extensive deposits of multiple minerals critical to U.S. defense and tech sectors, including semiconductor-grade gallium and nuclear-grade uranium, positioning the country as a key strategic partner for the U.S. in diversifying global mineral supply.

    As of the 2026–2027 financial year, the OSC reported it has already committed $11.8 billion in debt financing across critical infrastructure and industrial projects, and has mobilized more than $25.1 billion in total public and private capital to advance U.S. national security and industrial resilience goals.

  • High divers take the plunge in the Seine in a new test of Paris’ reclaimed river

    High divers take the plunge in the Seine in a new test of Paris’ reclaimed river

    PARIS — On the banks of the Seine, with the iconic Eiffel Tower looming in the background, Paris has made history this week hosting its first ever high-diving competition on the iconic river. Athletes launched themselves from a 20-meter platform anchored to the Bir-Hakeim Bridge, turning the waterway into a world-class sporting venue and marking a key milestone in the city’s years-long campaign to reclaim the Seine for public recreation after a century of swimming bans.

    The event, part of the 2026 European Aquatics Championships, highlighted both the progress and remaining challenges of Paris’ water cleanup initiative. Last Thursday, a sudden disruption halted training operations when testing detected unexpected traces of hydrocarbons in an upstream section of the river. The incident, which exposed the lingering uncertainty of holding major sporting events in an outdoor natural environment, was quickly resolved by Friday: the French Swimming Federation confirmed the contaminated area had been fully treated, clearing the way for athletes to return to the water and the competition to proceed on its original schedule. The high-diving tournament is set to conclude Saturday with medal-deciding final rounds, while the broader European Aquatics Championships, which mark the centenary of the inaugural event first held in Budapest in 1926, will run through August 16. This is the first time Paris has hosted the championships since 1931, bringing more than 1,000 elite athletes to compete across five aquatics disciplines, with the Seine playing host to both open-water swimming and high diving.

    For Paris officials, the event is more than a sporting competition: it is a public demonstration of the massive investments put in place ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games to reverse decades of river pollution. Upgrades to sewage infrastructure to prevent untreated waste from flowing directly into the Seine, alongside overhauls to stormwater management systems, formed the core of a 1.4 billion euro project that lifted the 100-year public swimming ban in 2025.

    “There are things that are within our control, and there are uncertainties that are inevitably linked to any outdoor activity,” explained Maxime Sauvage, Paris’ deputy mayor in charge of sports, facilities and equitable access to recreation. “There is always a small risk, but that is also part of what makes outdoor events special. When they work, it is magical.”

    Hundreds of spectators flocked to the Seine’s banks on Friday to watch the competition, many of whom stumbled on the event spontaneously while sightseeing along the river. Among the accidental audience was Rebecca Kapogiannis, a 45-year-old tourist from London, Ontario, who was in Paris celebrating her daughter’s college graduation. Kapogiannis said her daughter had even packed a bathing suit ahead of the trip, holding out hope for a chance to swim in the iconic river.

    “We just headed down to the Eiffel Tower today and thought we would walk along the Seine and stumbled upon this and thought it was a really cool activity to watch,” Kapogiannis told the Associated Press. “I was not expecting a competition to take place in the Seine, but I think it’s such a cool use of this water that runs right through the city.”

    Cynthia Matz, another tourist visiting with her husband, echoed that sentiment, noting the iconic riverside setting made the event far more accessible and appealing than it would have been in an indoor aquatics center. “Anybody can go. I don’t have to know anything about diving. I can just say, ‘This is really cool to see,’” Matz said. “Having it out in public, people will just stop and go, ‘Huh, what’s going on?’ and stop and spend some time and enjoy it.”

    That spontaneous access to elite sport in the heart of the city is exactly the transformation Paris officials have worked for decades to achieve. For more than a century after the 1923 swimming ban, the Seine was primarily associated with commercial shipping, tourist cruises and industrial logistics, long written off as too polluted for public recreation. For generations of Parisians, the 1988 pledge by then-Paris mayor Jacques Chirac to restore the Seine to swimmable condition seemed like an impossible, distant dream.

    But two years after the 2024 Olympics, that vision is steadily becoming reality. Images of elite athletes competing on the river have already been joined by everyday Parisians swimming in designated public zones, with official data from Paris City Hall showing roughly 70,000 people used the city’s official Seine swimming areas in July alone, putting 2026 on track to surpass last summer’s total of 100,000 users. Growing public participation underscores rising enthusiasm for the project to reimagine the river as a space for recreation, not just commerce and tourism.

    “For decades, the Seine was limited to economic purposes, tourism with sightseeing boats, and logistics with ships loading and unloading goods in Paris,” Sauvage said. “It was a river with high levels of pollution that also had a significant impact on its biodiversity.” Today, the city’s goal is to add a new recreational identity to the Seine without eliminating its existing economic and cultural roles, he explained. “Paris is not just a postcard image, it is also a magnificent sporting venue,” Sauvage said. “It is a city that people come to visit, but it is also a city to be experienced by bike, through running, through sport, through play and through swimming.”

  • Premier’s adviser, former minister to replace Senators Duniam, Asker on Tasmania ticket

    Premier’s adviser, former minister to replace Senators Duniam, Asker on Tasmania ticket

    The Tasmanian branch of the Liberal Party has finalised its Senate election ticket for the upcoming 2028 federal poll, announcing a new leadership line-up following the abrupt departures of sitting senators Jonno Duniam and Wendy Askew, who both chose to step away from politics earlier this year. At a meeting of party pre-selectors held on Saturday, members voted to install Chris Gatenby, a long-serving senior political adviser to current Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff, as the lead candidate on the party’s Senate ticket. Taking the second position on the ticket is Sarah Courtney, a former high-ranking Tasmanian state government minister, who will fill the vacancy left by Askew’s planned exit. Latrobe City Councillor Jacki Martin will complete the three-person ticket as the third candidate. Both Duniam and Askew announced their decisions to forgo re-election pre-selection earlier in 2025, citing personal family commitments as the core motivation for their departures from federal parliamentary politics. In a public statement released in June, Duniam reflected on his 25-year career in Australian politics, noting that he had dedicated the vast majority of his time and energy to his political responsibilities, often prioritising work over time with his loved ones. “Twenty-five years is a long time in any vocation, and when you take your role seriously, it always comes first. It is time I reversed my priorities and I can’t do that if I am to stay in politics,” Duniam said. The outgoing senator acknowledged that his retirement comes at a challenging period for the federal Liberal-National Coalition, but expressed confidence in the party’s current direction. “But, I am confident that my friends across both the Liberal Party and the National Party are firmly on the right path,” he added. Askew echoed Duniam’s reasoning, pointing to family considerations as the driving force behind her choice to step down. When she first entered the Senate in April 2019 following a casual vacancy, Askew noted that no politician can predict how long their tenure in office will last, a observation she repeated when announcing her retirement. Gatenby, the new lead Senate candidate, has been a senior adviser to Premier Rockliff since August 2025, bringing with him decades of experience across federal and state political spheres. Before his role in Rockliff’s office, he held a series of senior political positions including electorate adviser, senior adviser, and chief of staff for former federal Sports Minister Richard Colbeck. A father of two, Gatenby previously contested the lower house seat of Bass at the 2025 federal election, ultimately falling short of victory against Labor candidate Jess Teesdale. For her part, Courtney brings extensive experience in Tasmanian state governance to the ticket. She held a seat in the Tasmanian House of Assembly from 2014 through 2022, when she resigned from parliament after contracting COVID-19 while on an overseas holiday in France. During her time in state cabinet, Courtney served as Tasmania’s Minister for Health, where she led the state government’s initial public health response to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, cementing her reputation as a senior and capable leader within the state Liberal Party.

  • Africa wants more homegrown solar to boost self-reliance, but China’s shadow remains

    Africa wants more homegrown solar to boost self-reliance, but China’s shadow remains

    Across the African continent, the largest national economies are moving faster than ever to expand domestic solar manufacturing capacity, a strategic shift industry analysts tie to both broader industrial development ambitions and rising concerns over heavy reliance on Chinese imports that currently control the vast majority of the global solar supply chain.

    Industry experts confirm Ethiopia, South Africa, Morocco and Nigeria are prioritizing localization of solar equipment production, scaling up operations from basic module assembly to more complex, high-value manufacturing processes. Even so, analysts broadly agree China will almost certainly retain its dominant global position in producing solar cells and other core supply chain components, a status reinforced by a persistent domestic supply glut that has pushed its export volumes to record heights.

    Data from London-based think tank ODI Global shows cumulative Chinese investment in African renewable energy and associated construction projects hit $66 billion between 2010 and 2024. For the continent, the combination of fast-growing gross domestic product, crippling recent energy shortages in nations such as Zambia, and the ongoing need to expand electricity access to unserved communities makes Africa an ideal outlet for China’s excess solar production capacity, explained Olena Borodyna, senior geopolitical risk advisor at ODI Global.

    South Africa, already the continent’s biggest importer of solar equipment, bringing in more than 3 gigawatts of product annually (almost all from China), has positioned itself as the continent’s most viable candidate for large-scale localized production. State-owned utility Eskom is moving forward with plans for a 1-gigawatt domestic solar manufacturing facility, designed to capture more economic value from the country’s rapidly expanding solar market while adapting to shifting national electricity demand patterns. Rising adoption of rooftop and decentralized solar systems has cut demand for power from the national grid, squeezing utility revenues and creating new incentives for business diversification.

    In Nigeria, domestic solar panel assembly capacity has jumped from roughly 120 megawatts to 300 megawatts over the past two years, and the country’s annual solar imports, the vast majority sourced from China, are now nearly on par with South Africa’s. Morocco has already doubled its annual solar production capacity to around 1 gigawatt, while Egypt has multiple gigawatt-scale manufacturing projects poised to come online. According to Benjamin Clarke, policy director at the Africa Solar Industry Association, this growing focus on domestic solar manufacturing marks a profound shift for the continent’s energy sector. “A few years ago, local solar manufacturing was barely on the agenda anywhere in Africa,” Clarke noted. “It is now becoming a recognized pillar of industrial policy and green economic development.”

    Demand for solar and other renewable energy sources across Africa has surged in recent years. Global off-grid solar industry group GOGLA projects that more than 10 million standalone solar kits will be sold across the continent in 2025, serving approximately 148 million people. That marks a 10% increase from 2024, with most growth concentrated in East and West Africa.

    Despite this momentum, the global solar supply chain remains extremely concentrated, with China holding an unrivaled position. Currently, Africa has no commercial-scale solar cell manufacturing, meaning even new local assembly operations depend entirely on imported Chinese core components. “Most new factories assemble imported Chinese components rather than produce the high-value solar cells and other upstream materials, leaving Africa dependent on foreign technology for the most sophisticated parts of the supply chain,” Clarke explained.

    Chinese investment has brought clear benefits, supporting the expansion of African manufacturing capacity and building local technical skills that create new employment opportunities. Borodyna noted that China’s longstanding expertise in scaling renewable energy technology manufacturing makes it a critical partner for African nations looking to expand their domestic sectors. “China will play a huge role in the build-out of manufacturing capacity across the continent, as well as continue solar exports to the continent,” she said. Still, experts agree the deeper knowledge sharing required to build fully integrated, independent domestic solar industries across Africa has yet to materialize, leaving meaningful technology transfer limited.

    Hannah Pitt, an expert in energy and climate policy at the Rhodium Group, noted that heavy reliance on Chinese solar supplies will likely remain the norm across Africa for the foreseeable future. Trade restrictions implemented in the U.S. and Europe have encouraged Chinese solar firms to redirect new investment toward emerging regions including Africa and Southeast Asia. Ethiopia has emerged as a top destination for this investment, with more than half of all announced solar manufacturing investments since 2018 coming from Chinese sources, alongside additional investment from Japan. By contrast, major projects in South Africa, Nigeria and Morocco are mostly led by domestic companies or joint ventures with majority local participation.

    Lauri Myllyvirta, an analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, explained that years of extensive state support and steady investment in green technology manufacturing have left China with a large oversupply of solar equipment and falling domestic prices, a core driver of its massive global market share. Persistent oversupply pushed several major Chinese solar manufacturers, including industry leaders Longi and Jinko, into financial losses in the first quarter of 2026. For these struggling firms, expanding operations into overseas markets is widely seen as the only path to remaining viable.

    An analysis from the Net Zero Industrial Policy Lab’s “China’s Green Leap Outward” report estimates Chinese firms have committed up to $250 billion to overseas green manufacturing projects between 2011 and the first half of 2025. Data from climate think tank Ember shows Chinese solar exports doubled in March 2026 to hit a new all-time monthly record, with 50 countries around the world setting single-month import records for Chinese solar equipment that same period.

    “In terms of producing and manufacturing things — like solar panels, batteries, electric vehicles — really China is by far the lead in this race,” said Li Shuo, director of the Asia Society Policy Institute’s China Climate Hub. “I personally expect the dominance of China to be further cemented and not weakened over the coming years.”

  • Major H5 bird flu blow as NSW confirms first native case

    Major H5 bird flu blow as NSW confirms first native case

    Australia’s ongoing outbreak of highly pathogenic H5 avian influenza has crossed a worrying new threshold, with state authorities confirming the first documented cases of the deadly virus in a native Australian wild bird species within New South Wales (NSW).

    Two greater crested terns, found hundreds of kilometers apart in geographically distinct regions of the state, have tested positive for the virus. One carcass was recovered near the coastal town of Narooma on NSW’s far south coast, while the second was discovered close to Wentworth, a remote community in the state’s far west. Both samples were processed and confirmed positive at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)’s Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness, the nation’s leading high-containment infectious disease research facility.

    While native bird species have already fallen victim to H5 across other Australian jurisdictions, this marks the first detection of the strain in native wildlife within NSW. As of the latest update, the national total of confirmed H5 detections across the country has climbed to 215, with the outbreak continuing to expand its geographic reach.

    South Australia remains the epicenter of the national outbreak, accounting for roughly two-thirds of all confirmed cases nationwide. The state has recorded 80 new detections in recent days alone, prompting major event organizers to take drastic preventive action. The Royal Adelaide Show, one of the most iconic and long-running annual agricultural events on Australia’s national calendar, has canceled all scheduled poultry exhibits for next month’s gathering.

    Will Rayner, chief executive of the Royal Adelaide Show, told reporters Friday the call to scrap poultry displays was made “out of an abundance of caution.” After reviewing detailed risk-mitigation guidance from state and federal health authorities, event organizers concluded they could not fully implement all required safety protocols to eliminate transmission risk. “We made the decision now to give stakeholders and exhibitors ample time to adjust, rather than forcing a last-minute cancellation when the show is already underway and crowds are arriving,” Rayner explained.

    Back in NSW, state officials have moved to reassure the public that authorities are well prepared to manage the expanding outbreak. “These positive cases are not unexpected,” said Penny Sharpe, NSW’s Minister for the Environment. “We remain well equipped to respond to and manage further impacts. We are using the best available data and tools to target protective actions for our most at-risk wildlife species and important natural ecosystems.”

    NSW Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty added that the state government is collaborating closely with the commercial poultry industry to ramp up biosecurity protocols across all production facilities. To date, no cases of H5 have been detected in commercial or backyard poultry flocks within NSW. “The industry has been preparing for this scenario for some time, and all stakeholders are fully aware of current risks and required preventive actions,” Moriarty noted.

  • Men aged 50-69 to test every two years for prostate cancer in massive reform

    Men aged 50-69 to test every two years for prostate cancer in massive reform

    Australia has introduced landmark, world-first updates to its national clinical guidelines for prostate cancer early detection, marking the first major overhaul of the framework in 10 years. Unveiled by the Albanese government this Thursday, the revised 2026 Clinical Guidelines for the Early Detection of Prostate Cancer expand access to routine Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) testing, with the dual goal of catching aggressive cases earlier and cutting harm from unnecessary overdiagnosis and overtreatment.

    Developed in partnership between the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia and Cancer Council Australia, the new testing framework expands eligibility to multiple at-risk groups. Under the reforms, all Australian men between 50 and 69 years old will now qualify for biennial PSA screening. Men aged 45 to 49 will be able to complete an initial baseline test, while high-risk groups — including those with a first-degree family history of prostate cancer, carriers of a BRCA2 gene mutation, and men of sub-Saharan African ancestry — can access biennial testing starting as early as age 45.

    Jeff Dunn AO, head of research at the Prostate Cancer Foundation Australia, described the updated guidelines as a watershed moment for Australia’s approach to managing the disease, noting the country is among the first in the world to adopt this modern, evidence-based structure. “These guidelines represent the culmination of years of scientific work, national collaboration, and rigorous evaluation of the evidence,” Dunn explained. “Much has changed over the past decade. The evidence has matured, diagnostic technologies have advanced, and clinical practice has evolved substantially. For the first time, Australia now has a contemporary national framework that better balances the benefits of detecting aggressive prostate cancer early with the need to minimise unnecessary harms.”

    Australian Health Minister Mark Butler emphasized that the policy reform is designed to ensure that at-risk men and their families can access targeted support at the earliest possible stage. Dan Repacholi, Labor Member of Parliament and the federal government’s special envoy for men’s health, who has long been a leading advocate for improved prostate cancer care, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to advancing detection and treatment outcomes.

    “As the most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia, prostate cancer has significant impacts on men, their families and the wider community,” Repacholi said, urging men aged 45 and over to consult their general practitioner about their individual risk and whether screening is appropriate for them.

    Prostate cancer currently holds the title of Australia’s most frequently diagnosed cancer, with roughly 28,000 new cases recorded each year and approximately 4,000 annual deaths from the disease. To support rollout of the new guidelines, the federal government has allocated $320,000 in funding to the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, which will develop and deliver targeted education and awareness training for frontline primary care providers. Since GPs serve as the first point of contact for most men seeking cancer screening, the training program is expected to smooth implementation and improve guideline adherence across the country.

  • Child among three killed in Russian missile attacks near Kyiv

    Child among three killed in Russian missile attacks near Kyiv

    A new wave of overnight Russian ballistic missile strikes targeting areas near Kyiv has left at least three people dead — one of them a child — and three more wounded, marking a sharp escalation of hostilities just days after a broader series of attacks across Ukraine claimed 21 lives.

    The attacks, which unfolded in the early hours of Saturday, targeted locations east of Ukraine’s capital, with residents reporting deafening, powerful explosions across the region. Falling missile debris damaged multiple residential apartment blocks and parked civilian vehicles, and ignited a separate blaze at a commercial structure, according to Timur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s regional military administration.

    Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko confirmed via Telegram that emergency response teams were working to contain two large fires: one at a multi-story building and another at a fuel storage facility within the city limits. Ukraine’s State Emergency Service (DSNS) published on-the-ground images showing raging fires at garages, a local business, and a residential outbuilding in Kyiv’s Holosiivskyi district, noting that the full count of casualties is still undergoing verification.

    The attack comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky touched down in Belgrade for his first official visit to Serbia, a trip scheduled amid growing Ukrainian warnings that dwindling stocks of anti-missile interceptors have severely weakened the country’s ability to fend off Russian air assaults. Zelensky has made it a priority to build broader international support for Ukraine’s defensive efforts, but the trip faces inherent diplomatic friction: Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has repeatedly refused to join international sanctions against Russia, despite Serbia’s ongoing bid to earn membership in the European Union. The Balkan country has provided humanitarian aid to Ukraine and pledged to support post-war reconstruction efforts, and Friday’s scheduled talks between the two leaders were expected to cover bilateral economic ties, Serbia’s EU accession process, and regional and global security issues.

    In comments earlier this week, Zelensky highlighted the human cost of delayed arms supplies from Western and international partners. He stated that holdups in deliveries of anti-ballistic defense systems have directly led to “horrific casualties and widespread destruction,” emphasizing that expanded interceptor capabilities “could have saved countless lives” during recent deadly Russian strikes. He added that the volume of interceptor supplies from allied nations has dropped “significantly” throughout 2024, leaving critical gaps in Ukraine’s air defense network.

    The latest exchange of hostilities follows a series of targeted Ukrainian strikes deep inside Russian territory earlier this month, which hit two major Russian oil refineries and destroyed several Moscow-linked commercial vessels operating in the Black Sea. Zelensky confirmed the strikes were a deliberate strategy to reduce the oil revenues that Russia relies on to fund its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

    Recent diplomatic mediation efforts aimed at de-escalating the 2.5-year conflict have stalled, creating a vacuum that has paved the way for a sharp uptick in offensive attacks from both Russian and Ukrainian forces in recent weeks.