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Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has issued an unequivocal public apology after facing widespread condemnation for sexually charged comments he made about global pop icon Kylie Minogue during a lighthearted podcast interview last week.

The controversial exchange unfolded during a recording of *Bush Deep*, a comedy podcast hosted by YouTube comedian Nikki Osborne, which took place inside the prime minister’s official Canberra residence over the weekend. Osborne, who bills herself as a “wildly inappropriate journalist” who poses questions mainstream interviewers would never dare to ask, asked Albanese to play the viral “shag, marry or date” game, assigning Minogue, fellow Australian A-lister Nicole Kidman and entertainer Rhonda Burchmore as the three options.

Albanese, who married his partner Jodie Haydon last November, just six months prior to the interview, initially attempted to deflect the question, noting he had only recently tied the knot. But after persistent pushing from Osborne, the prime minister relented, saying “Oh, Kylie, clearly.” When the host followed up to ask if he would choose Minogue for all three options, Albanese confirmed “All of the above,” adding that the popstar is “terrific.”

The comments quickly sparked a fierce backlash from politicians across the political spectrum, with critics labeling the remarks inappropriate, disrespectful to women and damaging to the integrity of the office of prime minister. Independent Community Strong MP Zali Steggall argued that the comments were entirely out of line, saying Albanese “needs to learn to push back, lead by example and call it out as sexist.” Shadow Communications Minister Sarah Henderson echoed the criticism in a post on social platform X, writing that the comments were “disrespectful to women, embarrassing to Australians and demean the office of Prime Minister.”

With Albanese currently traveling through the Pacific region, Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles defended the government’s track record on gender equity during an interview with ABC Radio National Breakfast. Marles emphasized that the current administration is “utterly committed” to advancing women’s standing in Australian society, and noted that Albanese’s cabinet is the first in Australian history to achieve gender parity between male and female ministers. “From time to time, we obviously do different interviews to the one we are doing now,” Marles added.

The controversy also included an additional awkward exchange during the same interview, when Osborne made a sexually charged comparison of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to 1990s pop culture icon Pamela Anderson after Albanogue mentioned Takaichi had gifted him two melons during an overseas visit.

Early on Monday, Albanese released a brief, one-line formal statement addressing the furore: “I apologise unequivocally for the comments.”

A provocative new intervention into the long-running global debate over colonial reparations has reignited fierce backlash against former British Home Secretary Suella Braverman, after the right-wing politician claimed Britain’s former colonies should pay compensation to London for the empire’s purported positive contributions to their development.

Braverman, who left the Conservative Party to join the right-wing Reform UK earlier this year, made the claims in a public post on the social platform X in July 2026. Her comments came in response to Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy, who recently shared a Guardian article outlining Jamaica’s plan to submit a formal petition to King Charles later this year demanding reparations for the harms of British colonial rule and chattel slavery.

In her post, Braverman argued that the British Empire delivered widespread global benefits, while acknowledging that the historical institution of chattel slavery was an abhorrent crime. She claimed that demanding 21st-century British taxpayers pay reparations for 18th-century atrocities has no legal foundation, and went further: if the British government is to seriously consider reparations demands, former colonies should instead compensate the UK for the massive investment, labor and contribution the British Empire made to build the foundational systems that support many of today’s thriving democracies.

However, multiple facts undermine Braverman’s core claims. First, official records from the British government itself confirm that British taxpayers were not asked to pay reparations to enslaved people or their descendants – they were forced to pay off the enslavers themselves. In 1835, the UK government took out a £20 million loan to compensate enslavers for the loss of their human property after the abolition of slavery. That sum equaled roughly 5% of the UK’s total GDP at the time, which would amount to more than $3 billion in modern currency. The British government did not finish repaying this debt until 2015, meaning generations of UK taxpayers funded payouts to slave owners, not to the communities harmed by slavery.

Beyond this, historians and economic researchers have repeatedly disproven Braverman’s claim that Britain built colonial infrastructure for the benefit of colonized peoples. There is no credible academic evidence that the British Empire invested in its colonies to advance the well-being of local populations; colonial economic systems were explicitly designed to extract natural resources, coerce cheap labor and siphon massive amounts of wealth back to London, rather than supporting self-determined development for colonized societies. For example, landmark research from economist Utsa Patnaik, published by Columbia University Press after analyzing nearly 200 years of economic data, found that Britain extracted roughly $45 trillion in wealth from India alone during its centuries of colonial rule.

At its territorial peak, the British Empire controlled roughly one-quarter of the world’s total land area, encompassing dozens of nations across every inhabited continent. Notably, Braverman herself is of Indian heritage, with parents who migrated to the UK from former British colonies – a background that has drawn additional criticism for her remarks.

Within hours of her post going public, Braverman faced widespread condemnation from social media users and commentators across the globe. Many critics called out her rhetorical framing, pointing to the line “Of course slavery was abhorrent but” as a dismissive tactic that minimizes the scale of the harm caused by colonialism and chattel slavery. Others directly refuted her “investment” claim, writing that the British Empire did not invest in colonies – it stole their wealth and resources to enrich the British metropole at the expense of local populations.

Responding to Braverman’s intervention, Ribeiro-Addy noted that it is becoming increasingly difficult for British institutions to rely on their long-standing tactic of ignoring legitimate reparations demands, as global pressure for accountability continues to grow.

TORONTO – Canada is on the cusp of a landmark decision in one of the largest military procurement projects in the nation’s history, with an announcement expected Monday that will name either Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems or South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean as the contractor for a fleet of 12 new conventionally powered submarines, a deal valued in the tens of billions of dollars.

The timeline for the announcement is strategically aligned with Prime Minister Mark Carney’s upcoming departure for the NATO summit hosted in Turkey, coming as alliance members ramp up collective defense spending across the bloc. Before making the public selection, Carney is scheduled to visit a Canadian Armed Forces base in Nova Scotia, the Atlantic coastal province that would likely play a central role in the future operation of the new submarine fleet. During the visit, Carney is set to unveil what his office describes as “new measures to make Canada more secure, resilient, and prosperous.”

While a spokesperson for the prime minister has not confirmed that the submarine procurement decision will drop on Monday, Carney previously stated in May that an announcement would come within weeks, keeping the expected timeline intact.

The push for new submarines comes as Canada’s existing fleet of four Victoria-class submarines faces persistent operational challenges, with the vessels barely able to maintain active service. This capability gap has put increased pressure on the Canadian government to move forward with the large-scale replacement program.

The two bidders have taken distinctly different approaches to court Canadian decision-makers. The German-led ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, which operates in partnership with Norwegian industry partners, has centered its pitch on strengthening NATO collective defense, pointing out that it already supplies the majority of conventional submarines in service across allied navies.

On the South Korean side, Hanwha Ocean has waged an aggressive outreach and marketing campaign, focusing heavily on the domestic economic benefits the deal would bring to Canada. Just last month, the company showcased its KSS-III diesel-electric submarine in British Columbia after the vessel completed the first ever trans-Pacific crossing by a South Korean Navy submarine, a move designed to demonstrate the craft’s long-range capability and seaworthiness. Both bidders have pledged that their proposals will deliver significant job creation and domestic investment for Canadian communities if selected.

The procurement also ties directly to Canada’s broader defense commitments to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Carney’s administration has already pledged to meet the alliance’s upgraded defense spending targets, promising to hit the existing 2% of GDP benchmark this year before ramping up annual spending to 5% of gross domestic product by 2035, in line with NATO’s new requirements for member states.

MANILA, Philippines – A defining chapter of Philippine political turbulence is set to open Monday, as the country’s Senate convenes as an impeachment court to hear historic charges against Vice President Sara Duterte, in a proceeding that lays bare the collapse of one of Southeast Asia’s most powerful political alliances. The trial comes amid a deep and public rift between Duterte and sitting President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., a split that has reshaped the country’s domestic politics and shifted its geopolitical alignment, and carries high stakes for Duterte’s planned 2028 presidential bid.

Security preparations are already in full force to manage expected unrest: more than 6,000 Philippine police officers, including specialized anti-riot units, have been deployed around the Senate complex in Manila to separate expected gatherings of both pro- and anti-Duterte demonstrators. According to a pretrial planning document obtained by the Associated Press, the trial is scheduled to run for 92 days, and Duterte has the option to appear in person at the opening hearing, or be represented exclusively by her legal team.

The impeachment charges against Duterte are severe: they include allegations of amassing unexplained wealth, misappropriating confidential state funds, and making a public threat to assassinate President Marcos Jr., his wife, and a top pro-Marcos House speaker if Duterte were killed amid their ongoing political conflict. Duterte has issued a blanket denial of all allegations, but has declined to address the specific claims in public ahead of the trial’s start. A two-thirds majority vote from the 24-member Senate – equivalent to 16 votes – is required to convict Duterte. If found guilty, she will be permanently stripped of the right to hold any public office, effectively ending her already announced plan to run for the presidency in 2028, when Marcos concludes his current six-year term.

The current impeachment proceeding is the culmination of a rapid and spectacular collapse of a once-formidable political partnership. Duterte and Marcos ran as joint running mates in the 2022 national elections, a strategic alliance that merged the electoral power of two of the Philippines’ most influential political dynasties to seize control of the country’s top two offices. That alliance fractured almost immediately after taking office, and has devolved into open hostility in recent months.

Sara Duterte is the daughter of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, Marcos’ immediate predecessor, who remains in detention at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague following his arrest last year. The elder Duterte is scheduled to go on trial starting November 30 on charges of crimes against humanity, stemming from his administration’s brutal anti-drug crackdown that killed an estimated thousands of mostly low-income suspects, drawing widespread condemnation from Western governments and global human rights organizations. Rodrigo Duterte has repeatedly denied authorizing extrajudicial killings, though he openly threatened drug suspects with death throughout his time in office. Sara Duterte has publicly blamed Marcos for facilitating her father’s arrest and transfer to the ICC, deepening the animosity between the two camps.

Beyond domestic political conflict, the rift between Marcos and the Duterte political bloc also reflects a sharp shift in Philippine geopolitics. Since taking office, the Marcos administration has expanded defense cooperation with the United States, the Philippines’ longstanding treaty ally, and taken a firmer public stance against China’s escalating territorial claims and aggressive actions in the disputed South China Sea. This marks a sharp reversal from the elder Duterte’s tenure, during which he cultivated close diplomatic and economic ties with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, while repeatedly threatening to cut diplomatic and military ties with Washington. Sara Duterte has faced widespread public criticism for refusing to condemn China’s recent aggressive actions against Philippine coast guard vessels and fishing boats operating in the disputed waters, including incidents where Chinese coast guard units used high-powered water cannons to block Filipino vessels.

The impeachment process was initiated last month by the Philippine House of Representatives, where Marcos holds a commanding majority of allied lawmakers, who voted overwhelmingly to approve the articles of impeachment against Duterte. Duterte’s supporters have decried the proceedings as a politically motivated persecution, designed to eliminate Duterte as a political rival and weaken her bloc ahead of upcoming elections. The crackdown on pro-Duterte political figures has already accelerated in recent weeks: Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, a leading member of the Senate bloc that backs the Duterte family, was arrested and detained last month on a non-bailable plunder charge linked to an alleged bribery scheme connected to national flood-control infrastructure projects. Estrada has denied all wrongdoing. Another pro-Duterte senator, Rodante Marcoleta, is also facing potential arrest on a non-bailable plunder charge for allegedly accepting massive undeclared campaign donations that were never disclosed in his mandatory public assets declaration. Marcoleta has also denied any illegal activity. A third pro-Duterte political figure, Sen. Ronald dela Rosa – who served as national police chief under Rodrigo Duterte and oversaw the implementation of the anti-drug crackdown – has gone into hiding after the ICC issued an arrest warrant for him as a co-perpetrator in the alleged crimes against humanity committed during the Duterte administration.

In a move that has reshaped regional diplomatic dynamics, Bangladesh’s newly inaugurated Prime Minister Tarique Rahman recently concluded high-level talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit to Beijing, the second stop on his first official overseas trip since taking office. The visit, which comes as Dhaka pursues a recalibration of its foreign policy priorities amid efforts to reset strained ties with traditional partner India, underscores the new government’s push to attract increased Chinese investment and deepen bilateral cooperation to reboot Bangladesh’s sluggish post-uprising economy.

Rahman’s itinerary – which included a first stop in Malaysia followed by the Beijing trip – has been closely parsed by geopolitical analysts, who frame the choice of destinations as a clear signal of Dhaka’s new strategic direction. Breaking from longstanding convention that sees newly elected South Asian leaders make New Delhi their first overseas port of call, Rahman’s Beijing stop has been interpreted in some Indian policy circles as a deliberate signal to Delhi, which has maintained close ties to ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina following her 2024 ouster.

The 2024 mass uprising that toppled Hasina’s government fundamentally altered Bangladesh’s diplomatic landscape. After Hasina fled the country and received refuge in India, relations between Dhaka and Delhi turned sharply frosty, a tension that persisted through the tenure of the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus, when India avoided high-level diplomatic exchanges with Dhaka. Following Rahman’s landslide electoral victory in February 2026 at the head of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, however, both sides have taken incremental steps to reduce tensions and move toward a reset of bilateral ties.

Former Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran notes that a noticeable de-escalation has already occurred: cross-border economic activity has gradually normalized, India has resumed issuing tourist visas to Bangladeshi citizens, and passenger bus services between the two countries – suspended for 18 months – have partially restarted, connecting Kolkata to Dhaka and Dhaka to Agartala. Earlier this year, when global fuel supplies were disrupted by the Middle East conflict, Delhi delivered thousands of tonnes of emergency fuel to Bangladesh via the cross-border Friendship Pipeline. Most recently, India appointed new High Commissioner Dinesh Trivedi to Dhaka, a move that carried a symbolic signal of intent to improve ties: Trivedi was elevated to cabinet rank, a rare step for an Indian high commissioner to Bangladesh.

Even with these incremental improvements, full rapprochement between Dhaka and Delhi remains out of reach, with multiple persistent irritants still straining bilateral relations. Widespread anti-India sentiment in Bangladesh, rooted in New Delhi’s past support for Hasina, continues to shape public opinion. A bitter controversy has also emerged over Dhaka’s claims that India’s Border Security Force has pushed thousands of predominantly Bengali-speaking Muslims deemed illegal immigrants into Bangladesh without following formal repatriation processes, a move that has sparked widespread public anger in Bangladesh. Compounding these tensions, inflammatory comments targeting Bangladesh made by Hindu nationalist politicians during recent West Bengal state election campaigns have sent confusing and unwelcome signals to Dhaka, according to former Bangladeshi diplomat Humayun Kabir. After the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party ended 16 years of Trinamool Congress rule in the border state, which shares deep linguistic, cultural and ethnic ties with Bangladesh, these political frictions have taken on added significance.

Two agreements from Rahman’s Beijing trip have drawn particular scrutiny from New Delhi, where geopolitical competition with China remains a core national security priority: a joint agreement to conduct a technical feasibility study for Teesta River management projects, and a deal to develop a special economic zone near Bangladesh’s Mongla Port. For India, any Chinese involvement in Teesta River projects is a highly sensitive security issue. The transboundary river, long the subject of a stalled water-sharing negotiation between India and Bangladesh, sits close to the strategic Siliguri Corridor – the 22-kilometer “Chicken’s Neck” strip that connects India’s mainland to its seven northeastern states. “Any Chinese involvement in any project close to our border will always be a matter of concern. So, we would certainly not welcome that at all,” Saran explained.

Bangladeshi officials push back on these concerns, noting that previous Bangladeshi governments extended an invitation for India to participate in Teesta development, but New Delhi dragged its feet on a decision. They argue China possesses both the technical expertise and financial capital needed to deliver large-scale infrastructure projects like dredging and desilting work required to restore the river’s flow for agricultural use. For its part, Beijing has moved to ease Indian anxieties, emphasizing that its cooperation with Bangladesh is not aimed at any third party. “China-Bangladesh cooperation does not target any third party and should be free from third party influence,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun told reporters during Rahman’s visit.

Beyond the Teesta and special economic zone projects, Rahman’s visit produced another major strategic announcement: China offered to advance development of the China-Myanmar-Bangladesh Economic Corridor, which would connect China’s Yunnan Province to both Southeast Asian nations. China already holds significant economic and security clout in Bangladesh: it is the country’s largest defense supplier, accounting for more than 70% of Bangladesh’s arms imports, and Dhaka holds more than $6 billion in debt to Beijing.

For India, which has long viewed South Asia as its traditional sphere of influence, China’s steady expansion of its footprint across the region – from Bangladesh to Sri Lanka and the Maldives – represents a major strategic challenge. India’s efforts to reset ties with Rahman’s government are further complicated by the ongoing presence of Hasina in Delhi: Dhaka has formally requested Hasina’s extradition to face execution after she was convicted in absentia of crimes against humanity for a 2024 crackdown on student protests that left hundreds dead. Hasina has denied all charges. “As long as Hasina is in Delhi, it may be somewhat difficult politically for Rahman to come to India,” Saran noted.

Even with these barriers, many analysts argue that a full breakdown in India-Bangladesh ties is unlikely, as India remains too economically and strategically important for Dhaka to ignore. For India, stable relations with Bangladesh are also a critical national security priority, as it helps counter ethnic separatist movements active in India’s northeastern states. Ultimately, for Prime Minister Rahman, navigating relations between the two competing Asian regional powers will remain one of the most delicate and consequential diplomatic balancing acts of his premiership, with outcomes that will shape Bangladesh’s economic future and regional geopolitics for years to come.