Global Pulse

标签： Oceania

大洋洲

  • Powerful pharmacy lobby using secret deals to inflate medicine prices, report claims

    Powerful pharmacy lobby using secret deals to inflate medicine prices, report claims

    A new analysis from one of Australia’s leading independent think tanks has ignited fierce debate over pharmaceutical pricing, claiming that closed-door negotiations between the federal government and a powerful industry lobby have forced taxpayers and patients to overpay billions of dollars annually for prescription medications. The Grattan Institute’s new report pulls back the curtain on decades of opaque policy making, arguing that the Pharmacy Guild of Australia — the national body representing the majority of Australian community pharmacy owners — has leveraged its significant political influence to lock out patient representatives and hide critical cost data from public scrutiny during funding and policy negotiations.

    Lead researcher and Grattan’s Health Program Director Peter Breadon argues that this closed negotiating model is a global outlier. “Unlike almost every other developed nation, Australia’s negotiations for pharmacy funding exclude all stakeholders outside the Guild and the government, and proceed almost entirely without public, evidence-based cost data,” Breadon explained in the report. “This poor governance structure has only delivered bad outcomes for everyone except pharmacy owners themselves.”

    The report’s economic modelling estimates that Australian pharmacies collect nearly $3 billion annually in excessive dispensing fees, driven by a lack of market competition and restrictive industry rules that block widespread discounts for consumers. Under Australia’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), which subsidises most prescription medications for the public, the nation’s 6,000 community pharmacies fill 335 million prescriptions each year at a total taxpayer cost of $3.8 billion. Breadon’s analysis found the average dispensing fee — charged to cover the cost of verifying prescriptions, preparing medications, and providing patient counselling — currently sits at $9.24 per script, a figure that cannot be justified because the Guild has repeatedly blocked efforts to measure the actual cost of dispensing services.

    “No one knows the real cost of filling a prescription in an Australian community pharmacy, and that is no accident,” Breadon said. “Fees should be set independently, tied to actual operational costs, not the outcome of closed-door bargaining. Unjustified inflated fees need to be scrapped entirely.”

    The report also takes aim at the existing Community Pharmacy Agreements, which the institute says include overly generous funding terms that shield pharmacy owners from revenue declines while inflating profits at the expense of taxpayers and consumers. Breadon added that while regulatory rules already allow pharmacies to discount medications priced below the PBS maximum co-payment — a policy that has delivered $319 million in annual savings for patients in 2025 — a web of complex industry regulations prevents pharmacies from passing additional savings on to consumers for other prescription drugs. Simplifying these discount rules alone could deliver an extra $48 million in annual savings for Australian patients, the modelling found.

    To fix the systemic flaws, the Grattan Institute is calling for a full overhaul of the negotiating framework: the federal government should open negotiations to independent, evidence-based fee-setting, the same model used for other Australian health care sectors. If wholesale reform is not pursued, Breadon said, patient representatives should at minimum be included at the negotiating table, with all cost data released to the public to justify final funding decisions. “The Australian government spends billions of dollars on community pharmacy services every year,” Breadon said. “Fairer fee structures and stronger competition will ensure the system works for patients, not just pharmacy owners.”

    The Pharmacy Guild of Australia has pushed back forcefully against the report’s claims, with National Vice President Simon Blacker arguing the organisation has a long track record of advancing affordable access to medications for Australians. Blacker highlighted the Guild’s recent collaboration with the federal government to cut the PBS general co-payment to $25 starting in January 2026, a reduction that will bring the co-payment to its lowest level since 2004 — only the second cut to the co-payment in the PBS’s entire history.

    Blacker also reaffirmed the critical public health role that community pharmacies play across Australia, noting that increasingly, specially trained pharmacists are able to diagnose, treat, and prescribe for a wide range of common acute and chronic health conditions — a expanded scope of practice that Blacker says should be supported by a national consistent prescribing framework. Both the Grattan Institute and the Pharmacy Guild have acknowledged the essential role community pharmacies play in guaranteeing access to medicines, health advice, and frontline care for Australian communities, leaving the debate focused on governance and pricing rather than the core value of local pharmacy services.

  • Cult activewear brand Stax collapses into voluntary liquidation

    Cult activewear brand Stax collapses into voluntary liquidation

    Once a rising Australian challenger to global activewear giants Lululemon and Nike, popular inclusive fashion label Stax has formally entered voluntary liquidation, leaving thousands of customers uncertain about unfulfilled orders and unusable gift cards, according to official updates from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

    The liquidation process comes after National Australia Bank (NAB), Australia’s one of the big four banking groups, appointed receivers from FTI Consulting earlier this year to recover outstanding debt owed by the brand. Following this step, the ACCC confirmed that joint liquidators Brian Silvia and Michael Hird from Cascap Advisory have been appointed to oversee the wind-down of multiple Stax corporate entities. Unlike receivers, whose primary mandate is to recover funds for specific creditors (in this case NAB), liquidators are tasked with selling off all remaining assets of the insolvent business and distributing proceeds evenly across all outstanding creditors.

    Founded in 2015 and formally registered in Western Australia in 2017, Stax grew from a small grassroots startup to a major competitor in the global activewear market. The brand built a massive cult following across Australia for its signature “buttery soft” leggings, fashion-forward designs, and industry-leading inclusive sizing, operating both an e-commerce platform and two physical boutique stores in Sydney and Liverpool. At its peak operational height, Stax generated more than AUD 30 million in annual revenue and employed more than 160 workers across the country. Just one month before entering liquidation, Stax’s co-founders Dan and Matilda Murray made a last-ditch effort to keep the business solvent, selling off its retail store assets and luxury personal vehicles including a Lamborghini and a Porsche.

    In an official public statement posted to Stax’s website, the brand confirmed that a large number of pending customer orders will not be fulfilled, and the company is no longer able to honor outstanding gift cards or store credit notes. Receivers first took control of Stax operations on June 24 to assess the business and negotiate with key stakeholders to explore options for continued trading, but those talks have not resulted in a rescue deal to date.

    Customers who purchased items in pre-sale promotions on or before June 24 face particular uncertainty: the company noted that most pre-ordered goods were not held in domestic stock, instead relying on overseas suppliers to manufacture and ship inventory to Australia. Order fulfillment for these purchases depends on cooperation from the full supply chain, including overseas manufacturers, freight forwarders, and third-party logistics providers, many of which are also owed outstanding payments by Stax. For all other undelivered orders placed before June 24, delivery is similarly contingent on reaching a new agreement with the third-party logistics firm, which is an unsecured creditor of the insolvent Stax group.

    At this stage, the business is also unable to process any returns or exchanges for customers, and all unused gift cards and credit notes will not be accepted for future purchases. “We recognise how disappointing this will be for affected customers and we are sorry for the impact this has. Should this position change, we will provide updates promptly,” the statement read. As of the latest update, liquidators are continuing their assessment of the business’s remaining assets and creditor claims, with further updates expected as the wind-down process progresses.

  • Surprising new data reveals most financially confident generation

    Surprising new data reveals most financially confident generation

    Against a backdrop of ongoing national cost-of-living pressures and shifting economic expectations, new data from Australia’s MLC Real Retirement Report has upended common generational stereotypes, revealing that Generation Z is now the most financially confident cohort in the country — even as they report the highest levels of frustration with their current financial circumstances. The annual report, which surveys thousands of Australians to gauge attitudes toward workforce exit and long-term financial security, draws a nuanced picture of young Australians’ relationship with money: while systemic barriers and early career challenges leave many struggling to hit their savings targets, Gen Z is proactively taking control of their financial futures far earlier than previous generations.

    According to the report’s findings, 45% of Gen Z Australians report feeling confident or extremely confident in their personal financial knowledge, outpacing Millennials, Gen X and Baby Boomers by a clear margin. This confidence translates into forward-thinking planning: many Gen Z respondents already expect to retire as early as age 63, and are actively leveraging strategies to grow their retirement savings, including switching superannuation funds to access better returns or lower fees, using salary sacrificing to boost pre-tax contributions, and seeking professional financial guidance tailored to their long-term goals.

    Renee Howie, chief customer officer at MLC, attributed Gen Z’s distinct approach to financial planning to the unstable socio-economic environment they have come of age in. Rather than waiting for external systems or employers to secure their retirement, Howie explained, young Australians have embraced personal agency over the factors they can control, most notably their superannuation savings. “They’re not waiting for it to be done to them. They’re actually taking control and wanting to build their financial security for the future themselves,” Howie said in an interview. “There is a lot more control that they have in their super than they might have in other external factors that affect their financial capability today.”

    The report also identifies a major shift in core financial priorities for Gen Z: for the first time, financial freedom and retirement security have overtaken home ownership as the primary savings goal for many young Australians. Howie noted that this shift aligns with Gen Z’s focus on autonomy, explaining that financial independence is ultimately a goal centered on control over one’s own life and future. “It means that they have an interest, they’re planning for the long term, they’re making choices around their investments,” she said.

    Despite this unprecedented proactivity and confidence, the report also highlights significant challenges facing Gen Z on their path to a comfortable retirement. Only 45% of Gen Z respondents believe they are currently on track to meet their retirement goals, while just 30% have actually started putting aside dedicated retirement savings. Gen Z also reported higher levels of frustration with their current financial situation than any other generation, with 37% saying they feel held back by systemic cost-of-living pressures that make consistent saving difficult.

    Still, Howie struck an optimistic tone about Gen Z’s long-term prospects, pointing to the rise of financial influencers (or “finfluencers”) on social media and the expanded availability of free digital financial education tools as game-changing advantages for young people. These resources give Gen Z early access to money management skills that older generations often did not learn until mid-career, creating a foundation for healthy long-term saving habits. “Gen Z also get to see what their peers are doing through the likes of social channels, and so the education is leading them to consider their own circumstance,” Howie said. “Not only are they actively switching member funds, they’re also more predominantly going into products that enable them to have a little bit more control and a little bit more choice.”

  • Liberal MP Julian Leeser lashes ABC, SBS over ‘systematic’ anti-Israel bias

    Liberal MP Julian Leeser lashes ABC, SBS over ‘systematic’ anti-Israel bias

    As Australia’s Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion prepares to hear testimony from Jewish university staff and students, a senior opposition politician has launched a pointed public attack on the country’s two major state-funded broadcasters, demanding they address long-running allegations of systemic bias against Israel in their coverage of the ongoing Israel-Gaza war.

    Julian Leeser, the opposition’s education spokesperson and member of the Berowra electorate who identifies as part of Australia’s Jewish community, made the demand on Monday, tying the call for broadcaster accountability to the federal government’s new anti-racism rules for Australian higher education institutions. Leeser confirmed that the country’s Special Envoy into Antisemitism, Julian Segal, has formally raised repeated complaints about the public broadcasters’ Israel coverage, which has unfolded amid a conflict that has killed more than 73,000 people in Gaza since the October 7, 2023 Hamas terror attack that left more than 1,000 mostly civilian Israelis dead.

    “I think the public broadcasters actually have to be prepared to address systemic bias against Israel in their reporting, and I think they need to subject themselves to greater transparency mechanisms as outlined by the envoy,” Leeser told ABC Radio National in an interview, adding that the exact structure of new transparency rules would be determined by the ongoing Royal Commission.

    Australia’s two public broadcasters, the ABC and SBS, have faced sustained criticism from peak national Jewish groups over their coverage of the 10-month-long Israel-Gaza conflict. Last week, the ABC issued a public correction and acknowledged it made a “bad mistake” when it incorrectly reported that 14,000 babies would die of starvation in Gaza within a 48-hour window.

    Despite that misstep, ABC Editorial Director Gavin Fang defended the public broadcaster’s overall coverage during testimony to the Royal Commission, noting the outlet has made a deliberate effort to center the experiences of Australia’s Jewish community when reporting on rising antisemitism domestically. Fang added that covering the Middle East conflict, which has profound impacts on Australian communities, aligns directly with the ABC’s legislated charter obligation to deliver independent news and current affairs. “We have covered the impact of a variety of domestic attacks, for instance, on Jewish synagogues, on graffiti and other incidents of anti-Semitism,” he said.

    For its part, SBS has faced criticism from Segal over its use of casualty statistics published by the Gaza Health Ministry, which was previously overseen by Hamas’ now-defunct civilian administration. Amanda Wicks, SBS Director of News and Current Affairs, pushed back against that criticism, noting the outlet always contextualizes its use of the data by clearly stating Hamas is recognized as a terrorist organization by Australia and controls the Gaza Strip.

    Both broadcasters have also rejected repeated calls from Segal to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, a policy that critics argue disproportionately and unfairly restricts legitimate criticism of the Israeli government and its military actions in Gaza. Leeser, a staunch supporter of mandating the IHRA definition, pushed back on that critique, noting the definition explicitly states that criticism of Israel comparable to that leveled against any other sovereign nation cannot be classified as antisemitic.

    Leeser’s calls for broadcaster accountability come as the federal government rolling out new mandatory anti-racism standards for Australian universities, which require institutions to establish more transparent public antisemitism complaint handling processes. The opposition has gone further, demanding that universities make combating antisemitism on campus a formal requirement to access federal funding. Pro-Palestinian student encampments have sprung up on multiple Australian university campuses since October 7, mirroring similar protests across the globe.

    Leeser also slammed Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke for failing to mandate the IHRA definition for all universities, arguing that more than a year since the October 7 attacks, there is no more room for delay. “The universities said ‘oh, we don’t like IHRA, we’ll adopt our own definition’, and yet they’d had more than a year and failed to do so,” Leeser said. “The time for mucking around with these issues is long past. 15 people were allegedly murdered in cold blood on our most famous beaches because of their religion. The time to adopt IHRA is now, and I’m calling on the minister to mandate the IHRA definition.”

    Leeser added that while legitimate criticism of Israel is acceptable, the spread of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery on university campuses crosses a clear line. “There are lots of Jewish people in this country who criticise the state of Israel, but the idea that you can walk around your university campus and use Nazi iconography to describe Israel and to describe Jews is just wrong,” he said.

  • Protected but deported anyway, as Trump goes after ‘dreamers’

    Protected but deported anyway, as Trump goes after ‘dreamers’

    Three individual stories of so-called ‘dreamers’—recipients of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program—have cast a harsh spotlight on the Donald Trump administration’s aggressive crackdown on undocumented immigration, revealing how protected immigrants are being expelled from the only country many have ever called home, despite legal safeguards designed to prevent their deportation.

    DACA was launched in 2012 to grant temporary protection from deportation to people who were brought to the United States as undocumented minors. The program allows recipients to legally live and work in the U.S. while they pursue long-term immigration status adjustments. Currently, an estimated 500,000 active DACA recipients, widely known as dreamers, live across the country, according to federal government data.

    But new reporting from AFP details how the Trump administration, which has long sought to dismantle the program, has targeted hundreds of DACA recipients for deportation. According to advocacy organization Home is Here, which cites a formal Department of Homeland Security letter to Congress, U.S. immigration officials have arrested at least 343 DACA recipients and deported at least 86 of them, even while the program’s protections remained in place after courts blocked Trump’s earlier attempt to end DACA entirely during his first presidential term.

    Jose Contreras, a 30-year-old DACA recipient who grew up in the U.S. after arriving as a child, thought he was safe from deportation when he attended a routine immigration hearing in early January. When he asked for a short stay of removal to wait for the birth of his first child, he told AFP immigration officials laughed at his request, reacting as if his ask was absurd. He was handcuffed, put on a plane, and deported to his native Honduras that same day. His son was born in Texas weeks later, in late February, without Contreras present for the birth.

    “I lost it, you know. I fell to the ground. And then I cried,” Contreras said. “Because I wasn’t planning to not be there for my son.” After 118 days in Honduras, a U.S. court ultimately ruled his deportation was unlawful and ordered his return, allowing him to reunite with his family in Edinburg, Texas, where he now wears an ankle monitor required following his return.

    A similar case unfolded for Maria de Jesus Estrada, 42, who was brought to the U.S. at age 15 and built a life in California. When she attended an immigration hearing accompanied by her 23-year-old daughter, she was immediately confronted by six immigration agents who ordered her arrested. Distraught, she only asked for a moment to say goodbye to her child. “I’m not gonna resist anything. I just need a minute. I need to hold my daughter. I need to hug my daughter,” she recalled telling agents. She was deported to Mexico that same day, before a court later ruled her expulsion illegal and ordered her return.

    Immigration officials have defended the deportations by citing old, outstanding removal orders issued when Contreras and Estrada were minors. But their legal attorney Stacy Tolchin argues the cases prove the Trump administration has deliberately broken existing law to target protected dreamers. “The cases of Jose Contreras and Maria de Jesus Estrada are evidence of this administration’s unlawful and inhumane distortion of the law,” Tolchin said.

    For other DACA recipients, there has been no lucky court-ordered return. Jessica Trevino, who was brought to the U.S. from Mexico at age 7 and has lived in the country almost her entire life, was arrested by immigration agents in Alamo, Texas, in late December as she left church with her family. Cellphone video of the encounter, which showed agents roughing up Trevino’s husband, spread widely on social media. Both Trevino and her husband were deported to Mexico in March, leaving their three U.S.-raised children behind to live with relatives in Texas.

    Now living in Matamoros, Mexico, Trevino waits for U.S. courts to hear her case, and holds out hope she will return in time for her daughter’s 15th birthday in August. “Although I was not born in the United States, I have lived here my whole life,” she said. “Sometimes I go to sleep thinking that I will wake up at home.”

    Advocacy groups say the deportations are part of a deliberate strategy to dismantle DACA through incremental action, after the Supreme Court blocked the administration’s attempt to end the program outright. “We are seeing this administration dismantling DACA through delay, denials, detentions and deportations,” said Todd Schulte, president of pro-immigration advocacy group FWD.us. The Trump administration is currently pressing Congress to pass a permanent resolution to the country’s long-running immigration policy dispute, as the future of DACA remains unresolved.

  • Massive fire in Bangkok bar kills at least 27

    Massive fire in Bangkok bar kills at least 27

    A devastating fast-spreading fire that tore through a popular bar-restaurant on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand, late Sunday has left at least 27 people dead and dozens more injured, senior Thai officials have confirmed. The blaze, which erupted shortly before 10 p.m. local time, triggered chaotic scenes as panicked patrons rushed for exits, with eyewitness footage verified by Agence France-Presse (AFP) showing flames pouring from the venue’s entrance and fleeing guests, some with their clothing already alight.

    By early Monday morning, when emergency responders brought the fire under control, first responders and AFP correspondents on scene counted 27 black body bags lined up outside the Rong Beer Na Lat Phrao venue, while more than 130 emergency personnel worked to clear the site and assist survivors. In a media briefing shortly after the blaze, Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt explained that the fire spread rapidly to the building’s ceiling, and toxic smoke inhalation is believed to be the leading cause of death for most victims. As of Monday, 63 injured people remain hospitalized, 22 of whom are in critical condition, and official investigations into the cause and any safety failures have been launched.

    Chadchart added that multiple victims were found clustered near the venue’s secondary fire exit, leading investigators to suspect that exit was blocked by obstructions that prevented trapped guests from escaping. For many trapped inside, the panic of the rapid spread only worsened the outcome, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters during his early Monday visit to the disaster site.

    “Most of the victims ran to the back, to toilets with no exit. It could be because of panic because there was fire and smoke in the restaurant,” the prime minister said, confirming the 27-death toll that has been verified by both national and local Thai police. According to accounts from musicians performing at the venue that night, the incident began when smoke started billowing from a faulty circuit breaker near the stage, followed by a total power cut and a small explosion.

    One eyewitness, Laotian tourist Kan Kutirat, who was drinking alone at the venue when the fire broke out, told AFP he noticed smoke near the stage before chaos erupted. “I heard loud screaming from a lot of people inside — chaos happened,” he said. He managed to escape the building and helped carry an injured woman out to safety, but shared his grief in a public Facebook post after the incident: “I could only get one person out. I tried my best. I’m sorry.” Kan added that the traumatic experience has left haunting images that he cannot shake: “I never experienced anything like this before. The images are still stuck in my mind.”

    Hours after the fire was contained, an AFP tour of the damaged venue showed beer bottles and stools still arranged at tables, now covered in a layer of white ash, with all of the bar’s windows blown out by the force of the early explosion. The acrid smell of burnt plastic lingered across the cordoned-off site, where local residents and friends of those missing gathered behind police tape, many still in their nightwear, waiting for updates.

    The tragedy has once again drawn attention to longstanding concerns over lax enforcement of health and safety regulations at entertainment venues across Thailand. This is not the first fatal nightclub fire to hit the country in recent decades: in 2009, a blaze at Bangkok’s Santika Club during a New Year’s Eve celebration killed 67 people and injured more than 200, and a 2022 fire at the Mountain B nightclub in eastern Chonburi province claimed 25 lives.

  • Bunnings launches PowerPass Pro Rewards with fuel discounts, store credits and Qantas Points for tradies

    Bunnings launches PowerPass Pro Rewards with fuel discounts, store credits and Qantas Points for tradies

    In an aggressive push to capture a larger share of the business customer market, Australian and New Zealand hardware retail giant Bunnings has launched PowerPass Pro Rewards, the most comprehensive update to its trade-focused PowerPass loyalty program since 2011. The new tiered rewards scheme, tailored specifically for tradies and small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), introduces a multi-layered benefits package including in-store credits, fuel rebates, and access to Qantas frequent flyer points for qualifying members. The rollout marks one of the most substantial retail loyalty expansions targeting trade customers in the region in recent years.

    The program is structured around six ascending membership tiers: Member, Essential, Plus, Elite, Ultimate, and Black, with increasingly valuable benefits unlocked as members’ annual spending increases. Under the core earning structure, members collect Pro Rewards Dollars that can be redeemed for future purchases at Bunnings: customers who spend $2,000 receive $100 in store credit, with an additional $50 awarded for every extra $1,000 spent. Eligible members also gain access to discounted fuel rates via the Shell Card Lite platform, plus exclusive offers from program partners and a suite of digital business tools.

    Qantas Points, one of the program’s most high-value perks, are reserved for members in the top three tiers (Elite, Ultimate, Black), who can earn points through their existing Qantas Business Rewards memberships. A host of additional launch partners have signed on to the scheme beyond Qantas and Shell, including Commonwealth Bank, Ultra Tune, Zeller, Beaumont Tiles, InstantScripts, PointsBuild, and MYOB, expanding the range of extra benefits available to participating businesses.

    Bunnings Managing Director Mike Schneider explained that the full program redesign was driven by direct feedback from trade customers, who sought more than just point-of-sale discounts. “PowerPass Pro Rewards is about delivering greater value for our customers today, while creating a platform that allows us to better support them into the future,” Schneider said. “We’ve listened closely to our customers, who told us they wanted more than a discount at the register – they wanted to be recognised for their loyalty and rewarded in ways that genuinely support their business.” He added that the program is designed to deliver value that extends beyond on-the-job expenses: “With fuel discounts, travel rewards, Pro Rewards Dollars and benefits that grow over time, the program will help customers unlock more value from every dollar they spend and use it well beyond the job site.”

    The launch also introduces upgraded digital functionality within the existing PowerPass mobile app, allowing members to track their reward progress, spending, and available benefits in real time. Andrew Glance, Chief Executive of Qantas Loyalty and Customer, noted that trade and business customers in construction, repair, and maintenance are already among the most engaged users of Qantas Business Rewards. These groups typically earn 30% more Qantas Points on average than other business users, with most points accumulated through partnered on-the-ground spending like retail purchases. “Our member base is incredibly diverse, ranging from tech start-ups to family-owned construction companies, all looking for ways to reduce their operating costs,” Glance said. “We expect most business members will use the points earned at Bunnings to offset future travel costs, or to reward their hardworking employees.”

    To celebrate the nationwide launch, Bunnings will host the PowerPass Pro Challenge event at its Alexandria location in Sydney on Saturday, July 25. Around 60 participants will compete in a series of practical, trade-focused challenges – including a Scan & Go Sprint, toolbox and power tool assessment, paint race, Qantas travel challenge, and Shell Card obstacle course – with progressive eliminations leading to a final head-to-head round. Prizes include three $10,000 fuel vouchers and a collective pool of 900,000 Qantas Points for top competitors.

  • Irrepressible Sinner outlasts Zverev to win second straight Wimbledon title

    Irrepressible Sinner outlasts Zverev to win second straight Wimbledon title

    On a sun-baked Centre Court Sunday, world number one Jannik Sinner delivered a masterclass in grit and clinical precision to defend his Wimbledon gentlemen’s singles title, outlasting French Open champion Alexander Zverev in a bruising four-set final that stretched three hours and 46 minutes.

    Sinner’s 6-7 (7/9), 7-6 (7/2), 6-3, 6-4 victory capped a remarkable run at the All England Club, where the 24-year-old Italian overcame early scares and a determined challenge from Zverev to lift his fifth career Grand Slam trophy. The match, defined by dominant serving from both competitors, saw Sinner drop the opening set in a tight tiebreak before clawing his way back to wear down his opponent, ending Zverev’s 13-match Grand Slam winning streak.

    Entering the final, Sinner carried the pressure of defending a major title for the first time in his career, fresh off a shocking second-round exit at the 2025 French Open where he squandered a two-set lead against Juan Manuel Cerundolo. His Wimbledon campaign got off to a rocky start too, requiring a five-set comeback against Miomir Kecmanovic in the first round to avoid an early exit. From that point forward, however, Sinner found his rhythm on grass, cementing his status as one of the most formidable players on the surface.

    The final opened with a tight first set, with neither player ceding a break point through 12 games. In a tense tiebreak, Zverev—who had never advanced past the quarterfinals in nine previous Wimbledon appearances—clinched the set with a blistering forehand winner, becoming the first player to take a set off Sinner in seven head-to-head meetings. The second set again went to a tiebreak, but this time Sinner raised his level, dominating the breaker to level the match.

    A pivotal moment came in the third set, when Zverev created his first break point of the match but slipped on the Centre Court turf while chasing a Sinner drop shot. After Sinner checked on his fallen opponent, Zverev returned to play but saw his serve break in the very next game, allowing Sinner to seize control of the set. Zverev, frustrated by the missed opportunity, threw his racket across the grass after netting a forehand, and Sinner closed out the set with a love service game capped by an ace.

    In the fourth set, Sinner broke Zverev to take a 4-3 lead, and closed out the championship on his own serve. A dramatic final game featuring two of the match’s best rallies ended with Sinner slamming a forehand winner on his first match point, collapsing to the grass in celebration of his second straight Wimbledon title.

    Sinner finished the match with 58 winners and only 25 unforced errors, and saved the only break point he faced all afternoon on Centre Court. The victory marked his 100th career win at Grand Slam events, pushes his 2025 season record to a staggering 44-3, and gives him his sixth title of the year. He will take home £3.6 million ($4.8 million) in winner’s prize money for the victory.

    Reflecting on the win after the match, Sinner emphasized the weight of the moment and the quality of his opponent’s play. “You can feel the nerves on Sunday morning, it is a very special place,” he said. “You never know how many times you are going to come back. I never take it for granted. It has been an amazing final once again. It takes two players. I’m very happy about the win but I’m mostly very happy about the level we played.”

    For Zverev, the 29-year-old second seed, the result brings frustration but also a career milestone: he will climb above injured reigning world number two Carlos Alcaraz to claim second place in the ATP rankings when the new standings are released Monday. Zverev, bidding to become the first German man to win Wimbledon since Michael Stich in 1991, said the run left him believing he can claim a first Grand Slam on grass in future years. “At 29 years old, it’s the first time I actually believe I can win this trophy,” he said. Zverev’s 10-match losing streak against Sinner remains intact, with the German unable to snap his drought against the world number one despite his best performance at Wimbledon to date.

    With the victory, Sinner now has five Grand Slam titles, just two behind Alcaraz’s career major haul, and cements his position as the undisputed top men’s player in the world heading into the North American hard court swing this summer.

  • Wales U20s edge out Australia after late drama

    Wales U20s edge out Australia after late drama

    In a rollercoaster, edge-of-your-seat clash at Tbilisi’s Avchala Stadium, Wales Under-20s pulled off a landmark 38-36 victory over Australia’s Junior Wallabies at the World Rugby Junior Championship, booking a fifth-place playoff against Scotland on July 17. This result marks Wales’ first win over Australia at the youth global tournament since 2018, and their first victory over a top-tier southern hemisphere nation at this level since downing New Zealand in the 2019 edition.

    Wales maintained their tournament-long trend of fast starts, extending their streak of opening-quarter tries across all four matches of the campaign, even after squandering three clear scoring chances in the first six minutes of play. The deadlock was broken in the 14th minute, when flying wing Rhys Cummings showcased sharp athletic awareness to keep Steffan Emanuel’s floating kick in play along the right touchline before diving over for the opening score.

    Disaster struck early for Australia, who lost three players to injury before the 15-minute mark, and found themselves further behind when center Osian Darwin-Lewis crossed the line after a blistering break from number eight Evan Minto. Carwyn Leggatt-Jones converted both tries to push Wales 14-0 up, but a costly yellow card for a deliberate knock-on shifted momentum Australia’s way. The infringement came during Australia’s attacking build-up, allowing Tom Farr-Jones to cross for his first try, and the speed winger added a second after scrum-half Sam Blank sniped over from close range, putting Australia up 17-14 by halftime.

    Wales reclaimed the lead just 60 seconds into the second half, when Cummings chased his own two hacked kicks to gather the loose ball and score his second of the game. Leggatt-Jones converted and slotted a long-range penalty to stretch the lead to 24-17, before captain Deian Gwynne – who has earned regular senior caps for Gloucester this season – crashed over from a short-range ruck to put Wales in a commanding position.

    Australia rallied back, with wing Riley Whitfeld finishing an acrobatic try in the left corner to cut the deficit to 31-22 in the 55th minute. When Wales lock Luke Evans was issued a 20-minute red card for a high tackle, the Junior Wallabies capitalized on the man advantage, with prop Edwin Langi scoring a close-range try to bring the sides even closer. Down to 14 players, Wales held firm and earned a penalty try after choosing to kick for a corner instead of taking a shot at goal, extending their lead to 38-29 while Australia’s Toby Brial was sent to the sin bin.

    Australia hit back once again, with John Greenfell sneaking over to cut the gap to just two points. In the 79th minute, Jonty Fowler raced down the left flank to score what Australian players and fans thought was a match-winning try, and the conversion was completed before Television Match Officials reviewed the play. The TMO spotted an earlier knock-on in the build-up, disallowing the try and confirming Wales’ narrow victory.

    Richard Whiffin’s young Welsh side will now face Scotland, who secured a 44-26 win over Argentina earlier in the tournament, in the fifth-place decider with a 17:30 BST kickoff on July 17. A repeat of Wales’ Six Nations victory over Scotland would secure the nation’s best finish at the Junior World Championship since they finished runners-up in 2013.

  • Irrepressible Sinner outlasts Zverev to win second straight Wimbledon title

    Irrepressible Sinner outlasts Zverev to win second straight Wimbledon title

    On a tense Sunday afternoon at the All England Club, world number one Jannik Sinner etched his name into Wimbledon history once again, edging out French Open champion Alexander Zverev in a bruising, four-set final to claim his second consecutive gentlemen’s singles title.

    The match, defined by relentless serving and grueling baseline rallies, pushed both athletes to their physical limits over three hours and 46 minutes of Centre Court action. After dropping a tightly contested opening set tiebreak 7-9, Sinner dug deep to level the match with a dominant 7-2 tiebreak win in the second set, before breaking Zverev’s resistance in the closing two sets to seal a 6-7 (7/9), 7-6 (7/2), 6-3, 6-4 victory.

    This title marks Sinner’s fifth career Grand Slam crown, pulling him just two major titles behind injured Spanish star Carlos Alcaraz, and caps off a remarkable comeback from his shocking second-round exit at the 2025 French Open, where he squandered a two-set lead against Argentine underdog Juan Manuel Cerundolo. The 24-year-old Italian also notched his 100th career win at Grand Slam events with Sunday’s result, extending his extraordinary 2025 season record to 44 wins and just three losses, with six titles already claimed this year.

    Sinner’s path to the final was far from smooth. He was pushed all the way to a five-set, come-from-behind win against Miomir Kecmanovic in the first round, the closest he came to an early exit from the tournament. From that point onward, however, Sinner found his rhythm on the grass courts of southwest London, evolving into an unstoppable force that no opponent could derail. His clinical performance in the final spoke to his champion mentality: he hit 58 winners alongside a mere 25 unforced errors, refusing to cave against a red-hot Zverev who entered the championship match on a 13-match Grand Slam winning streak.

    For Zverev, Sunday’s final marked a career-best run at Wimbledon, a tournament where he had never advanced past the quarter-finals in nine previous attempts. The German, who claimed his first ever Grand Slam title at this year’s French Open, entered the final with renewed confidence, and became the first player in seven meetings with Sinner to take a set off the Italian world number one. Despite the breakthrough, Zverev could not end his 10-match losing streak against Sinner, falling just short of becoming the first German man to lift the Wimbledon singles trophy since Michael Stich in 1991. He will, however, climb to second in the ATP rankings when the new standings are released on Monday, overtaking the injured Alcaraz.

    The first set unfolded as a masterclass in serving, with neither player facing a break point until the tiebreak. After 15 consecutive holds in the tiebreak, with both men saving set points, Zverev clinched the set with a blistering forehand winner. The second set followed a similar script, with no break opportunities for either competitor, but Sinner stepped up his aggression in the tiebreak to level the match at one set apiece.

    A dramatic turning point came in the seventh game of the third set, when Zverev created his first break point of the match but slipped while chasing a Sinner drop shot. The Italian immediately crossed the net to check on his injured opponent, who was able to continue after shaking off the knock. Sinner broke Zverev’s serve in the very next game, and closed out the set with an unblemished love service game, sealed with an ace to take a two-sets-to-one lead. A frustrated Zverev smashed his racquet into the grass after surrendering the break, a visible sign of his disappointment.

    Zverev fought gamely to extend the contest, but Sinner secured a decisive break to go up 4-3 in the fourth set. The Italian closed out the title on his own serve, wrapping up the win on his first match point with a forehand winner after two of the most thrilling rallies of the entire match, before collapsing to the Centre Court turf in celebration.