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Anthony Albanese has reiterated his stance that Australian will determine its own defence budget amid growing concerns of retaliatory US tariffs should Australia reject Nato’s proposal for member states to increase their defence spending to 5% of their GDP.
Albanese was asked for comment after Pedro Sánchez, the prime minister of Spain, opted out of the proposal from so-called Nato “daddy”, Donald Trump, saying the idea would “not only be unreasonable but also counterproductive”. The proposal suggests member states agree to raise defence spending to 3.5% of their GDP and commit a further 1.5% to wider security spending by 2035.
Trump criticised Spain for the decision, saying they would “pay twice as much”.
Meanwhile, the shadow defence minister says Australia needs to increase defence spending because “we’re seeing authoritarian regimes around the world flexing their muscles”. Speaking with ABC, Angus Taylor said Australia should increase it’s defence budget to at least 3% of GDP.
Top news
‘Twitter killer’ who murdered nine in Japan reportedly executed
Australia to send strongest contingent for 30 years to Wimbledon
In pictures
Gaza City’s main high street has been destroyed but Palestinian memories of life before the ongoing Israeli assault survive. As those in Gaza face bombing, starvation and miserable living conditions, here’s how they try to hold both the past and the present in their minds.
What they said …
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“Sometimes I would catch sight of my tattoo in the shower and could barely believe what I had been.”
A mental health crisis on a busy Tokyo street set yakuza gangster Yoshitomo Morohashi on a path to redemption. Morohashi’s readiness to expose his body art is relatively recent: there was a time when he did everything possible to conceal it and the dark past it represented. His life story is an extreme example of poacher-turned-gamekeeper, writes Justin McCurry in Tokyo.
In numbers
Larissa Waters warns Labor’s rewrite of national environmental laws will not be credible if the government continues to approve new coal and gas projects or allow continued habitat destruction. The Greens leader made the comments in an interview for Guardian Australia’s Australian Politics podcast, released on Friday.
Before bed read
The Simpsons is getting experimental in its old age. The 36th season of the long-running comedy ended with a surprise flash forward to the death of a family member but it’s less a twist and more a sign that it can’t last forever (Spoiler warning).
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: AGED. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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