Inside Australian PM’s £2.2m beach mansion that has sparked a backlash

A sprawling clifftop mansion offering panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean has landed Australia’s prime minister in a political storm for buying the luxury home amid a housing crisis.

Anthony Albanese and his fiancee Jodie Haydon bought the AUD4.3m (£2.2m) Copacabana property in the New South Wales Central Coast last month.

That Mr Albanese purchased a multimillion dollar property just as his government was preparing to roll out an affordable housing plan left even members of his own Labor party “gobsmacked”. Some Labor MPs said the prime minister’s choice reflected poorly on their government at a time when many Australians were struggling to buy or rent a home due to elevated interest rates, escalating property prices, soaring rents, and limited supply.

The Albanese government has pledged to build some 1.2 million homes by 2030 to help ease the housing crisis in the country.

The prime minister’s new house has four bedrooms which all boast uninterrupted views of the Pacific and the Sydney skyline, Sydney radio station 2GB reported. The master bedroom takes up the entire top floor and comes with an attached balcony to enjoy the view.

A real estate listing for the house with “timber-lined cathedral ceilings”, described as “clifftop perfection”, notes that it is at “a premiere location to enjoy sun, whale-watching or spectacular sunsets all year round”. The “open plan living and dining space captures mesmerising ocean views”.

The mansion is located near beaches boasting multimillion dollar waterfront homes, mostly owned by Sydneysiders who either maintain homes in the city or have relocated for a more tranquil lifestyle.

A visitor’s review of the property, rated five stars on AirBnb, notes that one can watch whales breach the ocean from the couch in the living room.

“We had an incredible stay at this beautiful property!” a guest review reads. “The panoramic views were absolutely breathtaking.”

Mr Albanese defended his purchase on Tuesday.

“I earn a good income, I understand that. I understand that I’ve been fortunate,” he said. “But I know what it is like to struggle. My mum lived in the one public housing home that she was born in for all of her 65 years. I know what it is like, which is why I want to help all Australians into a home,” he said.

A spokesperson for Mr Albanese said the decision to buy the house was influenced by Ms Haydon’s desire to return to her roots as three generations of her family lived in the area. The property is located in a popular Sydney vacation spot near the family home of Ms Haydon.

The prime minister sought to indicate as much. “When your relationship changes, your life changes,” he said while referring to his partner as a “proud coastie”.

The purchase of the luxury property has handed an opportunity to the opposition to target Mr Albanese. Opposition lawmaker Sussan Ley said it was evidence the prime minister was “out of touch” while her colleague Angie Bell described the timing of the purchase as “questionable”.

“The real issue for Australians is a lot of people want to be able to buy a home, but they are finding it very, very difficult and the current government is doing a very poor job at getting the policy settings in place to make it easier,” opposition lawmaker Paul Fletcher told Sky News Australia.

The prime minister’s allies defended him. “I think the average Australian says, ‘Fair enough, leave him alone, I’ll criticise his policies or I’ll support his policies, I’ll criticise or support his government, but I’m not going to criticise or support what he does with his own bank account with his own money,’” cabinet minister Chris Bowen said.

Mr Albanese’s Labour party will be seeking a second term in office at elections due by May next year.

North Korea says constitution now defines South as ‘hostile state’

North Korea’s constitution now officially defines South Korea as a “hostile state”, marking the first time the regime declared legal changes dictated by Kim Jong-un, according to state media.

The move was highly anticipated as the rubber-stamp parliament met for two days last week to rewrite the constitution, but state media did not confirm if it had legally declared Seoul its enemy. However, Pyongyang blew up the frontline road and rail links that connected both countries.

On Thursday, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the demolition was “an inevitable and legitimate measure taken in keeping with the requirement of the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) constitution which clearly defines the ROK (Republic of Korea) as a hostile state”, referring to the official names of the two countries.

It added that the move was “part of the step-by-step implementation to thoroughly separate (the Koreas)”.

The move to make a constitution amendment was largely seen as symbolic after Mr Kim said North eliminated the idea of a peaceful unification between the two Koreas and declared South as an “invariable principal enemy”.

North Korea’s defence ministry said they have destroyed up to 60m-long sections of two pairs of roads and railway routes, one pair on the western portion of the inter-Korean border and the other on the eastern side.

The road and rail links were not in use but served as a symbol of now-dormant inter-Korean reconciliation movements.

Mr Kim’s order to make changes in the constitution caught many foreign experts by surprise because it was seen as eliminating the idea of shared statehood between the war-divided Koreas and breaking away with his predecessors’ long-cherished dreams of peacefully achieving a unified Korea on the North’s terms.

“There may still be an internal propaganda review under way about the appropriate way to disclose the constitutional revisions, but this confirmation was expected,” Ankit Panda, an expert with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said.

South Korea’s Unification Ministry which oversees ties with North condemned the constitutional reference to South Korea as a hostile state, calling it “an anti-unification, anti-national act”.

It said the South Korean government would sternly respond to any provocations by North Korea and unwaveringly push for a peaceful Korean unification based on the basic principle of freedom and democracy.

Tensions have been steadily rising between the two Koreas with the North slowly revoking all the measures, pulling off from treaties to maintain peace at the border and destroying infrastructure that linked it to the South.

Pyongyang has denounced the South for its close ties to the US as well as the military trainings that have seen US warships in close proximity to Korean waters while forging closer ties with Russia.

“North Korea has fallen so far behind the South that any social exchange or financial integration might look like paths to unification by absorption,” Leif-Eric Easley, professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, said.

“Pyongyang’s rejection of peaceful Korean unification is thus a strategy for regime survival and maintaining domestic control. This not only bodes ill for diplomacy but could also become an ideology motivating military aggression against Seoul,” Prof Easley said.

In recent months, the North reportedly removed street lamps and installed mines on its side of the Gyeongui and Donghae roads. Pyongyang also deployed soldiers to build anti-tank barriers and reinforce barbed wire fences on its side of the demilitarised zone.

In a first, North also accused its rival of flying drones to drop propaganda leaflets near its capital Pyongyang and threatened “war may break out any moment” on the Korean peninsula”.

India unveils new statue of goddess of justice without blindfold

A newly unveiled statue of the goddess of justice without her customary blindfold has prompted discussion about the judiciary’s role in modern India.

The statue, now situated in the Indian Supreme Court’s judges’ library, features “Lady Justice” with her eyes open, with the constitution in her hand replacing the customary sword symbolising authority and punishment.

This redesign, commissioned by outgoing chief justice Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud, is intended to convey the message that the law is not blind and it sees and upholds the rights of all individuals equally.

“The law is not blind; it sees everyone equally,” chief justice Chandrachud stated during the unveiling, reported NDTV.

The chief justice is scheduled to demit office on 10 November. He has nominated Justice Sanjeev Khanna as his successor for his position. Justice Khanna is slated to serve a tenure of six months before retiring on 13 May.

The removal of the blindfold – a long-standing symbol of impartiality – indicates an evolving understanding of justice that distances itself from colonial legacies, similar to recent reforms that replaced the Indian Penal Code with the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Lady Justice is thought to represent the allegorical embodiment of law and the moral principles that guide society. In ancient Greece, the Hellenic deity Themis was commonly portrayed with scales and a sword, symbolising divine law and justice. While the figure of Lady Justice emerges from Justitia, the goddess of justice within Roman mythology, the symbolism of the scales first appeared in ancient Egypt with Maat, the goddess of truth and justice.

“He (Chandrachud) said the statue should have the constitution in one hand and not a sword, so that a message goes out to the country that she dispenses justice according to the constitution. The sword is a symbol of violence but courts deliver justice according to constitutional laws,” a source from the chief justice’s office told the news outlet.

According to sources, the transformation of Lady Justice aims to signal a new legal identity for India, embodying a justice system that is aware, vigilant and inclusive, reported the Business Standard.

“Justice Chandrachud believes that India should move forward from the British legacy,” a source explained. The statue now embodies a commitment to justice based on constitutional principles rather than retributive measures, aligning with the judiciary’s protective role in upholding rights and equality.

While the sword has been replaced with the constitution, the scales of justice in her right hand have been retained, symbolising the balance of competing arguments in court. An official remarked, “the scales of justice represent balance in society, ensuring that facts and arguments by both sides are weighed before arriving at a conclusion”.

Social media users were quick to post their opinions on the new statue.

“The thing Lady Justice needs the most is a watch,” wrote a user, likely referring to the significant delays in the hearing and disposition of cases in Indian courts.

Another user said taking off the blindfold from Lady Justice “displays tremendous self awareness – the law in India is anything but impartial”.

Others were quick to hail the move, calling it a “historic day for India’s judiciary”.

The alarming numbers behind North Korea’s growing nuclear arsenal

North Korea has amassed enough weapons-grade nuclear material to more than double its existing stockpile of atomic weapons, a new analysis by a UK-based think tank has found.

Kim Jong-un is already believed to have between 80 and 90 nuclear warheads at his disposal, and likely has enough enriched plutonium and uranium – known as fissile material – to build in this tally significantly, according to a new report by the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi).

Fissile material is an essential ingredient of nuclear weapons, which typically require at least a few kilograms to kickstart a devastating chain-reaction. In 1945, Hiroshima was destroyed by the fission of about one kilogram of uranium 234, while Nagasaki was destroyed by the fission of one kilogram of plutonium 239.

Analysts assessed information from Kim’s own public appearances at nuclear enrichment facilities, as well as other state media reports and satellite images, to conclude that Pyongyang has enough fissile material to produce between 80 and 200 more short and medium-range single stage warheads. Nicknamed “disco balls” by researchers, single stage warheads have a yield equivalent to around 10 kilotons of TNT.

Kim also has enough material to develop between 25 and 35 strategic thermonuclear warheads, they said. This second generation of weapons can be used to strike large cities and industrial centres via intercontinental or submarine-launched ballistic missiles.

In combination, and in such volumes, these weapons would be enough to achieve the two core goals of North Korea’s nuclear programme – offering a deterrent against the use of conventional weapons by its near neighbours South Korea and Japan, and a credible threat against the US mainland, Rusi said.

North Korea is also unlikely to stop there, the think tank said. As it moves from an early-stage programme to a more established one, like other nuclear states it will likely continue to make more weapons-grade nuclear material than required for its immediate defence needs.

North Korea, increasingly touting its nuclear weapons as a matter of national prestige and proof of its power, says its arsenal of nuclear weapons and the ballistic missiles to carry them are necessary to counter threats from the US and its allies. Other world powers have accused Pyongyang of nuclear sabre-rattling.

“Given its fissile-material inventory at the end of 2023, North Korea might have already developed approximately 21–23 composite (plutonium and Highly Enriched Uranium) thermonuclear warheads,” Rusi said in its new report.

The hermit kingdom has likely met its nuclear material production goals or is close to reaching this point, the think tank said, noting that the North is still likely constrained by limitations on its plutonium supply.

North Korea is prohibited by UN Security Council resolutions from carrying out any activity using ballistic missile technology, and this includes attempts to send a satellite with a rocket into space.

Sarah Laderman, a senior analyst for the Open Nuclear Network, part of the non-profit organisation PAX sapiens which was contracted by Rusi to carry out the research, said North Korea is looking for both smaller, closer-range weapons and larger, longer-range options, and the think tank’s analysis looked at the trade-offs between prioritising either of the two.

“We [can] assume, as we’ve been seeing in state media and just by their actions and what pictures they choose to release, they’re really focusing on a dual capable arsenal. They’re really looking to deter the US, which is further away, so they need a more strategic arsenal, and then obviously [they have] regional adversaries like South Korea and Japan as well,” Ms Laderman told The Independent.

To achieve that objective, the assessment shows Pyongyang is likely aiming to structure its arsenal much like other existing nuclear-armed states have done, the senior analyst said.

“If they are looking specifically to defeat or get through the US missile defences for their strategic arsenal – they could be looking to develop somewhere between 25 and 35 strategic weapons. Then, their short and medium range is quite interesting because there’s so many ways they could structure that,” she said.

“Should deterrence fail, North Korea aims to contain and win any conflict on the Korean Peninsula, ensuring the regime’s survival,” it said.

“To meet these objectives, North Korea appears to be developing both a strategic and more versatile arsenal – featuring smaller-yield weapons and varied delivery platforms – for regional and battlefield use,” Rusi has assessed.

Experts monitoring North Korea have suggested Mr Kim could carry out a nuclear weapons test ahead of the US presidential election in an attempt to dial up pressure on Washington. However, South Korea’s spy agency says North could also wait for a nuclear test until after the election as it may want to complete a series of tests involving its long range ballistic missile programme first.

North Korea has never publicly disclosed the extent of its nuclear arsenal, leaving analysts and foreign intelligence agencies to make rough estimates based on state media photos of various types of warheads.

The country is likely in possession of 80 to 90 nuclear warheads of uranium and plutonium, and this number is likely to rise to 166 by 2030, Lee Sang-kyu, a nuclear engineering expert at Korea Institute for Defence Analysis in Seoul said last month, after Pyongyang disclosed the first photos of a uranium enrichment site.

He assessed that North Korea likely has about 70kg of plutonium and an unspecified but considerable amount of weapons-grade uranium that would be enough to build “at least a double-digit number” of weapons.

Uranium, used as fuel for nuclear power plants and nuclear reactors, was shown by North Korea at the site designed to produce weapons-grade fuel for its nuclear bombs.

Rusi noted a significant shift in North Korea’s position from last year when Mr Kim declared there will be no more denuclearisation talks, announcing the country’s status as a nuclear weapons state as “irreversible”.

North Korea is now the only nuclear-armed state to have any reference to the weapons in its constitution, according to the report.

The North’s nuclear-armed status was seen as negotiable by Washington, which has imposed numerous sanctions on North Korea for developing nuclear weapons and related activities.

Years of US-led international sanctions have failed to halt North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile programmes.

“I do not think that they are going to denuclearise anytime soon. I don’t think they’re open to that idea. They have enshrined this in their constitution as their constitutional right, stating that this is their right as a state to defend themselves via nuclear weapons,” Ms Laderman said.

For the West to have any dialogue, which the North has successfully avoided and developed its fissile-material inventory along with testing several nuclear weapons, it will have to remove the precondition on North’s denuclearisation, she added.

Last month, North Korea tested new tactical ballistic missiles using super-large warheads and modified cruise missiles in a launch led by Mr Kim. He claimed that the tests to improve weapons capabilities are required because of the grave threat posed by outside forces to the security of the country.

“So as long as countries insist on only talking about denuclearisation, we don’t see North Korea coming to the table. They want the West to have an open mind and not focus on denuclearisation,” Ms Laderman said.

India humiliated by New Zealand with lowest Test score at home

India succumbed to their lowest-ever total at home, with New Zealand bowling them out for just 46 in Bengaluru.

It was India’s third-lowest Test total of all time, and five players scored ducks, with just two reaching double figures in the massive collapse.

New Zealand took the final four wickets for just 12 runs after the home side had won the toss and chosen to bat first, making it the fourth-lowest ever first innings total after a team opted to bat.

Matt Henry was the pick of the bowlers, although only three were needed to get in on the action. Henry’s 13.2 overs brought five wickets for just 15 runs including three maidens.

The first day of the Test match was washed out, but the Kiwi attack capitalised in the overcast conditions, and after a stop-start opening session the hosts were floundering at 34 for six.

After lunch, Henry added to his tally with the wicket of Ravichandran Ashwin first ball after lunch, and the following over was on a hat-trick against Rishabh Pant, but missed out when the ball was hit back to him on the half volley.

The level of seam movement was not expected, but the Indian batters could not even find a way to weather the storm.

Virat Kohli, Sarfaraz Khan, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja and Ashwin were all out for ducks.

Only one of the batters, captain Rohit Sharma was bowled, the rest of the wickets were caught, but only one by wicketkeeper Tom Blundell.

The match is the first one of the three-match Test series with the following matches taking place in Pune and Mumbai.

New Zealand’s opening pair showed few signs of struggling compared to their Indian counterparts, with a fine 91 from Devon Conway enabling the visitors to close the second day on 180-3 and leading by 134.

More rain is forecast across the rest of the Test.

Mystery after hundreds of ‘toxic’ tar balls appear on beaches

Hundreds of golf ball-sized black balls have washed up on several Sydney beaches, prompting the closure of seven popular spots as authorities conducted clean-up operations and investigated their origin.

The black solid masses have been confirmed as “tar balls” after they were first spotted on Coogee Beach on Tuesday.

Since then, these mysterious balls have been spotted further north at Bondi, Tamarama, and Bronte beaches, leading to beach closures for swimmers, surfers, and tourists.

Pictures and videos showed workers wearing hazmat suits collecting the back spheres in plastic bags as beaches remained shut.

Waverley Council closed Bondi, Bronte, and Tamarama beaches as a precaution on Thursday evening, while Randwick Council closed four additional beaches, including Clovelly, Maroubra, Gordons Bay, and Coogee.

Authorities have advised the public to avoid contact with the tar balls until further notice.

New South Wales state’s Environment Protection Authority said the thousands of balls were made of tar and they were conducting its own tests.

On Wednesday evening, Randwick council said preliminary lab test results suggested that the dark spheres were made of tar which could be formed when oil comes into contact with debris and water as a result of oil spills or seepage.

It said the “preliminary test results … show the material is a hydrocarbon-based pollutant which is consistent with the makeup of tar balls”. Hydrocarbons are primarily found in natural sources like petroleum, natural gas, and coal.

The NSW Maritime and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said they are currently investigating the potential origins of the tar balls.

“[The Australian Maritime Safety Authority] will do reverse modelling and drift modelling, take into account the currents and the wind, for [NSW Maritime] to be able to work out whether it’s come from the south, north or east off the coast of New South Wales,” director Darren Wood told ABC Radio Sydney.

However council employees on jetskis detected a possible oil slick in the sea on Wednesday morning, Randwick council mayor, Dylan Parker.

But no oil spills have been reported in the area by vessels, the Port Authority of NSW said.

“We don’t yet know what has happened to produce the debris washing up on our beaches,” Mr Parker said in a statement on Thursday. “We will continue to work with relevant authorities to ensure the safety of the public and clean up our beaches.”

Waverley council identified the balls as “pea to marble-size” with a light grey-white colour.

“As a precaution, all Waverley beaches will be closed until further investigation has been carried out by the EPA and relevant government bodies,” the council said.

The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, called it an “unusual occurrence”.

However, the Port Authority of NSW said no oil spills had been reported by vessels.

Experts have said the tar balls could be harmful to both the environment and human health. Tar balls may contain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are known to be carcinogenic.

It can also be harmful if they enter into human bodies indirectly through the food chain with individuals eating marine products that have ingested the toxic products, they said.

Stephen Lemon, EPA’s executive director of operations, said the material is “fibrous” and “unusual”.

“We are actually seeing, as we move away from the Coogee area, the size of the balls are getting smaller,” Mr Lemon said.

“Probably getting a lot of wave action in the surf zone, breaking that material up.”

‘Toxic’ Chinese posts about Taiwan compared to abusive relationship

A Chinese propaganda image of Taiwan encircled by a heart-shaped drawing sparked outrage, with many on the island comparing it to the dynamics of domestic abuse.

The image was shared by the Chinese coast guard on the day of Beijing’s massive drills surrounding the island in China’s latest show of force.

The image, showing bright yellow arrows surrounding the island in the shape of a heart, was also widely used by Chinese news websites, including the state mouthpiece Global Times and news agency Xinhua, who called the drills “law enforcement patrols”.

It came as China staged its biggest-ever war games around Taiwan, flying a record 153 military aircraft in a one-day drill, according to Taiwan’s government.

The “Joint Sword-2024B” drills staged a blockade of island in which warplanes and dozens of navy and coastguard vessels encircled the island – what many observers dubbed as a practice of invasion of the archipelago.

The satellite image, shared with the messages “Hi my sweetheart” and “The patrol is in the shape of loving you” written in Chinese has been widely shared on Taiwanese social media, according to the Guardian newspaper.

Several Taiwanese social media users were left unsettled by the symbolism of the image.

“I see an abuser saying ‘I hit you because I love you’. I found it sickening,” a social media user said.

“As China carries out a new round of military drills today around Taiwan, official media are circulating this image from the China Coast Guard – basically to send a message that such actions are carried out with ‘love’ from the motherland,” said another.

“Chinese coast guard drew a heart while sailing around Taiwan at the same time of Chinese military drills. It said that this is the shape of its love toward Taiwan, extremely disgusting and truly pervert,” another user said.

“Some toxic love there,” commented another user.

China considers Taiwan a part of its territory and president Xi Jinping has threatened to “reunite” the island with the mainland by force if necessary, while the democratically-elected government of Taiwan says only the island’s people can choose their future. Beijing’s claim to be the only legitimate Chinese government is known as the One China Principle, and this has been accepted or acknowledged by all but a handful of nations who would otherwise risk being cut off from trading with the mainland.

The US formally acknowledges the One China Principle but maintains close informal relations with Taiwan, and does not accept Beijing’s claim to sovereignty over the island.

On Wednesday, Taiwan National Security Bureau director-general, Tsai Ming-yen, said China’s drills had backfired, given the international condemnation they generated, especially from Washington.

“The Chinese communists’ military exercise has created a negative effect in that it made the international community more supportive of Taiwan,” he said.

UK joins US and Australia in backing Canada over assassination row

The UK has joined the US, Australia, and New Zealand in backing Canada in the “serious developments” in investigations into the role of Indian government agents in the assassination of a Sikh separatist leader on Canadian soil.

The Foreign Office said it “has full confidence in Canada’s judicial system” and urged India to cooperate in the investigations and end the diplomatic offensive between the two countries.

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau on Monday claimed that India’s high commissioner and other top diplomats were directly involved in the 2023 assassination of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

The allegations sparked a diplomatic fallout between India and Canada with Ottawa expelling six Indian diplomats and New Delhi following suit in a tit-for-tat response, pushing bilateral ties to a near-breaking point.

India, which has objected to the presence of separatist Sikh elements in Canada, denied the allegations and reacted furiously.

“We are in contact with our Canadian partners about the serious developments outlined in the independent investigations in Canada. The UK has full confidence in Canada’s judicial system,” the British government said in a statement.

“The government of India’s cooperation with Canada‘s legal process is the right next step.”

London was the last member of the “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing alliance to put its weight behind Canada. The alliance, whose primary goal is to enhance security of its member countries by sharing intelligence, is made up of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the US.

The US State Department appeared critical of India’s stance on the allegations and said New Delhi has not taken the allegations seriously.

“We have made clear that the allegations are extremely serious and they need to be taken seriously, and we wanted to see the government of India cooperate with Canada in its investigation. Obviously, they have not chosen that path,” spokesperson Mathew Miller said in a regular briefing on Tuesday.

The US Department of Justice (DoJ) also opened an investigation last spring against an Indian government official for orchestrating a plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist leader in New York.

US authorities said an Indian government official had directed the plot in the attempted murder of Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who is a US and Canadian citizen. Another Indian, Nikhil Gupta, has been accused by US federal prosecutors of plotting with the government official to kill Mr Pannun, a US resident who advocated for a sovereign Sikh state in northern India.

On Monday, the US State Department said an Indian enquiry panel was arriving in Washington to take part in the investigation.

Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a statement that Canberra has made its “concerns” clear to Indian counterparts.

“Australia respects Canada’s judicial process,” it said. “Our position of principle is that the sovereignty of all countries should be respected and that the rule of law should be respected.”

New Zealand’s foreign minister Winston Peters Wellington has been briefed by Ottawa about the “investigations into violence and threats of violence against members of its South Asian community.”

He said the allegations if proven would be “very concerning” but said they would not comment on the details of ongoing criminal investigations, in New Zealand or abroad.

“New Zealand has a diverse population, with large communities with cultural connections to a broad range of countries from across Asia, the Pacific and Europe. We expect all such communities to act, and be treated, lawfully and with respect,” he said.

The relationship between India and Canada has hit rock bottom in recent years. Canada has accused Indian government proxies of targeting its Sikh citizens while India has repeatedly raised the issue of Ottawa giving space to the Khalistan movement that demands a separate homeland for Sikhs within India.

The concerns have exacerbated where some 2 per cent of the population is Sikh.