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The Albanese government on Sunday will pledge $8.5 billion for Medicare, declaring this would enable all Australians to have access to bulk billing by 2030.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will announce the policy at a rally in Tasmania, where the Labor seat of Lyons and the Liberal seat of Bass are in play.

Under the plan, Labor would extend the bulk billing incentive to all Australians, and also create an extra incentive payment for practices that bulk billed all their patients.

The changes would mean an extra 18 million bulk billed GP visits annually, the government says. Nine out of ten GP visits would be bulk billed by 2030. On the government’s figures, this would increase the number of fully bulk billing practices to about 4,800, triple the present figure.

The government says its plan would produce patient savings of up to $859 million a year by 2030.

It says this is the single largest investment in Medicare since it was created more than 40 years ago.

The promised big health spend is designed both to focus the election campaign on an area of traditional strength for Labor, and to address the serious erosion of bulk billing rates in recent years. The rate is currently down to about 78%.

The health package also promises to boost the number of nurses and doctors in the system. Four hundred nursing scholarships would be provided. By 2028 2,000 new GP trainee places would be funded each year in federally-funded GP training programs. The number funded in 2025 is 1600.

The government has peviously tripled the bulk billing incentive for pensioners, concession card holders and families with children. From November 1, that would be widened to all Australians.

Also from November 1, in addition to the bulk billing incentive, practices that fully bulk billed would receive an extra 12.5% loading on their Medicare rebates.

“The combined investment means around 4,800 practices will be in a better financial position if they adopt full bulk billing,” Albanese and Health Minister Mark Butler said in a statement.

Albanese said the plan “will make Medicare even stronger, help with cost of living pressures and ensure every Australian receives the best health care that they deserve”.

Butler said people would be worse off if Peter Dutton became PM. “Peter Dutton tried to end bulk billing with a GP tax and then started a six-year freeze to Medicare rebates that froze GP incomes and stripped billions out of Medicare.”

Proposed New Bulk Billing Arrangments

The table below shows how total Medicare payments for common visits would increase from November 1, with the expansion of the bulk billing incentive to all Australians and the new incentive payment for practices that bulk billed every patient.

The bulk billing incentive is scaled according to how far a general practice is from a major city or metropolitan area, with larger Medicare payments as communities get more remote.

*Totals include item Medicare rebate, Bulk Billing Incentive item rebate, and 12.5% Bulk Billing Practice Incentive Program payment.

Government Press Release

The total cost of the bulk billing initiatives over the forward estimates is nearly $7.9 billion.

The costs year-by -year are: 2025-26, nearly $1.2 billion; 2026-27, nearly $2 billion; 2027-28, $2.3 billion, and 2028-29, $2.4 billion.

The government said most of the cost of the Medicare package is accounted for the the December budget update and the rest would be in the next budget.

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners this month called for the extension of bulk billing incentives to those under 35. It said this would boost the national rate to 85%.

The Greens have called for tripling the bulk billing incentive for everyone with a Medicare card. Läs mer…

At the start of his inaugural address on Jan. 20, 2025, President Donald Trump declared, “The golden age of America begins right now!”

A month later, Trump’s supporters gathered at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, in Oxon Hill, Maryland, from Feb. 19-22 to celebrate the advent of this golden age.

Gold glitter jackets, emblazoned with phrases like “Trump the Golden Era,” are for sale in the CPAC exhibition hall. There, attendees decked out in other MAGA-themed clothing and accessories network and mingle. They visit booths with politically charged signs that say “Defund Planned Parenthood” and collect brochures on topics like “The Gender Industrial Complex.”

Another booth with a yellow and black striped backdrop resembling a prison cell’s bars was called a “Deportation Center.” Attendees photographed themselves at this booth, posing beside full-size cutouts of Trump and his border czar, Tom Homan.

Former Jan. 6 prisoners, including Proud Boys’ former leader Enrique Tarrio, have also been a visible – and controversial – presence at CPAC.

The conference’s proceedings kicked off on Feb. 20 with an Arizona pastor, Joshua Navarrete, saying, to loud applause, “We are living in the greatest time of our era – the golden age!”

Many subsequent speakers repeated this phrase, celebrating the country’s “golden age.”

For many outside observers, claims of a golden age might seem odd.

Just months ago during the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump said that an American apocalypse was underway, driven by a U.S. economy in shambles and major cities overrun by an “invasion” of “illegal alien” “terrorists,” “rapists” and “murderers.”

Now, Trump’s critics argue, the U.S. is led by a convicted felon who is implementing policies that are reckless, stupid and harmful.

Further, these critics contend, Trump’s illegal power grabs are leading to a constitutional crisis that could cause democracy to crumble in the U.S.

How, they wonder, could anyone believe the country is in a golden age?

As an anthropologist of U.S. political culture, I have been studying the Make America Great Again, or MAGA, movement for years. I wrote a related 2021 book, “It Can Happen Here.” And I continue to do MAGA research at places like this year’s CPAC, where the mood has been giddy.

Here are three reasons why the MAGA faithful believe a golden age has begun. The list begins, and ends, with Trump.

Elon Musk holds a painting of himself during CPAC in Oxon Hill, Md., on Feb. 20, 2025.
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

1. The warrior hero

Trump supporters contend that after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attacks, which they consider a “peaceful protest,” Trump became a political pariah and victim.

Like many a mythic hero, Trump’s response was “never surrender.” In 2023, he repeatedly told his MAGA faithful, “I am your warrior, I am your justice.”

Trump’s heroism, his supporters believe, was illustrated after a bullet grazed his ear during an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania in July 2024. Trump quickly rose to his feet, pumped his fist in the air and yelled, “Fight, fight, fight.”

The phrase became a MAGA rally cry and, in February 2025, it has been stamped on CPAC attendees’ shirts and jackets.

After Trump’s 2024 election victory, many Trump supporters dubbed it
“the greatest comeback in political history.” MAGA populist Steven Bannon invoked this phrase at a pre-CPAC event on Feb. 19.

When Bannon spoke on the CPAC main stage on Feb. 20, he led the crowd in a raucous “fight, fight, fight” chant. He compared Trump with Abraham Lincoln and George Washington and called for him to run again for president in 2028.

This is despite the fact that Trump running for a third term would violate the Constitution.

2. A wrecking ball

The MAGA faithful believe that Trump is like a human “wrecking ball,” as evangelical leader Lance Wallnau said in 2015. This metaphor speaks to how Trump supporters believe the president is tearing down an entrenched, corrupt system.

The day Trump took office, MAGA stalwarts underscore, he began to “drain the swamp” with a slew of executive orders.

One established the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which is devoted to eliminating government waste. DOGE, led by billionaire Elon Musk, has dismantled USAID and fired thousands of government workers whom MAGA views as part of an anti-Trump “deep state.”

Musk stole the show at CPAC on Feb. 20. Speaking to a cheering crowd, Musk held up a large red chain saw and yelled, “This is the chain saw for bureaucracy.”

Speaker after speaker at this year’s CPAC have celebrated this and other wrecking-ball achievements on panels with titles like “Red Tape Reckoning,” “Crushing Woke Board Rooms” and “The Takedown of Left Tech.”

3. The Midas touch

A golden age requires a builder. Who better, the MAGA faithful believe, than a billionaire businessman with a self-proclaimed “Midas touch.” This refers to King Midas, a figure in Greek mythology who turns everything he touches into pure gold.

“Trump Will Fix It” signs filled his 2024 campaign rallies. And MAGA supporters note that Trump began fixing the country on Day 1 by “flooding the zone” with executive orders aimed at implementing his four-pronged “America First” promise. In addition to draining the swamp, this plan pledges to “make America safe again,” “make America affordable and energy dominant again” and “bring back American values.”

These themes run through the remarks of almost every CPAC speaker, who offer nonstop praise about how Trump is securing the country’s borders, increasing energy independence, repatriating who they call illegal aliens, restoring free speech and reducing government regulation and waste.

CPAC speakers said that Trump has already racked up a slew of successes just a month into his presidency.

This includes Trump using the threat of tariffs to bring other countries to the negotiating table.

Meanwhile, Trump supporters are pleased that he has been working to cut deals to end the conflict in Gaza and the war between Russia and Ukraine, while reorienting U.S. foreign policy to focus on China.

House Speaker Mike Johnson expressed the prevailing MAGA sentiment when he stated at CPAC that Trump “wrote the art of the deal. He knows what he’s doing.”

CPAC attendees wear Trump-themed clothing at the four-day political conference on Feb. 20, 2025.
Andrew Harnick/Getty Images

American exceptionalism restored

The golden-age celebration at CPAC centered on Trump and his mission to “make America great again.”

Speaker after speaker, including foreign conservative leaders from around the world, paid homage to Trump and this message.

During her CPAC speech, Liz Truss, the former prime minister of the U.K., stated, “This is truly the golden age of America.” Truss, who does not have a current political position, told the CPAC audience that she wanted to copy the MAGA playbook in order to “make Britain great again.”

The MAGA faithful believe that Trump is restoring an era of American exceptionalism in which the U.S. is an economic powerhouse, common sense is the rule, and traditional values centered on God, family and freedom are celebrated.

And they believe in a future where the U.S. is, as Trump said in his inaugural address, “the envy of every nation.” Läs mer…

The UK spent more than £20 million on furniture in 2024, predominantly for bedrooms and living rooms. Many of us are aware of the problems with fast fashion, including the problems caused by dumping this cheap, low-quality clothing in landfills. But there’s a similar issue with furniture, with more than 22 million pieces sent to landfill every year. Unfortunately, most of this will be fast furniture, as it can’t be recycled or reused.

Fast furniture is classed as being made, bought, consumed and disposed of quickly and cheaply. Its flimsiness is due to the materials used and how it is made. The companies making it are often chasing fast-changing trends in interior design.

Unlike fast fashion, though – which lasts up to a year, sometimes only being worn once – fast furniture will last a maximum of five to seven years, if you’re lucky. This makes it a burden on our waste systems, especially when furniture should ideally last ten to 20 years at least.

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Of course, it can be enticing to kit out your house quickly and on the cheap, especially if you’re moving into somewhere unfurnished. But if you have the time and the money, you really should avoid fast furniture as much as possible.

So, if you want good furniture that lasts long, looks good and isn’t going clog up the planet, here are five simple ways to help you spot fast furniture.

1. If the price seems too good to be true …

The biggest giveaway of fast furniture is the price. It tends to be pretty inexpensive and very accessible. Unfortunately, the low cost is often thanks to poor materials or build quality, which means the piece is unlikely to last you very long.

For example, an £89 sofa from a fast furniture company might seem like a good deal when you consider that a good quality sofa will cost you in the region of £800 to £1,500. But while £89 might seem great now, it probably won’t last long and will end up costing the environment and you more as you’ll have to replace it sooner rather than later.

2 . Always check the materials

Companies are supposed to list all the materials in the furniture. If you see a mix of MDF (medium density fibreboard), plastic and chipboard, this is often a signifier that the piece is fast.

Check its backboard.
Getty/Canva

For cabinets, shelves, wardrobes and items with a backboard, a key signifier that it’s fast furniture will be that the backboard is made of taped-together sheets of hardboard that you have to nail in place. You will often find that this backboard starts to come away after a while and sometimes separates at the joins.

3. Does it require an Allen key?

If the answer is yes, it’s probably fast. What are the fittings like when you put it together? Do they come in a little bag all jumbled together? If you are using standardised fittings like dowels and bolts with pre-cut holes, known as knockdown fittings, to put the piece together, it will likely be a fast furniture piece.

These fittings are cheap and easy to use, plus companies can easily provide you with an Allen key or small screwdriver in the kit. Unfortunately, these fittings don’t last very long, either separating from the material they are fixed to or snapping from too much load.

4. There’s only one image online

Don’t you just hate it when a company only gives you one view of an item and no way to see any of the details? It’s often not available to view in real life, and the item is either set in a room and looks like a sticker, or is just on a white background.

Does it look too good to be real?
Patthranit FY/Canva

Similarly, is the image a photograph or a 3D render? You will likely know because renders either look too perfect or just a bit strange.These things can mean that the company hasn’t had the time or money to do a proper photoshoot. It can also mean that the product you receive may not look exactly like the image, or that the parts might not fit together properly.

5. Look at the piece’s finish

Does it have plastic edging strips? Are the finish choices white, black or wood effects? Is it easy to wipe clean? All of these are signifiers of a fast furniture item.

In short, go and look at the piece before purchase, and also look after whatever you choose as this will also make a big difference to how long it lasts.

With the rise of television programmes like BBC’s Repair Shop, we are seeing an increase in furniture repair and upcycling. However, this hasn’t stopped us Brits from continuing to buy new.

While these are a few ways to spot fast furniture, at the end of the day, the decision to buy is yours. Not everyone can spend a lot of money on new pieces but if your budget is smaller and you really don’t want to contribute to fast furniture, consider looking at second-hand items on Facebook Marketplace and in charity shops. Also see if you can repurpose something you already own. The planet will thank you and you will have pieces which will live with you for a long time. Läs mer…

Just ahead of the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the conflict has taken a dramatic and unexpected turn. The US is abruptly disengaging from its support of Ukraine, having previously promised that they would stand with Kyiv for “as long as it takes”.

Europe is in panic mode, while Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is having public spats with the freshly installed US president, Donald Trump.

At this stage, it seems that Vladimir Putin is firmly on top. But Trump is not the main cause of the current crisis, he merely reflects a more serious problem for Ukraine.

When war broke out in the early hours of February 24 2022, the world was shocked, but not entirely surprised. Warnings of Russia’s attack on Ukraine had the advantage of preparing a united western front against Russia.

Western resolve strengthened as expectations of a quick Moscow victory faded and Ukraine’s self-confidence grew. This mood was reflected in Josep Borrell’s statement the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs on April 9 that Russia must be defeated on the battlefield.

Two weeks earlier, US president Joe Biden declared that Putin “cannot stay in power”. In September 2022, when the Ukrainian army recaptured a large part of the territory occupied by Russia in the Kharkiv region, Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, told the EU parliament that “Russia’s industry is in tatters,” and that Moscow was using dishwashing machine chips for its missiles.

In an atmosphere of euphoria on October 4, Zelensky issued an official ban on negotiations with Putin. There would be only one outcome to this war: Putin’s defeat.

Indeed, Putin’s original plan had failed. Russia was retreating in Kharkiv and abandoning its strategic foothold on the right bank of the Dnieper in Kherson. On September 21 Putin had to declare a partial mobilisation, the first since the second world war, because Russia’s professional army was running out of men.

Fortunes of war

How things have changed: as the war approaches its three-year mark the west’s triumphalist mood is now a distant memory. Mark Rutte, secretary general of Nato, warned on January 13 that “what Russia now produces in three months, that’s what the whole of NATO from Los Angeles to Ankara produces in a year”. It’s a far cry from von der Leyen’s “Russian economy in tatters” jubilation of 2022.

In its dying days, the Biden administration rushed more weapons to Ukraine and imposed ever harsher sanctions on Moscow. This could not hide the fact that the US could not continue to fund Ukraine as it had for the first three years. Any US president would now struggle to get another Ukraine funding bill through Congress.

And Donald Trump is not just any US president. In his first month he has changed his country’s Ukraine policy in a characteristically dramatic and abrupt way.

But the underlying problem was always there: what to do with this war that Ukraine is not going to win and in which Russia is slowly getting the upper hand. It’s been clear since the failure of Ukraine’s much touted counteroffensive in summer 2023 that Ukraine can’t win militarily. So continuing to supply Ukraine at current levels can only prolong the fight, not change the course of the war.

From Trump’s perspective, this is a Biden war that has already been lost. And politically, it’s much easier for Trump to seek peace than his European counterparts because he campaigned on an anti-war message, repeatedly blaming Biden for the war and saying it would never have happened if he were president. Trump wants to find a quick fix and move on. If it fails, he can wash his hands of it and let the Europeans deal with it.

Europe clearly doesn’t know what to do now: it can’t accept defeat, but neither can it pretend that Ukraine can win the war without US support. It is a sign of their desperation that in “emergency meetings” called by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, they spend so much time discussing hypothetical and, frankly, highly unlikely scenarios for sending European troops into Ukraine.

Bleak outlook: Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky is desperate to avoid a peace deal imposed on his country.
EPA-EFE/Necati Savas

After talks with the US in Saudi Arabia, Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov made clear the Russian position: “The troops of Nato countries [in Ukraine] under a foreign flag – an EU flag or any national flag … is unacceptable.” And the Europeans are simply not in a position to impose conditions on the Kremlin.

The best that the EU can do on the third anniversary of the invasion is to unveil yet another sanctions package: number 16. But now that the US has changed its mind about its war aims, there’s no hiding the fact that Europe’s war strategy is in tatters.

The end point

Russia is under no pressure to rush into a deal it doesn’t like. Moscow’s terms are known: formal recognition that the four regions it annexed in September 2022 plus Crimea are now part of Russia, and withdrawal of the remaining Ukrainian troops from those regions. Kyiv must pledge permanent neutrality, limits on its armed forces. It must recognise and establish Russian language rights in Ukraine and ban far-right parties.

But these terms are completely unacceptable to Kyiv. And while there’s no good way out for Ukraine, it’s not yet in a desperate enough position to accept such a deal.

The only way to force it on Kyiv is either a complete military collapse by Ukraine’s forces, which is not looking likely at the moment, or concerted pressure from a united west to accept Russia’s unpalatable terms. But the west is divided on this issue, with the Europeans insisting that Ukraine should keep fighting until it can negotiate “from a position of strength”.

It’s a heroic assumption that Ukraine will be in a stronger position by this time next year. After the peak of confidence in early 2023, when Zelensky declared that “2023 will be the year of our victory!” each subsequent anniversary of the invasion saw Kyiv’s position weaker. But still, on current trends, it would take Russia until the end of the year to capture the rest of the eastern province of Donbas, without which an end to the war is unlikely anyway.

For these reasons, there is no guarantee that the US-Russian talks will lead to a resolution of the conflict. Unfortunately, this means that the bloodiest battles of the war are yet to come, as the Russian military pushes to maximise its military advantage.

In keeping with the wishes of Josep Borrell, the outcome of this war is still likely to be decided on the battlefield. Läs mer…

“The Queen’s had an attack of gout! Hurry!”

So exclaimed the crotchety Mrs Meg in Yorgos Lanthimos’s The Favourite, in which Olivia Colman plays a moribund and overweight Queen Anne. The queen was afflicted with, among many other conditions, gout – a disorder which causes joint inflammation and severe pain.

In the film, while screaming out in pain, her swollen feet are wrapped in strips of soothing beef. The next day her soon-to-be new favourite, Abigail, collects wild herbs to make a poultice for her. A bit more effective than raw steak, she finds.

You’ve got to feel sorry for Queen Anne. She really didn’t have much of a chance, since doctors of her day had no options for treating gout other than quackery.

She may have been subject to many other absurd treatments of the time to alleviate the symptoms, like scorching the blood vessels supplying the feet, slathering them in goose fat, or bloodletting with leeches. By the time she passed away in 1714 aged just 49, death may have come as a welcome relief.

Queen Anne wasn’t the only member of royalty to suffer with gout. Prince Regent George (later George IV) was similarly afflicted. Gout, then, came to be associated with the aristocracy and over indulgence.

Gout still affects many people. In fact, it is estimated that in 2020 gout affected nearly 56 million people worldwide, a figure that’s predicted to grow to 96 million by 2050. So, a condition that was once considered the disease of kings and queens is a now a disease of the masses, with younger patients also being diagnosed.

Luckily, raw meat strips and herbs are no longer required. We now know much more about how to treat gout and how to prevent it recurring.

Understanding gout

Gout is a crystal arthropathy – a group of joint disorders that occur when crystals build up in joints and soft tissues. Gout develops when uric acid levels rise in the bloodstream, before infiltrating the joints where it solidifies and becomes needle-like crystals that inflame the joints, making them incredibly sore.

And when I say “sore”, I really do mean sore: many people who experience gout often describe it as one of the worst pains they have ever felt. It most commonly affects the big toe and it can make even the lightest touch to the skin unbearable.

Some gout patients sleep with a special cage over their foot that lifts up the bedclothes because they can’t bear even the weight of a bed sheet on the affected joint.

Gout can affect other joints. It may also cause “tophi” to develop (hard swellings around joints and the ears).

The Gout by James Gillray. Published May 14th 1799.
Wikimedia Commons

Gout typically occurs in bouts or attacks, before settling with treatment and becoming dormant. But it can reoccur, requiring more acute treatment.

A diagnosis of gout is based around the classic symptoms: excruciating pain,
swelling in and around the affected joint and redness. Microscopic examination of the fluid taken from the swollen joint may also show crystals and there is usually raised uric acid levels on blood tests.

High uric acid

High uric acid levels are usually linked to alcohol excess, obesity, diabetes and hypertension. A diet high in purine-rich foods has been found to have the strongest association.

Purines are compounds comprised of uric acid. Purine-rich foods include meat and offal, oily fish like mackerel and anchovies, and yeasty foods, like Marmite and beer. It may be a good idea to avoid these foods in excess if you suffer from frequent episodes of gout.

Medication

But dietary changes alone are unlikely to stave off symptoms of gout. Medications can treat both an acute episode of gout and prevent it recurring.

When the joints are inflamed, options include anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen, naproxen, or steroid medications. Another option is colchicine, which is typically used for short periods and can be very effective – though it commonly causes bouts of diarrhoea.

When the inflammation has settled down, it is important to prevent future attacks. Allopurinol can reduce uric acid levels and therefore the risk of further bouts. There’s also evidence to suggest that eating cherries or drinking tart cherry juice could reduce the risk of gout attacks, especially if combined with alloprinol.

If you want to stay free of gout then perhaps it’s time to consider taking preventative action by making subtle lifestyle modifications. Maintain a healthy weight, eat a balanced diet, cut down on alcohol and avoid binge drinking, take regular exercise and keep yourself well hydrated. Läs mer…

The Broccoli family have controlled the James Bond franchise ever since the films were launched by Albert “Cubby” Broccoli in 1962. Now, his daughter and stepson, long-serving producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, have announced that they have surrendered creative control to Amazon MGM Studios.

Within minutes of the announcement on February 20, critics, analysts and fans of the Bond films rushed to proclaim the end of the beloved franchise. “Quite possibly the worst thing to happen to this franchise”, “the end of an era” and “RIP James Bond” were just a few of the responses.

The fear is that, under Amazon’s leadership, Bond will go down the same route as other beloved media properties, such as Star Wars and Marvel.

Having found themselves under the control of global entertainment conglomerates, these franchises have been treated as intellectual property and content. Films and TV shows expanding the universe of the franchises were used to serve corporate aims and cross-support other business segments of their parent companies.

This is exactly what happened with Disney, after it acquired Lucasfilm and Marvel and assumed creative control of the Star Wars, Indiana Jones and the Marvel films.

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Disney embarked on a well-orchestrated campaign that expanded the narrative universe of its franchises through a host of new films, TV series, documentaries and other content. Such content also supported the launch of its streaming service, Disney+, introduced new lines of merchandise for its stores, and installed new attractions in its theme parks.

While, for a period, this strategy paid off handsomely for the conglomerate, the power of its brands started to become diluted. Complaints about the quality of some of its output and fan fatigue from an infinitely expanding narrative universe seem to have had a strong impact on Disney’s ability to extract maximum value from its properties. Not to mention the fans’ relationship with their once-favourite stories and characters.

Will Bond meet with a similar fate? A look at the franchise’s history as well as at Amazon’s recent business practices offers a glimpse into what the future may hold for 007.

Bond’s studio history

Eon Productions has controlled the franchise since Bond made his first successful, though not spectacular, appearance in theatres in 1962.

Originally established by Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman as a company through which to produce the James Bond films, Eon was a subsidiary of Danjaq, a holding company through which the two men managed the film series’ business.

Albert ‘Cubby’ Broccoli.
Wiki Commons

The film’s distributor, United Artists, eventually became Danjaq’s co-owner and therefore Eon’s production partner, even though creative decisions remained with Eon.

In the 1980s and early 1990s, MGM took United Artists’ place as Eon’s partner. But after a barrage of corporate takeovers and litigation cases, production of the films in the early 1990s halted. They were only reignited in 1995 when Eon passed on to Broccoli’s children.

A new corporate takeover of MGM by a consortium of companies led by Sony in 2004 brought yet another partner on board for Eon. But it also led to the transformation of Bond from a film series to a full-fledged franchise.

Eon rebooted Bond with the origin film Casino Royale in 2006. Ever since, it has carefully managed the Bond universe through a series of films that proved major box office hits worldwide. And it has also cultivated a list of marketing partners, the majority of whom are luxury retail brands such as Tom Ford and Omega.

Read more:
The ideal James Bond is an actor on the cusp of superstardom – as film history shows

At the same time, Sony was able to use product placement in the Bond films as advertisements for its consumer electronic products, as well as benefiting from releasing the films theatrically worldwide.

The arrangement with Sony was modified in the late 2000s as MGM reemerged as a self-owned production company with an ability to make its own deals. MGM and Eon continued their collaboration with Sony for Skyfall (2012) and Spectre (2015). But for the most recent James Bond outing, No Time to Die (2021), the Bond franchise owners decided on a split distribution deal that was not as successful.

Amazon enters the frame

It was at that time that Amazon took over MGM in a deal worth £6.48 billion (US$8.45 billion), making Amazon Studios Eon’s next production partner. But even with the one of the biggest conglomerates in the picture, Eon continued to have ironclad control of the franchise. This was secured through contracts negotiated following MGM’s successive takeovers.

Amazon’s takeover of MGM was part of a list of acquisitions motivated by the tech company’s efforts to support their streaming service, Prime. It meant it could add the approximately 4,000 films and TV programmes available in MGM’s library to their streaming catalogue, with the hopes of attracting new subscribers.

No Time to Die was Craig’s final outing as Bond.

But Amazon is also in the business of producing original content through what is now known as Amazon MGM Studios. This is the reason for the rampant speculation on how it would manage the franchise, and whether there would be a blitz of new Bond-branded content à la Disney’s treatment of Star Wars.

Amazon has the resources to pour vast amounts of funding into productions that can support its other business segments. This means it has the means required to reboot Bond and spend lavishly on production and top talent. This could redefine the franchise for audiences in the streaming era.

Perhaps more intriguingly, Amazon could use Bond’s proven ability to market upscale and luxury products and services through its e-commerce division. This could drive even more (and even more lucrative) business to its online shopping site.

Indeed, I can see a scenario whereby a new James Bond film will be released on Black Friday, creating an unprecedented level among Amazon’s divisions and redefining “Bondmania” for a new, digital era. Läs mer…

The unprecedented postponement of the tabling of South Africa’s 2025 budget because of disagreement within the coalition government over a two percentage point increase in value added tax (VAT), highlights the country’s dilemma.

The government needs to raise revenue to deliver on its constitutional obligations. But in a context where the global outlook is uncertain and unpredictable, trade-offs are required.

South Africa has a deficit of around 4.3% of GDP, accounting for R377 billion (US$20,479 billion). According to the Unpublished budget review public debt stands at 76.1% of its GDP.

Whereas the public debt as a percentage of GDP is in line with that of similarly sized economies, its debt servicing costs are considerably higher. The country pays around 5% on public debt interest as a share of GDP while developing and upper-middle-income countries pay, on average, 2.2% and 1.8% respectively.

These figures point to why the finance minister wanted to raise more revenue. Treasury’s estimates in the 2025 unpublished Budget Review were that the increase in Vat and other tax adjustments plus factoring in tax foregone due to expanding the basket of zero-rated goods would have brought in an additional R58 billion (US$3.1 billion) for the 2025/26 financial year.

To date, debates around previous years’ budgets have mostly been about expenditure, with very little scrutiny of the revenue side. Not since the 2013 Davis Tax Committee has there been public debate about reforming the tax policy.

Read more:
South Africa’s economy needs a shot in the arm, not austerity: 3 key areas where more public spending would get results

Based on our academic research we believe the crucial question around tax reform is: who will bear the burden of the reform? And how taxes connect to the promise of the South African social compact. The social compact since democracy, expressed in the constitution, promises to uphold the rights of all citizens.

Evidence shows that increases in the rate of VAT affect poor households more, particularly women-headed households.

While the government is concerned about financing its budget and being able to raise the resources needed to make the state work, a rethink is needed about who must bear the burden of raising the money.

The cost of food

VAT is a flat tax on consumption of goods and services, usually paid by the end consumer. It affects lower income households more because they spend a greater share of their income on goods such as food, electricity and water.

The uproar over the recent proposed increase is therefore not surprising.

At least 34% of the yearly income of poor households is spent on food and groceries. Almost 50% of South Africans live under the poverty line. This is where the impact will be felt in a number of ways.

Firstly, the net effect of an increase in VAT will mean that mean that already financially stretched households will be paying more for food. This comes on top of
food inflation was 8% between 2023 and 2024.

Secondly, meagre increases in social grant payments in the last decade – over 28 million grants are paid out every month – have not kept pace with inflation.

One of the largest grants is the old age pension grant. There are around 3.9 million beneficiaries. It amounts to R2,190 (US$118) a month for those between 65 and 74 years and is the sole source of income for many families.

Between 2023 and 2024 this grant increased by R110 (US$5.45) – a 5.2 % increase, while inflation stood at 4.5%. However, after taking into account inflation, the grant amounts to R2,091 (just over US$107), having the net grant increase (after adjusting for inflation) of meagre R11 (the grant was in 2023 R2.080).

A VAT increase would raise their cost of living for working-class South African households (those earning between R8,000 (US$432) and R22,000 (US$1,188) a month) too. This cohort is already using 67% of their income to cover their debts. Middle class households (earning between R22,000 (US$1,188) and R35,000 (US$1,893) a month) use 69% of their income to cover their debts. A VAT-induced increase in the cost of living may push some to neglect servicing debt to maintain their living standards.

If middle and working class households defaulted in large numbers on their debt obligations, a vicious cycle might unfold.

Firstly, banks and financial institutions might face significant losses due to unpaid loans. This could trigger an economic recession as consumption could fall, leading to lower revenue collection. This could increase government debt as the state might need to bail out banks or get loans to cover the revenue shortfall. The result would be a credit downgrade which might make it more expensive to borrow money on international markets.

In a country with such a limited and vulnerable tax base (in 2024, only 7.4 million people of 63 million paid income tax) these risks should not be taken lightly.

Poor households spend 34% of their income on food.
Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images

Wealthy South Africans

Wealthy South Africans will not be as badly affected by an increase in VAT. Their consumption as a share of their incomes is less. Yet they remain central to the government’s dilemma about raising money from taxes. That’s because taxing wealthier South Africans will result in a push-back, and in some cases put a strain on struggling companies and industries that are central for job creation.

However, the most likely reason a VAT increase was chosen as opposed to a higher income tax for high income earners, taxes on capital gains, or taxes on wealth is that the government knows the wealthy elites (including those in government) will oppose increases taxes targeted at them. They are more organised and have more leverage over the government than vulnerable households.

What next?

The government needs to spend money properly and meet its constitutional obligations. And corruption must be reduced.

What the standoff over the VAT increase has highlighted is that, if South Africa aims to be a society where everyone actually counts, it should place the well-being of all its citizens at the forefront. This should be the principle that informs the process of raising the resources needed to drive future. Läs mer…

Plans for the UK and other European countries to send troops to Ukraine are in their very early stages. But the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, will already be thinking about how such a move could play out at home. Sending UK troops abroad, even on a “peacekeeping” mission, always has the potential to spark huge public debate.

This is the first time the government has considered deploying military forces in 11 years, when the Cameron government debated intervening in Syria alongside the US Obama administration in 2014. Since then, the UK has not seriously considered deploying troops overseas.

In the intervening years, the Chilcot inquiry found that the UK’s decision to join the invasion of Iraq was made prematurely, before all peaceful options were exhausted.

This, along with the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, may well have decreased UK public support for military interventions.

When polled in 2021, the British public were unconvinced about involvement in Afghanistan, with 53% thinking that two decades of war in Afghanistan didn’t achieve anything. Worse, 62% think that the conflict either didn’t improve the lives of ordinary Afghans, or made their lives worse.

The picture, for now, is a bit different on deploying troops to Ukraine as peacekeepers. Of those polled in mid-January, 58% either strongly or somewhat support deploying UK troops as peacekeepers. Among Labour voters, support is higher at 66%, with Tory voters (67%) and Lib Dem voters (70%) showing similar levels of support.

Reform voters show far less support (44%), potentially building more of a split between Reform and the other mainstream parties. This division may increase polarisation, and could make it even harder for Starmer to slow the rise of Reform’s challenge to Labour’s voter base.

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Starmer will draw comfort from the limited opposition to deploying peacekeepers. Only 15% of Labour voters somewhat or strongly oppose deploying UK troops as peacekeepers, below the national average of 21%.

But looking at history, we can see how changeable public support can be when it comes to war. In 2003, 54% of those polled supported the US and UK invasion of Iraq.

Despite this, there were voluble public protests against the invasion. In February 2003, an estimated 1 million people marched through London.

The 12-week initial campaign went well, so this continued level of support is not surprising. However, when people looked back at the war in 2015, only 37% thought it had been a good idea.

Only eight years later, in 2023, this had fallen further to 23%. Meanwhile one in five thought Tony Blair should be tried as a war criminal for his decision.

Starmer will need to ensure that the public understand what his government sees as the need for UK troops to serve as peacekeepers in Ukraine – and he will need to do so honestly. Much of the criticism Blair received over Iraq stemmed from accusations he wasn’t “straight” and that he “overstated” the case for UK involvement in Iraq.

Read more:
Iraq war 20 years on: the British government has never fully learned from Tony Blair’s mistakes

The Iraq inquiry report also found the military was ill-equipped at the time of the invasion. There are similar concerns now about the readiness of the British army.

Party politics and spending

Starmer will be aware of the importance of parliamentary support for military action. When Cameron sought support for military intervention in Syria, Ed Miliband as leader of the Labour Party was crucial in the vote against this deployment.

In contrast, when Blair won parliamentary support for invading Iraq, opposition from within the Labour party was so strong that Blair only won because of support from Tory MPs. Starmer will watch the responses in parliament from Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, the Lib Dems and SNP.

At the time of writing, Badenoch hasn’t commented on the idea of sending troops to Ukraine. She has, however, rejected Donald Trump’s attacks that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is a dictator.

Comments from former prime minister Boris Johnson that Trump accusing Ukraine of starting the war was the same as claiming that “America attacked Japan at Pearl Harbor” may help build cross-party support.

The most important challenge to Starmer’s plans could come from the Treasury rather than the Tories. Proposals reportedly involve 30,000 British and European troops.

The number of troops that the UK would contribute to this joint force is unclear. However, the cost will be the prime focus for the chancellor of the exchequer, Rachel Reeves.

Reeves has committed to increasing defence spending to 2.5% of GDP (up from 2.3%), but the timeline for this has not been set out. Starmer is under pressure to increase it even further, but any increase will be financially difficult given the state of Britain’s finances.

The UK saw significant protests against the war in Iraq in 2003.
Janine Wiedel/Shutterstock

This might help Starmer on his trip to Washington next week. Trump will be less likely to criticise Starmer if the PM can show that he is listening to Trump’s demands for Nato countries to increase their military spending.

But crucially, while increased spending to enable this deployment may improve UK-US relations, it could also make things difficult with voters, who could have to endure tax rises or further cuts to public spending.

Badenoch has said that failing to increase defence spending “is not peacemaking, it is weakness”. This suggests that the cost of intervention will be a key point of contention for the Tory leader.

Deploying UK troops to Ukraine may be a defining part of Starmer’s foreign policy. Increasing military spending and showing that the UK will help bear the cost of peacekeeping in Ukraine may also help set the tone of Starmer’s relationship with Trump.

However, politically, the consequences of deploying UK troops to Ukraine could spark numerous domestic challenges. While Labour voters appear to support the proposal now, there is likely to be opposition from at least some Reform voters – something Starmer doesn’t need more of right now. The financial costs will also put even more pressure on Labour’s spending plans, and could build division between PM and chancellor. Läs mer…

The start of 2025 has been good for China and its reputation as a high-tech innovator. The unveiling of the Chinese-made artificial intelligence (AI) tool, DeepSeek, caused consternation on the US stock exchange and from potential competitors in Silicon Valley.

Chinese firms are increasingly at the forefront of key high-level technologies such as electric vehicles (EVs) and AI, as reflected by the success of China’s electric vehicles, BYD, and now DeepSeek.

These moves have made the Chinese economy more self sufficient than it was during Trump’s first term, and has made Beijing more confident about pushing back politically against Trump.

This is all underlined by a high-level meeting hosted by President Xi Jinping at China’s Great Hall of the People this week. He told the heads of China’s leading tech firms it was time for them “to give full play to their capabilities” and spoke of it as a patriotic duty, according to official accounts.

This comes as China starts being hit by US tariffs of an additional 10% on its goods, as well as a slew of anti-China rhetoric from the Trump government.

But China’s high tech industries are on the up, and this is a significant boost for Xi. For instance, in January this year, sales of the Chinese EVs exceeded those of Tesla in the UK for the first time.

Part of the Chinese EV’s success could be attributed to a backlash against Tesla’s co-founder Elon Musk, after he started backing far-right parties around the world.

Another factor that Chinese high-tech goods have in their favour are lower prices. Prices for Chinese EVs start at £7,697 in the UK, for example – much lower than Tesla’s Model 3 at £25,490.

This price difference will be significant in the latest phase of the Sino-US trade war, particularly in countries struggling with a cost-of-living crisis. China is also hoping its cheap prices and tech innovations will help it find new trading allies to counteract Washington’s proposed tariffs.

What China has to offer

China is a fast-growing economic and political power and is expected to account for nearly a quarter of the global economy by 2030.

The success of BYD and DeepSeek comes at a time where Beijing feels more prepared for Trump’s tough tariffs and tension with Washington, than it did in his previous term. China has responded to Trump’s threats with reciprocal tariffs on US coal and liquefied gas, as well as a ban on the export of critical minerals. These are a key component for many US military technologies varying from communications equipment to missiles.

China accounts for 72% of all rare earth imports for the US. Such measures contrast with the cautious approach taken by Beijing in 2017, when US tariffs during Trump’s first term met little retaliation from Beijing.

The changes in China’s tactics can partly be attributed to what Beijing learned from the previous trade war. In 2017 there were weaknesses in the supply chains of many Chinese firms, most notably ZTE and Huawei.

They struggled when Washington pressurised its own chipmakers and those of allied states, such as Britain’s Arm, to stop sales of semiconductor technology to China. As a result, finding long-term alternatives to US technology in the supply chain has become a key priority for Beijing.

What is Deep Seek?

Xi has recognised the value of firms such as Huawei and BYD in aiding China’s wider technological (and geopolitical) ambitions, most notably as part of the Made in China 2025 strategy, a national strategy to make China a leader in high-tech technology.

Read more:
DeepSeek: how China’s embrace of open-source AI caused a geopolitical earthquake

Traditionally, China was seen as the home of cheap, low-quality goods, which had been central to its development in the 1980s and 1990s. But many of companies producing these products are increasingly moving to south-east Asia to take advantage of lower labour costs.

However, Chinese industries are now gaining ground in fields that have traditionally been the preserve of developed nations. For instance, Huawei has developed a spin off, Honor, which has gone from producing cheap, simple smartphones and into AI technology.

Meanwhile, the success of BYD and DeepSeek have demonstrated that China is, in some ways at least, far better placed for a prolonged trade war. Beijing is feeling more confident, which explains its willingness to push back against Washington this time.

So the White House will have to deal with higher prices for US goods going into China, as well as additional trade spats with the EU, Canada and the UK. It might be a bumpy ride for US consumers.

How Beijing responds and its new-found clout may determine the course of this new trade war, and potentially add to its long-term standing in the world. Läs mer…

Anyone familiar with Scotland will know the weather is at best mercurial, and at worst wet, grey and what we call “dreich” – a good Scottish word meaning drab. For an artist in the early 20th century suffering not just miserable weather but a cultural landscape of joyless, soul-sucking Presbyterianism, escaping to the sunlit uplands of the Parisian avant garde, where artists were experimenting wildly with new ideas and techniques, would have been deeply attractive.

Into this vivid world of colour and possibility stepped four Scottish artists who embraced everything this exciting new art scene had to offer, and in doing so, changed Scotland’s art forever. Inspired by the post-impressionist works of Van Gogh, Matisse, Cezanne and Derain, they often painted outdoors, revelling in nature, creating exceptional artworks that explored light, shape and colour.

Green Sea Iona by SJ Peploe (1925), oil on canvas.
The Fleming Collection., Author provided (no reuse)

Samuel John Peploe experimented with Cezanne-like geometric forms, while John Duncan Fergusson took on fauvist influences. George Leslie Hunter focused on blocks of colour, and Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell explored bold shapes and impressionistic compositions.

Together they became known as the “Scottish colourists”, and their work is being celebrated at a new exhibition at the Dovecot in Edinburgh. As our reviewer Blane Savage points out, each brought back to Scotland new approaches to art that were reflected in their subsequent work. Take Peploe’s Green Sea, Iona from 1925, which perfectly captures the mesmerising colours of a Hebridean shoreline. Radiant and vibrant, here was art to lift even the dreichest Presbyterian Scot’s heart.

The Scottish Colourists: Radical Perspectives is on at the Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh until June 28.

Read more:
Scottish colourists exhibition: the painters who stood shoulder to shoulder with Matisse and Cezanne

Flowers, grief and reconciliation

Just as the Scottish colourists loved a nice vase of voluptuous blooms, the new Saatchi Gallery exhibition on the subject, named simply Flowers, explores the place of flora in contemporary art, as well as its wider cultural influence.

Reviewer Judith Brocklehurst describes the show as resembling a “supersized florist”, filled with bunches of blooms and hanging arrangements of dried flowers. The exhibition offers a wide perspective: from sculpture finding inspiration in Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, to William Morris’s much-loved floral designs, to the digital recreation of 17th-century Dutch paintings, and contemporary photography and video installations too.

Passing Through by Orlanda Broom.
Courtesy the artist

This richly imaginative and engaging exhibition celebrating the importance of flora in our lives is well worth an hour of your time if you’re in London.

Flowers – Flora in Contemporary Art and Culture is on display at London’s Saatchi Gallery until May 5 2025.

Read more:
Flowers at London’s Saatchi Gallery: this exploration of flora in history and contemporary culture smells as good as it looks

Highly recommended cinema this week is the Japanese film Cottontail, a gentle and touching story about a middle-aged man grieving the loss of his wife after a long illness. Honouring her dying wish, he takes her ashes to be scattered in the Lake District in the north of England – a place that had special significance for her.

Woven through the tale is the man’s complicated relationship with his son, whom he has neglected for his career. Struggling to connect, they embark on the journey together, each dealing with their own grief and sense of loss. Chao Fang, an expert in ageing, death and dying, found this delicate film’s portrayal of grief realistic and relatable, and the journey to find peace by reconciling the past and present both absorbing and affecting.

Cottontail is in select cinemas now.

Read more:
Cottontail review: how a man’s journey through grief mirrors our search for peace – by an expert in death and grieving

Fernanda Torres is outstanding as the wife and mother Eurnice in I’m Still Here.
BFA / Alamy

The Oscar-nominated I’m Still Here, released today, sees director Walter Salles adapt Marcelo Rubens Paiva’s autobiographical novel of the same name. The film follows the grief of a family whose husband and father is disappeared by the regime of Brazilian dictator Emílio Garrastazu Médici in the early 1970s. The film is carried by a memorable performance from actress Fernanda Torres who plays Eunice, the wife of missing left-wing politician Rubens.

Relating the story from Eunice’s perspective as she desperately searches for her husband, the film details the breakdown of her relationship with her eldest daughters as they all seek to deal with their devastating loss and uncertain future. Professor of film Belén Vidal describes the film as a “clear-cut tribute to the ‘feminine’ politics of resistance”. Sad, moving and bittersweet in its conclusion, I’m Still Here, appropriately, lingers long after the credits have rolled.

I’m Still Here is in cinemas now.

Read more:
I’m Still Here: a vibrant testament to female resilience that mourns Brazil’s dark past

Downfall of an Instagram darling

Often real life is stranger than anything created for our screens. Based on the true story of Australian wellness influencer Belle Gibson, Apple Cider Vinegar follows the story of a social media darling documenting her “journey” as she rejects conventional medicine for alternative therapies to treat a rare form of brain cancer. But in 2015, Gibson was exposed as a financial fraud – and worse, was revealed as never having had cancer. The internet, understandably, went wild. But how was she able to perpetrate such an audacious and complex deception?

Katilyn Dever as Belle Gibson in the Netlix series Apple Cider Vinegar.
FlixPix / Alamy Stock Photo

Apple Cider Vinegar dramatises Gibson’s story, documenting her meteoric rise to fame and her dramatic downfall, detailing some of the psychological issues that influenced her deceit. But, as sociology professor Stephanie Baker indicates, this shocking story also illustrates a wider point about the conditions that enable frauds like Gibson to gain credibility and influence online. Truly fascinating stuff, it once again reveals how the virtual nature of the internet deludes people when it comes to online behaviour, accountability and getting away with it.

Apple Cider Vinegar is now streaming on Netflix.

Read more:
Apple Cider Vinegar: how social media gave rise to fraudulent wellness influencers like Belle Gibson Läs mer…