Official figures confirm Australians’ complaints about soaring prices and analysts say the worst news is the increasing cost of essentials. They say there’s a risk the economy could stagnate even as prices keep rising. The election campaign pivots on the news, with the Coalition blaming global pressures, and Labor criticising government inaction on wages. And long before he set about menacing Ukraine, Vladimir Putin was becoming more menacing to his own people. How the Russian leader has ramped up repression at home, transitioning from soft autocrat to full-fledged fear-dictator.