The Prime Minister continues his travels, adding Ukraine to the list after Spain, France, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates and Japan - that's about 43,000 kilometres in the six weeks since the election.
In the war zone, Mr Albanese travelled to the town of Bucha to pay his respects at a mass grave where 416 civilians were buried after being executed by Russian forces.
He told the leader of the local council: "Australia shares your desire to seek justice for these war crimes, and we will continue to do so".
While he's outside the country, various crises and potential crises have refused to go away, from flooding to COVID to inflation.
The workplace safety watchdog, WorkSafe Victoria, has charged an aged care home in Melbourne after 45 people there died from COVID-19. St Basil's Homes for the Aged has been accused of nine breaches of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
The allegation is that in July 2020, after the home was notified a worker tested positive to COVID-19, the care home failed to require workers to wear personal protective equipment.
The virus is certainly stubborn.
One of Australia's leading experts in the spread of diseases is recommending that the age-limit for a COVID booster should be lowered. Professor Robert Booy thinks that a fourth dose should be offered to all Australians over 50 as a way to reduce the risk from rising infections. His call comes as the death toll in Australia from the pandemic passes 10,000.
And if plague wasn't enough, the floods are back with a vengeance.
The federal Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt said the waters may have peaked in the Hawkesbury-Nepean area but there was still concern over the next few days for other areas in Sydney and the Hunter.
The minister said the flooding was the worst the region had seen during the past 18 months. "It's very comparable to the water levels and the flood levels that we saw in the floods in that exact region earlier this year, and even in some parts, approaching the levels that were recorded early last year," he said.
Senator Watt said a "sensible discussion" was needed about where new developments were built to help mitigate the damage from natural disasters such as floods.
If all this sounds too bleak, rejoice in the news that researchers think the funnel web spider may help with heart disease.
Scientists in Queensland are to start human trials on a drug containing a molecule from the spider's potent venom. They reckon it could prevent cell damage caused by heart attacks.
"This is a game-changing technology that could have worldwide impacts and is being developed and funded right here in Australia," researcher Mark Smythe said.
THE NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW:
- Albanese hears tales of fear in Ukraine
- Charges over fatal COVID aged care cluster
- Calls to lower age limits for fourth doses
- Regional newspapers get financial lifeline
- Time to speak up: water apartheid is Australia's dirty secret
- NSW train fight heads to industrial umpire
- NSW welcomes quick federal flood support
- Family grieve 'adventurous' son and brother after Thailand tragedy
- Funnel web venom could treat heart attacks
Steve Evans
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
