A South African leader welcomed the court’s affirmation that “the perilous situation demands immediate and effective implementation of the provisional measures” from its earlier ruling. As Israeli forces plan a full-scale assault on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, the International Court of Justice on Friday forcefully reminded Israel that it must comply with a January order to meet its obligations Continue reading »
politics
While bellicose rhetoric continues to be lobbed across the DMZ, North Korea appears focused on bolstering not just its weaponry, but its farms as well. The mood on the Korean Peninsula has been fraught since the very start of 2024. Does North Korea really intend to start a war? Are we facing the prospect of Continue reading »
An undutiful daughter’s atonement trip after four years. When my mum asked me to bring a king-size wool quilt on a flight back to China, I was hit with a strange familiar feeling – time for Lunar New Year again. It was a gift she wanted for one of my grandmothers (her aunt). In this Continue reading »
The release of the latest PISA results provided another opportunity to bash schools and teachers. Amy Haywood and Jordana Hunter, from the Grattan Institute joined the chorus of denigrators. They, along with most academics, mainstream media and, of course politicians ‘validated’ our students’ performance in the International Student Assessment or PISA tests is in decline Continue reading »
Natural resources are owned by the people of Australia, but mining companies don’t like paying us for the resources they take out of the ground. And when they look like having to pay more, their response is swift and brutal. The way Lang Hancock told it, he discovered the vast iron ore deposits in the Continue reading »
Reading the latest Scanlon Foundation social cohesion report makes you aware that there are two quite distinct images of Australia. One – totally dark and doom laden – is depicted in the mass and social media and the other – clear-eyed about both serious problems and opportunities – is depicted in the 2023 Scanlon Foundation Continue reading »
It is almost impossible to devise a scenario in which the Labour Party does not win the UK election in 2024. The biggest remaining question may well be whether the victory is sufficiently large to almost guarantee a second term and possibly splinter the Conservative side of UK politics for a decade or more. There Continue reading »
You know there is a shocking decimation taking place when news footage shows only two colours – grey and red. Images of the persecution and murder of Gazans are utterly heartbreaking. Israel is asking the world to allow it to commit genocide. The US, and the West, are saying “Yes, go ahead”. If Israel were Continue reading »
Three big things have happened with the passage of the second half of the ‘Closing Loopholes’ Bill through Federal Parliament on Monday. One is world leading, one is not far from it, and one is playing catch up with the rest of the world. A fourth big thing happened a couple of months ago, with passage Continue reading »
Wednesday, February 14, turned out to be an unanticipated Happy Valentine’s Day for Julian Assange supporters. The Australian House of Representatives passed a motion introduced by Tasmanian Independent, Andrew Wilkie on behalf of the Parliamentary Friends of Julian Assange, urging the US and the UK to bring their prosecution of Julian Assange to a close, Continue reading »