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The massive bushfires raging across Australia are expected to flare up again as temperatures rise in coming days. So far, four people have died from the fires, which are feeding off drought-stricken farmland and bush. Conditions improved on Friday but crews were still battling about 120 blazes across New South Wales and Queensland. And authorities have warned that a bank of hot air is expected to sweep across the country, escalating the fires. Temperatures across Western Australia are predicted to hit mid-40Cs at the weekend. The fires have razed about 300 homes, and burnt through over 1 million hectares of...

Rugby player Israel Folau has drawn anger for linking Australia's bushfire crisis to the nation's same-sex marriage and abortion laws. Folau, who was sacked by Australia in May for making anti-gay remarks on social media, described the fires as a "little taste of God's judgement". Six people have died since last month in blazes raging in eastern Australia. Prime Minister Scott Morrison condemned Folau's remarks as "appallingly insensitive". "He is a free citizen, he can say whatever he likes but that doesn't mean he can't have regard to the grievance [and] offence this would have caused to the people whose...

Australian war hero Ben Roberts-Smith said he would not encourage potential recruits to join the armed forces because of the lack of support veterans receive. The former soldier believes the heads of the Australian Defence Force are putting themselves ahead of servicemen and not providing the assistance that veterans need. The 41-year-old told The Daily Telegraph he would not endorse young people going into the military without a major shakeup in leadership. 'My opinion is the Australian Defence Force needs good young Australians… but when you look at what is happening at the moment it gives me pause to think,...

(Note: This report is about the Australian network ABC which may not be run by the American Disney-owned ABC) Full title: "ABC is forced to apologise after shocking #MeToo documentary blunder saw the names and faces of rape victims exposed without their consent"

Navy helicopters usually used to hunt submarines have been deployed to identify fire hotspots around the country. The move came today as Defence drafted plans for an extraordinary deployment of Army Reservists to join regular troops committed to the fire fight. In what has now become the biggest ever military call-up for a civil emergency of its kind in Australia, squadrons of Army, Navy and RAAF aircraft were working through the day and night on operations as tasked by Emergency Management Australia. But critically, Defence is also now actively scoping a possible full “call out” of ADF Reservists - under...

Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley says that former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson actively worked to undermine President Trump and tried to enlist her...... Its Monday in Hong Kong with a general strike called by protester for democracy and police officers using live ammunition..... Bolivia's President Evo Morales resigned Sunday afternoon along with his Vice-President Alvaro Garcia Linera...... Spain's second election this year with the Socialists winners but a few seats under their performance earlier this year. The result is again a deadlock... Israeli politics and the leader of Yisrael Beiteinu...

... an intriguing side story: "Navy Had Word of Jap Plan to Strike at Sea."It was a fascinating, and detailed, description of much of what American intelligence knew beforehand of the enemy's fleet and plans. Indeed, it was too detailed. The report - 14 paragraphs long - suggested a secret U.S. intelligence coup, and became one of the biggest and potentially damaging news leaks of World War II. "This is the only time in American history that the United States government has ... taken steps toward prosecuting a member of the media under the Espionage Act," The story went on...

Welcome to the weekend and I'll go to election discussion first.... Bevin's downfall his lack of friendship and zeal with the likes of Kentucky's Mitch McConnell..... It's sad to realize that the two tribes fighting out there have groups of government employees they lift up as being 'more equal than others' like in George Orwell's dark vision of a Communist country "Animal Farm"... Pennsylvania Voter Problems.... Our elections are controlled by the Secretary of State here in PA appointed by the Governor. Tom Wolf, Democrat, my neighbor here in York County is the Governor. What I and other voters saw...

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Iran sparing over the incident involving a woman working for the International Atomic Energy Agency..... Iran says it shot down a drone from a foreign country near a southern port city.... A US-led naval coalition officially launching its mission of protecting shipping in the Persian Gulf..... In the country neighboring Iran, Iraq, anti-government protests continued Friday..... The Russian military beginning helicopter patrols along the Syrian-Turkish border..... Russian and Syrian aircraft launching airstrikes against jihadist positions in northwestern Syria today... The US Secretary of State taking aim at Russia and China..... A volatile Indian...

At the joint press conference (Video embedded below), Chancellor Angela Merkel said: "We are now the largest bilateral donors in the Palestinian territories." According to Germany's Bild news, the federal government announced that in 2018 about 166.2 million euros flowed to the Palestinians. In addition, Germany transferred about 173.2 million euros to UNRWA, a UN agency for Palestinian Muslims. Throughout her years as Chancellor, Angela Merkel gave the Palestinian Authority more than half a billion dollars, not including foreign aid to UNRWA. The Palestinian Authority openly pays salaries to every terrorist who murdered Jews as an act of jihad. In...

It's 2019 and government sites still require Internet Explorer"That's not a browser... THIS IS A BROWSER!" Companies using the Australian Border Force's (ABF) Integrated Cargo System (ICS) are having problems connecting to the portal using Internet Explorer.The issue, which officials attribute to a Windows 10 update on 8 October, has forced some users to roll back the changes in order to connect to the system through the venerable browser.Authorities said: "A change in behaviour of the protocol establishing the security of the connection with ICS is causing authentication failures."An email seen by The Register added that "the ABF have been...

Oct. 17 (UPI) -- A surprised customer at an Australian restaurant recorded video of a pelican casually wandering into the eatery and patiently getting in line. Jack Simpson captured video at the Cargo's Wharf Restaurant in Kiama, New South Wales, when a pelican walked in through the door and joined the crowd in line. The pelican got out of line after a few moments and wandered around the shop, with a crowd of onlookers following. The bird was eventually escorted out of the eatery without incident. VIDEO AT LINK...................

The Solomon Islands in the South Pacific are a militarily crucial location for any Pacific power interested in threatening the continent of Australia.  That's why the fighting at Guadalcanal, one of the Solomons, was so fierce during World War II.  At that time, the expansionary Pacific power was Japan, while today it is China, but the strategic value of the Solomons remains the same.That's why alarm bells are going off in Canberra over this news, coming from Andrew Tillett of the Australian Financial Review (paywalled): Revelations a Chinese company linked to a state-owned enterprise is trying to lease an entire island in the Solomon...

Is an attempt underway to destabilize Lebanon? For the fourth day in a row protesters in the streets..... "We are at war against a powerful enemy, who is willing to use violence without any limits" The words of Chile's President Sebastian Pinera late tonight speaking tonight from army headquarters..... British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab says Prime Minister Boris Johnson has the votes to pass his "deal" on Brexit.... Tens of thousands marching in Hong Kong Sunday defying a ban on protests..... The protest continuing today in Spain's Catalonia region.... Election news Sunday. Bolivia's longtime left-wing president Evo Morales forced into...

North Dakota approved legislation to pilot the freight method as a way to deal with increased demand for drivers amid high turnover rates. In solving for crucial supply chain issues, Australia found a workaround that could have implications for driver shortages and transportation hurdles in the U.S. Australia's supply chain must navigate its landmass of 2.96 million square miles, people and businesses dispersed through the Outback and an infrastructure better suited to nimble vehicles. While most of the population lives in coastal cities, many live in villages widely separated by deserts and connected by highways and dirt roads. Residents in...

A review launched by Attorney General William Barr into the origins of the Russia investigation has expanded significantly amid concerns about whether the probe has any legal or factual basis, multiple current and former officials told NBC News. The prosecutor conducting the review, Connecticut U.S. Attorney John Durham, has expressed his intent to interview a number of current and former intelligence officials involved in examining Russia’s effort to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, including former CIA Director John Brennan and former director of national intelligence James Clapper, Brennan told NBC News. Durham has also requested to talk to CIA...

Glenn Davies, Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, has a message for people who disagree with him, and his diocese, about same sex blessings – they should leave the church rather than fight. “My own view is that if people wish to change the doctrine of our Church, they should start a new church or join a church more aligned to their views – but do not ruin the Anglican Church by abandoning the plain teaching of Scripture,” he told his Synod (church parliament) in his final address to them. “Please leave us. We have far too much work to do in...

Melbourne City Council member Nic Frances Gilley has introduced a proposal to require Catholic churches to comply with the province of Victoria's new mandatory abuse reporting laws or have signs posted outside warning parents that the houses of worship might pose a danger to children. The Age reports that Gilley is requesting the state "write to all churches and places of worship requesting assurances that all staff and associates will abide by the law of mandatory reporting," and if they do not provide those assurances the state should erect appropriate signage. In September, Victoria passed the Children Legislation Amendment Act...

Under a long-term deal sealed by the Obama administration, a Chinese Communist company was set to control the second-busiest container port in the United States. In an unreported Trump administration victory, the Communists are out after a drawn-out national security review forced a unit of China-based COSCO Shipping Holdings Co. (Orient Overseas Container Line—OOCL) to sell the cherished container terminal business, which handles among the largest freight of imports into the U.S. It all started with a 40-year container terminal lease between the Port of Long Beach in southern California and Hong Kong. The Obama administration proudly signed the agreement...

John Kerry’s stepson rushed to play damage control at the State Department after his business partner Hunter Biden cut a deal with an oligarch-owned Ukrainian gas company in 2014, according to internal State Department correspondence obtained by the Washington Examiner. The correspondence adds to the questions about Biden's business activities, which have dogged the 2020 Democratic primary campaign of his father Joe. Hunter Biden's long history of drug and alcohol abuse, which contributed to his divorce and his dismissal from the Navy Reserve, has also attracted unwelcome publicity for the Democratic front-runner. An email released to the Washington Examiner shows...