POLITICS & POLICY

Australian Politics: Former Foreign Minister Bob Carr Quits Politics to ‘Reinvent’ Himself in Academics

Confirming weeks of speculation, and planning to "reinvent" himself as an expert on Asia, former Foreign Minister Bob Carr said he will be resigning from this Senate post for a life in academics. He will be submitting his resignation on Thursday. Post-retirement, Mr Carr will take up two part-time academic positions. He will join the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre as a professorial fellow and also join the University of New South Wales as an adjunct professor.
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Eureka! Leaves of Eucalyptus Trees Will Aid Miners Pot of Gold

It may be difficult to believe, but a team of Australian researchers from CSIRO has found that in dry conditions, eucalyptus trees, as they search for moisture, can actually point to miners the location of massive gold deposits just by looking at their leaves.

Why China’s Credit Growth is the World’s Largest Ponzi Scheme

In the US on Friday, the S&P500 surged to a new record high, presumably because there's not a lot to worry about. The Fed looks like maintaining its US$85 billion per month liquidity pump and the US government is without debt limit for a few more months at least. It's party time.

Why the Government ‘Shutdown’ Critics Have It All Wrong

And how do you like that? Mr Market was right all along. He knew the fix was in. This is an economy - and a society - that depends on easy credit. No way were the politicians going to stop the credit from flowing. When they threatened to cut it off, Mr Market ignored them. Stock prices kept going up. Turned out, he was right again.

Geneva II Talks on Syria: President Assad Ouster Remains Sticking Point

With a key group in Syria's main opposition threatening to boycott next month's talks in Geneva, Arab and Western foreign ministers are expected to meet Syrian opposition members in London in a bid to convince them to participate in the peace talks. With both sides narrowing their perspectives, last month's hope for peace in Syria is receding; Geneva II is expected to enter rough weather.

Australian Capital Territory Passes Same-Sex Marriage Bill Into Law

The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) has put an end to the debate as the same-sex marriage bill passes into law. The bill will allow gay couples to marry in the country. Lawmakers supporting the bill were confident it will pass with the help of the Australian province's ruling party. The same-sex marriage was made into law despite the opposing lawmakers vowing to vote against the bill. The same-sex marriage bill has passed 9 votes to 8.

Detention of Greenpeace Ship: Russia, Netherlands in Diplomatic Standoff

Russia and Netherlands seem set on a diplomatic collision course on the recent detention of a ship used by Greenpeace International and its 30 crew members of various nationalities who attempted to stage a protest against the offshore ice-resistant fixed platform ‘Prirazlomnaya’ in the Barents Sea. Netherlands has approached the United Nations-backed International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, requesting provisional measures - for the Greenpeace International ship, ‘”Arctic Sunrise” which fi...

NSW Fire: Aggressive Firefighting Yielding ‘Positive Result”

Aggressive firefighting strategy seems to be yielding “positive results” in the raging inferno that have enveloped Blue Mountains of New South Wales (NSW). The NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) had started backburning in an effort to contain the spread of the fire front.

India, Russia Agree to Sort Issues on 2 Units at Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant

India and Russia, on Monday, reaffirmed their strong bilateral relations and pledged to “resolve all outstanding issues” related to the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu. Russia has been opposing the liability clauses which India is seeking to apply to nuclear power plants under its new Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act.

Gas Distributors To Benefit From China Reduced Coal Usage

China's desire to curb the country's production of air pollution and clean the environment will be beneficial to many of its gas distributors. China Gas Holdings Ltd, the country's biggest distributor by a number of networks, said China's reduced coal consumption plan will help boost earnings by 2020 to about five-fold over the current figures.

The US Government’s Great Ponzi Scheme

Hyman Minsky was an economist who pioneered analysis of debt bubbles. Charles Ponzi was an Italian businessman turned con-artist in the US. Barack Obama is a 'community organiser', also turned con artist in the US. The US debt ceiling debacle is the story of what you get when all three go into the opium business together...

Will China’s Yuan Currency Be Ready for the Big Time?

If you thought Fortescue Metals Twiggy Forrest's bank account could fill up fast, check out the People's Bank of China. Data revealed this week that China's foreign exchange reserves increased $US160 billion to hit US$3.7 trillion. That's some serious money.

UN Security Council Gets Five New Members for Two-Year Term

Chad, Chile, Lithuania, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia have been elected to serve on the United Nations Security Council for a two year term beginning Jan 1, 2014. The UN General Assembly, elected the five countries as as non-permanent members to the Security Council on Thursday. These countries will replace Azerbaijan, Guatemala, Morocco, Pakistan and Togo, whose terms will conclude by the end of the year.

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