POLITICS & POLICY

The Gaza war symbolically broke the indifference of Hollywood stereotypes and many creative icons took a stand. The civilian casualties in Gaza thus helped in shedding the inhibitions of many Hollywood figures in coming out in the open though many beat a hasty retreat, reported the Guardian.

The owner of the white Volvo truck that is said to have carried the BUK missile that reportedly shot down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 has provided new evidence in the investigation. According to the latest report, the evidence provided by this man indicates that pro-Russian rebels are involved in the missile strike.

The heat of poll campaign in New Zealand is seeing blurring political lines and increased use of social media by candidates in carrying their sensitive political messages to the public citing different issues and concerns, reported NZ Herald.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar is a little lower following some USD strength last night.

Two Canadians, who have been living as expatriates in China for 30 years, are being investigated after having been accused of stealing state secrets related to the national defence research and the Chinese military.

A Canadian couple who owns and runs a café in China have been detained in that country for alleged espionage.

Australia's immigration department intentionally harms vulnerable asylum seekers. In a report by the Guardian, the chief psychiatrist taking care of the detainees' mental health has revealed that asylum seekers in detention centres were "suffering."

Australia Prime Minister Tony Abbott has strengthened the country's terror laws and rejected reforms to the Racial Discrimination Act. Mr Abbott has required all telecommunications providers to retain customer data as federal law tightens to crack down on those who encouraged or incited terrorism.

No matter it is ceasefire or war time, the British government has decided to take a call on reviewing arms sales to Israel. The Downing Street has ordered a review of all the export licences in the aftermath of the Gaza assault that killed 1,700 Palestinians. An official spokesman of the PM’s office confirmed that the government is getting ready to review all the export licences to Israel

A U.S. general has reportedly been killed after an Afghan gunman opened fire at a Kabul training facility on Tuesday, August 5.

Israel announced the withdrawal of its military troops from Gaza as both Hamas and the Jewish nation agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire brokered by Egypt.

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), operator of stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant, will be unable to comply with a deadline of clearing out radioactive water around the facility.

The U.S. government sent undercover agents to incite a political insurgency in Cuba.

In a strong move from the Ukraine army, 311 entered Russia while fighting heavily with the separatists.

The Labour Party in New Zealand is all set to woo the electorate with a $17 million employment package for the youth. According to a report by New Zealand Heraldl this is a major political initiative targeting the young voters. The Internet Party of Kim Dotcom is also in the fray with a heavy appeal among the youth.

I want to earn a living but this is definitely not what I came here for. These were probably the thoughts of two window cleaners who dangled while working on the 48th floor of a building in Vienna, Austria.

The acquisition of a big chunk of conservation land by a Chinese company in New Zealand has set off a political storm, reports the New Zealand Herald. Clearly the Opposition parties are angry and targeting Prime Minister John Key for the Lochinver Station farm deal.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: Retail spending finished Q2 off softly, reflecting the Budget-related fall in consumer confidence and a warmer-than-usual start to winter. The AUD bounces off higher at the open at .9332 against the USD.

The frustration among the UK businesses over hasty economic sanctions on Russia is coming out in the open, reported The Telegraph. In an outburst against the EU sanctions, UK’s most influential businessmen Lord Bamford hit out at the European Union for what he called ill-conceived sanctions that are hitting the British jobs.

Amidst allegations of witch hunting the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) made an effort to come clean over the charges that it has been targeting charities with political audits, reported the Globe and Mail.

The new budget of Australia Prime Minister Tony Abbott has led two-thirds of Australians to believe they were "worse off" in the coming year. According to the latest ME Bank nation survey of financial comfort levels, Australians found the budget the "biggest blow" to households' expectations on record.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key rejected claims that the government has become "too soft" on Israel amid calls for the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador. Violence continues to erupt in Gaza as another school run by the United Nations has been hit.

The United Nations called it a “criminal act” as Israel attacked a school in southern Gaza.

The Ukrainian has reportedly recaptured 75 per cent of the Donetsk territory so far.

Canada’s open slamming of China for the NRC cyber attack has snowballed into open spat between the two sides. China in its latest rejoinder charged Canada of hurling baseless allegations on it, reports Globe and Mail. In a statement China's foreign ministry rebuked Canada for making “irresponsible accusations that lacked credible evidence” in the matter of Chinese hackers having attacked the National Research Council’s (NRC) vital computer networks.

Israel tapped U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s phone while he was negotiating for a ceasefire in the Middle-East.

Over 381 people have died after a fatally strong magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck in south-west China at 08:30:13.50 UTC on Sunday.

The Malaysian diplomat accused of sexual assault has not yet returned to New Zealand to face charges despite the Malaysian authorities' waiver of immunity. New Zealand Prime Minister Murray McCully said Muhammad Rizalman bin Ismail will return "sometime soon."

The Dutch and Australian forensic experts have found human remains at the site of the flight MH17 crash in eastern Ukraine. The discovery came on the first day of their search at the site which is some 35 sq km inside the conflict zone, reported BBC.