Sunny Peter

Even as U.S. and allies push forward with their plans to enter the Syrian civil conflict on the side the rebels, the Syrian People’s Assembly has reached out to the U.S. Congress ahead of the crucial vote approving President Obama to strike government forces in Syria. Warning that, “irresponsible, reckless action by the U.S. will kill innocent civilians; the letter implores the U.S. to "communicate with us [Syria] through civilised dialogue rather than the language of fire and blood."

In what could turn out to be a major embarrassment for the United States and its allies, reminiscent of similar action in Iraq, the world is still to see concrete evidence of President Assad government in Syria ordering use of chemical weapons. Although the Obama administration and its allies continue to insist they have the intelligence, the German media reports that Assad has actually refused permission to his troops to use chemical weapons on several occasions.

With victory in his pocket and claiming a mandate to act, Prime Minister-elect Tony Abbott has vowed to immediately scrap the hated tax on carbon polluters, popularly called Carbon Tax. He is reported to have instructed his team on Sunday to begin drafting legislation to abolish the carbon-pricing scheme. Meanwhile, businesses are warning that the economy will face a multi-billion-dollar drag, if the opposition Labor and the Greens succeed in thwarting Abbott's plans.

A political solution to the Syrian civil war seemed closer, as the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, said Tuesday that two-and-half years of conflict in Syria have produced only “embarrassing paralysis” in the Security Council and that he was considering proposals to the 15-member body in the search for a political solution.

New Zealand can expect to have a closer relationship with Australia following the election of a new government and prime minister, said Australian Finance Minister-elect Joe Hockey.

Lives of thousands of children are at risk in Syria, warns Australian aid agency Save the Children saying a President of U.N. Security Council, Australia has “a real opportunity” to help protect these children and ensure they have access to the humanitarian aid they need.

On Thursday, Sept 12, Australian will ask each other “Are you OK?” It is part of an initiative to create a world where all people are connected and protected from suicide. The Australian Social Inclusion Board is encouraging the community to get involved in “R U OK? Day,” on Sept 12 by asking the question to friends, family members and colleagues.

The number of Indian and Chinese immigration to Australia for permanent settlement has seen a surge in the past 1 year. Meanwhile, the number of migrants from the UK and New Zealand has dropped. This is according to immigration data recently released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Meanwhile, the Immigration Department said overseas migration to Australia for 2012-2013 was 237,000 up from 208,000 last year.

If comments are anything to go by, it is evident that the new Liberal National Coalition Tony Abbott government in Australia will not be too upbeat about punishing the Syrian government, like his predecessor Kevin Rudd was.

Calling on voters to make sure their vote on Saturday’s federal election counts, the Australian Election Commission issued a statement on Thursday, asking voters to ensure they fill in their ballot papers correctly. In the statement the commission outlined it effort to ensure success of the federal elections.

Pro-refugee organisations in Australia, have called upon voters to cast their vote for the rights of refugees and West Papuans and join in a creative act of resistance, after voting, on election-day, Sept 7.

U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan, early Friday, killed at least 6 people. Although, the identity of those killed was not immediately known, reports quoted a security official saying they are all Al-Qaeda-linked Haqqani militants.

With a day to go before elections, on Thursday, the battle seemed to get bitter. What happens when the media mogul brushes a business tycoon the wrong way; sparks fly. Flamboyant Australian billionaire Clive Palmer, enraged by an article in a local national newspaper, that questioned his credibility and credentials, not only wowed to take the newspaper owner Rupert Murdoch to court, but also called Murdoch’s estranged wife Wendi Deng, a Chinese spy.

Animal rights activists in Australia have raised the pitch against shocking live exports, calling upon voters to consider cruelty to live export animals while voting and demanding candidates make their positions on the issue clear.

Opposition Liberal National did a turnaround Thursday, when it replaced its policy on enhancing online safety for children which provided for mandatory implementation of “opt-out” internet filters, by default for all Australians. The turnaround came in less than 5 hours after the earlier policy document was released. The redraft followed a major uproar, particularly on social media, with Malcolm Turnbull facing much of the ire.

They thought it was phony, but it turned out to be scary. Radiological analysis of a mummy, found by a boy in his grandmother's attic in Germany, has turned out to be real. Examiners saying it contain real human bones. The revelation has got police interested, and the boy’s father finds the situation “uncomfortable.” The only person who has all the answers - the boy’s grandfather - will not respond for he died 12 years ago.

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) on Wednesday said, it will not oppose the proposed acquisition of Gambro AB by Baxter International Inc. This decision of the Commission follows an undertaking submitted by Baxter that it will sell part of its Renal Replacement Therapy business.

A hypersonic scramjet is all set to be launched from a site above the Arctic Circle this September. The project, led by University of Queensland is supported by Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) and international research team of 13 partners and sponsors.

Offering enhanced security, online payment service portal, PayPal, announced, on Wednesday, the launch of its expanded Seller Protection policy for merchants in Asia Pacific. The policy, which will become operational on Oct 11, 2013, helps protect merchants from fraudulent online transaction and cases where items are not received by buyers.

Kim Dotcom seems to have a few more surprises up his sleeves. After his tweet about plans to launch a political party in New Zealand - a leak which he attributed to “whistleblower”- picked up storm, it is now known that he quit as director of Mega, the cloud hosting service that he launched with much fanfare in Jan 2013, after his previous file sharing venture Megaupload was shut down in a U.S. driven operation, following allegations of mass copyright infringement and money laundering.

Activists on the Freedom Flotilla, set for an unauthorised landfall on the Indonesian territory of West Papua, arrived at Thursday Island in the Torres Strait on Tuesday. As they plan the last leg of their protest journey, organisers said, international support for the movement for West Papua self-determination was growing.

Australian packaging major, Amcor Ltd., is strengthening its position in the growing Indian packaging sector to achieve organic and inorganic growth. Meanwhile, reports say, the company plans to split its divisions - retaining its plastics divisions and establishing a new company for its other units.

Australia’s Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) found a $266 a week overall difference between what men and women in full-time work earn. Calculations show that takes 64 extra days of work for the average woman to equal what a man earns in a year. In its latest workplace survey figures, WGEA shows that, the gap between what men and women earn is widening in the country, increasing from 15% in 2004 to 17.5% over the last year.

With millions of dollars worth of fruits and vegetables going to waste each year, due to inadequate storage infrastructure, India has sought expertise from New Zealand for the development of cold storage facilities in the country.

Slow growth is expected to continue in the near term as the economy adjusts to lower levels of mining investments, says Glenn Stevens, Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), in his statement on monetary policy decision issued on Tuesday.

A 53-year-old German national will appear in Stirling Gardens Magistrate Court on Wednesday on charges of attempting to import five kilograms of methamphetamine into Perth. The Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (ACBPS) said in a press release on Tuesday.

Controversial Internet entrepreneur, founder of Megaupload, Kim Dotcom, has announced plans to launch a new political party in New Zealand. Tweeting that it was in early stages of formation, he said the new party will contest elections next year in New Zealand.

In news that would come as a major relief for Lockheed Martin Corp., the U.S. based manufacturer of fighter aircrafts, Australia’s opposition coalition seems inclined toward the government’s defence procurement plan to buy dozens of new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jets. However, another report says, that the Opposition’s commitment is not absolute.

With elections around the corner, Australian Immigration Minister Tony Burke claimed a major policy success in bringing down, for the first time, the number of asylum seekers. Burke claimed that, after the implementation of the “PNG solution,” there was a visible decline in the number of asylum seekers arriving on Christmas Island within a month.