Worldwide
Friday, 08 February 2019 00:02

UAE: signs of religious freedom?

An estimated 180,000 people attended mass with the Pope in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, close to the birthplace of Islam.  The crowds gathered to hear him just a day after he…
Thursday, 07 February 2019 23:59

Venezuela: backstory to crisis

Juan Guaidó and Nicolás Maduro both claim to be president. While resolving their standoff over leadership is critical, finding prosperous and stable paths forward requires taming criminal non-state groups controlling local territory and illicit industries across…
Thursday, 07 February 2019 23:53

Australia: wild week of floods and fires

Townsville, with 180,000 people, has been facing tropical cyclones, king tides and drenching summer rain. Over a metre of rain fell in seven days, leaving many residents without power; others were cut off by flooded roads.…
Thursday, 07 February 2019 23:50

Russian and US treaty breaches

In 1987 a treaty was agreed on by Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan. Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov has said that the US has been violating the treaty since 1999 by testing unmanned aerial combat vehicles…
Thursday, 07 February 2019 23:48

Egypt: 'Sinai is our Vietnam'

Servicemen in the Sinai peninsula are ill-equipped and under-trained. Since the insurgency began, Egypt's propaganda narrative has portrayed its fighters as religious, disciplined, ‘born to kill’ fighting machines. Men aged 18 to 30 must serve in…
Thursday, 07 February 2019 23:46

Brazil: UN calls for dam investigation

UN human rights experts have called for prompt, thorough and impartial investigations into the recent collapse of a dam in Brazil, the second such incident involving the same company in three years. Dozens have been killed…