Jan
12
2017
The possibility that a taskforce on Australia’s informal economy will recommend the withdrawal of the 100 Australian dollar bill is having unforeseen consequences for Australian travellers in India, where the notes are being refused by merchants and money changers.
Dec
3
2016
A mosquito bit Emma Shaw on her shoulder in the middle of March this year. From that moment her life plunged into months of misery and pain. Her kids had to miss school for weeks on end because she couldn’t drive them into town. Once supremely fit and a regular 100-lap swimmer, suddenly Emma couldn’t …read more
Nov
3
2016
A landmark legal case in Australia has highlighted how Australians have become among the world’s most extravagant gamblers, last year losing a total of nearly $23 billion Australian dollars ($17.65 billion) on gambling and A$11.6 billion on gaming machines (excluding those in casinos), according to Australian government statistics.
Oct
21
2016
The Zika virus is far more prevalent in Southeast Asia than many nations are willing to admit, according to a leading Australian scientist. Scott O’Neill, dean of science at Monash University in Melbourne, said Asian nations might be in denial regarding concerns that Zika could threaten their tourism revenue.
Oct
12
2016
A multi-pronged campaign to control feral cat numbers is underway in Australia, with the commercial rollout of a new poison bait in coming months, the development of more sophisticated trapping devices, and the increasing use of dogs to both guard vulnerable native animal populations and to hunt down the felines.
Jun
30
2016
More than a million migrants arrived in Europe last year: a surge of humanity that made its way over land and water. From the war zones of the Middle East and the poverty of parts of Africa and Asia, they streamed towards a dream of peace and wealth.
Jun
10
2016
On Thursday, June 23, Britons will vote to determine their nation’s future: either to remain a part of the 28-nation grouping of the European Union, with its economic heft and its tangle of rules and regulations, or to forge a different destiny as a country apart.
Jun
22
2015
Democracy, with all its enormous benefits and unsettling drawbacks, was born in Greece. The least worst of government systems, as Winston Churchill categorised it, democracy has been the foundation of stable, peaceful, independent and economically-thriving nations.
Mar
8
2015
A few hours before bullets ripped through his body and stilled forever a brave voice, the Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was, yet again, tempting fate. Like few others in Russia, Nemtsov was willing to publicly excoriate the policies of Russia’s president Vladimir Putin, to call into question Putin’s designs and more importantly, his veracity. …read more
Feb
20
2015
With the jailing of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim last week, Malaysia appears to have again resorted to dubious law to eliminate political challenges. This unfortunate practice has been seen in many Asian nations: Thailand, Myanmar and Singapore are in the unsavoury line-up. All too often, the courts are used to shape the course of politics. Opponents …read more