Author: Dr Nina Khaze
Eleven Year 5 students and a teacher from Manly West public school in Balgowlah were injured shortly after 1pm, when wind gusts over 34 km/h blew hazardous materials into the air during an outdoor science experiment. Two students with the most serious burns to their body were taken to the Westmead Children’s Hospital’s Burns Unit, while less critically injured students were transferred to Royal North Shore Hospital and Northern Beaches Hospital. NSW Ambulance Service responds swiftly First-aid response was provided by multiple ambulances from NSW Ambulance Service and specialist medical helicopter teams. It is understood that the most critically injured…
Italy’s first female head of state continues to fascinate many observers of Italian politics. In her recent meeting with the Turkish President on the margins of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, Meloni said Italy wishes to develop stronger relations with Türkiye—especially in energy security and maritime affairs, as well as in counter-terrorism. Four prominent Italo-Australians, all experts in Italian politics, have been asked to comment on the prospects of Italy’s new government, how did Italo-Australians vote, and what does Meloni’s election mean for Italy’s ties to Washington and Brussels. What kind of ideology does Meloni promote? Dr Francesco Stolfi,…
On Tuesday, 15 November 2022, the world’s population has reached 8 billion. According to the World Population Prospects 2022, India is projected to soon overtake China as the most populous country, with each having a population of more than 1.4 billion people. What’s next for sustainable development, and what does it mean for Australia? More divisions ahead The United Nations Secretary General A. Guterres recently warned, in an editorial for USA Today newspaper, of more global divisions to come, remarking: “Unless we bridge the yawning chasm between the global haves and have-nots, we are setting ourselves up for an 8-billion-strong…
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus announced that more than 100 security experts from the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) will work together in a permanent Joint Standing Operation. They will cooperate with overseas partner agencies (including Interpol and U.S.-based Federal Bureau of Investigation) to find culprits behind two massive cyber-attacks on Optus and Medibank, which affected more than 15 million customers. Cybercriminals who stole private information from millions of Australians, are now selling stolen data on the Dark Web, as the two companies refused to give into their ransom demands. Furthermore, the Australian Government might bring in…
The first trial of 3D crossings has just commenced in NSW, in Manly to be precise, where three 3D crossings have been installed for a trial period of six months in a 30km/h zone adjacent to the beach. With one French study in 2021 questioning its value-for-money practicability amid limited effect on drivers in the evaluated settings, the question to be asked is: will 3D crossings become a new—and exuberantly expensive—norm, or is their implementation just another wasteful use of taxpayers’ money? Higher installation and maintenance costs The tri-dimensional pedestrian crossing was presented as an innovative solution to improve road…
There is no formal adoption mechanism in Egypt, the most populous Arab country with a population of 107.8 million in 2022, where fostering options are only reserved for Muslim families. The case of a 4-year-old boy fostered by a Coptic Christian family in Egypt then forcibly removed by the state has reopened a debate about fostering rights by non-Muslims and Coptic Christians in this predominantly Muslim country with at least 10 per cent of non-Muslim population. Egypt’s Coptic Christians are now driving the social change by calling for an overhaul of the country’s fostering rights and adoption laws in light…
Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is asking for an urgent international medical assistance after Islamist militants belonging to al-Shabaab (“The Youth”) terrorist organisation detonated twin car bombs on Saturday 29 October, killing over 100 and wounding more than 300 bystanders. Some of the victims included mothers with children in their arms. The main target of the latest terror strike was the Ministry of Education, but the second bomb detonated as medical personnel arrived to assist the victims. Five years ago, the same road junction was targeted in a terror strike which killed more than 500 people in the deadliest terror…
On 23 November 2022, it will be six months since Anthony Albanese was inaugurated Australia’s 31st Prime Minister—and 8th Labor Prime Minister (out of 18) since the Second World War. Past postwar Labor leaders included Queenslander Kevin Rudd, South Australian Julia Gillard, NSW-based Paul Keating, Victorian Bob Hawke, NSW-based Gough Whitlam, and NSW-based Ben Chifley. In his predecessors’ footsteps Albanese will walk, leap, and make new policy inroads, including towards Beijing and Taipei. But is it going to be a continuation of tit-for-tat diplomatic “wargames” (and Australia potentially becoming a target for Chinese nuclear torpedoes), or an era of renewed…