Australia faces a battle to maintain living standards that have become the envy of workers all over the world, a think tank has warned.

Then comes Sir Walter Scott with his enchantments... Sets the world in love with dreams and phantoms; with decayed and swinish forms of religion; with decayed and degraded system of government; with the silliness and emptiness, sham grandeurs, sham gauds, and sham chivalries of a brainless and worthless long-vanished society. He did measureless harm; more real and lasting harm, perhaps than any other individual that ever wrote.

With the gaggle of GOP 2016 presidential contenders growing, the Republican wannabes have largely refrained from assailing one another and have instead focused their wrath on Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. But now Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has launched one of the first R-on-R attacks, and he has done so regarding an issue of primal importance to the Republican voting base: guns.

Bjørn Lomborg is a well-known personality in the environmental debate. He is the author of several books which, due to their copious lists of notes and references, appear very technical and scientific and therefore trustworthy. Unfortunately, those reading his books or listening to his lectures or seeing his film are rarely aware that the facts and statements presented by Lomborg are often not reliable.

Iran will take the extraordinary step of sharing with Australia secret intelligence gathered by its operatives fighting Islamic State extremists in Iraq. 

Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop revealed the co-operation after a meeting with Iran's President Hassan Rouhani, during which she said he described Islamic State as the "most significant global threat at present".

Intelligence sharing with Iran - which would have been unthinkable during the years the country was branded part of the "axis of evil" - has also become more likely as optimism grows that Iran, the US and world powers will strike a grand bargain to ensure the Islamic Republic will not build a nuclear weapon.

From Victoria Rollison

The legend of Icarus is a weirdo. 

Not mentioned here are Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Sudan and a lot of "North" Africa...

Tony Abbott has admitted at the highest international level that Australia's policies towards China are driven by two emotions: "fear and greed".

The Prime Minister's candid appraisal of Australia's primordial motivations, given with a grin in private conversation with Germany's Angela Merkel last November, is a long way from the prolix platitudes of official documents.

And it sits in awkward contrast with Mr Abbott's personal assertions of friendship, such as the one that he made to his Chinese counterpart the following day.