The world's coral reefs are going through the most intense bleaching event ever recorded, with 84% of them now affected, scientific authorities announced on Wednesday.

The current crisis, the fourth global bleaching event since 1998, is more intense than the 2014-17 episode that caused some two-thirds of global reefs to experience the harmful whitening.

Coral bleaching occurs when the colorful algae that live within corals and feed them begin to produce toxins as a result of warming waters, causing their hosts to expel them. This exposes the corals to a greatly increased risk of disease and starvation.

The Trump administration said on Tuesday that the 145 percent tariffs imposed on Chinese imports will eventually "come down substantially" while expressing optimism about future talks to reach a US-China trade deal, US media reported.

US says tariffs on China will drop ‘substantially’; expert warns Washington faces difficulties in achieving initial goals as bullying unsustainable
By Ma Jingjing

It's very hard to focus on Australian politics when the world keeps getting tipped off its axis like this.

But with voting now having commenced at pre-polling stations around Australia, let us not overlook the historic, all-Australian union that was consecrated on Tuesday morning.

While there is a range of Australian war poetry, much of the poetry associated with Anzac Day is not Australian.

The greenback has hit a three-year low while gold soars past $3,500 per ounce. Things aren’t looking good, experts say.

Trump, Tariffs and Trust: The dollar's slide "reflects Trump’s meddling in Fed policy via tariffs and eroding trust in the US financial system,” Paul Goncharoff, financial analyst and general director of Goncharoff LLC, tells Sputnik.

Further De-Dollarization? If the Fed gives in to Trump’s pressure, it would signal faltering financial health - shaking confidence in the dollar, accelerating de‑dollarization and triggering the sell‑off of US monetary assets, the analyst argues.

This week, newspapers around the world received reports and signed documents from South Africa. The reports said that, in 1975, Israel agreed to sell South Africa nuclear weapons. South Africa then released an arms agreement signed by current Israeli President Shimon Peres. This is the document “heard round the world.”

The Arms Circus, Israel Keeping The World In Turmoil

By Gordon Duff

26 May, 2010
Mycatbirdseat.com

Teals and Greens are under political attack from a new pro-fossil fuel, pro-Israel astroturfing group, adding to the onslaught by far-right lobbyists Advance Australia. Wendy Bacon and Yaakov Aharon with the story.

On February 12 this year, former prime minister Scott Morrison’s principal private secretary Yaron Finkelstein, and former Labor NSW Treasurer Eric Roozendaal, met in the plush 50 Bridge St offices in the heart of Sydney’s CBD. The powerbrokers were there to discuss election strategies of for astroturfing campaign group Better Australia 2025 Inc.

Washington has set tariffs of up to 3,521% on solar imports from Southeast Asia, according to information published by the US Department of Commerce on Monday. 

The hikes follow allegations that Chinese-owned manufacturers operating in the region had violated trade rules.

The tariffs target imports from Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam, countries that collectively supplied over $12.9 billion in solar equipment to the US last year, according to Bloomberg.

Known as antidumping and countervailing duties, the measures aim to counteract the impact of what the US Commerce Department deems to be unfair subsidies and pricing practices.

When a great man and leader of the Roman-Catholic Church – and beyond it – like Pope Francis dies, it may seem almost impious to speak or write about politics. But in his case, we know for certain that it simply means doing what he told us to do.

Pope Francis was a great man who committed one terrible failure in the end
The late Catholic leader was humble and always supported the abused and the downtrodden – except in one very sad case...

China has concentration camps now. Why do Westerners claim our sins are unique?

It is now in vogue to celebrate non-Western cultures and disparage Western ones. Some of this is a much-needed reckoning, but much of it fatally undermines the very things that created the greatest, most humane civilization in the world.

The War on the West Hardcover – April 26, 2022

by Douglas Murray (Author)

For the West, democracy is a form of government in which supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodic free elections, which are contested by more than one party. This, the West believes, helps voters to fulfill their personal and national aspirations, and the political parties, which represent voters based on their ideological and political beliefs, to enact policies to suit their vote banks.

US democracy: Two parties, one core ideology
By Otton Solis

2025-01-08

In a democratic system, voters of all persuasions find a party that identifies with their core convictions and ideology on the most relevant issues.

In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says all Australian government flags will fly at half-mast on Tuesday after the Vatican confirmed Pope Francis has died at the age of 88.

The Vatican announced Francis's death in a statement on Monday evening.

Klaus Schwab has stepped down as chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF), ending more than five decades at the helm of the organization he founded in 1971.

Known for its annual gathering of business and political leaders in the Swiss mountain resort of Davos, the WEF and its former leader became symbols of globalization.

The decision by Schwab, who turned 87 this year, to resign was announced by the WEF on Monday following an extraordinary board meeting a day earlier.

“Following my recent announcement, and as I enter my 88th year, I have decided to step down from the position of Chair and as a member of the Board of Trustees, with immediate effect,” Schwab told the board, according to a WEF news release.

The Easter ceasefire has come and gone, with Russia and Ukraine trading accusations over thousands of violations as fighting resumes across the front lines – yet another reminder of how difficult it is to bring this war to an end. Amid the renewed hostilities, Donald Trump’s long-promised peace plan is colliding with geopolitical realities.

Trump wants a deal. Putin wants victory. Ukraine will get what it deserves
With Europe arming Ukraine and US elites pushing escalation, peace may be the one thing Washington can’t allow

BY Sergey Poletaev

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4db5qiPzCM

Ukraine’s Blatant Power Play: 5 Shocking Demands That Could Drag Germany into War! | TN World

An explosive open letter from a top Ukrainian diplomat demands Germany’s next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, immediately arm Ukraine with Taurus missiles and billions in aid—risking direct confrontation with Moscow and dragging Berlin deeper into war.

YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT.

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.