Before the last election in 2022, the Labor opposition promised to establish an integrity commission that would have a broad jurisdiction and strong investigative powers including the capacity to hold public hearings when it was in the public interest to do so.

This had been widely supported in the community, including by an open letter sent to the then Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, in December 2018, signed by 34 judges (including myself). Three former chief justices of the High Court (Sir Anthony Mason, Sir Gerard Brennan and Murray Gleeson AC) had also expressed their support for commissions being entitled to hold public hearings.

In his first public statements since his arrest by France on Aug. 24 at Paris’ Le Bourget airport, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov blasted French authorities for detaining and charging him, but also admitted that Telegram is not perfect and that he’ll work to clean up instances of criminals abusing the platform.

He argued in a post to Telegram that it wildly departs from norms for a government to go after a CEO personally, as opposed to the “established practice” of bringing legal against the company.

BY TYLER DURDEN

“Using laws from the pre-smartphone era to charge a CEO with crimes committed by third parties on the platform he manages is a misguided approach,” the billionaire tech entrepreneur wrote.

On September 22 and 23, the United Nations member states will gather in New York City at the UN headquarters for the historic Summit of the Future with the intention to sign the Pact for the Future. This document is expected to radically accelerate the push towards the completion of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Agenda 2030.

The Summit of the Future is taking place during the 79th session of the annual UN General Assembly. The summit has been in the making since at least 2022 after repeated calls by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to shift financial resources to rapidly complete the Agenda 2030 goals set by the UN in 2015.

TLAV

War in Ukraine must end ‘this fall’ – Zelensky

Kiev has asked its Western helpers to redouble their pressure on Moscow

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has urged NATO countries to pressure Russia to agree to Kiev’s peace terms this fall. He made his statement during a meeting with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany. Regular gatherings at Ramstein are designed to coordinate military aid to Kiev. 

Zelensky urged Western countries to help arrange joint production of weapons on Ukrainian soil, including drones and missiles. 

“To achieve this, we need funding – we are ready to quickly produce everything that will help us bring this war to an end, namely, by putting decisive pressure on Russia for real peace,”Zelensky said, according to his website. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxJVmPObidE&list=TLPQMDcwOTIwMjRdi35KC8MsbA&index=2

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POLTAVA, Ukraine — The screams in Room 6 could be heard from the hallway.

Next week, Land Forces 2024 will take place in Naarm. “Land Forces 2024 International Land Defence Exposition” to give its full, rather innocuous title, is the largest land-based weapons expo held in the Southern Hemisphere and — as its website proudly announces — “the premier gateway to the land defence markets of Australia and the region, and a platform for interaction with major prime contractors from the United States and Europe.”

The Eastern Economic Forum began on Tuesday and [ran] through Friday. It [was] hosted by the Far Eastern Federal University in the Russian Pacific coast city of Vladivostok.

Sputnik is live as Russian President Vladimir Putin takes part in the Eastern Economic Forum in Russia’s Far Eastern Federal District.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold a number of international meetings on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF), including with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, and will also hold a meeting on the development of the Far Eastern Federal District’s infrastructure.

The main theme of the Eastern Economic Forum this year is "Far East 2030. Let's Join Forces, Creating Opportunities."

Follow Sputnik’s live feed to learn more!

Much of the angst being generated by Australia’s worst foreign policy decision since joining the American invasion of Vietnam may well be misplaced. It is unquestionable that the former prime minister and two former foreign ministers have been correct in their assessments of the decision by the Albanese Government to proceed with the AUKUS deal, as being nothing short of disastrous for Australian sovereignty and for our economy, but the question arises, will it ever happen?

US Republican candidate Donald Trump said on Thursday that he doesn’t know how to feel about Russian President Vladimir Putin stating a preference for his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris in the upcoming presidential election.

The Russian leader said earlier in the day at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok that Moscow would rather see Harris win the US presidential election in November. Putin told the audience that he admired the Democratic Party candidate’s “infectious laugh” and that he respected current President Joe Biden’s choice to endorse her as his successor. 

The resilience of the Russian economy in the face of harsh Western sanctions sent those cheering the rise of multipolarity into victory laps. And it has been a huge embarrassment to the West. But Russia’s burgeoning problem settling payments with China demonstrates that this resilience isn’t without setbacks.

Has the US finally succeeded in choking off Russia’s biggest trade lifeline?
With its threat of secondary sanctions being felt acutely by Chinese banks, Washington may be winning a single battle – but in an economic war being decisively lost

New PM Barnier vows to address 'anger and grievances' of French
French Prime Minister Michel Barnier on Thursday vowed to address the "anger and grievances" of the French at a handover ceremony at the Hôtel de Matignon. Barnier was named to the role after nearly two months of political turmoil following surprise snap elections that saw no party winning an outright majority. Read our blog to see how the day's events unfolded.

MORE THAN NINETEEN YEARS AGO (30 Apr 2005), WE PUBLISHED THE CARTOON ABOVE... SINCE THEN, ALTERNATIVE MEDIA SOURCES HAVE COME AND GONE (OFTEN CENSORED OR TAKEN TO COURT). MANY OF THE FIGUREHEADS ABOVE HAVE DIED OR MOVED ON... SOME NEWSREADERS HAVE BEEN VILIFIED FOR TELLING THE TRUTH... AS WE HAVE SUBSEQUENTLY EXPOSED, MUCH OF THE OFFICIAL NEWS IS MANAGED BY THE CIA, THE NSA AND OTHER INTEL AGENCIES ON BEHALF OF THE AMERICAN EMPIRE...

STRANGELY, NOWADAYS, FOX NEWS SEEMS TO BE CLOSER TO THE TRUTH THAN SAY A WAPO OR A NYT.... 

WE NEED ALT MEDIA:

On 16 August, social media giant Meta permanently banned The Cradle from Facebook and Instagram. The outlet’s accounts on those platforms, which had amassed over a hundred thousand followers and millions of views, were unilaterally purged without warning or a chance to appeal.

The banning of The Cradle from Facebook and Instagram shows a troubling alliance with Israeli-linked groups to silence voices critical of the occupation state, especially those media outlets covering its adversaries’ narratives.

BY Kit Klarenberg

Permabanned

The ongoing 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation is expected to elevate Sino-African engagement and cooperation to a higher level, as it is likely to suggest ways to overcome the challenges facing the world and outline the measures needed to consolidate the gains already made by the two sides.

The third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, held in July, resolved to comprehensively deepen reform and promote high-level opening-up, thereby creating new opportunities for Africa and the rest of the world to share the fruits of China's development.

    By Charles Onunaiju 

In the glorious age of the Kamala Ascendency, the TSA is no longer restraining its contempt for American travelers. After squeezing millions of butts and boobs and never catching a terrorist, TSA decided to have fun by taunting its victims. 

After a traveler asked online, “Why does TSA need social media anyways?” TSA’s Instagram account taunted: “Idk Kyle, why do your friends keep bringing stuff they shouldn’t in their carry-on?” Almost 40,000 people liked that post (slightly fewer than the total number of TSA employees). 

BY James Bovard