US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he had authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela.

The remarks represented a new escalation in the political conflict between the US and Venezuela, as the US has continued to strike boats on international waters, which have originated from the South American nation.

Trump accused the government of Venezuela of trafficking drugs to the US by sea.

Climate change and human activity are causing the health of the world’s oceans to decline at an alarming rate, the UN has warned.

Overfishing, pollution, habitat destruction, and climate change are decimating marine species at frightening speeds, disrupting delicate food webs that have evolved over hundreds of millions of years.

Julian Cribb

The US War Department stands ready to do its part and “impose costs” on Russia over the Ukraine conflict, War Secretary Pete Hegseth has said.

Speaking at Ramstein military base on Wednesday ahead of a meeting of countries coordinating military support for Ukraine, he lauded NATO members’ recent militarization push.

“If this war does not end, if there is no path to peace in the short term, then the United States, along with our allies, will take the steps necessary to impose costs on Russia,” Hegseth said.

“If we must take this step, the US War Department stands ready to do our part in ways that only the United States can do,” he added.

The unexpected visit of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa — formerly known as the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham*, a group once fighting against Russian forces — to Moscow has raised eyebrows across diplomatic circles. Many observers now question why the Kremlin chose to host a figure who only recently appeared on international terrorist lists and fought against Russian-backed troops in Syria.

LYUBA LULKO
From Warlord to President: Why Russia Welcomed Syria’s Ahmed al-Sharaa

"Big John" Fisher, a British social media star known for his viral fast food reviews, has been detained in Australia over a visa issue.

Famous for his love of Chinese takeaway and signature catchphrase "bosh", Fisher arrived in Western Australia on Tuesday ahead of a tour of the country.

However, in social media posts, he said he would have to cancel his scheduled appearances in Perth and Sydney as he would be deported to London.

Fisher said he was questioned by border officials for four hours, and though his visa was "legit", Australian authorities "weren't happy" that he was going to be working during his visit. It is understood that Fisher entered Australia on an incorrect visa.

Thanks to Opposition leader Sussan Ley, the government’s disgraceful attempt to squeeze the life out of the Freedom of Information Act is as dead as a herring.

In an elegant note in The Canberra Times of 13 October, Ley fillets the government’s attempt to narrow the scope of the FoI Act and says “The Opposition will stand firmly against these changes.” Thus, the Coalition and cross-benchers in the Senate are primed to flush the government’s proposals away.

Paddy Gourley

Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere hit a record high in 2024, according to a new report from the UN weather agency.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said heat trapped by such greenhouse gases was "turbo-charging" the Earth's climate and causing more extreme weather.

In its latest bulletin on greenhouse gases, the WMO said CO2 growth rates have tripled since the 1960s, and emissions from human activities and more wildfires helped fan a "vicious climate cycle."

The Geneva-based agency said growth rates of CO2 have accelerated from an annual average increase of 0.8 ppm (parts-per-million) per year to 2.4 ppm per year in the decade from 2011 to 2020. 

Western nations should prepare to continue bankrolling Ukraine’s war effort against Russia for at least three more years, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski has said during a visit to London.

Sikorski, a longtime advocate of hardline policies toward Moscow, made the remarks on Tuesday while discussing the so-called “drone wall” – a proposed European network of air defense and surveillance systems to counter alleged Russian threats. Speaking to reporters, he claimed that sustained Western aid could put pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“The Ukrainians are planning this war for three years, which is prudent,” Sikorski said. “And we must convince Putin that we are ready to stay the course for at least those three years.”

US President Donald Trump has suggested that it is unlikely he will end up in heaven despite his efforts to mediate peace between Israel and Hamas.

During Trump’s flight aboard Air Force One to Israel on Sunday, Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked the president whether ending the war in Gaza would help him get into heaven.

“I’m being a little cute,” Trump said, smiling and chuckling. “I don’t think there’s anything going to get me in heaven. I think I’m not maybe heaven-bound. I may be in heaven right now as we fly on Air Force One. I’m not sure I’m going to be able to make heaven, but I’ve made life a lot better for a lot of people,” he added.

Today, if we are to believe most polls, "Frexit" is supported neither by the majority of the population nor by the major parties. Is this because, ultimately, things are not so bad and there is therefore no need to try to improve the situation, or, as some claim, it would be apocalyptic if we did? On this fundamental question, there are numerous proposals, actions, and initiatives, as well as an abundant literature, all perfectly enlightening.

Faut-il quitter l’Union européenne pour recouvrer notre souveraineté ?

Should we (France) leave the European Union to regain our sovereignty?

BY Thomas ERPÉ

Among other things, this particular moment in history will be remembered – whether in whole books, mere chapters, or (if we are lucky) forgotten footnotes – as the Great European Drone Scare. For weeks now, the populations of NATO-EU Europe have been subjected to a barrage of vague but scary reports about drone sightings. The drones have appeared – seemingly – over various places and installations, prominently including airports in Denmark and Germany.

The EU isn’t at war with Russia – it’s at war with the minds of its own citizens
European leaders are trying to gaslight their populations into believing that it’s Moscow that wants a fight, not them

BY Tarik Cyril Amar

New research from investment bank Goldman Sachs affirms, as progressive advocates and economists warned, that US consumers are bearing the brunt of President Donald Trump’s trade wars.

As reported by Bloomberg on Monday, economists at Goldman released an analysis this week estimating that US consumers are shouldering up to 55% of the costs stemming from Trump’s tariffs, even though the president has repeatedly made false claims that the tariffs on imports exclusively tax foreigners.

US Consumers Paying the Most for Tariffs: Wall Street Giant’s Report Exposes Trump Lies
The report from investment bank Goldman Sachs comes as President Donald Trump is piling up even more tariffs on imported goods.

Vice President JD Vance sparked alarm on Sunday when he said that President Donald Trump was considering invoking the Insurrection Act under the pretenses of combating violent crime in US cities.

During an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” host Kristen Welker asked Vance if Trump was “seriously considering” invoking the Insurrection Act, which would allow him to use the US military to carry out law enforcement operations.

‘A Pretext to Take Over American Cities’: JD Vance Sparks Alarm With Comments on Insurrection Act
“The guardrails are gone,” warned Democratic political strategist David Axelrod.

Colonel Jacques Baud criticizes Ukraine’s battlefield and political strategy, arguing that Kyiv continues to sacrifice troops through rigid positional warfare rather than adapting to Russian maneuver tactics. He explains that Russia focuses on destroying enemy forces, not capturing territory, often withdrawing strategically to lure Ukrainian troops into artillery traps — a pattern consistent since late 2022.

Baud claims Zelensky misleads the public about Ukraine’s weapons supply to maintain Western support, portraying Russia as both weak and threatening. He argues that Western nations habitually fight wars without clear objectives — citing failures in Mali, Niger, Afghanistan, and Iraq — whereas Russia fights with defined goals and exit strategies.

Yesterday the Government made some key changes to its superannuation tax scheme, after struggling to get the plan through the Senate. Paul Keating says the changes restore confidence in the retirement savings system.

Paul Keating

In 2007, in a cynical measure to tie up and buy the “grey” vote before the 2007 election, John Howard and Peter Costello abolished the Keating Government’s “Reasonable Benefit Limits” in superannuation, which placed an upper limit to the tax benefits that could be obtained via the superannuation system.