World

U.S. praises Australia for standing up to “Chinese aggression”

Published

2 months ago

December 7, 2022

U.S. and Australian diplomats meet in Washington, agree to stand up to what leaders call “ongoing Chinese aggression”

Top U.S. and Australian diplomats have met in Washington and it seems relations between the two nations have never been stronger.

Following today’s talks, it’s been confirmed America will have a greater military presence in Australia. This is in response to what leaders are calling “ongoing Chinese aggression”.

Australia’s Defence Minister, Richard Marles, and Foreign Affairs Minister, Penny Wong, are in Washington. The pair are meeting with the U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, and Secretary of Defence, Lloyd Austin.

I joined @SecBlinken today in hosting @RichardMarlesMP and @SenatorWong for #AUSMIN2022. Our Alliance is prepared to meet any challenge, grounded in democratic values, and committed to strengthening the rules-based international order. https://t.co/vsyME7Aj6A

— Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) December 7, 2022

Blinken praised Australia for standing up to Beijing, while pledging to support the country thorough thick and thin.

“We’re increasingly weaving together our alliances in Europe and Asia, in the Atlantic and across the Pacific because the challenges and threats those alliances face are increasingly interconnected, and we’re more effective when we stand and work together,” Blinken said.

It’s the 32nd annual Australia – U.S. Ministerial meeting, also known as AUSMIN.

Leaders are looking to strengthen peace across the Taiwan Strait and address any attempts by China to intimidate other countries through economic coercion.

Defence Secretary Austin believes China is engaging in “dangerous actions throughout the Indo Pacific”.

Austin says Australia and America stand united and determined to be a force for stability.

Following agreements made at today’s meeting, the U.S. will increase the presence of its forces in Australia.

This includes rotations of bomber task forces, fighters, and future rotations of U.S. Navy and Army capability. It will also fill the so-called “capability gap” that will be created when Australia’s current Collins-class submarines are retired.

“We recognise where Australia is and where its capability begins to diminish and of course we will address that in the pathway we create,” Austin said.

Business

New York Stock Exchange in free fall

Published

3 days ago

January 27, 2023

ticker NEWS

Human error sends the New York Stock Exchange tumbling

We’ve all made mistakes at the office from time to time, but spare a thought for one worker who may have single-handedly brought down the New York Stock Exchange with just one tiny error.

The mistake of one employee has wiped billions of dollars off the charts for some of the globe’s largest companies.

The individual reportedly triggered wild swings and volatility on the New York Stock Exchange.

A number of big brand names were caught up in the catastrophe. It included McDonald’s, Walmart, and Mobil.

The NYSE eventually came clean. Officials admitted the“root cause” of the screw-up was a “manual error” from a staff member in the backup data centre.

The employee accidentally left the system running.

That’s why some stocks behaved as if trading had already started, with no opening prices being set, sending the market into a meltdown. #trending #featured

Sport

Bombshell pro-Russian video emerges from Australian Open

Published

3 days ago

January 27, 2023

ticker NEWS

A bombshell video has emerged of the father of tennis star Novak Djokovic, amplifying the Russian controversy the Australian Open

Djokovic’s father was seen posing for pictures with a group of Putin supporters after his son won against Russia’s Andrey Rublev, to qualify for his 10th semi-final.

Russian flags have been banned from the Australian Open, but that didn’t stop one fan.

A man was seen holding a Russian flag with Putin’s face on it and wearing a t-shirt with the pro-war ‘Z’ symbol on it.

Four spectators were questioned by police and evicted from Melbourne Park.

After losing her semi-final, Belarusian Viktoria Azarenka hit back at media when pressed on tennis’ relationship with Russia’s war on Ukraine.

She told reporters incidents like Novak’s father posing with Russian fans have nothing to do with players.

World

FBI Director discusses classified documents as U.S. lawmakers demand answers

Published

3 days ago

January 27, 2023

Veronica Dudo

Bipartisan outrage on Capitol Hill as politicians say the Biden administration is stonewalling their quest for answers

FBI Director Christopher Wray is speaking out for the first time after several batches of classified documents were discovered in U.S. President Joe Biden’s Wilmington home and Washington think tank office.

On Thursday, Wray urged lawmakers and officials to be “conscious of the rules” when dealing with classified documents.

The statements appear to be a veiled criticism of President Biden after news broke that some of the classified papers in the President’s possession date back 14-years ago to when Biden was a Delaware Senator raising questions if this is a pattern for the president to mishandle classified information.

Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, there is bipartisan outrage as lawmakers say the Biden administration is stonewalling them in their quest for answers.

Currently, both Biden and former President Donald Trump are facing special counsel investigations into their mishandling of classified documents—and just this week, former Vice President Mike Pence turned over classified documents to the DOJ.