How much of a threat are unexploded bombs? Munich WW2 bomb blows up near station, wounding four. Shadow Foreign Minister Penny Wong accuses Peter Dutton of 'amping up' threat of war with China. Shadow Foreign Minister Penny Wong is set to accuse Defence Minister Peter Dutton of deliberately needling China's government and "amping up" the threat of war in a bid to improve the Coalition's chances of winning the next election.
Key points: Senator Wong will say in a speech that the Coalition is feeding into China's narrative that war in Taiwan is inevitable She will emphasise the threat conflict between the US and China would pose to the regionShe will say a Labor government would give new focus and priority to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Earlier this month Mr Dutton said it was "inconceivable" that Australia would not back the United States if there was a war over Taiwan, drawing a furious response from Chinese state media.
US President Joe Biden has created confusion about that policy several times since taking office, for example telling CNN last month the US had a "commitment" to defend Taiwan if the self-ruled island was attacked by the Chinese military. Loading. A year of bloodshed, famine and civilian torture. Why is Ethiopia on the brink of all-out civil war? A vicious year of civil war in Ethiopia's northern region of Tigray has left thousands of people dead, millions displaced and at least 400,000 in "catastrophic famine conditions".
Fighting broke out between Ethiopia's national government and forces loyal to the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) in November 2020, and both sides have been accused of civilian massacres, gang rapes, torture, and making arrests on the basis of ethnicity. The crisis is so severe that every member of the Australian Tigrayan community has lost at least one family member, according to the Australian Tigray Alliance.
One Australian Tigrayan has lost 24 loved ones. Now a year of bloodshed has sparked fear that one of Africa's most powerful and populous countries could descend into an all-out civil war, with Western countries telling its civilians to leave while they can. Here's what you need to know and why experts say international action is urgently needed. US confirms China's hypersonic missile test with concern, says it's 'close to a Sputnik moment' The top US military officer, General Mark Milley, has provided the first official US confirmation of a Chinese hypersonic weapons test that military experts say appears to show Beijing's pursuit of an Earth-orbiting system designed to evade American nuclear missile defences.
Hypersonics move at speeds of more than five times the speed of sound, or about 6,200 kphSources say the test involved a weapon that first orbited the earth, something called 'fractional orbital bombardment'China has denied the claims, saying what it tested was a space vehicle The Pentagon has been at pains to avoid direct confirmation of the Chinese test this summer, first reported by the Financial Times, even as President Joe Biden and other officials have expressed general concerns about Chinese hypersonic weapons development.
America's war in Afghanistan is over, but the country's true longest war with North Korea continues. The war in Afghanistan is over but America's true longest war continues.
This enemy is more powerful than the Taliban. This is not some ethnic-religious insurgency but a nuclear-armed nation that has withstood the might of the American army and is still standing. Former Nazi camp secretary, 96, caught hours after fleeing trial. A former secretary for the Schutzstaffel (SS) commander of the Stutthof concentration camp skipped the planned start Thursday of her trial in Germany on more than 11,000 counts of accessory to murder, officials said.
She was picked up several hours later after the court issued an arrest warrant. The 96-year-old woman left her home near Hamburg in a taxi on Thursday morning, a few hours before proceedings were due to start at the state court in Itzehoe, court spokesperson Frederike Milhoffer said. Aukus: France pulls out of UK defence talks amid row. Here's why the news about Australia getting nuclear submarines with the help of the US and UK is a big deal. Australia's nuclear submarine deal hints at a showdown to come with China — but is the West ready for it? As Australia crosses a nuclear threshold and the battle lines are being drawn for a potential showdown with China, here is the question: are we ready for it?
China has been closing the gap on American military power so much so that US Admiral Phillip Davidson warned that China would "forcibly change the status quo". China has invested in anti-ship cruise and ballistic missiles to counter US naval power. It is a strategy known as anti-access/area denial (A2/AD). For Beijing, it is the cornerstone of its stated aim to fight and win a regional war. US admits deadly Kabul blast killing 10 civilians including 7 children 'was a tragic mistake'
A US drone strike in Kabul last month killed as many 10 civilians, including seven children, a senior US general says.
A drone strike in Kabul last month killed 10 civilians, the US military saysThe US previously said the drone targeted IS-K suicide bombers General Frank McKenzie told reporters the blast "was a mistake" Family accounts suggest Zemerai Ahmadi's car was struck by a Hellfire missile just as he pulled into the driveway. "It was a mistake and I offer my sincere apology," US General Frank McKenzie, the head of US Central Command, told reporters. He added that he believed it unlikely the vehicle hit or those who died were Islamic State militants or posed a direct threat to US forces at Kabul's airport. Australia's embrace of nuclear submarine technology cements role as regional foil against China. It's not called the nuclear option for nothing.
One single, momentous decision reconfigures Australia's relationship between its oldest ally, its key security partner and its biggest customer. It will unnerve some of Australia's neighbours and require deft diplomacy. It will likely corner Labor into acceptance, no matter how begrudging, because of a shared commitment to the US alliance. China condemns AUKUS pact as Tony Abbott calls China a 'common danger' and Kevin Rudd urges caution. Beijing has slammed the new US alliance with Australia and Britain, under which Canberra will acquire nuclear submarine technology, as an "extremely irresponsible" threat to regional stability.
Key points: China warns the Western allies they risk "shooting themselves in the foot" with this agreementThe AUKUS pact allows Australia to acquire a nuclear submarine fleet in partnership with the UK and USAustralia's relationship with China has been increasingly hostile over a number of issues like the pandemic, regional security, and trade The agreement "seriously undermines regional peace and stability and intensifies the arms race", Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a regular press briefing on Thursday.
FBI releases newly declassified record on September 11 attacks, providing details of hijackers' contact with Saudi associates. The FBI has released a newly declassified document related to logistical support given to two of the Saudi hijackers in the run-up to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The document details contacts the hijackers had with Saudi associates in the United StatesIt is a summary of a 2015 FBI interview with a man who had frequent contact with Saudi nations in the US who supported hijackersVictims' relatives had objected to Mr Biden attending memorial events with the document still classified The document details contacts the hijackers had with Saudi associates in the United States but does not provide proof that senior Saudi government officials were complicit in the plot.
Released on the 20th anniversary of the attacks, the document is the first investigative record to be disclosed since US President Joe Biden ordered a declassification review of materials that for years have remained out of public view. Taliban raise flag over presidential palace on 9/11 anniversary as brother of resistance leader slain. The Taliban raised their flag over the Afghan presidential palace on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, as news emerged that the regime’s fighters had killed the brother of the country’s former vice-president at a checkpoint in Panjshir province.
Rohullah Azizi, the brother of former vice-president and anti-Taliban resistance leader Amrullah Saleh, was travelling in his car on Thursday when he and his driver were shot dead at a Taliban checkpoint, his nephew said on Saturday. Shuresh Saleh said on Saturday that it was unclear where his uncle, an anti-Taliban fighter, was headed when the Taliban caught him. He said phones were not working in the area. A message left with a Taliban spokesman on Saturday was not immediately returned. 9/11 anniversary: Biden, Bush and Harris urge unity as US marks 20 years since attacks – live. Twenty years after Lower Manhattan was covered in toxic dust from the World Trade Center, health problems persist for survivors and first responders at the Twin Towers, and for residents who lived nearby.
According to the Associated Press, 111,000 people are part of the World Trade Center Health Program, which provides free medical care to persons with health problems possibly tied to the dust. Per the AP: To date, the U.S. has spent $11.7 billion on care and compensation for those exposed to the dust -- about $4.6 billion more than it gave to the families of people killed or injured on Sept. 11, 2001. More than 40,000 people have gotten payments from a government fund for people with illnesses potentially linked to the attacks. Scientists still can’t say for certain how many people developed health problems as a result of exposure to the tons of pulverized concrete, glass, asbestos, gypsum and God knows what else that fell on Lower Manhattan when the towers fell.
America mourns as leaders and families mark 20th anniversary of 9/11 attacks. Some wept. Some held photos of loved ones At 8.46am, precisely two decades after a passenger plane became a new and deadly weapon here, all fell silent in remembrance. Families of the victims gathered at the 9/11 memorial plaza in New York on Saturday to mark the 20th anniversary of terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people and helped shape the 21st century. Similar ceremonies played out in Washington DC and Pennsylvania – the sites of other attacks that day.
The sombre ceremony in downtown Manhattan played out in bright sunshine that was eerily reminiscent of 11 September 2001 was attended by Joe Biden and former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama along with victims’ families and first responders. Three ways terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 changed our world. Even as the events of September 11, 2001, were unfolding, the questions people were asking amid the scenes of chaos were an indication that the world was about to change. Key points: Airport security ramped up and CCTV and citizen surveillance became ubiquitousThe 9/11 attacks fuelled the rise of Islamic terrorism and anti-Muslim sentimentHundreds of thousands of deaths led to the "forever wars" of Iraq and Afghanistan, among other conflicts. Peter Dutton accuses China of aggression and is called 'extremely dangerous and irresponsible' by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
US military trial of 9/11 suspects drags on 20 years after attack. As Afghanistan’s capital Kabul fell, those targeted by the Taliban made desperate bids to escape. The last US plane has left Kabul airport in Afghanistan. Here's how it all unfolded. United States completes withdrawal from Afghanistan after final plane leaves Kabul. Afghanistan live news: final US evacuation flight leaves Kabul, ending 20-year occupation.
Afghanistan: Children among civilians killed in US drone attack. Several children have been killed in a US drone attack that destroyed a car laden with explosives near the international airport in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, according to witnesses. The Afghanistan mission was always going to end in failure. A rifle from 1880 could have told us that. And so it ends like this for America and its patient allies: in terrorism, sorrow and regret. US carries out drone strike on vehicle with suspected ISIS-K suicide bombers heading for Kabul airport. A US drone strike hit a vehicle carrying "multiple" ISIS-K suicide bombers before they could mount an attack at Kabul's international airport, according to US military officials.
Key points: Slain Marine who cradled baby at Kabul airport loved her job. A woman who cradled a baby in her arms at the airport and posted on social media that she loved her job. A young husband with a child on the way. Taliban guard airport as most NATO troops leave Afghanistan. KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Taliban forces sealed off Kabul’s airport on Saturday to most Afghans hoping for evacuation, as the U.S. and its allies wound down a chaotic airlift that will end their troops’ two decades in Afghanistan. Western leaders acknowledged that their withdrawal would mean leaving behind some of their citizens and many locals who helped them over the years, and they vowed to try to continue working with the Taliban to allow local allies to leave after President Joe Biden’s Tuesday’s deadline to withdraw from the country. Although most of its allies had finished their evacuation flights, the U.S. planned to keep its round-the-clock flights going until the deadline, saying 117,000 people had been evacuated since the Taliban claimed Kabul on Aug. 15.
Biden warned Saturday that commanders had told him another attack was “highly likely in the next 24-36 hours.” Isis flag: What do the words mean and what are its origins? Revealed: Foreign Office ignored frantic pleas to help Afghans. Ending evacuation from Afghanistan is ‘heartbreaking’, UK armed forces chief says. ‘We feel hopeless now’: the British nationals left behind in Kabul. Australians in Afghanistan plucked from suburbs in daring mission to reach Kabul airport. Taliban warns of ‘consequences’ if US delays withdrawal. Multiple casualties from explosion outside Kabul's international airport, Australia suspends evacuation mission. New information into deadliest alleged Afghanistan war crime suggests civilians were killed by Australian special forces to cover tracks.
Our journalist in Afghanistan has an Australian visa, but he can't get into Kabul airport. Can the Taliban detox from Afghanistan's opium economy? Afghanistan: Secret Kabul talks between CIA and Taliban - US media. Afghanistan: Evacuation efforts 'on pace' to end 31 August, US says. Taliban says fighters heading to seize last major holdout: Live. Infographic: How many people evacuated from Afghanistan so far? Militants head to Afghanistan's anti-Taliban stronghold of Panjshir to bring it under 'control' The Afghanistan evacuation is being compared to the end of the Vietnam War. Does it stack up? US and Germany tell citizens not to travel to Kabul airport amid security threat, senior Taliban leader arrives for talks.
The Taliban is promising Afghan women more freedom, but many aren't buying their new rulers' claims. Guards at Kabul embassy told they are ineligible for UK protection. Taliban fire into air at Kabul airport preventing Australians from catching evacuation flights. How many Afghan refugees is Australia taking? Are we going to expand our refugee intake? Anti-Taliban protesters killed in Jalalabad as president Ashraf Ghani defends fleeing Kabul.
I am an Afghan woman working for a western NGO in Kabul. I feel forgotten. Why did we ignore the lessons of history in Afghanistan? We need a public inquiry. Now Would Be A Great Time For George W Bush To Shut The Fuck Up - by Caitlin Johnstone - Caitlin’s Newsletter. Joe Biden isn't backing away from his decision on Afghanistan, but questions will linger over hasty exit of United States. Kabul airport: footage appears to show Afghans falling from plane after takeoff. The Taliban's return might seem quick, but we did not defeat them in the first place. Seven killed at Kabul airport as US evacuation descends into chaos; Taliban proclaim peace in Afghanistan. How the world reacted to Taliban takeover of Kabul. Afghans cling to moving US Air Force jet in desperate bid to flee. The fall of Kabul: a 20-year mission collapses in a single day. Ashraf Ghani flees Afghanistan, Taliban begin entering the capital Kabul from all sides after seizing city of Jalalabad.
Fear as deadly advance of Taliban across Afghanistan intensifies, government organising to remove Australians. Afghans chant ‘Allahu Akbar’ in defiant protests against Taliban. This former Australian soldier fought the war in Afghanistan. Now he says it wasn't worth it. Defence Force quietly releases response to ‘systemic failings’ revealed in Afghan war crimes inquiry. Afghanistan's embassy says videos show Afghan civilians being tortured, murdered by Taliban. China appears to be ramping up construction of missile silos in the desert. But could it be a 'shell game'? Taliban claims to control 85% of Afghanistan after rapid gains. Echoes of 1989 as foreign forces withdraw from Afghanistan. Why the US withdrawal from Afghanistan was so quick and why they left so much behind.
US forces abandon Afghanistan's Bagram Airfield at night without telling the new Afghan commander. ‘Bearing the brunt’: the suffering of children in the Gaza-Israel conflict – photo essay. Mapping Israeli occupation. Israel conducts deadliest air strike this week in Gaza City, tensions spread to West Bank. Sheikh Jarrah: The tiny neighbourhood at the centre of a dispute threatening to spiral into war. ‘All I saw was fire’: rockets fracture the sense of safety in Tel Aviv. Jerusalem: ‘She is 12 years old, yet they have shot her’ What led to the most recent Israel-Palestine escalation? Death toll in Middle East rises as clashes between Israel and Hamas militants escalate. Home Affairs Secretary Mike Pezzullo warns 'drums of war' are beating in a message to staff. Biden announces all US and Nato troops to leave Afghanistan by September 11.
Why can’t the US end the war in Afghanistan? 75 years after nuclear testing in the Pacific began, the fallout continues to wreak havoc. Indian and Chinese troops clash in Himalayas as tensions escalate in disputed border area. Capitol riots: Police describe a 'medieval battle' Chinese artist behind doctored image of Australian soldier says he's ready to make more - ABC News. Former SAS sergeant Mack McCormack says soldiers feel 'betrayed' over Brereton report fallout - ABC News. Whistleblower and former SAS medic says he feels vindicated by findings of the IGADF Afghanistan war crimes inquiry - ABC News.
Afghans recall days when Australians unleashed dogs, gunfire. ADF Chief Angus Campbell offers apology in wake of Afghanistan war crimes report. Read his speech in full - ABC News. The inquiry into Australian soldiers in Afghanistan is finally over. The reckoning is about to begin - ABC News. Sixty years on, the Maralinga bomb tests remind us not to put security over safety. Sixty years on, the Maralinga bomb tests remind us not to put security over safety. National Museum of Australia. India, China accuse each other of firing shots at tense border. Indian special forces member killed in China border skirmish. Defence Department warns that 'highly active' spies pose 'extreme threat' to Australia's shipbuilding plan - ABC News. Lebanese President not ruling out missile strike as cause of Beirut blast - ABC News. Dozens killed, thousands wounded in Beirut blast: Live updates.