Tag: Australia

The Andes

Peru and Australia sign free trade pact

PeruPeru and Australia signed a free trade pact that does away with 99% of tariffs on imported goods from Australia, while securing Peruvian exports greater access to Australian markets. The Peru-Australia Free Trade Agreement (PAFTA) was signed in Vietnam, at the 25th summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. Peru's President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, speaking at the summit, reiterated his support for free trade and warned about the dangers of protectionism–comments seemingly aimed at the Donald Trump administration.

Afghanistan

ICC to investigate US war crimes in Afghanistan

AfghanistanInternational Criminal Court chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda made a formal request to investigate alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by US the military in Afghanistan. The investigation would also examine crimes at secret CIA detention facilities in Poland, Romania and Lithuania. The request cites articles of the Rome Statute concerning murder, torture and unlawful imprisonment. It marks the first time ICC prosecutors have targeted the United States.

Oceania
bougainville

Indigenous resistance halts Bougainville mine

The push to re-open a controversial copper mine on the Papua New Guinea island of Bougainville was halted after indigenous residents blocked roads to prevent officials from reaching the site.

Watching the Shadows

Ex-Gitmo detainee appeals conviction

Australian citizen and former Guantánamo detainee David Hicks filed a motion to dismiss his conviction before the US Court of Military Commission Review.

Oceania

Rival trade pacts vie for Pacific hegemony

China is proposing a Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP) in  a race with the US-backed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) for hegemony in the Asia-Pacific region.

Planet Watch

Polar Vortex: Yes, it’s global warming!

Climate-change denialists are gloating at the "Polar Vortex"—failing to understand that it was unleashed by destabilization of the Jet Stream due to loss of arctic ice cover.

Iran

Persian Gulf militarized —by drug war

In addition to the naval face-off over a global oil outlet, the Persian Gulf has seen escalating militarization by international forces in the guise of narcotics enforcement.