The prominent linguist and philosopher Noam Chomsky called it a “most valuable experience” to have maintained “regular contact” with Jeffrey Epstein, who by then had long been convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor, according to emails released earlier in November by US lawmakers.

Chomsky had deeper ties with Epstein than previously known, documents reveal

This article is more than 2 months old

The philosopher and the sex trafficker were in contact long after Epstein was convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor, documents reveal

Beijing urged Tokyo on Monday to adhere to peaceful development and follow the four political documents between China and Japan, which serve as the political foundation of bilateral relations.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian made the remarks at a regular news briefing after media reports said that Japan's ruling coalition had won a supermajority in a parliamentary election on Sunday.

Japan urged to adhere to a peaceful path

Beijing says Tokyo should 'face, rather than ignore' concerns of intl community

By Wang Qingyun, Liu Jianqiao

Though the election was an internal affair of Japan, it "indicated some deep-rooted issues and trends" that are "worthy of profound reflection", Lin said.

The US is trying to take control of all international energy supply routes in an attempt to attain global economic dominance, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.

During his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos last month, US President Donald Trump claimed he had made America “the hottest country anywhere in the world” in terms of business activity. He called the US “the economic engine on the planet,”warning that “you all follow us down, and you follow us up.”

In an interview with the TV BRICS media network on Monday, ahead of Diplomatic Workers’ Day on February 10, Lavrov said that “the US objective – to dominate the world economy – is being realized using a fairly large number of coercive measures that are incompatible with fair competition.”

On a recent Friday, the price of silver, the indispensable industrial metal and monetary asset, was violently taken to the slaughter. Headlines blared about a crash, and mainstream financial media quickly supplied a convenient, surface-level explanation. But for those who understand the true nature of the modern financial system, this was no ordinary market correction.

The Silver Psychological Attack: How Friday’s Crash Was an Engineered Demolition

BY MIKE ADAMS

In November of 2025, the US Congress passed and President Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act to release nearly six million pages of documents connected with Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex trafficker. Epstein worked for Israeli intelligence by implicating powerful members of Western elites in sexual crimes then blackmailing them. After he was arrested a second time, he was murdered to keep him silent.

BY Greg Johnson

Amid growing geopolitical turbulence and intensifying competition for strategic resources, the Arctic is becoming a key theater of global rivalry. Energy policy in the modern world is a central element of national and international strategy.

What exactly are Greenland’s riches that Trump wants so much?

Undeveloped oil and rare-earth reserves will require massive investment, but the island‘s political agency is priceless

By Igbal Guliyev

In recent weeks, Greenland has once again found itself at the center of international news. Donald Trump, having returned to the White House, has not simply returned to the old idea of ​​”purchasing” the island – he’s now talking about “full and indefinite access,” payments of a million dollars to each resident, and even annexation plans.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott has suggested police who punched protesters yesterday should receive a commendation, and officers at future demonstrations should be armed with tear gas and rubber bullets to safeguard against the “pro-terrorist protests we’ve seen too often” on Sydney’s streets.

Police who punched protesters should be praised, says Abbott

By Daniel Lo Surdo

Speaking on 2GB, Abbott praised the “strong” police action taken against demonstrators, and the officers for “retaking control of our streets”.

“My blood has boiled for the last two years to see the way these intimidatory pro-terrorist protests have taken over our city streets, week after week, and I just think that we needed to see a bit of strength from the authorities,” Abbott said. 

NSW Police have assaulted dozens of peace protestors who gathered to protest the visit by Israeli president Isaac Herzog to Australia. Andrew Brown was there.

I was there. Not watching from a distance. Not reconstructing events from police statements. I was on the steps of Sydney Town Hall, with organisers and MPs, looking out over a vast peaceful crowd and then watching the state choose violence.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog arrived in Sydney for a tightly secured visit. That context matters, because what unfolded was not crowd management. It was a demonstration of power. A message. A deliberate assertion of authority.

Western heads of state have been acting like “nannies” to Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky during his talks with the US, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has said.

In an interview with Georgia’s Rustavi 2 channel which aired on Sunday, Szijjarto said Ukraine’s European backers had rallied to prevent US President Donald Trump from pressuring Zelensky to agree to a peace deal with Russia.

Reporter Isobel Roe, who was at the Bondi Pavilion memorial this morning, says Israeli President Isaac Herzog laid a wreath to pay tribute to those killed during the December 14 terror attack.

He was joined by the Israeli first lady, NSW Premier Chris Minns and the Waverley Council mayor, Will Namesh.

The pavilion is metres from the scene of the attack.

Mr Herzog met some of the families of the victims.

ASIO has issued a rare public statement declaring it holds “grave concerns” about the accuracy of an ABC investigation into the Bondi massacre set to air on Four Corners on Monday night and warning of further action if false claims are broadcast.

The statement released on Sunday evening claims the ABC has relied in part on an “unreliable and disgruntled” source who had misidentified one of the alleged gunmen, 24-year-old Naveed Akram, and confused some of his actions before the attack with things done by someone else.

The ABC is standing by the story, which it said used extensive reporting and numerous sources to examine the Akrams’ actions leading up to the attack.

Award-winning Tasmanian cartoonist Jon Kudelka has died.

In a post on social media, his family said Kudelka, who drew cartoons for the Hobart Mercury, The Australian and The Saturday Paper, died in Hobart on Sunday, aged 53.

Kudelka was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer, in early 2024.

"Jon was deeply loved and admired by many, including fellow Tasmanians, the legions of fans of his inimitable art, countless newspaper readers over 30 years, and even by the politicians he relentlessly skewered in his award-winning cartoons (many of whom have his work on their walls)," a post on the Kudelka Shop's website reads.

Max Blumenthal, the editor of The Grayzone, reports:

The global rise of authoritarianism is weakening climate governance just as warming accelerates and tipping points draw near. This failure now poses a direct threat to our future.

Authoritarianism is stalking nations and global institutions, often allied with climate scepticism and denial. This has weakened climate governance, most notably in the United States. In Russia and the Middle East oil and gas producers, climate denial-and-delay and authoritarianism co-mingle.  And climate barely rated a mention at Davos this year.

David Spratt