Ricardo Lopez Tugendhat believed he was going to die and wanted the world to know who he thought was going to kill him.

The former manager at a mining company linked to Australian billionaire Gina Rinehart spelt out his fears in a chilling letter to an Ecuadorian news outlet. 

“Being familiar with the character and temperament of Mr Carlos de Miguel III, I am deeply concerned that the threats I have received from him … are carried out,” read the letter, published by the outlet. 

McLarens, Mar-a-Lago and machine guns: Introducing Gina Rinehart’s controversial new frontier point man

By Marta Pascual Juanola

“I hereby publicly hold the aforementioned Carlos de Miguel III responsible for any attack against the life or physical integrity of my family or myself.”

Pope Leo has condemned capital punishment as an attack on human dignity amid growing criticism of the US military’s plans to livestream the execution of the convicted Fort Hood shooter.

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced last week that Nidal Malik Hasan would face a military firing squad on December 3. President Donald Trump has confirmed that he personally authorized the broadcast.

Writing on X on Saturday on the international World Day Against the Death Penalty, Leo criticized capital punishment as a concept, but did not name Hasan or directly address the livestream.

In this speech, James Curran reflects on Paul Keating’s foreign policy legacy and argues that Australia has lost the strategic confidence and autonomy needed to shape its own future in a changing Asia.

The arc of Australian political culture has been stretched a long way from March 1996 when Paul Keating left the Lodge.

Then, his ‘big picture’ was farewelled – some thought for good – from the stage at Bankstown Sports Club as he conceded defeat to John Howard.

James Curran

WE HAVE EXPOSED THIS CONUNDRUM BEFORE [16 March 2026]... BUT IT IS COMFORTING TO SEE IT BEING DISCUSSED BY CNN TODAY... 

The Iran war was supposed to be a short, sharp strike that brought down the regime within a few weeks. Instead, the US finds itself enmeshed in a conflict that’s upending the world’s energy system.

The Russian war against Ukraine is now half-way through its fifth year, rapidly approaching the length of World War II. The European NATO countries have become more and more heavily drawn into that conflict, which many observers believe has already cost more than a million lives.

Sir Jacob William Rees-Mogg and the Dangerous NATO Propaganda-Bubble 

BY RON UNZ

“Asking why Russia did not end the war quickly is asking the wrong question.. It does not want to end it quickly. It wants to win it deeply. It wants that, at the end of this conflict, it is not just a flag that changes on a building, but an entire era that comes to a close.”

Many continue to repeat, with a disconcerting naivety, that Russia, with its military power, could have crushed Ukraine in just a few weeks.

BY Yan Amar

Two German opposition parties have called for restoring economic ties with Russia following US President Donald Trump’s example in striking a diesel deal with Moscow, challenging Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s sanctions policy as soaring fuel prices put further pressure on Europe’s largest economy.

The right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the left-wing Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), which together command a majority in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt’s parliament, are preparing a joint resolution demanding an end to anti-Russia sanctions and financial support for Kiev amid growing frustration over Berlin’s foreign policy and its economic consequences.

The crisis of media freedom in Kenya is not only about journalists being prevented from speaking. It is also about which stories receive airtime, who controls the platforms, who finances journalism, whose history is preserved and whose voices are allowed to disappear.

For more than 15 years, I have worked as a social-justice radio host at Ghetto Radio 89.5 FM, creating space for communities whose experiences are frequently underrepresented in mainstream media.

The experience has revealed a deeper problem.

Kenya does not only have a crisis of media freedom. It has a crisis of media memory.

The ABC platformed an Israel lobbyist last month without disclosure in blatant breach of much that the once-venerable broadcaster purports to stand for. Cathy Peters with the story.

In a pre-recorded interview for ABC Radio National’s Global Roaming program on September 22, Geraldine Doogue platformed Andrew Roberts, aka Lord Roberts of Belgravia, in a program titled, “Can the centre hold? Lord Andrew Roberts on extremism and antisemitism”.

The Roberts Report. How the ABC was stooged by the Israel lobby

by Cathy Peters

King Charles III has warned of the challenges disinformation and other "hostile online activity" pose to trust and security in the digital age.

The comments, made in a letter to the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to mark its 10th anniversary, spoke of "malicious actors" continuing to "evolve their tactics by using automated technologies".

"From threats to our international order, to the need to balance the risks and opportunities of powerful new technologies, strong cyber security is fundamental to making the online environment safer and more resilient," he wrote.

For the third week in a row, high school students across France are taking to the streets demanding more investment in their education. They want more teachers, smaller classes, decent school buildings and a public education system that works for poor and working-class students.

But their struggle comes at a moment when France faces mounting pressure to cut public spending while dramatically increasing its military budget. The question at the heart of this uprising goes far beyond education: Will France invest in its young people—or in missiles, weapons and war? Books or bombs?

Books or Bombs? France’s Student Revolt vs. NATO’s Spending Push

It is October Surprise season, time to roll out the phony terror plots ahead of the midterm elections. The FBI is accomplished at the practice, having cooked up a number of fabricated terror incidents in the wake of September 11, 2001. The latest episode unfolded on October 7, a week into October Surprise season.

by Kurt Nimmo

This week's high-school protests in France against cuts to education funding, while not imminently heralding 'the fall of France', do indicate enormous budgetary strain due to the energy crisis and the redirection of funding towards military procurement. Similarly, protests in Spain against rising house prices and rents expose the downside to encouraging mass immigration to solve Europe's demographic crisis: without large inward migration, there would be no housing crisis.

NewsReal: Ponzi Trap - Why Western Govts Must 'Roll Over The Debt And Deceive'

Sott.net

A series of Soviet-style propaganda posters has appeared on the popular Russian social platform Pikabu following President Donald Trump’s grand announcement of a diesel deal with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.

Pikabu is a Reddit-style website where users create entertainment content and share stories, images, and memes. The tongue-in-cheek posters, celebrating a newfound partnership over barrels of fuel, appeared on Saturday in a post titled ‘Morning Propaganda’.

“American, remember! Your enemy is not Russian – the Russian gives diesel! Your enemy is the Green Rat, who bombs your diesel in Russia!” the first poster reads, referring to Vladimir Zelensky, known for his signature green attire and whose surname is derived from the word for ‘green’ in Russian and Ukrainian.