The UN special Human Rights investigation into Palestine/Israel which found Israel to be primarily responsible for ongoing unrest and violence received a strong rebuke from the US, which in turn sought support from its allies to sign its statement. Australia declined to do so, issuing its own statement.

The significance is not so much in what the statement contained, but in the very fact that after nine years of blindly following the US, Australia wishes to make its own statement and judgement about human rights, justice, and peace. This should be resoundingly applauded. The US statement is predictably partisan, and while the Australian statement mirrors the US statement in the oft repeated claim that Israel is being unfairly picked on, it is far more nuanced.

BY GEORGE BROWNING

Russia doesn’t care about ‘eyes of the West’ – Lavrov

Moscow cares about international law, not what the West thinks, its foreign minister has told BBC

The fate of British fighters captured in Ukraine and sentenced to death as mercenaries is for the Donetsk People’s Republic to decide under international law, and Russia doesn’t care how that looks “in the eyes of the West,” Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told UK state broadcaster BBC in an interview on Thursday, on the sidelines of the annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

Now is the time to end a dangerous threat to basic freedoms and the rule of law.  The Albanese government has a critical role to play in ensuring that outcome.

Will Merrick Garland Defend Democracy?

He came in wanting to depoliticize the Justice Department. But does that mean letting an ex-president get away with subverting democracy?

Fred Dagg, aka John Clarke, was a democracy fanatic... Clarke appeared on New Zealand TV screens as Dagg during the mid to late 1970s, "taking the piss" out of the post-pioneering Kiwi "blokes" and "blokesses".

 Fresh from banning more opposition parties, Ukraine's Zelensky takes it upon himself to shill for war with China over Taiwan

The actor-turned-politician has become the perfect useful idiot for Washington’s foreign policy priorities

If Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky isn’t getting paid to foment war between the West and China, he should be. The ubiquitous media darling declared on Saturday that the “international community” must help Taiwan resist Chinese “aggression” now, before Beijing attacks the poor little heavily-armed island.

by Helen Buyniski

The West must prepare to continue supporting Ukraine in a war lasting for years, Nato's chief has warned.

Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the costs of war were high, but the price of letting Moscow achieve its military goals was even greater.

The decision by the UK Government overnight to approve the extradition of Julian Assange to the US, to face trumped up espionage and other charges, is an outrageous betrayal of the rule of law, media freedom and human rights.

This matter is so deeply wrong on so many levels. Mr Assange is a Walkley Award winning Australian journalist who revealed hard evidence of US war crimes and other misconduct. This outraged Washington and the Americans are desperate to get even, with the UK and Australian governments tripping over themselves in the rush to please the US and go along for the ride.

Good grief the US doesn’t even have global legal extraterritoriality, and nor does the UK/US extradition agreement include the charges levelled at Mr Assange.

Against the background of the current Japanese government’s clearly ill-conceived policies, which are causing ever greater misery for its people, criticism of Fumio Kishida’s cabinet has increased markedly, with his rating dropping by a further 4.6 percentage points to 56.9% over the month. This is evidenced, in particular, by published data from a survey conducted by the Kyodo agency. According to Japan’s main news agency, 64.1% of respondents were negative about the government’s actions to combat rising prices.

BY Vladimir Danilov

But for the most part so far, if you’ve consumed any of the previous January 6–related content out there, you already know what you’re going to get. The hearings have been little more than a reminder that the Capitol riot happened and that it was bad, only this time with a narrower focus on Trump and his personal role in the incident.

Boris Johnson put problems plaguing his Tory party at home on the backburner on Friday as he paid a second surprise visit to Kiev to meet with Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky. The UK Prime Minister offered to launch a major military training programme for Ukrainian forces “with the potential to train up to 10,000 soldiers every 120 days.”

Boris Johnson, fresh from his surprise visit to Ukraine, has urged western leaders to “steel” themselves for a long conflict in Ukraine.

US President Joe Biden fell from his bicycle while stopping to greet supporters in Rehoboth, Delaware on Saturday. The 79-year-old president did not require medical attention, the White House said.

Video footage of the incident shows Biden crossing a street at low speed, before putting one foot down on the asphalt as if to dismount his bike. Instead, the president fell to the ground, landing on his side.

Biden, who was wearing a helmet, was helped to his feet by assistants. He rode away after speaking briefly to the small crowd of supporters who had gathered along his bike route.

According to the White House, Biden fell after his “foot got caught on the pedal,” and did not need medical attention.

When people talk about Asia, they do not generally mean Australia. After all, it is the largest part of a theoretically separate continent, Oceania, and its people are white and British in origin for the most part.

However Oceania is a cultural term as much as anything. It refers to places where there a mix of native Polynesians and white European settlers, and English is the language of the educated, and more prestigious than native languages. As a functioning entity, it has no meaning, so Australia, which should be taking the lead as the largest country in that continent, has to be part of something else to serve any purpose.

BY Seth Ferris

Hillary Clinton has criticized Emmanuel Macron’s policy towards Russia – the French leader should take it as a compliment

If the warmongering American chastises you for seeking diplomacy, you know you’re doing something right

Former US Secretary of State, First Lady, Senator, and failed presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, passed through Paris last week, and seized an opportunity to chastise French President Emmanuel Macron on his own turf. 

BY Rachel Marsden

Caitlin Johnstone: Assange is doing his most important work yet

Thanks to him, we know what Western leaders' claimed support of free press is really worth

By Caitlin Johnstone, an independent journalist based in Melbourne, Australia. Her website is here and you can follow her on Twitter @caitoz