There are times when farce and living caricature almost consume the cynicism and mendacity in the daily life of Australia's rulers. Across the front pages is a photograph of a resolute Tony Abbott with Indigenous children in Arnhem Land, in the remote north. "Domestic policy one day," says the caption, "focus on war the next."

The core government responsibility of protecting lives should not have to come at the cost of illiberal privacy subversions, as represented by the data retention proposal.

Australians have been rightly appalled by the shocking images of depravity and mayhem caused by the jihadist military group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), now known as Islamic State, and of Australian citizens found combating in conflict‑torn parts of the Middle East.

Interview conducted by Dieter Bednarz

Iraqi politician Ahmad Chalabi played an infamous role in spurring the 2003 American invasion of his country. In an interview, he tells SPIEGEL about the rise of Islamic State, why the West misjudged the jihadists and whether it is time to cooperate with Assad.

Select your preferred relaxation technique – a few deep breaths, a stiff drink perhaps, or some yoga – for you are about to hear how you have just paid for something twice.

Worse still, you will hear how you have been paying for something, on a quarterly basis for the past 10 years, which you have already paid for. We are all victims of a high-brow rort by governments and energy companies.

The downfall of democracy starts with our idealisation of this form of government. It's a bit like love and marriage... Nothing is ever perfect. 

The fudging, blocking and delaying from both conservative governments, in Australia and Britain, suggest the date when Tony Abbott renounced his British citizenship will be politically harmful to the Prime Minister. Law lecturer Ingrid Matthews looks at the facts.

The vote for Scottish Independance has reminded me to write a little of how my Mother's Ross family came to Austraila.  Basically we were booted out by the English so our crofts could become sheep stations.  We were told by the Church that we were being punished by eviction for the sins of our ancestors (Last time I went to the Church in Bonar Bridge, where the refugees camped before the international diaspora, you could still see the words "the wicked generation" scrawled in a window) and so we went... but not quite..

As I was dozing awake, I went, yet again, through the motions of global warming. A + B = C + (x)... Sorry, I am boring, aren't I?

Whistleblower Edward Snowden says New Zealand prime minister John Key has not been telling the truth about mass spying on citizens, just days before the country goes to the polls.

There's one good reason for why Scotland should vote yes for independence: the breaking up of the United Kingdom would be an imminently good thing for the sake of world peace.