From Foreign Waters

  A tiny radioactive capsule, about the size of a pea, has the Australian government on edge. It is believed to have fallen off a truck while being transported between a mine and the city of Perth - a distance longer than the length of Great Britain - a couple of weeks ago. In order to expand the frantic search that is underway for the lost capsule, nothing short of finding a needle in a haystack, Australia's Department of Fire and Emergency Services has brought in new radiation detection equipment that could be fitted to vehicles. The deadly device is expected to have fallen off somewhere along the 1,400-km-long path the truck took. The capsule is part of a density gauge. It is composed of Cesium-137 (Cs-137) and reportedly has the capacity to emit radiation equivalent to receiving ten X-rays in an hour. Scientists have raised warnings against the device, saying it could cause skin burns and prolonged exposure could cause cancer. Vibrations from the truck possibly caused the...

When word of a draught security pact granting Chinese military and police substantial access to the Solomon Islands surfaced in March, it reignited interest in China 's Pacific ambitions. Australia and NewZealand , the Solomon Islands' traditional security partners, as well as other Pacific states and the United States, were taken aback by the news. This week, while Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was on a 10-day trip to the Pacific, word leaked that Beijing was attempting to secure a broad economic security agreement with ten countries, which would result in a substantial extension of its regional dominance. What concerns Australia, New Zealand, and the United States? All three countries have expressed fears that a stronger Chinese security presence in the Pacific might destabilise the region, with the Solomons pact posing the greatest risk of China establishing a military facility on the islands, which are only 2,000 kilometres from Australia's east coast. Beijing ...

  Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Australia 's newly appointed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese today to discuss ways to boost momentum across key areas of their strong bilateral strategic ties. Albanese was sworn in as Prime Minister of Australia the day before Modi and him met on the margins of the Quad Summit.   Official Tweets of PMs India’s Prime Minister Modi congratulated newly elected Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese for his election victory in his country.   After meeting Australia's new PM, Modi Tweeted, “India's Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Australia is robust and benefits not only the people of our nations but also the world."   Albanese also tweeted, "Warmly welcomed my meeting with @narendramodi for an engaging discussion on Australia and India's full strategic and economic agenda, including on clean energy technology. Australia-India ties have never been closer."   Earlier, the PMO (Prime...

  Australia  will acquire a sanction law like the U.S. Magnitsky Act that permits targeted monetary sanctions and travel boycotts against people who are "culprits of intolerable acts of global concern", the foreign affairs minister expressed in August 2021.    A Magnitsky Act is a kind of enactment that empowers state-run administrations to force financial sanctions against foreign people or entities who perpetrate or are engaged with severe human rights violations and corruption overseas.    This enactment works extra-regionally, forcing fines on people or organizations, including freezing and demanding resources and travel boycotts, for acts performed outside the administering nation's jurisdiction.    Australia is on the cusp of passing a Magnitsky Act of their own. When asked by the @smh what the greatest risk was with this legislation⁩, I said “It won’t be used against human rights abusers from powerful countries like China and R...