John Hayward

West Australian (WA) independent lawmaker Benjamin Letts Dawkins legally changed his name to “Aussie Trump” this week, a move he described as a protest against “the tyranny and systematic corruption of the Labor government in WA.”

Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte was impeached by the House of Representatives on Wednesday on charges including corruption, dereliction of duty, misuse of public funds, and plotting to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

The United Nations estimated on Wednesday that almost 3,000 people have been killed during the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said on Thursday that his nation has withdrawn from the U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) because the organization protects abusers of human rights around the world, pushes antisemitic rhetoric, and constantly harasses Israel.

China’s retaliation for President Donald Trump’s tariffs has thus far included a levy on imported American energy products, an extra fee on imported American agricultural equipment, and a menacing “antitrust” investigation of Google.

In a terse statement on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian condemned President Donald Trump’s proposal to “take over” Gaza and defended the Hamas-dominated Palestinian government.

The Foreign Ministry of Saudi Arabia dashed off a heated rejection of President Donald Trump’s surprise proposal to take over Gaza within minutes of Trump’s remarks on Tuesday night.

Ahmed al-Sharaa, the former al-Qaeda boss who became the “transitional” president of Syria after ousting dictator Bashar Assad, is reportedly looking for a joint defense pact with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

President Donald Trump said on Monday that he wants Ukraine to trade “rare earths and other things” for continued American military and financial support.

President Donald Trump’s executive order imposing tariffs on China included a provision that eliminates the controversial “de minimis” exemption for small import shipments.

China’s state-run Global Times on Sunday rounded up ministers and business leaders to condemn President Donald Trump’s ten percent tariff on imports from China, which were scheduled to take effect on Tuesday.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday defended his country’s new land expropriation law against criticism from Donald Trump, who threatened to cut funding to the country over the legislation.

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus asked diplomats to pressure Donald Trump to rejoin.

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, jailed since August 2023 on various corruption charges he dismisses as politically motivated, compared himself to U.S. President Donald Trump in an interview with Fox News Digital on Sunday.

Brazilian investigators said on Friday that the Jinjiang Group, a subsidiary of Chinese auto giant BYD contracted to build a factory in Brazil, pressured Chinese workers to sign abusive contracts that treated them as slaves.

President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the conflict between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is a “very serious problem.”

The Israeli government ordered UNRWA, the relief agency for Palestinians, to cease operations in its territory by Thursday, January 30.

China’s state-run Global Times on Thursday marveled at the high-tech entertainments on display for this year’s Spring Festival, praising a troupe of dancing robots as evidence the Communist nation has become the world’s leading tech power.

Ugandan officials on Thursday confirmed an Ebola outbreak in the capital city of Kampala, with one confirmed death so far.

President Donald Trump has reportedly been pushing India to purchase more of its military hardware from the United States, dangling relief from the heavy tariffs he might impose against the other BRICS nations as an incentive.

Police and first responders in Japan’s Saitama Prefecture struggled on Thursday to rescue a truck driver who became trapped in a gigantic sinkhole three days ago.

Google released a report on Wednesday that found hackers are using the company’s Gemini artificial intelligence to devise more effective cyberattacks.

China’s public response to the deportation fight between President Donald Trump and Colombian President Petro Gustavo seemed oddly muted early this week, but that might have been because Beijing already had a man in Bogota working the political angle.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told an Italian newspaper last weekend that it was “absolutely stupid, illogical, and very irresponsible” for the leaders of his country to give up their nuclear weapons in the 1990s.

At least 30 people were killed in northern India on Wednesday when a stampede broke out at the Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj.

Over half a million people have reportedly been displaced by the battle raging between Congolese security forces and M23 rebels for the city of Goma.

Denmark on Monday announced a $2 billion investment in Arctic security, implicitly acknowledging President Donald Trump’s criticism of the region’s vulnerability to Russian aggression — a vulnerability Trump wanted to address by taking control of Greenland.

Russia sent a delegation of high-level diplomats to Damascus on Tuesday, the first official contact between Moscow and the insurgent government that overthrew Syrian dictator Bashar Assad in December.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning says China will accept repatriation of Chinese nationals who illegally entered the United States.

David Eby, premier of British Columbia, suggested last week that Canadians might stop buying American alcohol if President Donald Trump follows through with his tariff threat against Canada.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Sunday retweeted a post from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt that essentially declared President Donald Trump’s absolute victory in the showdown over Colombian deportees. Petro deleted his retweet a few hours later.

At least 13 U.N. peacekeepers and other foreign soldiers were killed in heavy fighting near the city of Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Sunday, as the M23 insurgent group closed in on the strategically vital city.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a statement on Sunday in commemoration of Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Danish shipping giant Maersk posted an update on the Red Sea/Gulf of Aden situation on Friday that said the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Bab-el-Mandeb strait are still too dangerous for commercial vessels, despite promises by the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists of Yemen to discontinue their attacks.

Chinese officials are reportedly refusing to discuss Beijing’s travel ban against Marco Rubio, the former Republican senator from Florida who was confirmed as U.S. Secretary of State on Monday.