The leaked stories were an embarrassment to Anna Bligh and her state Labor government and in particular to Ian Fletcher, then director-general of the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, and his deputy, Mark Birmingham. Both men were responsible for the supervision of Trade and Investment Queensland.

The leaks covered such topics as the extension of the lease for the

A “gate to hell” has emerged from ruins in southwestern Turkey, Italian archaeologists have announced.

Known as Pluto's Gate -- Ploutonion in Greek, Plutonium in Latin -- the cave was celebrated as the portal to the underworld in Greco-Roman mythology and tradition.

Historic sources located the site in the ancient Phrygian city of Hierapolis, now called Pamukkale, and described the opening

NZ's offer of shares in Mighty River Power, which generates about 17 per cent of the country's electricity, is to open on April 15.

However, the stock may struggle to live up to pricing expectations outlined in its prospectus as investors weigh risks, including the possible closure of a Rio Tinto-controlled smelter that would likely lead to an oversupply of electricity.
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"The top end of

For most of the Government Communications Security Bureau’s history (and that of its predecessors) its Directors have had very few distinguishing features. Which was entirely deliberate.

Most governments do not want the people in charge of their national security apparatus to be household names. Nor do they want them to have any traceable links to the high-profile and controversial w

On 25 March 2013, at the first court hearing of prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a Saudi prosecutor called for “death by crucifixion.” The prosecutor invoked haraba, a form of Islamic punishment enforced by the Saudi government, involving crucifixion and dismemberment.

The cleric’s brother, Mohamed al-Nimr, told Al-Akhbar that the court had convened unexpectedly. He believed the timi

The length of the summer melt season in part of Antarctica has been getting longer, and increasing ice loss, for the last 60 years.

The summer melting has been linked to the rapid break-up of ice shelves in the area and rising sea levels, the scientists said.

Researchers with the British Antarctic Survey reported the Antarctic Peninsula -- a mountainous region extending northwards towards S

CDHB member Andrew Dickerson said he was concerned about the “growing sense of despair” in some areas. Damaged, damp and overcrowded homes meant communicable diseases like influenza, whooping cough and measles could flourish this winter, putting increased strain on a health system already under pressure. “The conditions some people are now living in I never expected to see in New Zealand,” he sai

Bernard Madoff, who admitted in 2009 to running a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme, told media outlets this week that the government-appointed trustee for his firm’s investors is refusing to act on evidence showing the complicity of major banks in his activities.
“Although I have offered the bankruptcy trustee the information that I possessed that would demonstrate in detail the complicit b

Hollywood is at it again. Its latest ploy to take over the Web? Use its influence at the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) to weave Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) into HTML5 — in other words, into the very fabric of the Web. Millions of Internet users came together to defeat SOPA/PIPA, but now Big Media moguls are going through non-governmental channels to try to sneak digital restrictions i

Octopuses had hundreds of suckers, each with its own ganglion with thousands of neurons. Those "mini-brains" were interconnected, making for a widely distributed nervous system, which was why a severed octopus arm may crawl on its own and even pick up food.

Similarly, when an octopus changed skin colour, the command may come from the skin.

Gene sequences that were simila

The announcement of plans in Chicago, Illinois to shut down 61 elementary and middle schools marks a new stage in the assault on public education and the social counterrevolution in America.

It is the largest single school closure announcement in US history. In the latest phase of school shutdowns, some 13 percent of primary schools in the nation’s third-largest district will be closed, affect

What is modern propaganda? For many, it is the lies of a totalitarian state. In the 1970s, I met Leni Riefenstahl and asked her about her epic films that glorified the Nazis. Using revolutionary camera and lighting techniques, she produced a documentary form that mesmerized Germans; her 'Triumph of the Will' cast Hitler's spell.

She told me that the "messages" of her films were dependent not o

In August 1976, a few months after the dictatorship had begun its systematic campaign of exterminating its opponents, a group of priests sent a letter to the Argentine Episcopal Conference, demanding a public pronunciation on what many knew was happening but few dared talk about. The reply of the bishops can be summed up in these words: “We are convinced there is a tempus loquendi and a tempus ta

Guantanamo remains open. The Pentagon’s Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) plans expanding it. It requested $49 million for new prison facilities. They’re for “special” detainees.

Other renovations will be made. Congress ordered Guantanamo kept open indefinitely. Pentagon officials requested an estimated $195.7 million overall. Expect overruns to increase costs substantially.

SOUTHCOM commander Ge

The report says the Defence Force is poorly equipped to deal with the range of emerging threats - especially the potential need to deal with two major crises at once.

During the 2009 Victoria bushfires, Queensland floods and Cyclone Yasi the military deployed massive assets, including ships, aircraft, trucks and heavy-lift vehicles: 1500 troops were involved in the Queensland flood alone.

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