Bill Morneau will table his third budget this week. It marks an important moment in the life of his government. Timing is important in politics and policy. The proximity to the next election is closing. This may have inflationary pressures on the minister’s budget figures. The result could be a higher and longer deficit. Remember the government was elected on …

Samantha Armytage has criticised a “foolish” newspaper column published in response to her recent TV segment about mammograms. Last week, the 41-year-old underwent the test during an episode of Sunrise, sharing breast cancer statistics and urging women to be diligent about screening for it. “They say after 50 get [mammograms] done every two years; I would say start at 40, …

In Germany, the novelist Carmen-Francesca Banciu is introduced as a Romanian author; in Romania, she’s considered a German author. In the United States and Britain, she writes, she is considered transnational. These days questions of identity, integration and belonging threaten to overwhelm us. It is interesting to see how the complicated and contradictory processes of joining, belonging to, integrating in …

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A NEW challenge is set to land in Paul Toole’s lap with the media revelation that Lithgow’s maximum security jail is set to lose 13 corrective services officers, posing what is seen as a security threat. Other prisons around the State face similar cutbacks, perhaps with Gladys needing more cash to build new Sydney roads and stadiums. But slashing numbers in …

Oil steadied around its highest prices in three weeks on Monday, supported by comments from Saudi Arabia that it would continue to curb shipments in line with the OPEC-led effort to cut global supplies. Brent crude was last down 8 cents on the day at $67.23 a barrel at 1005 GMT, after having risen almost 4 percent last week in …

On 10 February, Israel announced that an Iranian drone had been shot down in western Syria. Later, an Israeli F-16 crashed after being hit by Syrian anti-aircraft fire over the north of Israel. Both Iran and Israel claimed provocation by the other. Whatever the truth of the matter (the drone allegation was not fully convincing), it is clear that after …

An Iraqi court has sentenced at least 15 Turkish women to death by hanging, after they were found guilty of joining the Islamic State group (IS). Some reports say 16 women were handed the death penalty, while others say one was jailed for life. The women confessed to marrying IS fighters or providing the group “with logistical aid or helping …

Hours after the United Nations Security Council called for a 30-day halt to the fighting in Syria, government forces attacked a rebel-held eastern suburb of Damascus from the air and the ground Sunday, and rebels lobbed shells at the capital, residents and activists said. One child died after suffering symptoms consistent with a chlorine attack, according to the Syrian American …

In the Lebanese town of Zahle, hundreds of solar panels glitter atop red-tiled roofs and spread across the grassy foothills beneath the Bekaa Valley’s snow-capped peaks. Glancing around, one might think this chronically power-starved Mediterranean country is on the cusp of a green energy revolution. But Zahle is the only town in the country with a reliable source of power. …