Posts

Glitch Shuts Australia’s Biggest Maker Of Vital Fertilizer Input For 2 Months At Worst Possible Time

/0 Comments/in , /by

Australia’s largest ammonia plant will be shut for two months to repair damage caused by a power outage, amidst a global supply crunch for the vital fertiliser and explosives ingredient.

To say that the shutdown comes at the worst possible time for the global fertilizer market would be an understatement: more than a quarter of the world’s traded ammonia flows through the Strait of Hormuz, as do 43% of urea shipments, the fertilizer made from ammonia. As we discussed in recent days, that flow has been cut to a trickle as Iran blockaded the SoH, as have vital gas supplies, causing fertilizer plants in India to shut.

Adding insult to injury, last week Yara’s Pilbara plant, which uses gas to produce 850,000 tonnes of ammonia a year, suffered a power outage, damaging equipment, BoilingCold reports.

A spokesman for the Norwegian company said workers and the environment were unaffected, and initial assessments indicated repairs could take about two months. . .

An adjacent plant, half-owned by Australia’s Orica, uses 140,000 tonnes of the ammonia to make the explosive technical ammonium nitrate (TAN) for WA’s mining sector. The remaining ammonia is shipped to Australian and international customers, and much of it is used to make urea fertilizer. (Read more from “Glitch Shuts Australia’s Biggest Maker Of Vital Fertilizer Input For 2 Months At Worst Possible Time” HERE)

People Are Getting an Old-Timey Sailors’ Disease on GLP-1s

/0 Comments/in , , /by

Top dietitians in Australia this week are waving a red flag about an unforeseen impact of the GLP-1 class of weight-loss drugs, including Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro.

In a new systematic review of existing research, led by professor Clare Collins of the Newcastle School of Health Sciences in New South Wales, Australia, it appears that very few global trials of the drugs have taken into consideration what and how much patients are eating while using them.

This, experts have said, means many patients have been functionally malnourished — sometimes developing serious vitamin deficiencies like scurvy.

Part of what makes these drugs so effective for weight loss and diabetes management is their ability to suppress appetite. But not eating, or not eating enough of the right stuff, is simply not a sustainable path forward for anyone, regardless of whether or not they’re using a GLP-1. And dietitians are calling for more oversight.

“A reduction in body weight does not automatically mean the person is well-nourished or healthy,” Collins told the Australian Financial Review. “Nutrition plays a critical role in health and right now it’s largely missing from the evidence.” (Read more from “People Are Getting an Old-Timey Sailors’ Disease on GLP-1s” HERE)

Incredible Moment Bondi Beach Hero Disarms Terrorist Who Opened Fire on Hanukkah Party

/0 Comments/in , /by

A heroic shopkeeper tackled and disarmed one of the terrorists who opened fire on a Bondi Beach Hanukkah celebration in Australia Sunday.

Video captured the moment that good Samaritan Ahmed al-Ahmed, 43, wearing a white shirt, sneaked up behind the shotgun-wielding gunman and wrestled the weapon away from him.

Ahmed, who owns a local fruit stall, then points the weapon at the terrorist, who falls to the ground before scampering away.

He was shot twice in the arm by the second terrorist during his heroic actions, and was taken to a hospital for surgery, according to a relative.

“He’s in [the] hospital and we don’t know exactly what’s going on inside. We do hope he will be fine. He’s a hero, 100 percent,” his cousin, named only as Mustafa, told Australian outlet 7News.

Later video showed him bloodied but conscious, being treated at the scene for his injuries. (Read more from “Incredible Moment Bondi Beach Hero Disarms Terrorist Who Opened Fire on Hanukkah Party” HERE)

Australia Enforces Nationwide Ban on Social Media Accounts for Under-16s

/0 Comments/in , /by

Australia has rolled out a sweeping new policy that blocks anyone under the age of 16 from holding social media accounts, marking one of the most aggressive child-protection measures implemented by any Western nation.

The nationwide restriction, which officially took effect this week, forces major platforms to verify a user’s age before granting access. Companies that fail to comply may face large financial penalties and additional regulatory action.

Under the new rules, children under 16 are barred from creating or maintaining accounts on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, X, and any service that allows user-generated content and algorithm-driven feeds. Parents cannot override the ban, even with permission.

The government has approved specific age-verification mechanisms that platforms must use, shifting the burden of compliance onto the tech industry rather than parents or schools.

Officials say the move stems from mounting evidence connecting early social media use to rising mental health concerns among adolescents. Studies citing increased rates of anxiety, depression, sleep disruption, and exposure to adult or harmful content helped fuel political momentum for the ban.

Leaders behind the policy argue that platforms have failed to adequately safeguard minors.

“We’ve let tech companies dictate the online environment for kids for far too long,” government officials said in recent remarks. “This change gives young people space to grow without constant digital pressure.”

Social media firms have pushed back, warning that mandatory age verification raises privacy challenges, may be difficult to enforce, and could drive minors to circumvent rules through VPNs or borrowed accounts.

Privacy advocates also worry about the amount of personal data required to verify age, though the government insists approved methods protect user information.

Photo credit: Flickr

Parents Issue Dire Travel Warning After Daughters Die on Vacation: ‘Remove This Country From Your Bucket List’

/0 Comments/in , , /by

The parents of two Australian teenagers who died in Laos last year have begged for Australians to remove the destination from their bucket lists.

Ahead of the anniversary of their daughters’ deaths, Holly Morton-Bowles and Bianca Jones’ parents slammed the Laos government as “corrupt” in an interview with the Herald Sun.

They also claimed there’s no evidence police have investigated the tragedy.

Best friends Holly and Bianca, both 19, were on the trip of a lifetime in the tourist town of Vang Vieng in November last year when they accidentally consumed methanol.

The pair died alongside four other tourists staying at the Nana Backpackers hostel.

The colorless, odorless poison can cause serious illness and can be fatal if just 0.85 fluid ounces are consumed.

Facebook is no longer censoring us! Please “like” us at Facebook [here]

YouTube is still censoring, but you can help us defeat that by subscribing [here]

(Read more from “Parents Issue Dire Travel Warning After Daughters Die on Vacation: ‘Remove This Country From Your Bucket List’” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

Police in Australia Seize Guns From Dozens of Owners Who Reject Government Authority

/0 Comments/in , /by

Police in Western Australia have seized guns and revoked or suspended firearms permits from dozens of owners linked to what investigators describe as sovereign citizen ideologies, or views that reject government authority.

Officials linked the crackdown on firearms users believed to hold such views to the fatal shooting in August of two police officers in Victoria state, in the country’s east. The suspect in those killings, 56-year-old Dezi Freeman, remains at large, weeks after he is said to have killed two officers visiting his rural property to serve a search warrant.

In the years before the shooting, Freeman appeared to have embraced so-called sovereign citizen views during court appearances. Members of such movements use debunked legal theories to reject government authority.

Freeman is suspected of killing Detective Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart and wounding a third officer. Following the shooting, investigators in Western Australia used bolstered gun laws enacted in 2024 to identify weapons owners in their state who they said held similar views to Freeman’s. (Read more from “Police in Australia Seize Guns From Dozens of Owners Who Reject Government Authority” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

‘Deeply Disturbing’: Prime Minister Announces They’re Banning Iran’s Ambassador

/9 Comments/in , /by

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced Monday that his government is cutting diplomatic ties with Iran after intelligence officials linked Tehran to two antisemitic attacks on Australian soil.

Albanese said the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) uncovered evidence that Iran directed assaults in 2024 on a Sydney kosher restaurant and a Melbourne synagogue. Days earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Albanese of having “betrayed” and “abandoned” Israel and the Australian Jewish community.

“Enough credible intelligence has now been gathered to reach the deeply disturbing conclusion that the Iranian Government has directed at least two of these attacks,” Albanese said in a statement. “These were extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil. This is an attack on our society, aimed at creating fear, stoking internal divisions and eroding social cohesion.”

ASIO found the Iranian government had directed arson attacks on the Lewis Continental Kitchen, a kosher food company, in Sydney last October and on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne in December, Albanese said.

As part of the response, Australia is expelling Iran’s ambassador and relocating its own diplomats stationed in Tehran to a third country, Albanese said. The government also plans to formally designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization. (Read more from “‘Deeply Disturbing’: Prime Minister Announces They’re Banning Iran’s Ambassador” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

Nurses Suspended After Boasting They Would Kill Israeli Patients

/0 Comments/in , /by

Two Australian nurses have been suspended after a viral video showed them threatening to kill Israeli patients and boasting about refusing them treatment. The pair face criminal and health prosecutions over their “sickening and shameful” boasts of weaponizing the healthcare system against Jews.

The man and woman – both employees at a Sydney hospital – are now being investigated by NSW state police after their anti-semitic tirade went viral, news.com.au reports. . .

In the video, the male nurse, later identified as Ahmad “Rashad” Nadi, an Afghan refugee taken in and given shelter by Australia, falsely claimed he was a doctor and told the Israeli interviewer he was “going to go to” hell.

“It’s Palestine’s country, not your country,” a female nurse identified as Sarah Abu Lebdeh added before detailing how she’d approach Israeli patients.

“I won’t treat them, I’ll kill them.” (Read more from “Nurses Suspended After Boasting They Would Kill Israeli Patients” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

Woman Granted Permission to Have Sperm Extracted From Deceased Husband

/1 Comment/in , /by

A 62-year-old Australian woman was given the right to extract sperm from her deceased husband and is facing a legal battle to be able to use it.

According to the New York Post, the woman was looking to conceive a child via surrogate when her 61-year-old husband passed away last month. The woman, whose name was not published, presented an “urgent” case to the Supreme Court to have her husband’s sperm tissue removed from his body.

Before the husband’s death, the two were reportedly discussing having another child after their 29-year-old daughter drowned on a fishing trip in 2013 and their 30-year-old son died in a car accident in 2019.

However, the use of reproductive cells after death is against the law in Western Australia, where the woman lives. She will have to apply to the country’s Reproductive Technology Council to use the sperm in another state where it is legal to do so (via NYP):

While the wife had been told that she could not conceive due to her age, the husband’s sperm was previously tested and deemed suitable for in-vitro fertilization, wherein a female egg is fertilized by male sperm in a lab before being implanted in the carrier.

The woman’s cousin, who is in her 20s and lives in the Philippines, had even volunteered to be the couple’s surrogate, the court heard.

At the time of the man’s death, however, the couple was still grappling with legal obstacles to the surrogacy, which would have required them to live in the Philippines for a while, the documents explained.

(Read more from “Woman Granted Permission to Have Sperm Extracted From Deceased Husband” HERE)

Delete Facebook, Delete Twitter, Follow Restoring Liberty and Joe Miller at gab HERE.

‘Healthy’ 14-Year-Old Boy Dies in His Sleep at His Grandparents’ House, Family in Shock

/0 Comments/in , /by

A family is in mourning after a 14-year-old Australian boy with no apparent health issues died in his sleep earlier this week.

William Pfeiffer, 14, went to for a sleepover at the home of his grandparents on Sunday night, Adelaide’s The Advertiser reported.

The young man, who was described by those who knew him as “happy and healthy,” never woke up. . .

The Queenstown native died in his sleep and authorities do not yet have any answers for what might have caused his sudden death. (Read more from “‘Healthy’ 14-Year-Old Boy Dies in His Sleep at His Grandparents’ House, Family in Shock” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

Delete Facebook, Delete Twitter, Follow Restoring Liberty and Joe Miller at gab HERE.