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Then there’s Cat People of Melbourne, an Australian rescue group that recently decided to turn the adorable approach on its head. Instead of emphasizing the cuddly or intelligent nature of one slender black feline in its custody, director Gina Brett wrote an adoption profile that made him sound downright nasty. “Mr. Biggles (also known as Lord Bigglesworth) is an utter utter utter bastard,” Brett wrote. “Mr. Biggles is a despot and dictator, he will let you know he is not happy, which is often because things are often just not up to his high standards.” She went on: “Mr. Biggles...

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One of the world top independent defence experts has conduced an incredibly exhaustive examination of the real cost of the Joint Strike Fighter (F-35) to those countries that are buying it. The expert, Paris-based Giovanni de Briganti, of Defence-Aerospace, estimates that the average unit cost of Lockheed Martin JSF in the ninth low-rate initial production run is $US206.3 million. The Australian parliament has been told by Defence Minister Marise Payne and Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne that the cost of our Joint Strike Fighters will be in the vicinity of $US90 million. Such a huge variation means that either Giovanni...

A MALAYSIA Airlines flight was grounded in Melbourne on Wednesday night after a Dandenong man tried to storm the cockpit and threatened to blow up the plane. The Kuala Lumpur-bound plane was forced to turn back to Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport half an hour after takeoff when a man with a history of mental illness, who was allegedly drunk or under the influence of drugs, tried to storm the cockpit. A group of passengers worked with the flight crew to subdue the man, who was holding an unidentified black object. ..... Former Melbourne AFL player Andrew Leoncelli, who was on the...

A screaming man tried to storm the cockpit of a Malaysia Airlines jet shortly after takeoff Wednesday night in Australia, but passengers tackled him before he could reach the pilots, authorities and witnesses told NBC News. Melbourne Tullamarine Airport, Australia's second-busiest airport, was closed for hours overnight as armed tactical officers swept Malaysia Airlines Flight MH128, which had been bound for Kuala Lumpur, as well as the airport, officials said.

The Black Lives Matter movement will receive a global peace prize from the Sydney Peace Foundation at a ceremony in Sydney in November, Newsweek reported.  The award will specifically highlight the work of the founding leaders of the activist network, Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi.  Past honorees of the award include South African civil rights activist Desmond Tutu, philosopher Noam Chomsky, and former Irish President Mary Robinson.  "This is the first time that a movement and not a person has been awarded the peace prize -- a timely choice," the Sydney Peace Foundation said when announcing the award....

Although the nine future frigates are to be optimised for anti-submarine warfare, confirmation that their armament will include SM-2 missiles means they will also be providing a valuable contribution to the Royal Australian Navy’s task group protection. The SM-2, along with the CEAFAR2 S/X/L band active phased- array radar systems under development by Canberra-based CEA, has been directed by the government to be essential rather than desirable for the $35 billion SEA 5000 Phase 1 purchasing that is expected to begin replacing the RAN’s eight Anzac-Class frigates from about 2027. Equipping the ships of the Future Frigate program with the...

West Australian Premier Mark McGowan has defended a decision to drop a lawsuit against Perth businessman Tony Galati, saying it would be "unusual and bizarre" to prosecute someone for growing potatoes. The comments come after Mr McGowan confirmed he would not pursue legal action against Mr Galati for allegedly breaching a commercial agreement with industry regulator the Potato Marketing Corporation (PMC). Before deregulation, which was passed by Parliament last year, the PMC launched legal action against Mr Galati, and alleged he deliberately planted more than his designated quota of potatoes. The PMC took legal action on behalf of West Australian...

An editor of a conservative magazine in Australia has been widely condemned for a “revolting" claim that the Manchester bombing should have happened at the headquarters of the ABC, Australia's public broadcaster. In comments that have caused a storm on social media and have been referred to the police, Roger Franklin, the online editor of Quadrant, lamented on the magazine’s website that the victims of the bombing were not panelists who had downplayed the threat of terrorism on Monday night’s Q&A programme, which aired before the Manchester attack. If there had been a shred of justice that blast would have...

The proposed Shortfin Barracuda Block 1A concept for Australia will be an entirely new, unproven diesel-electric submarine class. By putting the cart firmly before the horse, the Australian Department of Defence has accepted maker DCNS’ proposal to define the displacement of the future submarines before the design, equipment selection, integration and validation of systems have been completed. Both the Japanese and the Germans offered alternative, proven platforms — the former an evolved Soryu-class and the latter an amalgam of their Type 212, 214 and 218 designs. The French have offered a submarine design that houses the evolved propulsion system of...

In normal circumstances, Australia’s 22 Tiger armed reconnaissance helicopters (ARHs) would be expected to remain in service until around 2040 — but the chances of them being retired in less than a decade are increasing. This is not because of major problems with the airframes — they have plenty of life left in them — but rather because the Defence Department in general and the army in particular are tired of a series of issues that have affected reliability and cost of ownership. Indeed the feeling about the helicopters has become so negative that Defence might not even go ahead...

Yes, it’s extreme vetting season. It was promised to us during the campaign and ties heavily into the President’s travel ban (which is still locked up in court). Only the vetting isn’t taking place here. You probably recall that little dust-up between Donald Trump and Australia’s Malcolm Turnbull shortly after Trump was sworn into office. They had a few differences of opinion which have supposedly since been resolved, but one serious bone of contention was the roughly 1,200 refugees who are being held on two islands off the Australian coast. Barack Obama had made a deal to take them...

PHOTO: HMAS Adelaide will no longer participate in planned Talisman Sabre exercises with the US. (ABC News: Billy Cooper) Engineers are still trying to identify what is causing problems with the "azimuth" propulsion system on board the $1.5 billion Landing Helicopter Docks (LHDs) HMAS Canberra and HMAS Adelaide. "It may well be a design issue," conceded Rear Admiral Adam Grunsell, the head of maritime systems in Defence's Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group. This week, HMAS Adelaide was placed into dry dock at the Garden Island naval base so the ship's propulsion pods could be removed for a thorough examination. The...

When we highlighted an academic article criticising the special status of the nuclear family a few days ago the issue may have seemed rather theoretical. But a decision by the New Zealand Charities Board to remove the charitable status of an advocacy group, Family First NZ, shows that campaigning against the traditional or natural family is not confined to ivory towers. The board’s move to deregister Family First as a charity goes back to 2013 when it told the group: “(W)e do not consider that the Trust continues to qualify for registration as it has an independent purpose to promote...

President Donald Trump in a recent press briefing with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced, “Of course the Australians have better healthcare than we do - everybody does.” On the heels of the House narrowly passing the first in many steps toward Obamacare repeal and replace, President Trump’s comment caused a bit of a stir, to say the least. MSNBC was all over it. Chris Hayes interviewed fellow socialist Senator Bernie Sanders who was giddy over Trump’s comment. “Thank you Mr. Trump for admitting that universal healthcare is the better way to go,’’ he crowed. Bernie laughed out loud...

Sanders also says Senate should use Australian system as model while crafting an alternative to Republicans’ replacement for ObamacareBernie Sanders has declared President Donald Trump was right to say Australia has better healthcare than the US. Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist who ran for the Democratic presidential nomination last year, said the US Senate should use the Australian system as a model while crafting an alternative to the Republican healthcare legislation that Trump endorses. “President Trump is right. The Australian healthcare system provides healthcare to all of its people at a fraction of the cost than we do,” Sanders commented...

First Lady Melania Trump glowed in Australia's national color as her husband made a triumphant return to New York City on Thursday for a meeting with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull after celebrating the House passage of legislation undoing much of his predecessor's health law. President Donald Trump commemorated the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Coral Sea during WWII onboard the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum where he was joined by his wife, youngest daughter Tiffany Trump, actor John Travolta, News Corp Executive Chairman Rupert Murdoch, Greg Norman and Gina Rinehart. Murdoch, 86, introduced Trump during the American...

During a meeting Thursday night with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, President Donald Trump praised Australia’s universal health care system. He made the comments while insisting that Republicans are “united” in their push to repeal Obamacare and praising the legislation passed by the House on Thursday. “It’s a very good bill right now. The premiums are going to come down, very substantially. The deductibles are going to come down. It’s going to be fantastic health care. Right now Obamacare is failing. We have a failing health care,” Trump said. “I shouldn’t say this to our great gentleman and my friend...

The Royal Australian Air Force is on contract to acquire 12 P-8A Poseidons for delivery through March 2020. (Photo: Mike Yeo) The U.S. has cleared the Boeing P-8A Poseidon for sale to New Zealand, as that country moves toward the next phase of acquiring a new maritime patrol aircraft to replace its Lockheed Martin P-3 Orions. Several manufacturers are eyeing the requirement. The Defense Security and Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notified Congress on April 28 that the State Department has approved the possible foreign military sale of four Boeing 737-based P-8As and associated support to New Zealand for approximately $1.46 billion....

FACEBOOK has come under fire over revelations it is targeting potentially vulnerable youths who “need a confidence boost” to facilitate predatory advertising practices. The allegation was revealed this morning by The Australian which obtained internal documents from the social media giant which reportedly show how Facebook can exploit the moods and insecurities of teenagers using the platform for the potential benefit of advertisers.