Since the 1960s, family size in many Western countries has fallen dramatically, with many now approaching a population plateau. In some, where deaths exceed births, population has declined. According to the US Census Bureau (2010), the growth rate of the human population has been declining since peaking in 1962 and 1963 at 2.2 per cent…
The Abbott government, since being sworn in on September 18, has undertaken a major foreign policy offensive designed to re-position Australia in the world. The first item on the agenda, of both symbolic and practical importance, was to rebuild relations with Indonesia, damaged by the Labor government’s destruction of the live cattle trade and continuing…
When the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its latest summary for policy-makers, it was uncritically endorsed by various media outlets, European governments and environmental organisations, but was the subject of robust criticism from some of the world’s leading climate scientists. Commenting on IPCC claims that there was a 95 per cent certainty that human activity was causing unprecedented climate change, British Prime Minister David Cameron said, “If someone said there is a 95 per cent chance that your house might burn down, even if you are in the 5 per cent that doesn’t agree with it, you still…
The overwhelming victory for Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats in Germany was a reflection of the people’s desire for strong, responsible and stable leadership in the wake of the euro crisis. Under Merkel’s leadership, Germany has emerged almost unscathed from the financial crisis which brought Greece, Ireland, Spain and Portugal to their knees, and deeply affected other countries in the eurozone. Angela Merkel has led the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) since 2000, and is now arguably the most powerful politician in Western Europe. The Christian Democrats and their allies, the Christian Social Union (CSU) in Bavaria, together won 41.5 per cent…