Dietrich Wanke's Homepage

United States President Donald Trump says the US is reinstating its maritime blockade of Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz, beginning “immediately”, and imposing a 20% charge on all cargo shipped through the strait. What we know: Trump wrote on social media that the US “will be reimbursed, at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped, for any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing...

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is set to deliver a speech on Wednesday titled AI in Australia’s interests, which will accompany a rollout of new policies addressing the use of artificial intelligence. What we know: Albanese’s speech is expected to outline how tech giants and the data centres that underpin their technologies will have to “earn” their social licence to operate in Australia (AFR)....

The Australian Federal Police have contacted more than 120 families as they investigate alleged child abuse by a former Sydney daycare worker, who police say worked mostly in Sydney’s north-west over a 16-year period. AFP Acting Commander Luke Needham confirmed on Monday evening that police had contacted the families, based in Australia and abroad, “who we have positively identified their child...

The United Kingdom’s counter-terrorism police confirmed on Monday that the killing of former British politician Ann Widdecombe is being investigated as an act of terrorism after “new information and evidence” was found. Police had originally arrested a 28-year-old man on suspicion of murder after Widdecombe’s body was found with serious injuries by emergency services in her home on Saturday. He...

Tributes for Sam Neill have been widespread across the film industry and beyond since the legendary actor’s family announced his death, aged 78, on Monday. The family statement said Neill’s death had been “sudden and unexpected” and he had been “cancer free” after having been diagnosed with a rare form of lymphoma in 2022 (Instagram). “Sam was one of the greats, a joy to be around,” said Nicole...

US and Iranian forces have exchanged heavy missile and drone assaults over the weekend, with Tehran targeting US facilities in states across ​the Gulf on Sunday and saying it has again closed the Strait of Hormuz. What we know: The US said the Strait of Hormuz is open, after revealing it had struck more than 140 targets across Iran (BBC). Iran responded to the US strikes with attacks on countries...

Australian universities will be legally required to adopt definitions on anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and racism towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, as part of an overhaul of higher education standards set by the federal government. What we know: The new standards, announced on Sunday, require universities from next year to implement steps to prevent racism and anti-Semitism,...

A new report by the Grattan Institute has accused the Pharmacy Guild of Australia of backroom deals and “calling the shots” at the expense of taxpayers, with patients paying “unjustified” fees. The report claims the powerful lobby group is driving industry profits through political donations and pricing deals made behind closed doors (AFR). Grattan has called for a reset of “dispensing fees”,...

US Republican senator Lindsey Graham died from “a brief and sudden illness” on Saturday evening, his office announced in a social media statement. Graham made a bid for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination that was won by US President Donald Trump, whom he once called “kook” before becoming one of the president’s staunch supporters (The Guardian). Following news of Graham’s death, Trump...

Top seed Jannik Sinner has defeated no. 2 seed Alexander Zverev in four sets to clinch the Wimbledon men’s singles title, as 17-year-old Australian Cruz Hewitt placed second in the boy’s division. Sinner’s victory marked his fifth grand slam and his second consecutive Wimbledon title (ESPN). Earlier in the day, Hewitt, son of Australian tennis great Lleyton Hewitt, lost an early lead in the boys’...

Giving a major speech at The Sydney Institute is a little like sneezing into a matchbox but only if the matchbox is empty and no one is around. This is the forum in which Angus Taylor chose to articulate his first proper riposte to Pauline Hanson and the rise of One Nation.

Indian students studying in Australia are riveted to politics in their home country, as the rise of the Cockroach Janta Party threatens a reckoning with the ruling class.

Australia has given gentleman and scholar Ali Amiri refuge and citizenship, and he is forever grateful for the chance to raise his family in peace.

The zeitgeist is all doom, but the best pop music so far this year is surprisingly inventive and infectious.

A group of Andrew Hastie supporters see countering One Nation and borrowing Winston Churchill’s military strategy as the path into the Liberal Party leadership.

As NSW Labor votes for far-reaching changes to poker machines, a $5.3 billion NRL licensing deal shows how Albanese’s gambling reforms allow companies to shift to profits from streaming.

Behind the Christian Brothers’ so-called ‘bankruptcy’ is a complex web of legal entities and trusts that leaves victim-survivors unable to claim proper compensation.

Between Donald Trump’s red card interference, brilliant campaigns by minnow nations, goals galore and a bright future for the Socceroos, this has been a tournament to remember.