Australian government to deny Chelsea Manning visa

The Australian Government is preparing to ban American whistleblower Chelsea Manning from coming to Australia ahead of her planned speaking tour.

Suzi Jamil of Think Inc, the Australian organiser of Ms Manning’s tour, said the government issued them a notice of intent to refuse her visa on grounds of character.

Ms Manning, a former soldier, spent 7 years in prison for releasing nearly 750,000 (seven hundred and fifty thousand) classified military and diplomatic documents to WikiLeaks.

Foreign minister urges Myanmar to take action on human rights violations

Foreign Minister Marise Payne has urged Myanmar to take action on the human rights violations occurring within the country.

Following the release of a preliminary report detailing various war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide within the Rakhine state, the foreign minister has stated the perpetrators must be held to account.  

The minister has allocated $70 million in humanitarian assistance to the region, describing the Crisis as the region's largest humanitarian Emergency, as 1.43 million people displaced due to the crisis.

Argentine President request early release of $50 million loan

Argentina’s President has requested an early release of a $50 million loan from the International Monetary Fund, amid the country’s growing economic crisis.

The country’s currency has fallen to an all time low as the Argentine peso has lost more than 40% of its value against the US dollar this year.

President Mauricio Macri said the move is designed to restore confidence in the Argentine economy. When the terms of the loan were agreed in May, President Macri said he expected the economy to recover and did not plan to use the money.