Maeil Dairies Australia has invested A$13.5 million to acquire Corio Bay Dairy Group’s partially built dairy processing facility in Geelong, Victoria.

American entertainment studio Bento Box Entertainment has partnered with Australia’s Princess Pictures to form a new animation studio

Australia’s space industry is ready for lift-off, after granting the first-ever launch facility licence to Australian company Southern Launch.

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has entered into a joint venture with Australia’s Bis to launch Auto-mate, a new company that will provide autonomous systems to the mining industry.

Australia’s demand for cyber services has prompted PwC Australia to open a new onshore delivery centre in Adelaide, South Australia.

The US has granted new market access for Australian roasted macadamia nuts.

The Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement opens new market access opportunities for Australian agricultural exporters.

Australian agricultural exporters will benefit from tariff eliminations when the Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement enters into force.

Recent South American free trade agreements will have implications for Australian agricultural exports.

There are strong prospects for Australian sheepmeat exporters, thanks to rising demand and reduced tariffs under Australia’s trade agreement with India.

New rule changes mean Australian dairy establishments exporting to Chile will no longer be required to undergo periodic in-country audits by Chilean officials.

Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 identifies mining as a key component of the Kingdom’s industry strategy. This will open major opportunities for Australian companies in the mining, equipment, technology and services (METS) sector.

Australian Hass avocados have received provisional access to the Indian market. New access was granted after Australia demonstrated that its high-quality avocados could meet India’s biosecurity and food import requirements.

Australian raw sugar exporters can take advantage of unused US quotas in 2023.

Global energy prices have eased, but Australian farmers will continue to pay elevated prices for fertiliser and diesel.

Australian fintechs were in the spotlight at the Singapore Fintech Festival.

Australia’s landmark AI-ECTA trade deal to come into force on 29 December

Poland’s quickening transition to clean energy opens up supply opportunities for Australian METS companies.

Hobart-based fisheries company, Australian Longline, is now exporting Patagonian toothfish to India.

Tourism Research Australia (TRA) is Australia’s official provider of tourism data and analysis to support Australia’s visitor economy. TRA has a rich 35-year history of data collection at the leading edge of tourism research in Australia.

Austrade’s Economics Team releases new insights into Australian exporters.

Malaysia’s LIMA exhibition for defence, aerospace and maritime businesses will host a strong contingent from Australia.

Tourism Research Australia will start collecting data on business events to measure industry performance and help inform decision making.

Austrade invites you to join the 2023 Australian Mission to the ADB Business Opportunities Fair (BOF) in Manila, Philippines from 3 to 5 October 2023. The ADB BOF is a one-stop forum for consultants and contractors from around the world looking to provide goods, works, and services for ADB projects in the Indo-Pacific region. This is a great opportunity to maximise your chances of participating in major international aid projects. • gain first-hand information and insights about opportunities funded by the Asian Development Bank. • hear about key priorities, as well as upcoming business opportunities • network with industry peers and ADB specialists relevant to your sector and countries of interest • establish your credentials with the Asian Development Bank.

The Mongolia Mining Exhibition is the country’s top mining & oil event with Mongolia Mining Expo 2023 being the 12th year of the Expo. The Expo has been central to successful market entry and expansion strategies for many Australian METS firms. Attracting senior executives, mine superintendents, procurement managers, technical staff and potential partners, Mongolia Mining Expo is seen as the gathering of the Mongolian mining industry.

The Study Australia Education Fair in Mongolia will be a face-to-face event again in September 2023. Capitalise on the growing demand for study in Australia post-COVID and engage directly with prospective students and their parents in Mongolia.

In May 2023, Austrade’s International Education teams in South Korea and Japan delivered face-to-face Study Australia Education Fairs for the first time in four years.

Today I am pleased to announce the appointment of three new members to the Tourism Australia Board.

Today Australia has been reincluded on China’s list of approved outgoing group travel destinations.

The Malaysian Australian Alumni Council is seeking nominations for the 2023 Malaysian Australian Alumni Awards. The event aims to recognise outstanding Malaysian graduates of Australian Universities through six categories.

The Australia-UK FTA will make Rathbone Wine Group’s award-winning cool-climate wines more affordable for consumers in the UK.

A senior Somali official insisted Saturday that Ethiopia will not participate in a new African Union peacekeeping mission starting in January. The two nations remain deadlocked over a Memorandum of Understanding that Ethiopia signed with the breakaway region, Somaliland, earlier this year. “I can say that Ethiopia is the only government we know of so far that will not participate in the new AU mission because it has violated our sovereignty and national unity," Somalia Defense Minister Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur said Saturday in a government-run television interview. African Union troops from several countries have been operating in Somalia since 2007. They started with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) before changing the mission and its name on April 1, 2022, to the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS). Its mandate ends at the end of this year. For 17 years, the African Union mission helped Somalia combat al-Shabab, a violent extremist organization that threatened to overthrow the government and impose a strict interpretation of Islamic law. The aim of past and upcoming missions is to hand over security responsibility to the Somali National Forces. The nation is preparing for a third peace support operation, set to begin January 1, 2025, when a new mission, the African Union Support Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), replaces ATMIS. According to a United Nations report in August, ATMIS has been drawing down troops from about 20,000 to less than 13,000. The new mission is expected to number at least 12,000. AUSSOM is scheduled to operate until the end of 2028. It is not the first time Somalia has rejected the involvement of Ethiopian troops in a peacekeeping mission in the country. In August, Somalia Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre said Ethiopian forces would only join AUSSOM once Addis Ababa withdraws from the MoU with Somaliland. Mogadishu, which sees Somaliland as a part of Somalia, has described the agreement as an assault on its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Analysts say Somalia’s repeated demands that Ethiopia withdraw from the MoU have fallen on deaf ears, which further alienates Somalia. Professor Sonkor Geyre, a former director of the defense ministry, said Somalia has a right to choose the countries it wants and rejects others. “Somalia has national sovereign rights to exclude Ethiopia from the upcoming AU mission because it sees Ethiopia’s actions, including its MoU with Somaliland, as a national threat,” Geyre told VOA Somali. Last month, the leaders of Somalia, Eritrea, and Egypt signed a security cooperation deal seen as an anti-Ethiopia front, and Mogadishu has also boosted its military ties with Cairo, which has offered troops for the new AU mission. “There is an ongoing procedure that we will share and announce when the time comes regarding the new governments that will join and the previous ones who will not be part of the new mission," Nur, the defense minister, said. Under the current AU mission, at least 3,000 Ethiopian soldiers officially operate as part of an African Union peacekeeping mission fighting al-Shabab. Another 5,000 to 7,000 Ethiopian soldiers are stationed in several regions under a bilateral agreement. Other countries contributing to the current AU forces in Somalia include Burundi, Djibouti, Kenya, and Uganda.

Dakar, Senagal — The CEO and two executives of Australian gold mine Resolute in Mali have been arrested while in Bamako to discuss ongoing disputes with authorities, the company confirmed Sunday. CEO Terence Holohan and his two colleagues "were in Bamako to discuss with mining and tax authorities the company's business practices in Mali generally and to make progress on ongoing claims against Resolute, which continues to claim they are unfounded," Resolute said in a statement posted on its website. "Unexpectedly, the three employees were arrested after the end of these meetings on Friday," she reported. The three executives were taken the same day to the unit specializing in the fight against corruption and economic and financial delinquency — and were placed in police custody in a case of alleged forgery and damage to public property, AFP learned Saturday from a judicial and industrial source. Four employees of the Canadian company Barrick Gold, also in dispute with the Malian authorities, were detained for several days at the end of September, then released. Foreign mining companies are subject to increased pressure from the junta that came to power by force in 2020 and pays particular attention to the juicy revenues of the mining industry. "Resolute is working to reach an agreement with the Malian government that secures the long-term future of the Syama gold mine; at the same time its top priority remains the safety and well-being of its employees," the company said. The executives benefit from the support of the embassies and consulates of the United Kingdom and other countries present in Mali, she said. Resolute holds 80% of the shares in the subsidiary that owns the Syama mine, with the remaining 20% in the hands of the Malian state, according to the company's website. The Malian authorities have made the fight against corruption and the restoration of national sovereignty over natural resources their mantras. Mali, one of the poorest countries in the world, faces jihadis and a multidimensional crisis, and is also one of the leading gold producers in Africa. Gold contributes to a quarter of the national budget and three quarters of export revenues. The increased pressure on foreign companies coincided with the junta's strategic pivot toward Russia.

MELBOURNE, Australia — An emperor penguin found malnourished far from its Antarctic home on the Australian south coast is being cared for by a wildlife expert, a government department said Monday.  The adult male was found on November 1 on a popular tourist beach in the town of Denmark in temperate southwest Australia — about 3,500 kilometers (2,200 miles) north of the icy waters off the Antarctic coast, according to a statement from the Western Australia state’s Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.  The largest penguin species has never been reported in Australia before, University of Western Australia research fellow Belinda Cannell said, though some had reached New Zealand, nearly all of which is farther south than Western Australia.  Cannell said she had no idea why the penguin traveled to Denmark.  Cannell is advising seabird rehabilitator Carol Biddulph, who is caring for the penguin, spraying him with a chilled water mist to help him cope with his alien climate. The penguin is 1 meter (39 inches) tall and initially weighed 23 kilograms (51 pounds).  A healthy male can weigh more than 45 kilograms (100 pounds).  The department said its efforts were focused on rehabilitating the penguin. Asked if the penguin could potentially be returned to Antarctica, the department replied that “options are still being worked through.”

In Somalia’s complex political landscape, the tenure of Prime Minister Hamse Abdi Barre presents a compelling…

The post The Paradox of Power: Analyzing PM Hamse Abdi Barre’s Leadership Crisis in Somalia appeared first on Horseed Media.

Congressional Staff Program on Australia (CSPAUS) Application

This is the first recorded sighting of an emperor penguin in Australia, experts say.

[Dabanga] Melbourne, Australia -- A 52-year-old man was jailed in Australia today, after he deceived his Sudanese wife into leaving Australia, and subsequently left her stranded in Sudan. A Sudanese family law expert has hailed the verdict as "a victory for women". The man, who is an Australian citizen, was charged by Australian Federal Police in 2022, under exit trafficking legislation, enacted by Australia to combat human trafficking that pivots on the departure, instead of the arrival of the victim. Neither names may be revealed for

As Fiji continues its efforts to reinstitute democratic institutions, its relations with Australia continue to frustrate and complicate the process.

Australia is a case study for how the West prioritizes fossil fuels and military intervention over developing alternative energy and regional accord.

[Shabelle] Mogadishu -- In a strategic move to bolster Somalia's defense apparatus, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has made key changes in the military hierarchy, appointing General Sahal Abdullahi Omar as the new Commander of Land Forces and elevating Lt. Colonel Hassan Salah Abdi to the position of Commander of Special Forces.

[Shabelle] Mogadishu -- In a significant political development, two ministers from Somalia's federal government resigned on Sunday, November 3, 2024, citing what they described as the government's plans to exacerbate tensions with regional administrations, particularly Jubbaland and Puntland.

[Radio Dalsan] In a move that has captured international attention, Somalia's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Moalim Fiqi, has announced plans to relocate the Ethiopian Embassy currently housed within the Somali presidential compound.

[Radio Dalsan] Mogadishu -- The Federal Government of Somalia has dispatched four planes of humanitarian aid to Baidoa, the capital of the Southwest State, in response to escalating concerns over a severe drought expected to hit the region.

[Shabelle] Germany and Somalia are to cooperate on stepping up the deportation of migrants from the East African country.

[Radio Dalsan] A Turkish-made drone armed with missiles reportedly crashed on Tuesday in the Al-Shabaab-controlled village of Farsooley, located in Somalia's Lower Shabelle region, local sources have confirmed.

[Shabelle] Mogadishu -- In a move signaling deepening political discord, Somalia's Deputy Minister of Ports and Maritime Transport, MP Saddam Mohamud Abdi, resigned on Tuesday, accusing the federal government of constitutional violations and politicizing development projects in his home region of Puntland.

[Radio Dalsan] The European Union (EU) handed over a fleet of military vehicles and equipment to the Somali government on Tuesday, at the General Dhagabadan Training Camp in Mogadishu.

[Radio Dalsan] In a move to bolster Somalia's economic recovery and stability, the United States has forgiven $1.14 billion in debt owed by Somalia. The debt cancellation, announced by US Ambassador to Somalia Richard Riley in Mogadishu, is part of a larger $1.2 billion assistance package for Somalia this fiscal year.

[Shabelle] Mogadishu, Somalia -- The National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) of Somalia announced on Thursday the arrest of two men with ties to the militant group Al-Shabaab in the capital city of Mogadishu.