Stay indoors, practise social-isolation and wear a mask when you go outside. This Notebook edition falls on the 21st anniversary of Tiananmen Square on June 4. Let’s hope Chinese mainlanders with a TV set watch the unfolding events in Minneapolis, Washington DC, New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Philadelphia and elsewhere. Read independent (non-Murdoch) current affairs…

Senior Palestine ex-diplomat condemns Trump “peace deal” Ali Kazak, a former Palestinian ambassador and ex-head of Palestine’s delegation to Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific, has rejected the so-called “deal of the century” cooked up by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. For the record, the deal’s advocates are both…

Struggles for Personal and National Identity BOOK REVIEW – Murder in Melbourne: The untold story of Aiia Maasarwe by Alex Mitchell (2020) STUART REES WRITES: In courts of law, defendants appear before a judge, police and lawyers, each party pondering an individual’s identity. One question affects deliberations. Is this person worthy or unworthy? In university…

This week: 1) Secret of the NZ volcano tragedy; 2) Killing Gauguin; 3) Murdoch and the alt-right; 4) Israel and electoral interference; 5) A Jewish counter-view; 6) CIA pulls strings against Corbyn; 7) Julian Assange becomes election issue; 8) Packer family vs wildlife; 9) News list for Murdoch media; and more Secret of Kiwi volcano…

This week: 1) More questions about Aiia Maasarwe’s murder; 2) Never trust the Nationals; 3) Julian Assange case goes global; 4) British Labour Jews against the witchhunt; 5) ASIO’s Pink Panther – and more Mystery deepens over Palestinian student’s murder Palestinian student Aiia Maasarwe was stalked and killed in Melbourne just after midnight on Wednesday,…

This week: 1) Palestinian student murder mystery; 2) PM Scott Morrison’s assault on civil liberties: 3) John Howard’s link with China; 4) Political secrecy of ACT courts; 5) Defence chief’s fury; 6) Books to read and not read; 7) Prince Andrew uncensored. Why Aboriginal rap star murdered Palestinian student Codey Herrmann, a 20-year-old Aborigine and…

Khashoggi murder plot explained … Prince Harry checks out Governor-General job   The gruesome murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the disappearance of his remains was conducted by the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The chief architects are US President Donald Trump and Mike Pompeo, the 6th CIA director from January 2017 to April…