RBA lifts interest rates to highest level in 18 years!

(Gareth Hutchens’s post from the ABC NEWS AUSTRALIA on 03 November 2026.)

RBA lifts interest rates to highest level in 18 years to try to dampen inflation: The RBA's monetary policy board has increased interest rates for the fifth time in 2026.  

The Reserve Bank has lifted interest rates to their highest level in 18 years, while acknowledging it will take much longer to drag inflation down than it was expecting a few months ago. It has increased rates by 0.25 percentage points, which lifts the cash rate target to 4.85 per cent, up from 4.60 per cent.

The cash rate has not been this high in Australia since late 2008. It is the fifth time the bank has lifted rates in 2026. RBA officials argue the hit to borrowers' income isn't the main way rate rises lower inflation. But they often omit a key fact.

The RBA board's decision to lift rates was not unanimous. Six members voted to increase the cash rate target by 25 basis points to 4.85 per cent, while three members voted to leave the cash rate target unchanged at 4.60 per cent.

“Simandou” A Pilbara killer: China’s African Iron Ore Mine?

(Matthew Dunn’s post from the YAHOO! NEWS on 27 October 2026.)

China’s huge mining move 11,000km away sparks grave fears for Australia: A massive new mining project in Africa could threaten one of Australia's biggest money-makers, with experts warning billions of dollars are potentially at stake.

China's growing investment in Guinea's massive Simandou iron ore project could threaten Australia's lucrative mining exports, with billions of dollars potentially at stake. Australia's biggest export industry is facing a multibillion-dollar threat from a massive $30 billion Chinese-backed mine in Africa, sparking fears that funding for essential mining services and jobs within the sector will be impacted.

For decades, Australia's economy has prospered on iron ore exports — the essential raw material behind global steel production for infrastructure, housing, and vehicles. WA's Pilbara region generates over $100 billion annually from iron ore sales to China, however the emergence of the massive Simandou mine in Guinea allows Beijing to diversify its steelmaking supply and reduce its reliance on Australia.

Doomsday warning: Why governments are warning?

 (Jatin Verma’s post from the WIONEWS on 29 October 2026.)

Doomsday warning? Why governments are warning people to stockpile emergency supplies for 72 hours: Governments in Britain, the US, Japan and Europe urge households to prepare 72-hour emergency supplies amid rising security and disaster concerns.

Governments in Britain, the United States, Japan and across Europe are urging households to take emergency preparedness seriously, with many recommending that people keep essential supplies for at least 72 hours.

Russia's war in Ukraine, concerns about cyberattacks and sabotage, and the risk of natural disasters are contributing to this shift. However, officials stress that preparing for emergencies does not mean predicting a third world war. Australia also issued a warning and urged people to stockpile essential stuff at least for 72 hours.

The Data Centers: So-called “Clouds” On The Ground?

 (Robert J. Szczerba’s article from the FORBES on 09 July 2026.)

What Is A Data Center And Why Are They Suddenly Everywhere? Data centers, once unseen infrastructure, are now being built everywhere. The brief explanation as to why is scale: soaring AI and cloud demand has made them much more noticeable.

Data centers reliably store and process vast amounts of data. Many businesses have relied on them for decades, but what's changed is that data centers are now being built to train and run AI, which needs more power and specialized hardware.

The growing demand of data centers brings significant challenges. While they bring economic benefits like construction jobs and tax revenue, their immense energy and water consumption strain local resources and grids. AI's power needs also make reliable energy access a bottleneck, pushing operators towards on-site generation and new locations.

Scam Centres growing ‘exponentially’ despite Crackdown

(Libby Hogan’s article from the ABC NEWS AUSTRALIA on 21 July 2026.)

Scam centres growing ‘exponentially’ despite Myanmar crackdown: The scam industry in Myanmar is morphing and heading into the jungle, according to satellite imagery, victim testimony and local investigators.

Deep in Myanmar’s borderlands, pro-democracy fighters from an ethnic Karen armed group made an unexpected discovery after retaking territory held by a militia. The Karen National Liberation Army entered a large apartment complex behind jungle and razor wire fences. Inside, they found one of the country’s largest online scamming operations. About 3,000 people were working in the compound.

“When we started to hear their stories, I realised just how plain evil the treatment of workers was in there,” said Cameron, a pseudonym used for security reasons as he continues working inside Myanmar. He works for the Free Burma Rangers, a humanitarian organisation that provided medical assistance for the newly freed victims. “Some were out in the cold, all freezing and vulnerable near the river.” The compound, known as Shunda Park, was a hub of industrial-scale cyber fraud.

Australian House Values Fall as Downturn Spreads

(Aidan Devine’s Post from the REALESTATE.COM.AU on 09 October 2026.)

Australian house values fall in 82 per cent of suburbs as downturn spreads: A “perfect storm” of interest rate hikes, war abroad and controversial federal tax reforms has broadened previous weakness in Australia’s housing market into a wider downturn that is now touching nearly every suburb.

New data shows what began as a slump confined to Sydney and Melbourne’s blue-chip enclaves has morphed into a bigger correction, ripping through working-class suburbs and coastal hubs alike.

The analysis of exclusive realestate.com.au figures revealed a staggering 82.2 per cent of suburbs nationwide recorded average drops in house values over the past three months. It marks the first full quarter of suburb-by-suburb market data since sweeping federal budget reforms hit the property sector in May, including caps on negative gearing.

Just 10.6 per cent of suburbs eked out growth in house values, while 7.1 per cent recorded no change. The past three month represent the first full quarter of sales results since the Labor government’s sweeping tax reforms in the May federal budget.

Pervitin: The NAZI War Drug & The Predecessor of ICE

 (Peter Andres’s Post from the TIME on 08 January 2020.)

Methamphetamine Became a Key Part of Nazi Military Strategy: In The Art of War, Sun Tzu wrote that speed is “the essence of war.” While he of course did not have amphetamines in mind, he would no doubt have been impressed by their powerful war-facilitating psychoactive effects.

Amphetamines—often called “pep pills,” “go pills,” “uppers” or “speed”—are a group of synthetic drugs that stimulate the central nervous system, reducing fatigue and appetite and increasing wakefulness and a sense of well-being.

The quintessential drug of the modern industrial age, amphetamines arrived relatively late in the history of mind-altering substances—commercialized just in time for mass consumption during World War II by the leading industrial powers. That war was not only the most destructive war in human history but also the most pharmacologically enhanced. It was literally sped up by speed.

Few drugs have received a bigger stimulus from war. As Lester Grinspoon and Peter Hedblom wrote in their classic 1975 study The Speed Culture, “World War II probably gave the greatest impetus to date to legal medically authorized as well as illicit black market abuse of these pills on a worldwide scale.”

How China Saved Myanmar Army after 8-8-88 Uprising?

(Based on Burmese Facebook Posts in July-August 2026.)

Madam Chen Baoliu

It was November 1988, just after the failed-and-horribly-bloodied 8-8-88 Uprising in military-ruled Socialist Burma, and there were huge border battles like Maing Yang in Shan-North, Mae-tha-waw and Wan-kha in Karen State raging.

Maing Yang was under siege by overwhelming BCP (Burma Communist Party) forces on the China-Burma border line, while Myanmar Army was massively attacking KNU (Karen National Union) forces digging in at fortified fortresses on the Thai-Burma border line.

The CPB and KNU were taking advantage of serious disruption faced by Myanmar Army because of the nation wide uprising on 8-8-1988. And the insurgents had overwhelming manpower, weapons, and ammunition stockpile. 

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang: The King of AI!

(Aung San Oo’s post from the FACEBOOK on 09 October 2026.)

True crowned emperor of new AI era - NVIDIA's father Jensen Huang: The person solemnly receiving country's highest science honor award (National Medal of Science) from US President Donald Trump is NVIDIA's CEO Jensen Huang who is backbone of world's AI technology revolution.  

Who is Jensen Huang? Jensen Huang is an engineer born in Taiwan and moved to US since young to study, and in 1993 started founding NVIDIA company.

Many decades ago only produced graphics cards (GPU Graphics Processing Unit) to make better visuals for computer game players, but today chips he produces have become indispensable "Brains of AI era" needed for world's AI big models to think calculate.

Traditional CPUs can only do one calculation at a time, but GPUs invented by Huang can do parallel millions of calculations at same time, so it is irreplaceable foundation in driving Generative AI, AGI and Super Intelligence (SI).