Aussie~mobs posted a photo:

Written on reverse – all very disjointed and written all over the place. Please advise me if I’ve transcribed words incorrectly. Sometimes it doesn’t make sense.

29/4/1917
Dear Mary
This was taken while gardening and digging up ground for potatoes to be planted for the troops. Some old pot took it 4 each. A most remarkable thing to us happened today. Yesterday we were isolated for mumps and measles etc and today we were transferred from hut 30 to a new lot of huts ours is 13 the wash house is no 3.
Note Thorpe marked X, McGowan 14 stone next to me. What do you think in the name H.M.A.T. WILTSHIRE 13 words.
Tomorrow will be the start of 13 weeks since we left Brisbane. Will we have luck or not? I was put as Corporal over the Chows and was told if anyone got away I would go in the clink.
We saw a great sham? fight today at Hurdcott visitors were here and two fellows got badly hurt one lost his eye
gas, bowls, cricket anything. Pretty to see.
I was luck again left watch in bath room for 15 minutes and got it.
Watch losing again 10 minutes each day.
Love and kisses, Harold

Researchers in Australia have created the largest map of cosmic magnetic fields ever assembled, revealing the invisible forces that shape galaxies across the Universe.

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Aussie~mobs posted a photo:

Regimental number - 2392
Place of birth - Colac, Victoria
School - Yalloak State School, Colac, Victoria
Religion - Roman Catholic
Occupation - Labourer
Address - Henty PO, Victoria
Marital status - Single
Age at embarkation - 24
Next of kin - Father, D Hurley, Henby PO, Victoria
Enlistment date - 17 March 1915
Date of enlistment from Nominal Roll - 28 May 1915
Rank on enlistment - Private
Unit name - 5th Battalion, 7th Reinforcement
AWM Embarkation Roll number - 23/22/2
Embarkation details - Unit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A64 Demosthenes on 16 July 1915
Rank from Nominal Roll - Sergeant
Unit from Nominal Roll - 46th Battalion
Fate - Died of wounds 13 July 1918
Place of death or wounding - France
Age at death - 27
Place of burial - Crouy British Cemetery (Plot IV, Row A, Grave No. 6), Crouy-Sur-Somme, France
Panel number, Roll of Honour,
Australian War Memorial - 142
Miscellaneous information from
cemetery records - Parents: Denis and Mary HURLEY,enty, Victoria. Native of Colac, Victoria
Family/military connections - Brothers: 249 Driver Thomas Joseph HURLEY, 2nd Pioneer Bn, died of wounds, 12 January 1917; 3869 Pte Denis HURLEY, 46th Bn, killed in action, 13 August 1916.

Nine-year-old visiting relatives in Punjab province when police opened fire on car, local media report

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A nine-year-old Australian girl has been killed and two of her family members injured after reportedly being shot by police in Pakistan.

The family were visiting a relative in Chakwal, in Punjab province, when they were robbed while in their rental car on Wednesday night local time, Pakistani English-language news outlet Dawn reported.

Inspector of custodial services says inmates are sleeping on the floor and denied basic entitlements due to ‘a systemic failure across multiple prisons’

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Inmates in Western Australia are sleeping on mattresses on the floor of overcrowded cells and subjected to “cruel, inhuman and degrading” conditions, prompting the jails watchdog to call for urgent reform.

Most of WA’s correctional facilities are in crisis, with an increased level of harm observed across the system, the state’s inspector of custodial services, Eamon Ryan, said in a report tabled in parliament on Tuesday.

Chinese spies are posing as job recruiters to trick staff in western governments into disclosing sensitive information, the Five Eyes alliance of security agencies has warned.

China’s military intelligence services advertise false jobs such as foreign policy or defence analysts on platforms including LinkedIn, the spy agencies of Britain, the United States, Australia, Canada and New Zealand said jointly late Wednesday.

The agents pretend to be HR consultants or employees of “legitimate-looking” private consultancies or think-tanks that claim to be located outside of China.

They pressurise candidates into revealing “non-public” information during the interview process, including by writing a report, the intelligence agencies said.

People with security clearance, military personnel, journalists and academics are among those targeted, the Five Eyes added.

Military staff may be asked about their roles and unit activities, home base or naval vessel.

Recruits receive anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand dollars per report, and may be offered more money in return for increasingly sensitive information, the agencies said.

They warned that “while applicants often have no direct access to classified information, even unclassified information” can be helpful to the Chinese government.

“Certain types of data can place the lives of frontline military or other personnel at risk, can weaken our economic prosperity, and enable interference in our democratic processes,” the agencies wrote.

They said they had identified people who had been duped by the scam, “leading to criminal prosecutions, job losses, and security-clearance revocation”.

Western spy agencies have repeatedly warned of the threat of espionage from China, as well as from Russia and Iran, in recent years.

Last month, two Chinese-British dual nationals were convicted by a jury in London of spying on Hong Kong dissidents on Beijing’s behalf. They are awaiting sentencing.

Aussie~mobs posted a photo:

Photo taken at Flinders Naval Base, later called HMAS Cerberus (which I think is what the name is on his cap). Name changed in 1963.

(This photo sold on ebay together with the portrait of James Murdock McEwen and also the family photo of Lieutenant Lewis)

By Matthew Walsh and Ludovic Ehret

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth struck a measured tone towards China at a major defence forum on Saturday, noting “rightful alarm” over Beijing’s military build-up but saying the United States sought a “stable equilibrium” in Asia.

Hegseth’s headline speech at Singapore’s Shangri-La Dialogue, which brings together top defence officials and experts from around 45 countries, contrasted with his strongly confrontational remarks on China at last year’s gathering.

Unlike Beijing, which has sent a panel of military experts and scholars instead of defence minister Dong Jun for the second year running, Hegseth is leading a bumper US delegation to the event that provides chances for both open debate and behind-closed-doors diplomacy.

“When we look across the region today, there is rightful alarm regarding China’s historic military build-up and the expansion of its military activities in the region and beyond,” Hegseth said.

Washington does not seek “needless confrontation in the region”, but rather “a genuinely stable equilibrium (in Asia) that works for Americans as well as our allies”, he said.

That means “a favourable but durable balance of power in which no state, including China, can impose its hegemony and hold the security or prosperity of our nation and our allies in question”, he added.

He said the United States sought “respectful” and “good-faith” engagement with Beijing, adding: “I wish my counterpart was here at this conference, but I look forward to other options when we can cross paths.”

Trump visited China this month, talking up “fantastic” trade deals but giving few details and later suggesting Washington could use its arms sales to self-ruled Taiwan as a bargaining chip with Beijing.

There had been “no change” in Washington’s stance towards Taiwan, but “any decision about future Taiwan arms sales… will rest with” US President Donald Trump, Hegseth said.

Vibe shift

The remarks contrasted sharply with last year’s event, when Hegseth painted China as a potentially “imminent” threat to security and outlined a swaggering vision of muscular American deterrence.

That day, he also took potshots at Beijing’s absent minister, saying: “We are here this morning, and somebody else isn’t.”

Chinese delegate Da Wei, director of the Center for International Security and Strategy at Beijing’s Tsinghua University, said this year’s address was “much more moderate”.

However, he found Hegseth’s depiction of China “ironic”, adding: “Everyone in the room must have been thinking: who is really hegemonic?

“Given what the US is doing in Iran and has done in Venezuela, I think it’s clear to everyone,” Da said.

US delegate Tammy Duckworth, a Democratic senator and strong Trump critic, said she was “somewhat disturbed” by Hegseth’s remarks, viewing them as overly conciliatory towards China.

“I worry that this administration is being distracted into wars that they’ve started in other parts of the world at the expense of our commitment here in the Indo-Pacific,” she told reporters.

Instead of Dong, China has sent experts and scholars from its army’s academic institutions, led by Major General Meng Xiangqing of the National Defense University.

Analysts have said Dong’s no-show reflects Beijing’s confidence as an established power with little inclination to answer publicly for its assertive moves in the region.

But some argue that China is also running the risk of having no senior policymaker present if two major security issues come up: reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and Beijing’s claim to Taiwan.

Hegseth again urged US allies to spend more on their own defence, singling out South Korea, Japan, Australia and the Philippines for praise while threatening consequences for nations that “free-ride on the generosity of the American taxpayer”.

“Those days are over. Allies who refuse to step up and carry their own weight for our collective defense will face a clear shift in how we do business.”

Iran threat

Hegseth’s remarks came as a peace deal between the United States and Iran to end their war remained elusive.

A White House official told AFP on Friday that Trump, who is weighing a final decision on a potential accord, would only commit if Iran met all his conditions.

But Iran has said “no final agreement” is in place, and its state media has rebutted parts of Trump’s characterisation of the deal.

Hegseth said Washington was “more than capable” of restarting the war if it wanted.

The head of the Pentagon is also due to meet his British and Australian counterparts as part of the AUKUS security alliance.

Australian media outlets have reported, citing unnamed sources, that the AUKUS nations are expected to announce a major project, perhaps involving uncrewed underwater vehicles.

By Jan Hennop and Matthew Walsh

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth is the headline speaker at Asia’s premier defence summit opening Friday, but China’s top officials aren’t expected despite weighty questions like Taiwan and the war in Iran.

Beijing’s defence minister is to skip the three-day Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore for the second year running, which analysts viewed as a sign of China’s rising power.

Yet, the forum that brings together top officials from around 45 nations has historically provided a setting for debate as well as quiet and high-profile diplomacy.

Defence Minister Dong Jun’s absence means no meeting there with Hegseth as China warns the US over its involvement with Taiwan and Washington seeks an end to the Mideast war.

The Middle East was the source of 57 percent of China’s direct seaborne crude imports in 2025 — 5.9 million barrels per day (mbd) — maritime tracking firm Kpler said.

Hegseth’s second trip to the Shangri-La Dialogue comes after US President Donald Trump’s visit to China in May, and his subsequent suggestion that US arms sales to Taiwan could be used as a bargaining chip with Beijing.

See also: China is ‘preparing’ to use military force in Asia, US says

Hegseth’s speech on Saturday is expected to be “quite strong against China, but mainly for internal (US) consumption”, said Oh Ei Sun, senior fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs.

“I think under Trump anything is negotiable and even with enemies deals can be done… (even) with Taiwan as a negotiating chip,” Oh told AFP.

Trump said “fantastic” trade deals were struck after his visit to China, although details were vague and no breakthrough with Beijing emerged in the war with Iran.

China arrived as ‘major power’

As the US and Iran clashed again on Thursday, threatening to derail a fragile push for peace, it “is unlikely that any possible deal will be discussed at the Shangri-La Dialogue”, Oh said.

China sent Dong to the dialogue as recently as 2024, where he and then Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin met for their first substantive face-to-face talks in 18 months.

“Dong was absent last year, reportedly due to China’s reluctance to engage with… Hegseth,” said William Choong, principal fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute think-tank.

China said Thursday it would send experts and scholars from its army’s study institutions.

Major General Meng Xiangqing of the National Defense University will lead the delegation, which is to include scholars from the National Defense University, the Academy of Military Sciences and the Navy.

Two other former defence ministers Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu previously spoke at Shangri-La. Both were subsequently handed suspended death sentences on graft charges, analysts point out.

“It’s kind of a poisoned chalice for any Chinese defence minister to speak out publicly,” said Jennifer Parker, adjunct professor at the University of Western Australia’s Defence and Security Institute.

With Dong again not attending, one of the reasons seemed obvious, said Choong, writing for the Lowy Institute think-tank.

“For one thing, China has truly arrived as a major power in the region, so it does not really need to send its defence minister to brave a fusillade of questions and try to ‘score’ brownie points,” he said.

Beijing, however, like last year, risked not having a senior leader present if the two most pertinent global security issues — Taiwan and the opening of the Strait of Hormuz — do come up.

“At a time when perceptions of US leadership are falling, Beijing could soothe some jangled nerves in the region by reassuring delegates that it would use force against the island only as a last resort,” Choong said.

AUKUS focus

The defence ministers of the United States, Britain and Australia — the members of the AUKUS security alliance — are also due to convene.

AUKUS’s stated goal is to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific region, though it is widely seen as a bulwark against a rising China, which strongly opposes the pact.

Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles said on Friday that Canberra was seeking “the maintenance of the global rules-based order” in the region.

“We’ve seen China engage in a very significant military buildup… and it has not happened with the kind of strategic reassurance which (we) would expect,” he told journalists at the forum.

“Fundamentally, we want to have a productive relationship with China. We want to live in a world which is governed by rules.”

Australian media outlets have reported, citing unnamed sources, that the AUKUS nations are expected to announce a major project, perhaps involving uncrewed underwater vehicles.

Aussie~mobs posted a photo:

The building was named after the Hon. W. Forgan Smith, Premier of Queensland, 1932 -1942, and University Chancellor in 1944.

The Forgan Smith Building is the centrepiece of the Great Court complex at the core of The University of Queensland’s St. Lucia campus.

The foundation stone of the Forgan Smith Building was laid in 1937, and the building was officially opened in 1949, although not completed until 1952. Sandstone carvings are a feature of the Central Court as well as on the façade of the building around the Law and Arts Entrances. These depict historical scenes and figures, the names of great thinkers and teachers, coats of arms, grotesques and carvings of Australian flora and fauna.
(QUT info)