Conflict in the South China SeaThreatens Australia’s Fuel Imports
China’s saber-rattling around Taiwan underlines the need for Australia to be prepared for conflict in the South China Sea.With its growing navy and air force, and the bases it has built throughout the area, China is increasingly capable of disrupting shipping lanes crucial to Australia’s exports and imports.Chinese military bases across the South China Sea (© OpenStreetMap contributors)Of particular concern is our reliance on liquid fuels imported via South China Sea shipping routes.
Serbs Wade in Shrinking Danube as Dredgers Work Flat-out
Serbian sunseekers flocking to the riverside beaches of Novi Sad have adopted new pastime this summer—wading across a vast stretch of the Danube usually reserved for cargo barges and cruise ships.The navigable channel of western Europe's longest river, a trade and transport artery that passes through ten countries, is usually several hundred meters wide where it flows through Serbia's second-largest…
Workers at UK's Biggest Container Port to Begin 8-day Strike
More than 1,900 workers at Britain's biggest container port are due on Sunday to start eight days of strike action which their union and shipping companies warn could seriously affect trade and supply chains.The staff at Felixstowe, on the east coast of England, are taking industrial action in a dispute over pay, becoming the latest workers to strike in Britain as unions demand higher wages for members…