There was a time during John Howard's 11 years as prime minister when Australia was often contemptuously referred to as the deputy sheriff for the US in the Asia-Pacific region by the PM of a near neighbour. Now a row has erupted between Canberra and the UK over the same issue - this time involving Huawei. Sam Varghese comments.

A parliamentary panel, that is reviewing the mandatory data retention laws introduced in 2017, has been told that the legislation goes too far and should be scaled back.

FireFlight, an aerial fire-mapping system developed at the University of South Australia's Innovation and Collaboration Centre, was used in the fight against the massive blazes that enveloped Kangaroo Island recently, to support efforts by other agencies to fight the fires.

The Australian Strategic Policy Institute, a think-tank that claims to be independent and non-partisan but which receives the bulk of its funds from defence firms, has accepted money from the US State Department's Global Engagement Centre to carry out a study on Australian universities that have collaborated on research with institutions in China, leading to questions about the integrity of the study.

Optus has switched on a new tower in Kyneton in regional Victoria to provide coverage and connectivity for the Macedon Ranges by partnering with the Victorian Government to eliminate a mobile blackspot in the area. It has taken this long for Macedon to get adequate Optus coverage?

And of course, there's plenty more so for all the news visit www.itwire.com.

Have a great day!

Stan Beer, Editor in Chief, iTWire

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