Anne Barker
Anne Barker finished a posting as ABC Middle East correspondent in 2012. She has worked for the ABC for more than two decades, beginning as a radio news cadet in Melbourne.
Australian fights against 'unfair' seven-year jail sentence for corruption
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East Timor's former finance minister and dual Australian citizen Emilia Pires is fighting to have her name cleared over charges she corruptly awarded a $1 million contract to her husband's company in Melbourne.
Topics: world-politics, government-and-politics, law-crime-and-justice, corruption, east-timor, australia, melbourne-3000
FBI recovers artwork stolen by Nazis in WWII
Posted
FBI agents recover a 17th century oil painting that disappeared more than 80 years ago when Nazis confiscated it from a German art dealer.
Topics: world-war-2, visual-art, arts-and-entertainment, germany, italy
Trump's stance on Iran nuclear deal could mean trouble ahead Analysis
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US President Donald Trump will find it difficult, if not impossible, to force Iran to renegotiate its nuclear agreement with six world powers, despite warning signs that Iran continues to flout its international obligations.
Topics: world-politics, government-and-politics, environment, nuclear-issues, iran-islamic-republic-of, united-states
Europe faces 'erratic' President Donald Trump on foreign policy Analysis
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European nations this week had an early taste of what US foreign policy might look like under Donald Trump's incoming administration after he criticised NATO, berated German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and predicted the EU would continue to fracture.
Topics: world-politics, government-and-politics, us-elections, united-states
East Timor's Government blamed for 'destroying' country's only airline
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East Timor's Government stands accused of actively trying to "destroy" the country's only local airline, giving Indonesian carriers a monopoly on routes to Indonesia.
Topics: air-transport, corruption, business-economics-and-finance, east-timor
Australian woman charged with running illegal surrogacy clinic in Cambodia
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About 40 Australian couples face abandoning hopes of a family, after an Australian woman is charged with running an illegal surrogacy clinic in Cambodia.
Topics: law-crime-and-justice, parenting, babies, fertility-and-infertility, cambodia, australia
Should we be scared of Trump's access to nuclear weapons? Analysis
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Hillary Clinton portrayed Donald Trump having access to the "nuclear codes" as a doomsday scenario, but now those fears have become a reality.
Topics: government-and-politics, federal-government, unrest-conflict-and-war, world-politics, united-states
Operation to recapture Syria's Raqqa could begin before battle for Mosul ends: US
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A military operation to recapture Raqqa — Islamic State's de facto capital in Syria — could begin before coalition forces complete the battle to retake Mosul in northern Iraq.
Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, territorial-disputes, states-and-territories, government-and-politics, terrorism, iraq
'This is the end of IS': Kurdish forces close in on Mosul as militants step up diversions
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The Islamic State group attacks a town in western Iraq in an apparent attempt to distract Iraqi and Kurdish forces pushing toward Mosul.
Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, world-politics, iraq
Memories of Mosul: Iraq's battleground city before the war
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The latest exodus of civilians from Mosul is just the latest in a series of refugee flows from Iraq's second biggest city.
Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, world-politics, iraq, sydney-2000
Thai King's death leaves country facing uncertain future
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During his 70-year reign, King Bhumibol Adulyadej was revered as a champion of the poor and seen as a force for stability in a country wracked by decades of tumultuous change.
Topics: royal-and-imperial-matters, thailand, asia
Old but not weary, Billy Young recounts his time as a teen POW
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Sydney man Billy Young spent three years as a prisoner of war under the Japanese, and is the only surviving Australian soldier who spent time at Sandakan. Now aged 90, he has written a book about his inspiring story.
Topics: human-interest, community-and-society, people, history, world-war-2, sydney-2000
Syria's Aleppo 'on verge of collapse'
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A medical group warns that the health system in Aleppo is on the verge of collapse, as Syrian Government forces backed by Russia continue an intensive bombing campaign.
Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, world-politics, relief-and-aid-organisations, syrian-arab-republic
NGA should get $11m compensation for stolen Dancing Shiva, court rules
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The Supreme Court of New York grants a motion in favour of a $11 million payment to the National Gallery of Australia, as compensation for its purchase of a stolen antiquity from a disgraced art dealer that was later returned to India.
Topics: art-history, law-crime-and-justice, library-museum-and-gallery, arts-and-entertainment, india, canberra-2600, asia
Kenya calls for total ban on ivory trade
Posted
Kenya is set to address the UN Convention in leading the charge to stamp out the domestic ivory trade between African nations.
Topics: laws, animal-welfare, south-africa, central-african-republic
Merkel accepts responsibility for Berlin election defeat
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel accepts responsibility for a humiliating loss at the polls in a key state election in Berlin, saying her Government's policies on immigration were a key factor.
Topics: world-politics, refugees, germany
Sino-Japanese tensions grow over disputed East China Sea islands
Posted
A group of eight tiny uninhabited islets northeast of Taiwan risk becoming the flashpoint for a new conflict between Japan and China, with both nations claiming to own them and neither side backing down.
Topics: world-politics, china, japan
Syrian Opposition's plan to end civil war allows Assad to remain in power
Posted
Syria's opposition groups draft a comprehensive plan to end the five-year war which continues to devastate their country.
Topics: world-politics, unrest-conflict-and-war, terrorism, syrian-arab-republic
Your dog can understand what you're saying as well as how you say it
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Scientists prove that dogs not only understand human language, but they also know the difference between genuine praise and meaningless words.
Topics: animals, human-interest, animal-science, animal-behaviour, science-and-technology, australia
Balinese garden guru Made Wijaya remembered as a study in contrasts
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The Balinese are mourning the sudden death of 'adopted' Australian son Made Wijaya, a tropical garden design guru with celebrity clientele including David Bowie and Francis Ford Coppola
Topics: death, gardening, community-and-society, sydney-2000, bali, indonesia
Xenophon calls for legislation to protect Ugg boots
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South Australian senator Nick Xenophon says legislation to set up industry trademarks — such as for feta cheese in Greece or champagne in France — would help protect Australian generic products, such as Ugg boots and barramundi.
Topics: law-crime-and-justice, manufacturing, industry, sydney-2000, nsw, united-states
Ugg boot-makers take trademark battle to court
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A Sydney Ugg boot-maker is suing US footwear giant Deckers in a bid to cancel the trademark that prohibits Australian companies from selling Ugg boots overseas.
Topics: law-crime-and-justice, manufacturing, industry, sydney-2000, nsw, united-states
Obama says fight against IS is turning him grey
Posted
The President says the US-led Coalition is making significant gains against ISIS, but the terrorist group is strengthened by the Syrian conflict and continues to inspire lone wolf attacks.
Topics: terrorism, obama-barack, unrest-conflict-and-war, united-states, syrian-arab-republic
Turkey divided between secular and Islamist rule Analysis
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Religious fundamentalism is a powerful force in the overwhelmingly Muslim nation where the military has a long history of intervening in Turkish politics to ensure the nation remains secular.
Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, world-politics, turkey
Wife of murdered Cambodian activist to seek asylum in Australia
Posted
The wife of a Cambodian anti-government activist shot dead in Phnom Penh last Sunday will seek asylum in Australia, saying she no longer feels safe in Cambodia since her husband's death.
Topics: refugees, international-law, world-politics, activism-and-lobbying, cambodia, asia
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