Jamie Seidel

1 week ago | news.com.au | Jamie Seidel

A scattering of pock marks on Pompeii’s city walls may prove a mythological “super weapon” may have been real after all. At a glance, they look like acts of vandalism found across the ancient world – from the face of the Great Sphynx to the great standing stones of Britain. Few historic sights have escaped the temptation of trigger-happy troops, hunters and tourists. And the marks of these bullet impacts still mar their surfaces centuries later.

1 week ago | news.com.au | Jamie Seidel

China has again warned Australia against plans to take back its strategic Port of Darwin, threatening the move would result in “enduring pitfalls for the country.”“If the Darwin Port issue is further politicised, or forcibly taken back under the pretext of so-called “national security,” it would become another negative typical case that affects the healthy and stable development of China-Australia relations,” an anonymous editorial in the Chinese Communist Party-controlled Global Times states.

1 week ago | news.com.au | Jamie Seidel

Ammunition dumps. Armoured vehicle parks. Combat jet shelters. Helicopter pads. Finland is convinced the appearance of these along its border with Russia means it is next on President Vladimir Putin’s invasion list. Finland was once part of a Russian Empire. By President Putin’s self-professed standards, that means it should be again. “Peter the Great waged the Great Northern War for 21 years,” he proclaimed in 2022. MORE: Putin’s $2.1bn ‘kleptocrat’ mansion exposed“He was not taking away anything.

2 weeks ago | news.com.au | Jamie Seidel

It’s a stark, mountainous moonscape deep in the Saudi Arabian desert. But it is about to become the world’s most exotic ski resort. All it takes to achieve this is money. Lots of it. The enormous Trojena mountain retreat sits 2500m high on Jebel al Lawz, a mountain in northwest Saudi Arabia. It’s being touted as the world’s first “vertical ski village”. At its heart is 30km of artificial ski slopes winding above towering hotels, villas and shopping malls.

2 weeks ago | news.com.au | Jamie Seidel

Porn may soon be a crime in the United States. Donald Trump has graced the pages of Playboy on several occasions. Former fashion model Melania was never averse to a nude photo shoot. And high-profile Senator Ted Cruz has promoted hardcore content on his Twitter (now X) account. Under new legislation before the US Senate, all of the above would be criminal offences.