• The ongoing trials and tribulations of the Tiger Woods infidelity scandal have continued as sponsor Accenture terminates partnership with the golf champ after six years but other sponsors such as Tag Heuer and Gillette decide to stand by their man, Tag Heuer releasing the statement that Woods is ‘the best in his domain’. Meanwhile, it looks like his wife, Elin Nordegren, has possibly bought a $2 million secluded house in Sweden, perhaps where the couple will sit out for the next few months and escape the media spotlight. No doubt of some comfort to Tiger is that Playgirl magazine has decided not to publish nude photographs allegedly of the golf star, as they can not verify 100% whether the photos are indeed of him.
• Silvio Berlusconi was attacked by a projectile whilst signing autographs during a rally in Milan. The attack left the Italian Prime Minister with a bloody face and in considerable pain with a broken nose and two broken teeth. He will remain in hospital for the next thirty-six hours. His attacker allegedly has a history of mental illness.
• Last month it was revealed that North Korea had been building bunkers under the DMZ from 2004 until 2008 during the leadership of South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, whilst the two nations had a relatively closer relationship than now under the failed ‘Sunshine Policy’, which aimed to bring closer ties and trade with the view towards eventual reunification between the two Koreas. North Korea was found to have built 800 bunkers between 2004 and 2008, and had planned 1,000 bunkers all in all. Despite the Sunshine Policy, North Korea had plans and made war preparations with a look towards possible invasion by ground troops.
• Meanwhile, just one week after US envoy Stephen Bosworth’s trip to Pyongyang, Thai authorities in Bangkok, following on a US intelligence tip, have seized a plane from North Korea piloted by a Belarussian and with four Kazahk crew members which contained a large amount of powerful weapons, in clear violation of UN-imposed sanctions on North Korea. The planned final destination of the plane is thus far undetermined.
• And last, but definitely not least, straight off the press and Twitter. The Copenhagen Climate Summit has been suspended and is in chaos as member nations of the G77,which represents 130 developing nations, have decided to walk out of the Conference due to what they believe is Western reluctance to discuss a legally binding emissions treaty. This is coming after last week’s leak of a document supposedly delivered to developed nations in which they would sign a secret deal amongst themselves between the scenes of the Copenhagen Climate summit. No doubt more news on this to come…

• Big news on the sports front was the announcement that Rugby League international, Karmichael Hunt will jump codes to play Aussie Rules playing with the newly-formed Gold Coast Football Club in 2011, when the club enters the Australian Football League. Hunt will play out the rest of the NRL season with the Brisbane Broncos and most probably jump to yet another code in the interim playing professional Rugby Union in Japan or France for six months next year before commencing his foray into Aussie Rules. The news of Hunt’s defection to a rival football code was created a huge stir amongst the Australian (4-code) football fraternity with plenty of follow-up opinion pieces, such as this one from Rugby League former player, coach and now media pundit,  Phil Gould, since the news was released last Wednesday.
• A more disturbing news story to come out of Australia was the ongoing court case in which a man claims to have been raped by a stripper using a dildo at his mate’s buck’s night. As the case has proceeded it does seem that the man in question was indeed genuinely violated by the stripper who subsequently threatened to call in bikies if she wasn’t pay in full for her services.
• Young cricketer Phillip Hughes found himself in trouble for his twit in which he announced to the world before the commence of play that he would not be taking his place on the field with his Aussie team-mates for the Third Test in the Ashes series against England at Edgbaston. Encouragingly though,  former Australian cricket greats, Doug Walters and Matthew Hayden offered their support for the young opening batsman and his sudden axing.
• Another controversial story out of Australia this week involved scumbag and almost-universially loathed dickhead, Kyle Sandilands and his sidekick Jackie O from Sydney radio station 2day fm‘s morning programme. The couple thought it would be a good idea to have a 14-year old girl and her mother live on air for a truth-or-dare session on her sexual history complete with lie detector test. As the session continues the girl reveals the time she was raped to which arsehole of the month, Kyle Sandlilands replies, “Right … is that the only sexual experience you’ve had?” before the session is abruptly cut off with the mother and daughter offered subsequent counselling services. Understandably, the radio station and its two hosts received a wall of complains over their extreme poor judgment and lack of prior screening of the guests on a controversial topic in airing this session live, to which Sandilands lamely retorted that he was so shocked by the girls relevation he didn’t know what to say. The two have sinced been suspended indefinitely, with Sandilands claiming he’s ‘unable to go to air’.
• Rifts are emerging over just how to deal with the Taliban threat as there has unfortunately a large spike in allied casualties of late in Afghanistan, triggering debate from an increasingly war-weary allied camp especially in the US and UK over just how to tackle the threat of the Taliban in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
• The H1N1 pandemic continues its spread throughout the world increasing anxiety and concern as it nearers closer by the day to the northern winter of 2009-2010, when the virus could pose its greatest threat yet.

• The Sydney bikie war refuses to die down with an unprecedented meeting of top rival motorcycle gangs in Leppington, south-western Sydney last night, uniting to discuss plans to challenge the police’s attempts at targeting them. I hope the producers of Underbelly are chronicling all these events, it’ll make for a great third series!
• The Pakistani Army have made incursions into land taken or under-threat from the Taliban, though the Taliban still possess an enormous threat to the nation, and a result, the entire world should they succeed in taking control of Pakistan. Initially, reports were that the Army had been somewhat successful in their foray to wrest land back from the Taliban. But, recent reports indicate maybe they haven’t been as successful as previously thought. It’s suggested that the Army are at the root of many of the country’s problems ever since its independence 60 years ago. The US are currently considering a range of options to deal with this increasing threat.
• Anzac Day was observed across Australia and New Zealand, and in former battlefields such as Gallipoli – where the Anzac spirit was born – and across Europe and the Pacific yesterday commemorating  those men and women who have served – and continue to serve -  in the various wars and battles the two countries have been involved over the past century and a bit since the Boer War. Lest We Forget.
• North Korea has recommenced extracting plutonium from spent nuclear rods and have continued their bellyaching and belligerence in doing so. Meanwhile, American journalists, Euna Kim and Laura Ling, are to set to placed on trial for alledgedly crossing the Tumen river into North Korea before being apprehended by North Korean soldiers and could face up to five years in North Korean labour camps for their ‘crimes’. However, eyewitness accounts indicate that they were indeed captured on the Chinese side of the border by North Korean troops and hustled into North Korea. Moves are continuing to free the journalists.
• Iranian-American journalist, Roxana Saberi was sentenced to eight years in prison for alledgely ‘spying’ on Iran whilst working as a journalist. She, along with her friends and colleagues vigourously deny these allegations and Roxana herself has since commenced a self-imposed hunger strike in protest to her sentencing. Work is underway to free her of these false allegations.
• And lastly, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad unsurprisingly makes a fool of himself whilst speaking at the UN’s forum on racism. Note to UN – Next time, don’t allow a self-proclaimed bigot to address a forum on racism, it’s bound to ruffle more than a few feathers and leave the UN looking like an ass!

• Let’s start with the newly re-elected leader of the Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea, the ‘Dear Leader’ Mr. Kim Jong-il. Gees he looked like death at the assembly being sworn in.

I give him three months tops. But, funny thing is we’ll only hear of his death three months after the fact! Anyone keen for a wager, I bet $50 there’ll be word of the ‘Dear Leader’s’ demise by at least October 1st this year.

• Pakistan is moving closer and closer to failed state status by the week. Can’t be good news when it also houses 100 nuclear weapons.
• Closer to Australia, Fiji is under threat of becoming a failed state in the Pacific as the military leader under a “puppet President” is seemingly given a free range to do as he pleases.
• Despite ongoing and increasingly violent anti-Government protests against Thai PM, Abhisit Vejjajiva, having started during a SE Asian summit in seedy beach town, Pattaya. It can’t stop the sleaze. And last but not least,
• Madonna’s youngest son is a strine-speaking Hawthorn supporter according to the Sydney Morning Herald.