THE GIST. Clive Palmer, and whatever's left of his Party, is going to support the government's proposed changes to the migration laws, meaning they're probably going to pass in the Senate.

UNDER THE HOOD. If the laws pass, then Australia will increase its annual refugee intake from 13,750 to 18,750, release children from the Christmas Island detention centre, and give works rights back to people on bridging visas. Peachy. What's the catch? The government wants to re-introduce Temporary Protection Visas (TPVs) - a Howard-era measure opposed by Labor, the Greens, several of the independent senators, academics, lawyers, and the United Nations Refugee Agency. So basically the lunatic fringe.

TPVs 101. The government grants a 'protection visa' to anyone with a well-founded fear that they'll be persecuted in their home country for various reasons. A TPV is like a a regular protection visa, except that as the name suggests, it's temporary. So in granting one, the government is recognising that the grantee needs protection now, but is having a punt on the fact that it will be safe to send them back to wherever they came from within about three years.

REWIND. TPVs were a pet project of the Howard government. The idea was (and is, apparently) that they deter people getting on BOATS. Okay, so what actually happened last time? Contrary to popular belief, there was an increase in the number of women and children who got on BOATS after TPVs were introduced. Other evidence is inconclusive.

RE-GIST. This Bill has some good parts (releasing kids from detention) and some bad (TPVs). Is it worth it? Is that an even an answerable question? Who knows. Let's just be thankful that we can leave such intractable moral dilemmas in the capable hands of Australia's richest dinosaur enthusiast.

THE GIST.  The Iraqi government has reached a deal with authorities in Kurdistan to share oil revenues and military resources.

WHAT-ISTAN? The area known as 'Kurdistan' is really just a region in Northern Iraq. It technically isn't a country, but has been a self-governing 'autonomous' region since 1970. Kurdistan is a realtively tolerant and progressive part of the Middle East, having passed laws to ensure secular schools and gender equality. With a global population of 35 million, the Kurds are one of the largest state-less ethnic groups in the world.

LATELY, BRIEFLY. The Kurds have been in pretty much constant conflict with the Iraqi government for 40 years. Recently the tension has been mostly a diplomatic one, with arguments over territory and oil control. However, that hasn't always been the case. There have been several bloody wars between the two sides, and in 1986 Saddam Hussein launched the three year 'Al-Anfal' caimpaign, which was in fact a genocide through which Iraq killed up to 180,000 Kurds, and used chemical weapons to horrific effect.
 

GOOD DEAL. This new deal between Iraq and Kurdistan is good for both sides: it will boost Iraq's oil production and repair Kurdistan's finances. Another added bonus: it unites the two biggest (other than the US) opposition forces against ISIS. Enemy of my enemy etc.

No commitment. A young Indian man, pledging himself to ISIS's holy war in Iraq, has returned home disillusioned after being put on 'toilet duty' by his jihadist superiors. Apparently death cults need janitors too.

Supply and demand. Legal marijuana in the United States (where half the states have either voted for recreational or medical use) is starting to undercut the Mexican drug cartels. 

Bad neighbours. South Korea plans on building a giant Christmas tree. North Korea threatened to shoot it down because it represents 'psychological warfare'.