Chinese nationalism is rampant, the poison by which the so-called Communist regime sustains its right to govern today. Talk to any semi-educated Han and you will hear all about China’s phenomenal 5000 years of culture; dig into that talk and you will understand how the past 100 years of Chinese turbulence and misery are the fault of the West.

Both positions will be filled by diplomats from the Department of Foreign Affairs and trade, as opposed to former politicians. New Zealand High Commissioner John Dauth will be the new High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland while Secretariat head Justin Brown will be the new High Commissioner to Canada.

A week before Christmas the Rudd Government announced Australia had doubled its 2008 aid package to the Palestinian territories to $45 million. A senior Australian diplomatic source told me the increase “succinctly reflected a subtle repositioning and a new approach” in the Middle East.

In many ways, the answer to that all-important question - did the week-long tour by Senator Obama appear too presumptuous - may prove crucial in gauging what effect, if any, his ambitious overseas trip will have in the final months of the presidential race on the people who will decide the election.

Two Australian soldiers have been injured, one seriously, in southern Afghanistan when two pen-flares accidentally discharged during a routine patrol. The mishap occured last Wednesday while Australian troops were on a reconstruction task force patrol in Oruzgan Province.