Good Morning, Australia!
The trial at the center of America’s debate of Secrecy versus Security opens today; The UK Takes on Hate Preachers; A scary new virus is spreading, albeit slowly; And The Doctor is regenerating.

The trial of Bradley Manning begins Monday morning.  The US Army Private is charged with indirectly aiding the enemy by causing 700 thousand pages of material to be published on WikiLeaks, whose founder is still in hiding in the Ecuadorian embassy in London.  Manning said the move was intended to spark renewed debate on U.S. military action.  But the government says the leaks damaged national security and endangered American lives.  Manning faces a possible life sentence if convicted.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron today launches a new taskforce to confront Islamic extremism and so-called “Hate Preachers”.  The panel was set-up immediately after the murder of Drummer Lee Rigby, the young UK Soldier murdered on a London street by two men claiming Islamist motives even though they were both locally born and raised.  The ministers will look at if the government needs expanded powers to deport foreign-born preachers guilty of hate speech.

The worldwide death toll from a new SARS-like virus emerging from the Saudi Arabian peninsula is up:  The Virus has now killed 49 people.  The World Health Organization (WHO) recently gave it a more specific name:  Middle East respiratory symptom coronavirus, or MERS-CoV.  Most patients have been in the Middle East, or brought it back with them from the Middle East to Europe.  The latest country to get it is Italy, carried by a man returning from Jordan.

A senior Chinese military official says Japan sovereignty over Okinawa is not in question.  People's Liberation Army Lieutenant General Qi Jianguois is pushing back after the People’s Daily published an article by two academics implying Okinawa belonged under Chinese control.  Qi says academics can have their opinions, but the government’s positions have not changed.

Two people are dead after a Magnitude 6.3 quake struck Taiwan.  At least 21 people are hurt, three seriously.  Both fatalities were out in the open, caused by falling rocks.  Houses and other buildings were damaged, but a 12-story department store that shook violently for nearly a minute held, and everyone got out of there.  Later, a 5.6 shook the Philippines, but there is reportedly a low likelihood of injuries or significant damage.

Ten thousand protesters staged a rare demonstration in Ethiopia, marching through the streets of Addis Ababa and demanding the release of political prisoners.  The government did grant permission for the rally, although it is often criticized for stifling the opposition and the media on national security grounds.  More than 20 journalists have been jailed in the last couple of years.

Three of the ten people killed by Tornados in Oklahoma Friday night were famous “Storm Chasers”, and their work had been on a TV show of the same name. Tim Samaras, his son Paul Samaras, and Carl Young were killed while following a tornado in El Reno, Oklahoma.  Meteorologists say the Samaras team did not take unnecessary chances and provided a valuable service in collecting data from violent storms to further scientific understanding.  In all, 13 people were killed by Tornados in America this weekend.

The universe is getting a new Doctor.  11th Doctor Matt Smith is leaving the venerable BBC sci-fi show “Doctor Who” following the 50th anniversary special this November.  The beeb hasn’t announced who will take the control of the Tardis when the character regenerates into the 12th Doctor this Christmas. Smith said in a news release, “I’m incredibly proud of what we have achieved over the last four years.”