Youth-led uprisings are reshaping South Asia, but similar frustrations have produced radically different outcomes depending on whether political institutions repress, adapt or give way. (more…)
Category: World
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‘Economic D-Day’ against Iran is unlikely to deliver victory
Washington hopes unprecedented sanctions will force Iran into submission. China and Pakistan are already refusing to comply, while retaliation could deepen the economic damage for the US and its allies. (more…)
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Nolan’s The Odyssey and the moral blindness of power
Christopher Nolan’s *The Odyssey* offers a warning for modern powers: military strength means little when nations abandon restraint, moral responsibility and shared humanity. (more…)
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Wrestling with faith in the face of genocide?
The suffering in Gaza and the West Bank poses an uncomfortable question for people of faith: do principles of justice, mercy and compassion apply equally when our deepest loyalties are tested? (more…)
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Trump destabilising East Asia’s security order
Trump’s transactional approach to US alliances is pushing South Korea and Japan towards greater strategic autonomy, as China seeks to shape an increasingly uncertain East Asian security order. (more…)
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Afghanistan: Present, past and future
Five years into renewed Taliban rule, Afghanistan’s future remains uncertain. What went wrong with two decades of peacebuilding – and what can be done now? (more…)
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Anger and fear is real – but don’t blame migrants
Australia’s anger over housing, inequality and living costs is real, but blaming migration risks fuelling the populist politics of fear and division. (more…)
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Australia should work with China, not try to contain it
China’s growing power is reshaping the region. Australia should respond with diplomacy and stronger economic ties rather than military confrontation it cannot hope to win. (more…)
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Trump’s Canada trade war spirals as talks collapse
The collapse of US-Canada trade talks marks a new low between the two nations, with warnings of major economic and human impacts on both sides of national borders. (more…)
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Cambodia and Gaza: breaking the cycle of violence
Laurent Evrard contrasts the genocides in Gaza and Cambodia, and finds that Israel’s pursuit of security through military dominance perpetuates trauma and that lasting peace requires breaking the cycle. (more…)
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Afghanistan’s silence is being counted as peace
Afghanistan’s battlefields are quieter, but millions of girls remain excluded from education. The consequences will emerge slowly – in missing doctors, teachers, midwives and skills. (more…)
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AI is about to reshape disease, war and economic growth
AI’s impact will extend well beyond jobs and productivity, reshaping how societies confront disease, wage war and generate economic growth. (more…)
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The lessons of Long Tan
Sixty years after the Battle of Long Tan, a simple Canberra commemoration offered a more thoughtful kind of remembrance – one that honours the dead on all sides and questions the mythology of victory. (more…)
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The rewriting of Syrian history
Syria’s new political order is being presented as a clean break with dictatorship, while the history of Islamist armed groups, foreign intervention and the destruction of the Syrian state is pushed aside.
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After 81 years of men, will the UN finally choose a woman?
The United Nations has never appointed a woman Secretary-General. Four experienced women are now in the running, but the Security Council’s veto politics could still decide the outcome. (more…)
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Five years on, the Taliban faces growing pressure in Afghanistan
Five years after returning to power, the Taliban remains deeply repressive, while growing tensions with Pakistan, armed opposition groups and a deepening humanitarian crisis are putting new pressure on its rule. (more…)
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China’s EV success was built on more than government intervention
China’s rise as the world’s leading electric vehicle producer offers an interesting case study in industrial policy. Its experience shows how competition between government agencies, local governments and private capital can drive experimentation and innovation, while also creating challenges for governments seeking to support emerging industries. (more…)
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Why the US-Iran ceasefire collapsed
A US-Iran ceasefire agreement intended to pave the way for 60 days of peace talks collapsed amid renewed military strikes and disputes over the Strait of Hormuz. With both sides accusing each other of violating the deal, negotiations remain deadlocked and the wider war shows little sign of being resolved. (more…)
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Cuba needs energy security, not another generation of collective punishment
Six months of intensified US pressure on Cuba’s energy supply have deepened blackouts, transport failures and shortages. The immediate need is humanitarian relief; the longer-term answer is energy sovereignty. (more…)
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New Zealand government on rocky road to November election
Winston Peters’ comment to a Chinese-born MP has drawn a formal rebuke from Beijing and exposed the political cost of relying on New Zealand First as Christopher Luxon heads towards a difficult election. (more…)
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A Trump-linked oil push raises the stakes in Greenland
Donald Trump has renewed his threats to take Greenland as a US oil company with ties to his allies makes unauthorised preparations to drill there, raising fears that pressure on the territory is moving beyond rhetoric. (more…)
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Five Fijian sparkies and the real challenge of remote renewable energy
A remote solar and battery system can replace diesel, but lasting energy independence depends on something less easily shipped – local people with the skills and confidence to maintain it. (more…)
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Of melons and militarism: A Japanese nationalist’s verbal missile hits Canberra
Former ambassador Yamagami Shingo is again shaping Australian political debate. His nationalist commentary, partisan interventions and revisionist views deserve scrutiny before his attacks are treated as the voice of Japan. (more…)
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Human rights groups challenge Trump’s attack on the ICC
Four US human rights groups are challenging Trump administration sanctions they say criminalise cooperation with the International Criminal Court and obstruct efforts to pursue justice for Gaza. (more…)
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Muslim defence pact, China-Indonesia naval drill, and giant reformer’s death – Asian Media Report
Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan’s new defence pact could reshape West Asian security, while China and Indonesia plan naval drills east of Taiwan. Also: Thailand’s welcome for Myanmar’s leader, Zhu Rongji’s legacy, the weak yen and India’s TV credibility crisis.
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New Zealand’s CEO prime minister survives for now – but is struggling with politics
Christopher Luxon has survived another confidence vote, but the failed leadership challenge has exposed a government under strain, a deeply unpopular political class and an electorate increasingly underwhelmed. (more…)
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Count Binface is no joke – fringe candidates can change politics
Britain’s eccentric election candidates are easy to dismiss as comic relief. History suggests they can expose public discontent, influence results and help redraw the boundary between the political fringe and the mainstream. (more…)
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Sanctions can be as deadly as war – and children pay the price
New research links unilateral economic sanctions to more than half a million deaths each year, with children under five disproportionately affected. Cuba shows how policies intended to punish governments can instead devastate civilian lives. (more…)
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Medical care is being made a target of war
A decade after the UN demanded protection for medical care in war, attacks on hospitals, health workers, patients and humanitarian aid continue with devastating impunity.
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Iran is making Trump pay for his way out
Trump may be willing to declare victory if Iran reopens the Strait of Hormuz, but Tehran is using its leverage to demand sanctions relief, compensation and an end to US military pressure. (more…)