Trump’s record suggests that meetings with him frequently fail. Instead, Albanese has an important agenda to pursue at the UN in New York, and when dealing with the US better outcomes are more likely if Australia develops its own policies in its own interests. (more…)
Category: World
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Best of 2025 – UN at 80 – Rome is burning, governments are fiddling and the UN is ailing – Part 1
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the signing of the UN Charter. During these eight decades, much has been accomplished that calls for celebration. Yet, there is no denying that the United Nations is facing perhaps the greatest crisis of its 80-year history. (more…)
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Best of 2025 – Out of darkness comes a shaft of cheer
The news from Indonesia this month has been dispiriting – natural disaster flooding in Bali and Flores, man-made maladministration, political chicanery, perpetual graft and rioting in the cities. The headlines imply the country is crumpling. It’s not, and here’s why. (more…)
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Best of 2025 – The Liberal Party and Israel
The Liberal Party is correct in claiming Australia’s relations with Israel are at their lowest point ever. The real questions to be asked are: who is responsible, and how much does it matter? (more…)
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Best of 2025 – Brave new world
As Australia’s newly elected government seeks to navigate the shoals of President Donald Trump’s new world after the election on 3 May, it will behove us to think beyond our tariff concerns and AUKUS and focus on Southeast Asia. (more…)
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Best of 2025 – Who’s afraid of big, bad China?
Be afraid, be very afraid. But not of China. To the contrary, the proper management of co-operative relations with China is essential to Australia’s future. (more…)
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Best of 2025 – Australia is one trade deal away from backing authoritarians, says Taiwan
In the grand tradition of diplomatic overreach, Taiwan’s deputy foreign minister recently offered some sweet and spicy talking points to our media: semiconductors are tanks, China is akin to WWII Germany, and if Australia doesn’t fast-track Taiwan into the CPTPP, we might all wake up speaking Mandarin under a fascist AI regime, as reported by News Corp and 7 News. (more…)
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Best of 2025 – Australia must defend International Criminal Court
If it were China or Russia, the imposition of sanctions and threats of harm to prosecutors and judges of the International Criminal Court would be front page news in Australia. (more…)
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Assange sues Nobel Foundation to stop war-promoting Machado from receiving Peace prize cash
Julian Assange has filed a legal complaint seeking to block Nobel Peace Prize funds from being paid to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado over her support for US military actions.
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Beijing makes domestic spending its top priority – Asian Media Report
From China’s new investing in people strategy to Thailand’s threat to continue border fighting, revelations about Korea’s martial law bid, South Asia’s climate emergencies, the restoration of democracy in Bangladesh, and Seoul’s imaginative food waste scheme, the latest Asian media coverage highlights our region’s pressures, problems and opportunities. (more…)
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What the Bondi Beach tragedy reveals about Australia’s political faultlines
In the aftermath of the Bondi Beach attack, grief was quickly accompanied by political demands that blurred the line between combating antisemitism and suppressing dissent, with troubling consequences for social cohesion and civil liberties.
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Shrinking East Asia needs a safety net
East Asia has led the global recovery since the pandemic, but deep welfare imbalances are now threatening the sustainability of its growth model. (more…)
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Chile swerves to the right and into the past
José Antonio Kast’s election marks the first time since Chile’s return to democracy that an admirer of the dictatorship has reached the presidency. The implications run deep. (more…)
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Radar lock or editorial block? The ABC’s China-Japan report has blind spot
A story published by the ABC framed a military encounter as an act of aggression. But subsequent details told a more complicated story that Australia’s public broadcaster never revisited. (more…)
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Looking for the wrong things: peace, power and the meaning of Christmas
As another bruising year ends, Christmas offers a reminder that peace is not found in power, wealth or spectacle, but in inner integrity, humility and care for others.
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What Australia’s gun law response means for New Zealand
Australia is moving toward its biggest overhaul of firearms regulation since Port Arthur. For New Zealand, the lessons may be uncomfortable – and unavoidable.
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India and China in deep water over Himalayan hydropower
India and China are racing to build vast hydropower projects in the Himalayas. Framed as clean energy, the dams are also about territorial control, data sovereignty and strategic power in an AI-driven world. (more…)
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Cutting the Internet in Afghanistan is gender-based violence
The Taliban’s September Internet blackouts were not a technical disruption but a deliberate act of control. By cutting digital access, Afghan women were stripped of education, income, connection and voice – extending gender apartheid into the online realm.
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AI policy is stuck on productivity – and democracy is paying the price
Artificial intelligence is increasingly framed in terms of efficiency and growth. But that framing sidelines harder questions about power, choice and democratic governance. (more…)
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2025 in Review: What this year taught us about life, loss and shared humanity
Amid violence, war and deepening polarisation, 2025 has shown that despair and passivity are choices too – and that human survival depends on rejecting dehumanisation in all its forms.
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Prabowo’s first year: all power, no accountability
A year after Prabowo Subianto’s election, Indonesia’s democracy is under strain as power centralises, dissent is curtailed and the military’s influence grows. (more…)
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One UK journalist’s close access to Hitler carries a warning about Trump’s media restrictions
A notorious episode from the 1930s shows how access, proximity to power and the lure of influence can quietly corrode journalistic judgement – a warning that resonates uncomfortably today. (more…)
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Book Review: Merlinda Bobis explores four generations of colonialism and violence in the Phillipines
Merlinda Bobis’ In the Name of the Trees weaves four generations of Bikol women into a powerful exploration of colonial violence, language, land and survival.
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2025 in Review: Bullies and sycophants, cowardice on high, courage from below
A year defined by bullying power politics, media cowardice and moral failure – alongside rare but vital acts of courage that point to a different future. (more…)
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From partnership to pressure: why India–US ties have frayed
The downturn in India–US relations during Trump’s second presidency exposes deeper structural weaknesses in the partnership, from trade and strategic autonomy to diverging political priorities. (more…)
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Bazball has revolutionised English cricket – Australia should be nervous
England’s ultra-aggressive “Bazball” approach has transformed its Test cricket record. Historical data suggests it could also give England its best chance in 15 years to reclaim the Ashes in Australia.
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China’s challenge is explaining why it succeeded
Western commentary often dwells on China’s problems while overlooking the cultural and historical foundations of its extraordinary achievements. Understanding both is essential to informed judgement. (more…)
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Hong Kong high-rise renovations a murky, greedy industry – Asian Media Report
From Hong Kong’s deadly tower fire and surging renovation graft, to climate-fuelled floods across Asia, record weapons sales, a massive Korean data breach and collapsing Chinese tourism in Japan, this week’s Asian media coverage reveals the region’s mounting pressures and political tensions.
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After dominance: Japan enters a post-hegemony political era
After decades of near-continuous rule, Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party is now governing as a minority under a more ideologically polarised leadership. A new era of fragmented, negotiated politics is taking shape.
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When foreign policy becomes domestic theatre
Australia’s response to Japan’s rhetoric has been framed as a test of loyalty, but the outrage is largely media-driven. Caution in foreign policy is not betrayal – it is a rational defence of national interest.