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…)
Category: World
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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…)
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Glen Hansard and the Ireland that learned to sing in its own voice
Glen Hansard’s life traced Ireland’s journey from poverty and emigration to global confidence, while never losing sight of those excluded from its prosperity.
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The UN cannot be left to starve while military spending soars
Global military spending is soaring while the United Nations faces financial crisis, even as conflicts rise and the need for cooperative security becomes more urgent. (more…)
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Pay where you play can fix global tax abuse
A proposed UN tax convention could shift global rules from taxing profits where companies declare them to taxing profits where they are actually earned. (more…)
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When leaders break the deal – Message from the Editor
Much of our focus this week has been on what happens when democracy, or the leaders we elect, let us down. (more…)
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How East Asia’s internet cafes became a cheap urban refuge
Across East Asia, internet cafes are no longer just places to get online. They have become cheap accommodation, workspaces and informal safety nets for people caught between jobs, homes and futures. (more…)
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Plug-in solar could bring renters into the renewables boom
New Zealand has recommended legalising plug-in solar, potentially opening rooftop-style savings to renters, apartment dwellers and others previously locked out of renewables. (more…)
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India’s students reject the compliance machine
India’s student protests exposed a deeper crisis: an education system built around high-stakes exams, compliance and fear is no longer delivering secure futures or good jobs. (more…)
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Trump’s vanity battleship exposes AUKUS reactor problem
The planned nuclear-powered Trump-class battleship could place further pressure on already stretched US naval reactor supply chains, adding to doubts about Australia’s chances of receiving Virginia-class submarines. (more…)
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Terrorism and the deliberate corruption of language and meaning
The word “terrorism” is applied selectively to enemies of the US and its allies, turning a legal and moral category into propaganda that obscures state violence and normalises genocide. (more…)
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The lessons from 1914 and the great-power mistake we keep repeating
The build-up of deterrence, alliances and enemy thinking helped drive the catastrophe of 1914, and today’s great-power rivalry risks repeating the same dangerous cycle.
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Has China won the South China Sea?
The weakly supported anniversary statement on the Hague ruling showed how isolated the US and Australia have become on the South China Sea, with ASEAN preferring diplomacy over confrontation. (more…)
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Pine Gap protest exposes Australia’s Indigenous rights hypocrisy
Australia champions Indigenous rights internationally, yet the militarisation of northern Australia raises urgent questions about consultation, consent and the use of Indigenous lands for defence purposes. (more…)
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The Hormuz crisis has become a test of state capacity
The Hormuz crisis shows that food security now depends not only on harvests and markets, but on whether governments have the fiscal, industrial and administrative capacity to secure fertiliser supplies. (more…)
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AI needs its own Paris Agreement
AI is advancing faster than societies, laws and institutions can adapt, making international governance, verification and shared oversight essential.
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The world’s conflicts should not become Australia’s
Australia cannot control wars and political upheavals overseas, but it can choose whether those conflicts are allowed to fuel division, suspicion and hatred at home.
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China is remaking globalisation on its own terms
China’s push for technological self-reliance does not signal a retreat from globalisation, but a strategy to remain globally integrated while reducing strategic vulnerability.
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Instagram generation’s win, Japan’s security drive, and Albo’s undiplomatic insult – Asian Media Report
India’s Gen Z social mobility crisis, Tokyo’s new foreign intelligence agency, Chinese chip company’s blockbuster IPO, regional nations’ evolving security co-operation, central banker’s sudden resignation, and the PM’s melon-headed mockery. (more…)
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Picturing armageddon: Will Trump listen to the next nuclear war film?
Films about nuclear war have often been dismissed by officials as inaccurate, alarmist or merely fictional, but their real power lies in forcing audiences to confront the madness of nuclear annihilation. (more…)
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Vale Charles Garrard (Garry) Woodard
Garry Woodard was a distinguished Australian diplomat, historian and strategic analyst whose service, scholarship and independent judgment helped shape and record Australia’s engagement with Asia. (more…)
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China and Australia cooperation: is it too much to ask?
Australia and China can rebuild trust through practical confidence-building measures and cooperative projects, especially in the Pacific, where shared interests are urgent. (more…)
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The cockroach that bit Modi
A satirical youth movement built on memes and a cockroach mascot has done what no opposition party managed in a decade: it has cracked Narendra Modi’s grip on India’s national story, and taken a cabinet minister with it.
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Trump, Infantino and the politics of patronage
The World Cup presentation with Donald Trump and Gianni Infantino revealed how FIFA converts football’s collective wealth into patronage, reducing supporters to customers and participation to spectacle.
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Interview: Iran’s ambassador on war, sovereignty and diplomatic failure
In an interview with Eugene Doyle, Iran’s ambassador to New Zealand, Reza Nazar Ahari, says the US and its allies have misunderstood Iran’s identity, sovereignty and resistance to outside pressure. (more…)