This week, Kurds in northern Iraq voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence for the country’s Kurdistan Region. With some 30 million Kurds divided among four states (Iraq, Turkey, Syria and Iran), nationalists argue that they …
The world Saudi women can finally drive. However, on a day that should have been celebratory for feminists driving the campaign (pun intended), the government silenced their voices by demanding that they not comment on …
When Foreign Minister Julie Bishop launched Australia’s bid for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in 2015, gender equality and indigenous people’s rights were two of the five ‘pillars’ of the campaign. …
US President Donald Trump’s first address to the United Nations General Assembly will be remembered, above all, for its bizarre language, and its descriptions of North Korea as ‘depraved’, Iran as ‘murderous’, and Cuba and …
Finally, after four months of fighting, the latest news from the southern Philippines city of Marawi indicates that the Armed Forces of the Philippines are close to regaining control of the city from Islamic State …
While a non-binding international call for action on the oceans may be seen as having little political importance for the Australian government, we’re a nation ‘girt by sea’: any movement in the governance of the …
The beat Chinese policing, Australian rules The Australian Federal Police and Immigration Department have entered into a new agreement with China’s police agency, the Public Security Bureau, on cooperation between the agencies. The agreement clarifies …
Myanmar’s military has lately been engaged in a brutal campaign against the Rohingya, a long-marginalised Muslim ethnic minority group, driving hundreds of thousands to flee to Bangladesh, India, and elsewhere. The international community has rightly …
Adelaide has been lucky enough to host the 68th annual International Astronautical Congress, the world’s premier space policy and technology event. It was an ideal setting for the Turnbull government to announce an early finding …
As Julie Bishop recently stated in a major speech on Australia’s relations with the Pacific islands, the region is ‘of great importance to Australia’ as ‘our nearest geographic neighbours’. Reflecting the region’s proximity, Australia has …
At the turn of the millennium, Bill Clinton quipped that trying to control the internet in China would be like ‘trying to nail jello to the wall’. Seventeen years later, it’s now clear that the …
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has described the city of Marawi, in Mindanao, as a candidate for becoming the Raqqa of Southeast Asia. He has authorised the dispatch of Australian military trainers (not special forces, as …
Australia’s annual overdose report 2017 identified ever-increasing levels of accidental drug deaths in Australia and greater use of opioids. It also revealed that Australians are almost three times more likely to die of a drug …
With the Trump administration stepping up its efforts to undermine the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran’s nuclear activities over recent weeks, Iran may soon face some difficult choices on how to respond …
Sea state The Chinese and Russian navies are conducing joint exercises in the waters off Vladivostok. The exercises include, among other things, simulations of detaining intruding vessels and rescuing ships in distress. Vladivostok locals were …
Germans have voted to keep Angela Merkel as chancellor, and expressed deep unhappiness about her Christian Democrat Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) – Social Democrat (SPD) coalition government. The SPD, the party of former chancellors Willy …
The Australian government is about to deliberate on the combat management system (CMS) for the navy’s future frigates. In the mix are Saab Australia’s 9LV, which is already working well on the RAN’s Anzac class …
‘With an annual budget approaching $2 billion and about 7,000 staff spread across 10 agencies, it is clear to us that on size alone the Australian Government’s intelligence activities supporting national security are now …
The Kurds are flavour of the month. We are now familiar with media coverage of Kurdish fighters, many of them women, pushing back the jihadists of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Pursuing …
The world The Economist published two excellent pieces that provide the context for President Trump’s growing Iran problem. The first explores the prospect of Iranian regional hegemony and nuclear ambitions. The second examines the mess …