How Obama’s China trip killed CopenhagenDespite all the fanfare around Obama’s trip to China, he failed to make any headway with the country in securing support for serious emissions targets, says Steve Clemons. As a result, Copenhagen is now dead.
Politics / The World / Asia-Pacific
The nine nations of China
We tend to think of China as one big monolithic empire, but in fact, it is more like nine very distinct and different regions, each with its own character and history. Patrick Chovanec redraws and rethinks the traditional map of China.
China fails to fall in love with Obama
US President Barack Obama is on a diplomatic visit to China, but is struggling to win the country’s citizens over with his usually irresistible charms. Perhaps it’s because he’s being kept on a tight leash and well away from the media spotlight.
Kiwis voting system to go to referendum
Malcolm MacKerras has been trying to persuade New Zealand’s politicians to replace their Mixed Member Proportional electoral system with a better one.
Why New Zealand should become our seventh state
MP Kelvin Thomson’s call for Australia to shut the door shut on New Zealand migrants is way off the mark, says Bernard Lagan: we’ve done enormously well by plundering their best and brightest. Let them join the Federation, and everyone wins.
What they’re fleeing in Sri Lanka
Matt Wade visits Sri Lanka and discovers why the Australian government faces such a difficult battle persuading asylum seekers to return there: war-torn villages surrounded by landmines, a lack of jobs, medical care and education.
Aung San Suu Ki to be freed?
A senior Burmese diplomat has announced plans for the release of Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, following her latest 6 years of house arrest. But is this just another false alarm?
Is the world safe from Pakistani nukes?
The success of recent attacks by the Pakistani Taliban raises a scary prospect: just how safe are the country’s nuclear warheads from falling into militant hands? Intelligence officials aren’t so sure.
China’s "judo diplomacy" on ore still kicking
China’s Vice-Premier Li Keqiang recent trip down under only serves as a salutary reminder of the increasingly sophisticated yet tough approach by the PRC in its dealings with weaker nation states such as Australia, writes Tony Lamond.
Hartcher: The unstoppable tropical mess of Fiji
Fiji’s military ruler Frank Bainimarama has gone rogue, officially severing diplomatic ties with Australia. We’ve responded by putting on aid sanctions. But since historically sanctions don’t bring about regime change, why bother? asks Peter Hartcher.
Sheridan: Being hypocritical appears to be the Australian Solution
So, Indonesia did Australia a favour by agreeing to take boat people and house them in their detention centres and all they’ve got from it is a bunch of bad publicity? Time for the lefties to get over the fanatical hypocrisy and stop supporting people smugglers, writes Greg Sheridan.
Will the real Kim Jong Il please stand up?
Many analysts believe the North Korean leader we’ve been seeing in photos of late — such as the one with Bill Clinton — isn’t the real Kim Jong Il, but a look-a-like, standing-in to hide Dear Leader’s ailing health.
Best to stay on the boat and avoid Indonesia’s corruption
Indonesia has a notoriously corrupt justice system, yet we have agreed to send innocent people seeking asylum in Australia there. Angela Dewan explores the overcrowded, under funded and crooked Indonesian jails.
Sri Lanka inadvertently throws Tamils a lifeline
Disparaging comments about Tamil asylum seekers by the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Australia makes it almost certain they will meet the criteria of the Refugee Convention, even if they didn’t before, writes Andrew Bartlett.
The earth-asteroid collision that didn’t make headlines
On October 8, a mini-asteroid screamed into the upper atmosphere over the Indonesia and exploded with the force equivalent to two to three times that of the atom bombs that incinerated Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Time to stand up for human rights in Sri Lanka — at last
It’s Sri Lanka Week, but rather than thinking about investments, perhaps we should focus on the 300,000 Tamils being imprisoned in an internment camp in the country, in direct violation of their human rights rights, writes Jake Lynch.
Much to do before PNG LNG project profits the people
Yesterday, the largest resources project in Papua New Guinea’s history moved a step closer, with the PNG government giving environmental approval for the vast PNG LNG project. But will this project help to dent the widespread poverty?
Grattan: Refugees hold Rudd hostage
Kevin Rudd’s ‘Indonesian Solution’ for the 78 Sri Lankan asylum seekers has turned into a debacle with neither Indonesia nor Australian in charge, writes Michelle Grattan. Will they have to remove the refugees from the Oceanic Viking by force?
Letter from...: Aceh Part II: the only Jew in the village
Jakarta may now control their lives but an independent streak still runs through the veins of the Banda Aceh province, with a growing number of writers, discussions of morality and pirated DVDs.
What’s happened to all the Pacific seasonal workers?
If the Rudd government is serious about regional economic integration, it must address the link between labour mobility and development in the islands region, writes Nic Maclellan.
What is the fuss over former LTTE members in Australia?
Memo to Wilson Tuckey: There are already former members of the Tamil Tigers living in Australia — mostly professional people, raising successful children, writes Bruce Haigh.
The difference between a terrorist and a terrorist
When is a terrorist deemed a genuine refugee who doesn’t pose any threat to Australia? When they’re not a Muslim, apparently. But what makes the Tamil Tigers any different to Hamas, Hezbollah or the Taliban?
A tour of Indonesia’s detention centres
First hand experiences of Indonesia’s detention centres, where asylum seekers are treated like animals, beating are frequent, and there’s no access to medical care, education, or adequate food.
Can Tamil Tigers be rehabilitated?
A $23m foreign-backed program in Sri Lanka is attempting to “rehabilitate” former members of the Tamil Tigers, many of whom were forcibly recruited and some as young as 12. But with anti-Tamil sentiment still raging, will Sri Lankans really accept former militants into their society?
The trapped world of Kim Jong-il
North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il may cop a lot of flack, but he’s not an idiot. He is, however, in a difficult position, where further opening of borders will risk his (increasingly limited) political power.
