News
How Fiji's water pipeline ran out of road
4+ hour, 42+ min ago (80+ words) Parts of the country remain without clean reliable water, exposing the gap between national ambition and infrastructure delivery. The Lowy Institute is an independent Australian think tank producing authoritative research, innovative data tools, and expert commentary on international affairs. We…...
Who speaks for the Global South?
1+ mon, 2+ week ago (326+ words) India, China and Brazil each claim to be a representative voice " but the constituency they invoke resists any single position. All three powers converge in one respect. They assume that the Global South can be represented, which is harder to…...
PNG court clears the way for Starlink
1+ mon, 3+ week ago (485+ words) PNG's national court has found the Ombudsman Commission exceeded its powers, likely ending a two-year block on licensing for the internet provider. That looks set to change after a judgement handed down on Friday, 24 April, at the PNG National Court,…...
Beijing intensifies diplomatic isolation of Taiwan's president
1+ mon, 3+ week ago (1069+ words) Lowy Institute Published daily by the Lowy Institute Beijing intensifies diplomatic isolation of Taiwan's president Denying airspace transit is a new tactic " and its effectiveness may encourage China to use it again. Last week, Beijing deployed a new tactic for…...
Don't write off the BRICS just yet
2+ mon, 2+ day ago (399+ words) Silence from BRICS over Iran looks damning. But India's upcoming foreign ministers meeting may prove them wrong. In the weeks after the US-Israeli attack on Iran and now amid a fragile ceasefire, the silence from the BRICS grouping " where Iran…...
Blocking South Africa from the G7 and G20 carries a wider message to the world
2+ mon, 3+ week ago (498+ words) Non-alignment is becoming harder " and costlier " to sustain. As it stands, South Africa will not attend the upcoming Group of Seven (G7) Leaders" Summit in June, despite earlier indications that it had been invited by host nation France. South African officials…...
BRICS promised a new world order. The Iran war shows it can't deliver
2+ mon, 3+ week ago (313+ words) The Iran conflict has again shown unity isn't a strong suit for the grouping. The BRICS grouping is nowhere to be found while the Iran conflict shows few signs of abating. Although Iran joined BRICS in 2024 and rising powers founded…...
Chagos, Maldives, Mauritius: A headache India cannot ignore
2+ mon, 3+ week ago (241+ words) A small-island sovereignty spat is becoming a test of India's ambitions as the Indian Ocean steward. It was only in 2022 when the UK and Mauritius began negotiating'over the future of Chagos, that then-Maldivian'president Ibrahim Solih recognised Mauritius' sovereignty over the…...
A second gold rush in Solomon Islands but a familiar extractive trap
3+ mon, 3+ week ago (282+ words) Gold is replacing logging as a mainstay for the economy but the government must balance revenues with stability. On the eight-kilometre stretch between Alligator Creek and the Ranadi industrial area in Honiara, drivers idling in the city's notorious traffic are…...
Who's afraid of Diego Garcia?
4+ mon, 3+ day ago (603+ words) Behind Trump's "DO NOT GIVE AWAY DIEGO GARCIA" bluster lies a careful deal that actually protects American power. It seemed like things were finally settled. Deals had been struck, approval sought and granted, and final discussions scheduled. Enter the President…...