Independent Analysis and Reportage
The CSG is not legally police. Yet NSW Premier Chris Minns wants its armed guards patrolling public events despite senior police warning of favouritism and social fracture. One question exposes it all: would he ever permit an armed Muslim security force? Andrew Brown reports for Michael West Media. COMMENTARY: By Andrew Brown NSW Police examined
Democracy Now! ANJALI KAMAT: This is Democracy Now!, I’m Anjali Kamat. We turn to the occupied West Bank, where Israeli settlers are continuing to lay siege on homes in the village of Qusra, south of Nablus. The siege has attracted international attention, in part because one of the homes is owned by a Palestinian American.
The “insidious fallout” of Australia’s Bondi Royal Commission is upon us. Before the Commission has even reported, the “slippery slope to eroding our freedoms has begun”, writes Jeffrey Loewenstein for Michael West Media. COMMENTARY: By Jeffrey Loewenstein As Australia’s Royal Commission into Antisemitism grinds through its 9th and final “Hearing Block”, one is now able
By Rashneel Kumar, editor of the Cook Islands News The 2026 general election was a vote for stability, says political analyst William Numanga, as preliminary results placed the governing Cook Islands Party (CIP) on track to secure a fifth consecutive term. The Mark Brown-led CIP has secured 12 seats following the preliminary count, while independent
COMMENTARY: By Brett Wilkins Still drawing international censure for his genocidal call to kill dozens of Gazans daily, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has faced fresh condemnation after visiting the construction site of a gallows where Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis are set to be hanged to death, with select Israelis gathering as spectators.
Keith Rankin writes; While New Zealand today may be seeing rising numbers of older people, it is also seeing significantly higher total numbers of teenagers. Indeed, unlike many other countries with majority European or East-Asian populations, New Zealand should continue to have a proportionately adequate working-age population.
RNZ Pacific reporters Fiji is now in a generalised HIV epidemic, which means the virus is firmly established and spreading within the general population. The number of people living with HIV in Fiji has risen sharply over the past decade. Fiji’s Health Minister Dr Ratu Atonio Lalabalavu declared an HIV outbreak in January 2025. READ
Asia Pacific Report Palestinian Christian theologian Reverend Munther Isaac, the director of the Bethlehem Institute for Peace and Justice, has questioned the Israeli military’s announcement that it will investigate the killing of Hind Rajab and other Palestinians in the Gaza genocide. After two years of denial, Israel has officially admitted firing on the 5-year-old’s car
By Johnny Blades of RNZ Pacific Papua New Guinea’s Foreign Minister says he expects the issue of West Papua will be discussed at the upcoming Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) leaders meeting in Palau. This comes as the issue of human rights abuses and conflict in Indonesian-ruled Papua region, often known internationally as West Papua, appeared
By Johnny Blades of RNZ Pacific Extreme weather patterns continue to hit the Pacific region with some of the highest parts of New Guinea experiencing snow this week. Reports from West Papua say parts of the highlands region have been blanketed by snow and ice in recent days. This includes parts of Lanny Jaya regency
By Tiana Haxton of RNZ Pacific A 26-day deep sea expedition in the Cook Islands by a United States scientific agency has uncovered new information about marine life and seabed minerals within the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ship Okeanos Explorer returned to Rarotonga this week after carrying
By Brad Reed of Common Dreams US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has drawn an outraged reaction from critics after he unveiled sanctions against Tomoko Akane, president of the International Criminal Court. In announcing the sanctions, Rubio described the ICC as “a corrupt and fatally politicised” institution that has allegedly “abused its authority and exceeded