Independent Analysis and Reportage
COMMENTARY: By Lim Tean In 1904, a British geographer named Halford Mackinder stood before the Royal Geographical Society in London and delivered what would become the most prophetic warning in the history of geopolitics: “Who rules the Heartland commands the World Island. Who rules the World Island commands the World.” Mackinder’s insight was deceptively simple.
Asia Pacific Report A New Zealand policy research and advocacy group released a detailed blueprint today for a fresh “independent” Te Tiriti and Pacific-based approach to foreign policy, and called for greater transparency in election year. The current coalition government has “radically shifted New Zealand’s longstanding foreign policy traditions” — including by moving the country
May Pik is a Jewish woman now living in Aotearoa. She gave this perspective on growing up in Israel and why she moved to New Zealand as a talk at a recent national hui of the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA) in Rotorua. COMMENTARY: By May Pik The Israeli narrative is mostly told through the
By RNZ Pacific reporters and Mark Rabago The US Tsunami Warning Centre has issued advisories for parts of the Pacific following a massive earthquake off Mindanao in the Philippines. The magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck at a depth of 63km truck off the coast of Sarangani province on Monday morning, rocking many parts of Mindanao and
COMMENTARY: By Lim Tean Germany learnt to its huge cost and embarrassment last week that supporting Israel’s genocidal operations in Gaza and elsewhere in the Middle East leads only to opprobrium from the international community. A country which had been a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for decades lost in its bid
Asia Pacific Report A South Auckland-based cultural studio founded by Fijian artist-curator Vasemaca (FKA Ema) Tavola has hit back at a spate of pro-Israeli propaganda in her homeland with a bold new banner design championing “Fijians for Palestine”. Tavola’s practice is aligned with the “politics of decolonisation and indigenous feminisms, motherhood, and histories of BIPOC
By Patrick Decloitre of RNZ Pacific A court in Paris has dropped all charges against pro-independence Kanak leader Christian Téin and 13 others in their alleged role in the May 2024 civil unrest in New Caledonia. In announcing their ruling on Friday in Paris to French national media, the panel of judges said they had
After years away, I have finally returned to Palestine, not just to visit but to reconnect with the land, the people, the memories, and the reality lived every day, writes Maher Nazzal. COMMENTARY: By Maher Nazzal Walking into Palestine is not just a journey across geography, it is a confrontation with memory, identity, and everything
By Jake Wise in Suva Fiji will not be “militarily involved” in any of the conflicts currently involving the State of Israel, says the country’s prime minister. Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka made this reassurance yesterday, saying Fiji’s relationship with Israel would remain focused on development co-operation and strengthening bilateral ties, not military engagement. Israel’s new
Asia Pacific Report Indonesia has kidnapped and threatened Mama Yasinta Moiwend (Mama Sinta), one of the Marind tribe women featured in the controversial documentary Pesta Babi (Pig Feast), into denying the film and its message, claims a West Papuan advocacy group. Pesta Babi, which focuses on the Merauke sugarcane megaproject and was premiered in New
Asia Pacific Report Pro-Palestine protesters in Fiji and Aotearoa New Zealand staged pickets in three cities today in protest against Israel opening its first embassy in Oceania. Before visiting Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar formally opened the embassy in the Fji capital, about 30 protesters gathered at the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre (FWCC) — just
RNZ Morning Report Prime Minister Christopher Luxon insists the government is not going to review New Zealand’s nuclear-free stance, and doing so would be detrimental to relations with other countries, according to a former defence minister. However, the opposition is sceptical of the government’s commitment to the four-decade-old stance. Defence Minister Chris Penk, speaking at