Global Issues
Coping with Covid-19 as the Tokyo Olympics loom
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics were meant to be a welcome stimulus for the Japanese economy, and an opportunity to showcase Tokyo as a vibrant, “must visit” global city…
Books I’ve been meaning to read: Covid-19 and preparing for quarantine
(Update: A list of reader responses to this article is available here.)
With news dubbed #toiletpaperpanic taking hold on social media in Australia last week, the empty…
The curious case of the US Sri Lanka sanctions
In February, the United States imposed individual sanctions against Sri Lankan military chief Shavendra Silva, who is presently both the Acting Chief of Defence Staff and…
Podcasts
COVIDcast - Episode 1: The global response to the coronavirus
COVIDcast is a Lowy Institute pop-up podcast for anyone interested in understanding the effect of coronavirus on global politics. Each week for the next few weeks, Lowy Institute…
Side effects: Covid-19 allows India a chance to lend Myanmar a hand
The Indian Air Force last week evacuated 112 people stranded in Wuhan, one of several operations by India to the the Chinese city at the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak. But…
Europe under threat
The novel coronavirus Covid-19 dominates not only the media headlines in Europe but the everyday life of just about anybody. In the federalist European Union, it is still up to…
Does Australian travel policy to Covid-19 countries make sense?
The Australian government has enacted its Emergency Response Plan for Covid-19. However, the decision to impose travel restrictions on China and then Iran, but not on Korea or…
Modern slavery reports, year one: What can we expect?
In 2020, the Commonwealth’s much-heralded Modern Slavery Act (MSA) obliges Australian companies above a consolidated revenue threshold of $100 million to report on their policies…
Syria: What the UN can do, and must do
As the Syrian Government intensifies its offensive against Syria’s Idlib province, the final opposition stronghold in the nine-year old war, diplomats and UN officials are running…
Covid-19: Nearing a global pandemic?
The novel coronavirus, or Covid-19, has spread throughout the world in three short months. Outbreaks have been reported in more than 50 countries, there are 88,000 confirmed cases…