North Korea is back in the papers, with talks at both the local and global level sending an optimistic message. Kim Jong-un isn't likely to give up his nuclear weapons any time soon, but a reduction in tension would be a good thing.
Iran lurches further down the theocratic road
A presidential election in Iran looks like falling well short of a democratic exercise, but public opposition to the regime is by no means extinct.
The politics of science and scaremongering
The anti-science position on GMOs has been taking a battering on the left, but no-one on the right seems willing to stand up to its anti-science brigade on climate change.
Turkey hesitates between east and west
The recent days of protest crystallise the debate over whether Turkey has successfully synthesised its European and Middle Eastern elements. Is it really a democracy, or is it a place where governments have to be overthrown by force?
Do teenagers count as people?
The New South Wales government plans to (yet again) treat young people as second-class citizens, this time with high-frequency sound that the rest of us are too old to notice.
Another Tiananmen anniversary
Twenty-four years on and the Chinese government still resists any reckoning with the events in Tiananmen Square. Julie Bishop looks like continuing the tradition of Australian appeasement.
Let’s talk about party funding
Politicians across the world are sincerely convinced that they are worthy recipients of public money. The public disagrees, but only rarely – as this week in Australia – is it able to get its voice heard.
The world digs deeper into Syria
Syria descends further down the spiral of intervention and escalation. But there's no going back to the era of Mid-East autocrats.
Taxis, government and the media
The Victorian government promises taxi industry reform but seems a bit reluctant to highlight its importance.
Media criticism made easy
The media show no interest in explaining what the holdup is with constitutional recognition of Australia's indigenous people.
The World is Not Enough 