Oceania

The bonds between Australia and Lithuania are strengthening as a result of China’s attempts to isolate the European country.

The prime minister was called a “complete psycho” and other unflattering things by allies and adversaries alike as intra-party divisions continue to roil Australian politics. 

Canberra can do more to protect Australia’s democracy and weed out corruption.

Cricket-playing countries have been reluctant to play in Pakistan since a 2009 attack on a visiting team's bus. But the game must go on.

In the last two years, the COVID-19 pandemic and the China-U.S. trade war have forced the New Zealand government to diversify its trade and diplomatic relations.

The Pacific nations of Kiribati, Samoa, and the Solomon Islands are facing their first significant outbreaks of COVID-19.

The pandemic is complicating international aid to tsunami-hit Tonga, one of the world’s few COVID-free countries.

More than 80 percent of Tonga's population have been impacted by the volcano's eruption.

Australia may find itself sleep walking into an international environment that it doesn't have the disposition to effectively negotiate. 

Tonga is made up of 169 islands, 36 of which are inhabited. It’s expected to take weeks to survey the scale of the damage. 

Opening up after nearly two years closed off from the world, Australia knew that would mean a rise in COVID-19 cases. But Omicron has surged cases past expectations.

The question that should be at the forefront of the government’s mind is this: How to make it easier for these people to transition to longer term visas, permanent residency, and citizenship?