The 2026 general election is taking place as the world experiences a tumultuous transition. Russia is sustaining a brutal effort to annex Ukraine, the Israel-Palestine conflict has devastated Gaza and the West Bank, China's Pacific presence is growing, the United States is ensnared in a war with Iran, and the tempo of climate change is quickening. With the core principles of an independent New Zealand foreign policy - support for a rules-based international order and multilateralism - under sustained attack, Foreign Minister Winston Peters recently reflected on his government's response during the past three years. He told the Institute of International Affairs the country had faced "the worst international conditions since 1945". The challenges it faced included the "return of trade protectionism", a United Nations hamstrung by the "abuse of the Security Council veto", and "unwelcome geopolitical manoeuvring in the Pacific". The "order-shattering nature of the geostrategic environment", Peters said, marked a shift "from rules to power". Consequently, the National-led coalition had opted for "quiet diplomacy" and realism based on accepting "the world as it is, not how we wish it would be". This realism, Peters claimed, has "left the next government with more choices, and with more agency" and...

Analysis: The 2026 general election is taking place as the world experiences a tumultuous transition. Russia is sustaining a brutal effort to annex Ukraine, the Israel-Palestine conflict has devastated Gaza and the West Bank, China's Pacific presence is growing, the United States is ensnared in a war with Iran, and the tempo of climate change is quickening. With the core principles of an independent New Zealand foreign policy - support for a rules-based international order and multilateralism - under sustained attack, Foreign Minister Winston Peters recently reflected on his government's response during the past three years. He told the Institute of International Affairs the country had faced "the worst international conditions since 1945". The challenges it faced included the "return of trade protectionism", a United Nations hamstrung by the "abuse of the Security Council veto", and "unwelcome geopolitical manoeuvring in the Pacific". The "order-shattering nature of the geostrategic environment", Peters said, marked a shift "from rules to power". Consequently, the National-led coalition had opted for "quiet diplomacy" and realism based on accepting "the world as it is, not how we wish it would be". This realism, Peters claimed, has "left the next government with more choices, and with more agency"...

Politics: caught in the pincers of a fascist, hindu supremacist party (RSS, BJP) Economy: ensnared by Oligarchs Ecology: wrecked in the name of Development Grounds for hope? India's most youthful generation bursting with energy & creativity https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/south-asia/indian-polices-most-wanted-student-protester-is-an-unlikely-heroine [contains quote post or other embedded content]

Politics: caught in the pincers of a fascist, hindu supremacist party (RSS, BJP) Economy: ensnared by Oligarchs Ecology: wrecked in the name of Development Grounds for hope? India's most youthful generation bursting with energy & creativity https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/south-asia/indian-polices-most-wanted-student-protester-is-an-unlikely-heroine [contains quote post or other embedded content]

Bakker spent four and a half years in prison after being convicted in 1989 ​of defrauding followers in a scheme involving holidays at his Christian theme park

The fog of war has not fully dissipated from the mountains and dense forests of Cambodia and Thailand’s borderlands, well over a year after the two nations became ensnared in deadly clashes. It is sti...