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We now have a new deal for Cyprus, one that looks a fair bit closer to what the first deal should have been and what the IMF originally proposed. In particular, it backs away from the attempt to impose a levy on depositors covered by the EU-wide €100,000 deposit insurance and instead puts the

US carbon emissions are at their lowest since 1995. What gives? The bankruptcy of Suntech, the world's largest solar panel maker, will raise world prices. That's a good thing. Interpreter alumnus Andrew Carr on whether the US has learnt anything from the Iraq war. Addendum to last Friday's wrap

Every country has detailed procedures to govern private sector bankruptcy. These allow the residual assets of the insolvent company to be divided equitably between creditors. The insolvent party can begin again, reputation damaged but at least able to move forward with the slate wiped clean. But

Nick Bisley, Head of the Department of Politics, Philosophy and Legal Studies at La Trobe University, responds to Sam Roggeveen's piece noting President Obama's description of the US-Israel alliance as 'eternal': Don't forget that in her speech to the US Congress, Gillard also struck the

Alex Burns responds to Sam Roggeveen's post on political violence in film: My list — apart from the films mentioned, and a bit broader than political violence — would include: The original mini-series version of Edge of Darkness for its study of the nuclear state, Special Operations,

A warm welcome to new readers who may have just discovered our site via The Daily Beast, which has now syndicated the article we ran yesterday by former TIME magazine and CNN correspondent Michael Ware. Thanks also to Andrew Sullivan for drawing his readers' attention to the piece, and to the

A couple of weeks ago I noted the deft rhetorical sleight of hand used by US presidents and senior policy makers to make foreign governments feel good about their relationship with the world's superpower without making other countries feel bad. The 'America has no better friend than...'

Sue Wareham from the Campaign for an Iraq War Inquiry writes: Maj Gen (ret’d) Jim Molan's implication that Iraq is better off now because of the 2003 invasion goes beyond incredulity. Molan appears oblivious to the memory of the likely hundreds of thousands of innocent people who have died, and

Cyprus, Aphrodite's Island, is in trouble. And it's trouble that could further set back sentiment in a eurozone that's already been damaged by last month's inconclusive Italian elections. Now Cyprus' parliament has rejected the terms of a €10 billion bailout from Brussels and instead may have

I admire Jim Molan for his dynamism and command experience, however I was left scratching my head over his pronouncements regarding the legacy of violence that Iraq suffers from ten years after the invasion.  When he claimed that 'the violence in Iraq today is far less than during Saddam's time

Gregory MacCallion responds to two earlier posts: The most concerning aspect in regards the retouching of history is the aesthetic privileging that Reagan receives. Reagan is placed on the left, the first to be seen when reading the banner, left to right. By centralising Reagan, the size of

Russia, India and China investing in new-generation 'fast' nuclear reactor designs.\ Richard Florida: 'it is not resources but knowledge, and ideas that power advanced economic growth.' The FT on Iraq, ten years later. (Thanks Stephen.) China has displaced the UK as the world's fifth largest

World poverty is shrinking rapidly, says the latest Oxford Multidimensional Poverty Index. (Thanks Andy.) What gives rise to moral outrage? Inside Indonesia investigates, with Lady Gaga as a case study. Kids from around the world photographed with their favourite possessions. How should we

Gareth Evans responds to a piece flagged in last Thursday's Links: Re: 'The story behind Peter Marlow's iconic image of Reagan and Gorbachev in Vienna, which you see in our banner image.' So which image is the right way round, and which has been photo-shopped or whatever? Intrigued as to how

Hugh Jorgensen is a Research Associate in the Lowy Institute's G20 Studies Centre. This is going to become a politically vexing question for the Prime Minister ahead of the September federal election, as this year's G20 summit in St Petersburg is being held one week before Australians head to the

Crispin Rovere has done research on Australia-Holy See relations and is now a PhD candidate at ANU's Strategic and Defence Studies Centre. He recently wrote on Ratzinger the Reformer. The past few weeks have been a persistent break with Vatican tradition. Pope Benedict retired, being the first to

Why should international policy observers care about the election of a new pope? If you're a realist, the answer is not obvious. The Catholic Church, after all, has no divisions. But Dan Drezner offers a realist answer: ...the biggest reason the Pope matters from a power perspective is that,

Major Gen (Retd) Jim Molan is author of Running the War in Iraq. Sam Roggeveen has invited Interpreter readers to 'talk about their views of the Iraq War ten years after the invasion'. Several weeks ago, 60 Minutes invited me to Iraq to make a segment addressing this topic. After some discussion, I

It goes without saying that the 2008 financial crisis altered the way capital flows between countries. Cross-border capital flows fell by 60% between 2007 and 2012. We now have enough perspective to evaluate how this might affect future flows to emerging economies. Risk perceptions altered

Captain Paul Watson is founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.  Michael Heazle proclaims both Rear Admiral Goldrick and myself to be wrong. That is his right. Like everyone else, he has an opinion and the freedom to express it. His viewpoint is that Sea Shepherd is not upholding

Last Friday the Lowy Institute released a new Policy Brief from Research Director Anthony Bubalo which urges the Australian Government, business and community groups to use Australia's hosting of the Asian Cup in 2015 to strengthen Australia's broader engagement with Asia. In this video, Anthony

Synopsis: After fifteen years of military dictatorship, the public are being asked to vote in the national plebiscite of 1988 on whether General Augusto Pinochet should stay in power or whether there should be an open presidential election a year after. René works as part of a team to create

While I certainly support Rear Admiral Goldrick's condemnation of Sea Shepherd's actions in the Antarctic, I do not agree with either his representation of Japan's whaling ambitions or the link he makes between whaling and Japan's territorial tensions with China. Japan's refusal to stop whaling is

It's not often in international affairs that a story about sorcery makes the headlines or that I find myself being interviewed about it. The horrendous public execution of Kepari Leniata, a young woman accused of using sorcery to cause the death of a young boy in Mount Hagen, Papua New Guinea,