News

Editorial coverage from the Islands Hong Kong Wire newsroom.

• Lula’s UN address points to two starkly different visions of Brazilian nationalism ahead of crucial election

  When Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva addressed the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 22, 2026, the Brazilian president posed a question to both an international and domestic audience: Who is to decide Brazil’s future?

  SyndicatedAndre Pagliarini, Assistant Professor of History and International Studies, Louisiana State University22 Sept 20267 min read

• Bangladesh has lost 900 children to measles – a warning to other countries where vaccine rates have slipped

  Almost 900 people in Bangladesh are suspected to have died in a measles outbreak that began in March. Most of those affected are children.

  SyndicatedVikram Niranjan, Associate Professor in Public Health at University of Limerick, University of Limerick22 Sept 20264 min read

• Three Ts will dominate Trump-Xi summit – but expect little movement on trade, less on Taiwan and who knows on tech

  When Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping last sat down in May 2026, talk was centered on three Ts: trade, technology and Taiwan.

  SyndicatedRana Mitter, Professor of U.S.-Asia Relations, Harvard Kennedy School21 Sept 20266 min read

• Could AI really kill all humans? Most scenarios require physical access, making AI armageddon unlikely

  In August 2026, an experiment using “frontier”, or cutting edge, artificial intelligence models went further than planned.

  SyndicatedAlessandro Di Nuovo, Director Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, and Professor of Machine Intelligence, Sheffield Hallam University21 Sept 20264 min read

• Trump declares victory in Greenland, but the deal exposes a deeper crisis of trust

  US President Donald Trump is already presenting the new security agreement between the United States, Denmark and Greenland as a personal triumph.

  SyndicatedShannon Brincat, Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, University of the Sunshine Coast20 Sept 20265 min read

• Mark Carney: a master of statecraft in an era short of great orators

  For the past decade, global diplomacy has been dictated by one man’s social media musings. Since Donald Trump first glided into the Trump Tower atrium on his golden escalator, he – and what he has to say – has been the story, throwing red m…

  SyndicatedMark Shanahan, Associate Professor of Political Engagement, Faculty of Arts, Business and Social Sciences, University of Surrey18 Sept 20264 min read

• When does being ‘apolitical’ become a political act? An ethicist on the Ed Sheeran saga

  Headlines this week have been inundated with news of artist Macklemore being dropped from Ed Sheeran’s Loop tour, following Macklemore’s onstage calls to “free Palestine”.

  SyndicatedJacqueline Boaks, Philosopher, Curtin Centre for Applied Ethics, Curtin University18 Sept 20264 min read