After the remarkable developments of the past two years and following a year of heated domestic debate on issues such as foreign influence, energy and immigration, the 2018 Lowy Institute Poll has observed both continuities and discontinuities in Australian public opinion.

The Lowy Institute Asia Power Index is an analytical tool to track changes in the distribution of power in the region. It aims to sharpen the debate on geopolitics in Asia.

The Singapore economy faces significant challenges in coming years, including disruptions caused by new technologies, changing structures of international competitiveness and growing economic nationalism.

This analysis addresses six challenges facing Pacific Island nations - demography; urbanisation; immigration; health and health systems; gender relations; and governance. These challenges have been prioritised over others because, taken together, they have the greatest potential to check the region’s development and undermine its resilience.

Now that North Korea has finally reached the threshold of a nuclear missile capability to directly threaten the US mainland, its scripted brand of hyperbole and brinksmanship is encountering a different sort of melodrama - the political theatre of Donald Trump.