World
Solomon Islands considers forming defence force. Almost 20 years of leftist rule ends in Bolivia. World-first carbon tax shelved. By Jonathan Pearlman.
US pushes for next phase of Gaza plan amid fragile ceasefire
Great power rivalry
Gaza: A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza held this week despite renewed violence in which Israel launched heavy air strikes after accusing Hamas of violating the truce by attacking troops.
During a visit to Israel this week, United States Vice President J. D. Vance said he was optimistic about the ceasefire but acknowledged it needed “constant monitoring and supervision”. The deal, he said, was proceeding “better than I expected”.
Responding to the recent violence, he told reporters: “It is in fact exactly how this is going to have to happen when you have people who hate each other, who have been fighting against each other for a very long time.”
The US, which brokered the 20-point deal, has reportedly urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to respond to any ceasefire violations by Hamas with a proportionate response as Washington tries to advance the agreement to its next phase. So far, Israel has withdrawn from 47 per cent of Gaza and Hamas has released its 20 living hostages, but no timelines have been established for the next phase, which is due to involve the disarmament of Hamas, further Israeli withdrawals and the deployment of an international force. Hamas on Tuesday released the bodies of two hostages – meaning it has released 15 of 28 dead hostages – and Israel returned the bodies of 15 Palestinians to Gaza.
Israel last weekend accused Hamas of an attack in Gaza that killed two soldiers in Rafah, which is controlled by Israel. Hamas denied responsibility and insisted it was committed to the ceasefire. Israel responded to the attack with air strikes that killed at least 45 people, according to local officials.
The incident highlighted the precariousness of the ceasefire. Hamas has moved to reassert authority in areas from which Israel has withdrawn, while Israeli forces retain control of much of Gaza and are vulnerable to attack from small groups of militants who may not be in contact with Hamas commanders. Meanwhile, plans to deploy international forces and establish a transitional government could take months.
Aid groups said this week flows of aid have increased but that far more is needed to address shortages of food and medical supplies. During the two-year war, an estimated 1.9 million Gazans have been displaced.
The neighbourhood
Solomon Islands: The Solomon Islands government is considering establishing a defence force to avoid having to rely on outside forces such as Australia and New Zealand for security.
Jimson Tanangada, the national security minister, told parliament last week the government was exploring whether to form a defence force, noting that the country faces security threats from climate change and rising geopolitical tensions in the region. Only three Pacific nations – Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Tonga – have standing militaries.
“Let me emphasise that this is not an attempt to militarise our nation but … a long-term nation-building effort aimed at enhancing Solomon Islands’ resilience, sovereignty and self-reliance,” Tanangada said.
“There’s no fixed timeframe, but the urgency is there given the evolving security challenges.”
Former prime minister Manasseh Sogavare floated the prospect of developing a military in 2023, saying the country’s 1500-member police force was not enough to ensure stability.
But the prospect of creating an armed force has raised concerns about the risk that members could participate in coups or civil unrest. Growing ethnic violence in the late 1990s prompted the country to request the deployment of a series of international peacekeeping forces, including RAMSI, an Australian-led mission that operated from 2003 to 2017.
Matthew Wale, the opposition leader, told parliament he did not oppose moves to explore creating a defence force but said “we must learn from our own civil conflict”.
“In Fiji, of course, there’s been a number of coups where the military was directly involved,” he said. “And in [Papua] New Guinea when they did not pay [soldiers] their allowance, they took their guns and went to the parliament … How do we make sure this would never happen?”
Election watch
Bolivia: Rodrigo Paz, a centrist reformer, won presidential elections in Bolivia, ending almost 20 years of leftist rule.
Paz, a senator from the Christian Democratic Party, campaigned on a slogan of “capitalism for all”, promising to retain the country’s social welfare programs while liberalising the economy. He plans to end the fixed exchange rate and phase out fuel subsidies that have added to soaring public debt.
The shift away from the Movement to Socialism (MAS) follows growing concerns about the country’s flagging economy. The annual inflation rate is more than 20 per cent.
Paz, the son of former president Jaime Paz Zamora, has signalled he will end Bolivia’s support for Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro, whose election win in 2024 was widely viewed as a sham, and will restore cooperation with the US on targeting the cocaine trade.
Paz defeated a conservative, Jorge Quiroga, by 55 per cent to 45 per cent in a run-off election last Sunday. In the first round of voting in August, the MAS candidate won just 3 per cent of the vote.
Following his victory, Paz, who will be inaugurated on November 8, told supporters “ideology doesn’t put food on the table”.
“What does is the right to work, strong institutions, legal security, respect for private property, and having certainty about your future – and that’s what we want to work for,” he said.
Spotlight: World-first carbon tax shelved
A deal to impose the world’s first global carbon tax – a levy on emissions from international shipping – has been shelved after Donald Trump threatened to impose sanctions on countries that adopted it.
The deal, agreed to in April by the 176-nation International Maritime Organization (IMO), a United Nations body, would have required shipping firms to pay a levy for the carbon dioxide emitted from large ships such as cargo vessels and cruise liners. International shipping accounts for about 3 per cent of global emissions.
But the move was strongly opposed by Trump, who threatened to impose sanctions such as port levies and visa restrictions on countries that agreed to the deal. Last week – a day before the deal was due to be approved – he wrote on social media that he was “outraged” by the plan to impose the levy.
“The United States will NOT stand for this Global Green New Scam Tax on Shipping,” he said.
Following the threat, the IMO, which oversees safety and security at sea, including pollution, decided to delay the plan for a year in a proposal that passed by 57 votes to 49. Aside from the US, oil-rich nations such as Russia and Saudi Arabia also opposed the levy.
The delay was criticised by UN Secretary-General António Guterres as well as by Pacific Island nations that have demanded action to address climate change.
The International Chamber of Shipping, which represents global shipping firms, also criticised the delay, saying the industry needs “clarity” to be able to invest in decarbonising the sector.
Ralph Regenvanu, Vanuatu’s environment minister, told ABC News this week the decision to delay the deal was “very sad”.
“Unfortunately, the US government, in particular, mounted a very strong campaign, threatening countries not to adopt it,” he said.
“[It] is a very grim reflection on the current state of multilateralism.”
This article was first published in the print edition of The Saturday Paper on October 24, 2025 as "US pushes for next phase of Gaza plan amid fragile ceasefire".
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