Today we'll be discussing some of the biggest stories, including Australia's new prime minister and a new economic bloc, but first the US's commitment to defending Taiwan.

Joe Biden has today confirmed the US would defend Taiwan if they're attacked by china. The US president compared Taiwan to Ukraine by stating that the US's responsibility to stand with the independent island was even stronger following Putin's invasion. Obviously this statement was not taken well by china, whose foreign ministry spokesperson said on issues touching on china's core interests of sovereignty and territorial integrity, china has no room for compromise or concession. While the U.S. officially recognizes china's one china principle, unofficially it maintains a relationship with Taiwan, with the US having a de facto embassy in Taiwan and supplying Taiwan with military equipment for self-defense. Exactly how china responds to this announcement from the US is yet to be seen.

Whilst in Tokyo, Biden also announced that he was to inaugurate a new mid-Pacific economic block, formerly titled the Indo-Pacific economic framework for prosperity or IPEF. The block consisting of the US Japan and 11 other countries together representing 40 percent of the global economy resurrects the idea of the trans-pacific partnership which Biden's predecessor President Trump pulled the US out of in 2017. Designed to counter china's dominance in the region, the IPEF comes less than five months after china established their own regional comprehensive economic partnership that brought together 15 countries in the region, many of whom have now signed up to Biden's plan. Unlike the TPP however, this new US led block does not have the market access provisions i.e. does not reduce tariffs, which has led some to question just how meaningful the block will be.

On Saturday, Australia elected its first labour government in almost a decade and made Anthony Albanese its 31st prime minister, ousting Scott Morrison's liberal national coalition. There are still a number of seats to be confirmed and at this stage the center-left Labour Party are just shy of a majority so may require cross-bench support from smaller parties and independents. Aside from being a victory for labour the election saw the greens gain ground and the new teal independence a group of climate action focused but economically conservative independents take seats from the defeated coalition. The success of these groups meant that the share of the primary vote held by the two main parties fell to its lowest level in modern times. Albanese's first job after being sworn in as prime minister is attending a meeting in Tokyo of leaders from the so-called quad countries, the US japan India and Australia.

On Sunday, a colonel in Iran's Islamic revolutionary guard corps or IRGC was assassinated outside his home. According to reports, two gunmen on a bike approached a vehicle where colonel Hassan Sayad Khodayari was inside before opening fire. Khodayari was a high-ranking member of the kudz force, the arm of the IRGC tasked with executing operations abroad. Khodayari's assassination is the second of a high profile member of the kudz force in recent years. Back in 2020 general Kassam Solamani head of the kudz force was assassinated by a US airstrike near Baghdad airport in a strike ordered by President Trump. At the time of writing, no one has claimed responsibility for the assassination, although Iran's president has vowed to avenge Khodayari's killing and blamed elements linked to global arrogance, a reference to the US Israel and their allies.

The UN's refugee agency the UNHCR has today confirmed that the number of people forcibly displaced has surpassed 100 million for the first time ever. The figure represents more than one percent of the global population, equivalent in number to the 14th most populous country in the world. The un high commissioner for refugees Philippo Grandi stressed that the staggering milestone must serve as a wake-up call to resolve and prevent destructive conflicts end persecution and address the underlying causes that force innocent people to flee their homes. According to UNHCR data, by the end of 2021 90 million people had been forcibly displaced with conflicts in Ethiopia, Myanmar, Nigeria, Afghanistan and the democratic republic of Congo all publishing the figure higher and higher. The war in Ukraine has itself displaced some 8 million people within the country.