What if China was beating the US as its own super-power game in the Pacific and we didn’t even notice? While Washington distracts itself with shutdown shenanigans and failed attempts to control the situation in the Middle East, president Obama’s “pivot to Asia” looks increasingly shaky. Beijing is quietly filling the gap, signing multi-billion dollar trade deals with Indonesia and calling for a regional infrastructure bank.

Three West Papuans who entered the Australian consulate in Bali overnight have left the compound after being warned by the consul-general that the Indonesian army would be called, the group says. Markus Jerewon, 29, Yuvensius Goo, 22 and Rofinus Yanggam, 30, scaled the two-metre high fence of the Australian compound in Bali’s Renon district at 3.20am local time (6.20am AEST) on Sunday morning.

The Saudi Embassy in Canberra organized a cultural exhibition on Sunday to expose Australians to the Kingdom’s culture and traditions as well as to highlight the remarkable progress achieved by the country. Hundreds of Australians visited the show where Saudis welcomed them by serving Arabic coffee (gahwa) and dates. The Australians were impressed by the Islamic architectural designs of the embassy building.

As news of the election of Tony Abbott spread around the world, many could not hold back their glee at being able to berate Australia. British comedian Bill Bailey was quick to jump on the bandwagon, tweeting "Abbott as PM, it MUST be TV reality show 'Faking It' where a hapless twonk passes himself off as a politician. Can't be real." Many others bandied around reworkings of the joke “And we thought America was stupid for electing George W Bush ... Australia was just 10 years behind as usual."

With the Australian elections over, the development community is now concerned with one question: Which programs will be cut first from the Australian aid budget? Most probably it will be projects that have no signed contracts and agreements yet with AusAID, according to World Vision Australia. The real risk here, however, is the shift of the country’s aid focus, cutting funding due to logistical and administrative reasons rather than development priorities.

Australian voters were not thinking much about foreign policy when they voted last weekend to dismiss the Labor government of Kevin Rudd and install a conservative government under Tony Abbott, the leader of the opposition Liberal Party. Instead, the election hinged on sharp domestic debates and on personality questions. Both sides tacitly agreed to ignore the huge foreign policy question that looms over the country: How should Australia position itself between its traditional ally, the United States, and its major trading partner, China, as their strategic rivalry grows?

Australia's new government-elect prepared for a tranfer of power Sunday, with policies to cut foreign aid and roll back greenhouse gas reduction measures in moves the new leaders say will help balance the nation's books. Prime Minister-elect Tony Abbott also plans to visit Indonesia soon in part to discuss controversial plans to curb the number of asylum seekers reaching Australian shores in Indonesian fishing boats.

The Australian elections today may not make global headlines, but as any Australia-watcher will tell you, politics "down under" is dramatic, passionate and almost Shakespearian in its endless narrative of unexpected betrayal, ruthlessness, revenge and the search for redemption. Today’s contest is between incumbent Prime Minister Kevin Rudd from the Labour Party and Tony Abbott, leader of the opposition Liberal and National coalition.