NewsBite

Mark Mulligan

This Month

Compare the pair. Donald Trump’s Manhattan mug shot on the left, and his official handout on the right.

Trump’s presidential portrait looks like his mug shot. Here’s why

Donald Trump is a master of retail politics. For proof, just look at the similarity between a photo taken at Fulton County jail in 2023 and his official presidential headshot.

Cabanas at Bondi Beach on Australia Day.

When did Sydney’s beaches start looking like campgrounds?

Call me an old hippie, but I still believed that respect for our hallowed coastline extended beyond not littering to keeping visual pollution to a minimum as well.

Emergency personnel work the scene on Bourbon Street after a vehicle drove into a crowd.

Deadly attacks rattle US ahead of Trump inauguration

The main attack, by 42-year-old Army veteran Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar in the Bourbon Street area of the French Quarter, is being probed as an act of terrorism.

November 2024

Volunteers in Oakland, Pennsylvania. There are early signs of an unusually big turnout.

Signs of big first-timer turnout in critical Pennyslvania

A spot survey of higher education students at a polling booth in Northampton County suggests young people have been galvanised into action by Kamala Harris.

When will we know the results? Plus everything else you need to know

Your key questions on the US election answered, including who is leading the polls, how voting works, and which states to watch.

  • Updated
Advertisement

October 2024

Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Polls won’t call a Trump win, but markets are

Traders and punters are putting their money behind a second Trump mandate. Here are five charts tracking their positioning in recent weeks.

  • Updated
Castillo San Felipe del Morro, El Morro.

One city, three continents – it’s a Caribbean wonder

Your guide to 36 hours in the surprising Puerto Rican capital San Juan.

September 2024

Last year, nearly 60,000 Australians submitted to the scalpel for hip-joint replacement surgery, according to the Australian Orthopaedic Association.

I used to joke about arthritic hips – until I got a pair myself

Losing hip mobility is no fun. It affects your every move, right down to putting on shoes and socks, and it threatened to separate me from one of my true loves – surfing.

May 2024

One of the big benefits of teaching Chinese international students is the insights they provide into their country.

On the front line of Australia’s foreign student surge

International students are in the sights of both a government and opposition looking to win votes. Who are these political pawns, and what is it like to teach them?

  • Updated
Cruise ships docked in Charlotte Amalie Harbour, off Saint Thomas island.

Pirates, pampering, rum bars and more - the Caribbean has it all

The region has many drawcards in addition to its famous white-sand beaches and azure waters. Norwegian Cruise Line offers a tantalising taster.

January 2024

Pacific Minister Pat Conroy and Nauru’s President David Adeang on Wednesday.

US urges Pacific to keep Chinese tech out of undersea cables

America’s cybersecurity envoy said Pacific countries could be cut off from cables if they use “untrusted” suppliers, as Nauru offered assurances to Canberra over its China flip.

A Harrier aircraft lands on the flight deck of the USS Bataan operating in the Red Sea.

Maersk suspends Red Sea shipping as US strikes Houthis

Shipping giant Moller-Maersk on Monday halted transit through the Red Sea after an attack on one of its vessels by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, in a sharp escalation of violence in the vital waterway.

December 2023

Shipping containers sit idly in Sydney.

Freight, oil climb as Red Sea attacks shut down shipping

Intensifying attacks from Houthi rebels in the Red Sea hastened a US-led response to a dangerous escalation of the Gaza war that threatens global trade.

November 2023

People demonstrate outside the Kyria defence complex in Tel Aviv as Israel’s cabinet meets.

Israel, Hamas agree hostage release, ceasefire

Under the deal, Hamas would swap 50 Israeli hostages held by militants for 150 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, and there would be a pause in fighting.

  • Updated

October 2023

Palestinians have been fleeing north Gaza.

Israel denies reports of Gaza border crossing ceasefire

Israel denied that the Rafah crossing was due to reopen; US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to return to Israel. Here’s how the day unfolded.

  • Updated
Advertisement

August 2023

Sign up for the AFR’s World View newsletter

Offered exclusively to subscribers every Wednesday, our world newsletter will provide essential news and analysis for anyone with an interest in global economics, business and politics.

July 2023

Workers at a San Francisco restaurant. In recent months, workers have piled into the labour market in numbers that have surprised many experts.

Watch jobs and housing for clues to Fed’s next move

The US central bank’s summer hiatus will give it two more full rounds of monthly data on jobs and spending to assess whether inflation is cooling quickly enough.

  • Updated
The Salar de Atacama near the Albemarle lithium mine in Chile.

Lithium triangle enjoys its moment in the sun

Chile, Argentina and Bolivia account for about 60 per cent of the world’s known deposits of lithium, but each country has a different approach to exploiting it.

  • Updated

June 2023

Stacked cathodes at BHP Billiton’s giant Escondida copper mine in northern Chile.

Why Mike Henry was kind to high-taxing Chile

Although the South American country served the BHP CEO as a point of contrast with out-of-favour Queensland, Chile is hardly the Singapore of mining nations when it comes to taxation. 

  • Updated

March 2023

Qantas passengers

My $20,000 trip into Qantas hell

My dire experience with Qantas is just anecdotal, but this story is of such mind-boggling incompetence, you will recalibrate all perceptions of what bad customer service really looks like.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/by/mark-mulligan-1mh436