This Month
More aid for Ukraine, but Trump wants 5pc NATO defence spending target
The US president-elect now intends to maintain supplies to Kyiv after his inauguration, but will demand allies more than double their financial commitment.
- Lucy Fisher, Henry Foy and Felicia Schwartz
Germany in crisis as government collapses
Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a confidence vote, triggering an election in a new era of unstable politics in Germany amid a series of crises across Europe.
- Christopher F. Schuetze and Jim Tankersley
Blast bunkers, iodine tablets: How Finns are bracing for apocalypse
Finland’s bunker network feels like a throwback to a bygone era. But the Finns’ vigilance raises the question: if catastrophe came, how would we Aussies cope?
- Hans van Leeuwen
November
Chinese ship dragged anchor for 160km to ‘sabotage’ sea cables
An investigation into the Baltic Sea incident focuses on whether Moscow directed the captain of the Yi Peng 3 to deliberately cut the cables.
- Kieran Kelly
Russia seeks to intimidate Ukraine with new missile, officials say
The decision to deploy the weapon will “neither change the course of the conflict nor deter NATO allies from supporting Ukraine”, a spokeswoman said.
- David L. Stern, Siobhán O'Grady and Ellen Francis
Trump chooses Matt Whitaker as NATO ambassador
The former acting attorney-general will be the president-elect’s voice in the Western alliance despite having no foreign policy credentials.
- Jill Colvin and Eric Tucker
- Explainer
- Russia-Ukraine war
Five scenarios that could trigger Putin to launch a nuclear attack
The Kremlin has revised its nuclear policy. Does that make the use of atomic weapons more likely?
- AP
- Opinion
- Trump's White House
Trump’s foreign enemies are about to get a significant boost
The president-elect is threatening to gut the institutions that make America great, which can only benefit Russia and China.
- Gideon Rachman
- Updated
- Russia-Ukraine war
Ukraine will soon fire missiles 300km into Russia after US clearance
The US president has reversed his policy in the Russia-Ukraine war as Donald Trump takes over the Oval Office in two months.
- Updated
- Mike Stone and Humeyra Pamuk
World braces for Trump’s ‘clown show’ defence chief
The Iraq and Afghanistan veteran and Fox News host gained notoriety by blaming “wokeness” for US military failures. Now he is set to be in charge.
- Mehul Srivastava, John Paul Rathbone and Lucy Fisher
October
Turkey strikes Kurdish targets following deadly attack on defence firm
The defence ministry said more than 30 targets were “destroyed” in the aerial offensive, without providing details on the locations that were hit.
- Suzan Fraser
- Opinion
- US election
America’s new Asian alliance network will survive beyond Trump
No matter who is in the White House after November 5, the US’ carefully structured latticework of alliances that underpins its regional primacy will continue.
- James Curran
Netanyahu vows to fight on; Chalmers slams ‘snobs’; BHP mine hit
Read everything that’s happened in the news so far today.
‘Ramped up’ defence industry deals on the cards with NATO
As Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy sat down at the top NATO table in Brussels, the talk turned to commercial deals that might ramp up output.
- Hans van Leeuwen
North Korean troops could turn Ukraine into ‘world war’, Zelensky says
The leaders of Ukraine and NATO welcomed Australia’s gift of tanks, as a ministerial summit fretted about Chinese and North Korean involvement.
- Hans van Leeuwen
Japan’s China paradox has lessons for Australia
Japan’s new prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba, wants a more equal relationship with the US. That could spell trouble as Tokyo confronts the “deep threat” from China.
- James Curran
September
‘Asian NATO’ backer to become Japan’s new PM
The country’s ruling party picked former defence minister Shigeru Ishiba as leader, setting him up to become prime minister, a move that risks irritating China.
- Alastair Gale and Yuki Hagiwara
Zelensky to push Biden for advanced weapons to end war
The Ukraine president will meet Joe Biden in Washington this week, and will ask him to provide an official invitation to join NATO.
- Daryna Krasnolutska
NATO official backs long-range strikes on Russia despite risk of war expanding
“Every nation that is attacked has the right to defend itself. And that right doesn’t stop at the border of your own nation,” said the head of NATO’s military committee.
- Lolita Baldor
US accuses China of directly supporting Russia’s ‘war machine’
Kurt Campbell said China was supplying Moscow with items that were directly helping the Russian military as it prosecutes its war of aggression in Ukraine.
- Henry Foy, Polina Ivanova, Kathrin Hille and Demetri Sevastopulo