This Month
- Opinion
- Foreign relations
Why has a long-term understanding with Asia eluded us?
Even as Australia has become more multicultural, the best we can manage is a pragmatic relationship punctuated with fits of enthusiasm.
- James Curran
August
Young, Instagram-friendly heir becomes Thailand’s new PM
Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the 37-year-old daughter of the political power broker Thaksin Shinawatra, is becoming prime minister at a chaotic time.
- Sui-Lee Wee
July
How China upends a country’s entire car market
The overseas push is the next phase in Beijing’s long-term strategy to focus on new energy vehicles and upend the balance of power in the automobile industry.
- Daisuke Wakabayashi and Claire Fu
May
- Analysis
- Iran sanctions
How sanctions played havoc with Iran’s ageing helicopters
The US-made Bell 212 carrying the country’s president and foreign minister was almost 30 years old when it crashed into a mountainside.
- John Paul Rathbone, Sylvia Pfeifer and Philip Georgiadis
April
China set to launch high-stakes mission to moon’s ‘hidden’ side
China has made leaps forward in its lunar exploration, narrowing the technological chasm with the United States and Russia.
- Albee Zhang and Ryan Woo
February
- Opinion
- Prabowo Subianto
History’s hand on Prabowo’s shoulder
The new president, steeped in Indonesian nationalism, is likely to hew closely to Joko Widodo’s middle path between the US and China.
- James Curran
January
- Analysis
- Australia Day
Australia Day has always been controversial
It’s nothing new for the national holiday to be plagued by debates over its meaning and significance. Indeed, that’s become part and parcel of the day itself.
- Updated
- James Curran
November 2023
Hamas seeks to extend ceasefire as it releases third hostage group
Most of the hostages were handed over directly to Israel, waving to a cheering crowd as they arrived at an air force base on Sunday local time.
- Wafaa Shurafa and Samy Magdy
Dusk finds itself in the sight of a Thai hedge fund demanding cash
BNG Special Situations says the candle and diffuser retailer has plenty of cash, no debt and is trading cheaply. Its annual meeting is scheduled for Monday.
- Carrie LaFrenz
Hamas frees Israeli, Thai hostages in second stage of truce deal
Television images showed hostages on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing after leaving Gaza, as Hamas handed the captives to the Red Cross.
- Nidal al-Mughrabi and Maayan Lubell
Protesters converge ahead of Xi-Biden meeting
Representatives of more than 100 grassroots groups have gathered in San Francisco to demonstrate against a meeting of 21 heads of state.
- Janie Har and Haven Daley
How not to assassinate an admiral in Phuket
Kobus Steyn thought he’d found a whale of a client. Then his assignment turned from make-work to murder.
- Paul Murphy
Asian factory output slumps as China’s recovery teeters
The data are a discouraging sign for the global economy, which has had its bid for recovery threatened by uncertainty over the Israel-Hamas war.
- Claire Jiao
October 2023
Unwind on a Mekong River cruise: an ex-monk will show you how
Leave Western cares behind on this voyage into Asia’s lush Golden Triangle in Laos. Downing home-made whisky with a village elder is optional.
- Trudy Harris
Asia faces one of its worst growth outlooks in 50 years: World Bank
The World Bank said it now expected China’s economic output would grow 4.4 per cent in 2024, down from the 4.8 per cent it expected in April.
- Edward White and Mercedes Ruehl
September 2023
- Opinion
- World politics
Pheu Thai puts populist face on Thailand’s discredited establishment
The governing Thai party is risking a lot with its alliance with the remnants of the junta government. It could all just end in yet more political instability.
- Liam Gammon
Why Chinese EVs are storming Australia
The Australian new car market is rapidly turning Chinese and in the battery electric vehicle category they completely dominate.
- Tony Davis
The VIP wellness retreat that breaks your body and routine
This jungle escape outside Bangkok is going all out to help stressed-out executives looking for a proper circuit breaker.
- Mark Di Stefano
China’s economic slowdown reverberates across Asia
A manufacturing slump in South Korea has extended to its longest in nearly half a century while other big exporters in East Asia also being hit by slow demand.
- Edward White and Song Jung-a
August 2023
This latest COVID variant could be the best yet at evading immunity
BA.2.86 stands out in the omicron family tree because of how much it has morphed. It has more than 30 mutations on its spike protein.
- Fenit Nirappil