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Jimmy Lai pictured in 2020.

Former publisher Jimmy Lai testifies in HK national security trial

The founder of the now shut down Apple Daily pro-democracy newspaper was arrested in 2020 during a crackdown on mass protests that rocked Hong Kong.

  • 1 hr ago
  • Kanis Leung
Australia’s ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd and US President-elect Donald Trump.

US leadership ‘indispensable’ even with Trump: Rudd

In his first comments since the former president’s comeback, the Australian ambassador in Washington says he is ready to work with the new White House.

  • Andrew Tillett
Vladimir Putin warned a strike would put Russia and NATO at 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
Left to right: Elon Musk, US President-elect Donald Trump, Donald Trump jnr, Mike Johnson and Robert F. Kennedy enjoy a McDonald’s meal aboard Trump’s private plane.

Trump’s demolition of the US state

You measure a leader by his actions not by his heart. To judge from what Trump has done within a fortnight of winning the presidency, his path is destruction.

  • Edward Luce
The cargo ship was closely followed by the Danish Navy afterwards, said open source intelligence experts.

Chinese vessel spotted where Baltic Sea cables were severed

A Chinese-registered vessel on its way from the Russian port of Ust-Luga to Port Said in Egypt passed close to both the cables around the time each was cut.

  • Richard Milne and Oliver Telling
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Yesterday

Rescue workers and residents search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike in central Beirut.

Israeli airstrike hits central Beirut as ceasefire talks continue

Two missiles hit the area of Zoqaq al-Blat neighbourhood – where local UN headquarters and Lebanon’s parliament and prime minister’s office are located.

  • Sally Abou Aljoud
There are parallels with the recent re-election of Donald Trump as President of the United States.

Economists must climb down from ivory tower to win the tax debate

Only once the electoral popularity of taxation reform is improved can we expect politicians to stake their political capital for change.

  • Melinda Cilento and Stephen Smith
Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin will benefit from Donald Trump’s vengeful attack on America’s establishments.

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

This Month

Peach harvesting in Georgia. The agriculture sector is entirely reliant on the H-2A program for temporary agricultural workers.

Business owners warn Trump’s deportation plan could shut them down

Food producers, manufacturers and hotels are hiring lawyers to audit the legal status of their workers ahead of the president-elect’s deportation orders.

  • Taylor Nicole Rogers
Eric Gao is in China signing off on investments in a big new VC fund targeting Aussie tech firms.

New $1b VC fund will back Aussie start-ups with Chinese money

A Melbourne-based fund manager for Chinese money is set to close the first part of a targeted $1 billion to back Australian start-ups that could expand into China.

  • Jessica Sier
Donald Trump and Elon Musk attend a UFC 309 mixed martial arts flyweight title bout on the weekend.

Trump seeks assurance that his economic chief will enact tough tariffs

The president-elect’s Treasury secretary appointment has kicked off a fierce lobbying effort among his loyalists.

  • James Politi, Colby Smith and Demetri Sevastopulo
CEO Linda Yaccarino

Advertisers set to return to X as they seek favour with Musk and Trump

Media executives said brands were preparing to advertise on X again, as its billionaire owner was likely to gain influence in the White House.

  • Hannah Murphy, Daniel Thomas and Eric Platt
Sacks of lithium carbonate at the Albemarle’s lithium processing facility in Antofagasta, Chile.

Albemarle says West cannot end reliance on China in critical minerals

CEO Kent Masters says “returns are not there” to pivot lithium supply, crucial for the EV industry, to the West because of low prices and high operating costs.

  • Amanda Chu
Defence minister Richard Marles meets with US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin and director general of the Japan Defence Agency, Gen Nakatani, on November 17.

Australia, US, Japan to strengthen military ties in face of China threat

Defence ministers agreed to a new “commitment to consult” over regional security issues and invited Japanese troops to train in Darwin.

  • Updated
  • Andrew Tillett
Joe Biden and Xi Jinping before their bilateral meeting in Lima.

Biden, Xi deliver messages seemingly intended for Trump

The US president seems to try to make the case for maintaining a relationship with Beijing, as Trump talks about imposing more punishing tariffs on China.

  • Zolan Kanno-Youngs
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A jet ski on Lake Michigan in Chicago. Real estate bargain hunters are descending on the city after an exodus of a wealthy elite wiped out millions of dollars in value from the city’s most-expensive properties.

Ken Griffin, Michael Jordan burned by Chicago mansion slump

The discounted sales reflect larger shifts in the city as businesses have left and it has struggled to put a lid on crime.

  • Miranda Davis

How Australia and Japan can keep global trade going

Middle powers can’t do much unilaterally but are large enough to mobilise coalitions for change to keep the world economy open and save the multilateral trading system.

  • Shiro Armstrong
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Why Musk will struggle to reinvent American government

Those carrying scars from previous efforts to streamline US bureaucracy are sceptical about the billionaire’s ability to get any of his agenda through.

  • Joe Miller, Stefania Palma and Stephen Morris
Penny Wong has turned disciplined diplomatic language into an art form.

How to Trump-proof foreign policy

Don’t panic, don’t relax, look for opportunities, and stay close to our other allies. That’s a way to deal with a confronting new Washington.

  • Rory Medcalf
JK Rowling has support from the over 50s but not the under 25s.

Why November 5 will not become the Waterloo of wokery

American voters rejected the culture warriors of the left when they picked Donald Trump. But don’t imagine those views won’t still be very powerful in 2044.

  • Adrian Wooldridge

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/united-states-of-america-gd5