This Month
- Opinion
- Opinion
Why the world’s leading democracies are in crisis
The majority of G7 governments are now so burdened with domestic political problems that they are incapable of steering their own countries – let alone the free world.
- Gideon Rachman
Musk supports far-right German party ahead of election
The world’s richest man endorsed a group with ties to neo-Nazis. The party’s youth wing is classified as “confirmed extremist”.
- Updated
- Christopher F. Schuetze and Mark Landler
- Analysis
- UK politics
Musk is ‘ready to bankroll’ UK populist Farage. Is Australia next?
The Reform UK leader is potentially in line for a massive injection of support from the X owner. Could the billionaire be looking at Down Under, too?
- Hans van Leeuwen
Australia to reopen embassy in Ukraine
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has visited Kyiv and put an end to the long-running controversy.
- Hans van Leeuwen
- Opinion
- Syrian conflict
Trump should present Iran with a choice – and a dare
The end of Bashar al-Assad’s wretched regime in Syria unlocks many doors for the United States across Syria, Lebanon, Gaza and Iran.
- Bret Stephens
Trump won’t torpedo AUKUS subs deal, says Marles
Despite fears the president-elect will cool on the pact as the US struggles to produce enough submarines, the Australian defence minister says he will back the deal.
- Updated
- Hans van Leeuwen
On the brink: What’s going on in Germany, Canada and South Korea?
As Germany heads towards a caretaker government, Canada’s Trudeau faces a grave challenge and South Korea’s president is realising how much trouble a handbag can carry.
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
Aussie troops could play role in Ukraine ceasefire deal
After he and Foreign Minister Penny Wong met their UK counterparts Defence Minister Richard Marles said Australia would look to Britain for leadership.
- Hans van Leeuwen
South Korea’s leaders seek calm after president impeached
Political leaders and the central bank tried to reassure allies and markets of stability, after the president was suspended for trying to impose martial law.
- Heekyong Yang and Josh Smith
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
The first new foreign policy challenge for Trump just became clear
Opportunities in foreign policy can come totally out of the blue – and the great presidents are the ones who seize them, even if it means eating a little crow.
- Thomas L. Friedman
Macron names centrist Bayrou as France’s new prime minister
François Bayrou, who leads the centrist Democratic Movement party, must navigate a fractured political landscape that toppled the previous administration.
- Ania Nussbaum and William Horobin
Brazil president rushed to hospital for brain surgery
Doctors said 79-year-old president Luiz Ignacio Lula de Silva was in the ICU after an emergency operation related to a fall in October.
- Gabriel Araujo and Lisandra Paraguassu
Netanyahu set to take the stand in long-running corruption trial
The Israeli prime minister is accused of accepting tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of cigars and champagne from a billionaire Hollywood producer.
- Tia Goldenberg
Rebels vow reforms in race to stabilise Syria
The government is trying to get the state functioning again, while Russia frets over its bases and Israel and Turkey look to increase their leverage.
- Updated
- Hans van Leeuwen and Andrew Tillett
- Updated
- Syrian conflict
New day dawns for Syria after Assad flees to Moscow
The swift and surprise toppling of President Bashar al-Assad is sending shockwaves through the Middle East and the world – especially in Moscow and Tehran.
- Updated
- Hans van Leeuwen
How Assad’s family ran Syria like the mafia
Hafez and his son Bashar killed countless people over five decades and oversaw the country’s descent into kleptocracy.
- Chloe Cornish
- Updated
- Emmanuel Macron
Trump welcomed by Macron, joined by Zelensky for talks
On a day that mixed pageantry with attention to pressing global problems, the once and future American president was warmly embraced by the French president.
- Updated
- Tom McIlroy
- Opinion
- Political unrest
A crazy six hours in Seoul and the fragility of democracy
A presidential brain snap in South Korea has revived dark memories of the country’s past, with potentially damaging geopolitical ripples across north-east Asia.
- James Curran