Latest
Inside Rio Tinto’s all out war to unlock Serbia’s lithium riches
The mining giant has been trying to develop the resource rich Jadar Valley for two decades. So why is it persisting in the face of intense opposition?
- 16 mins ago
- Hans van Leeuwen
Assad’s wife given ‘50/50 chance’ of survival as leukaemia returns
Asma al-Assad is thought to have flown to Moscow for treatment some time before the Kremlin persuaded her husband to flee in the face of lightning rebel advances.
- 1 hr ago
- Ben Farmer
‘Courses in love’: China steps up campaign to promote marriage, babies
Universities have been asked to educate single students on relationships and regular articles appear in state media about the benefits of having children.
- Eleanor Olcott, Nian Liu and Wang Xueqiao
Fine wine market in the red as Chinese demand dries up
The falls mark a second consecutive tough year for the industry, which was hit in 2023 by higher interest rates and dwindling sales from Asia.
- Laurence Fletcher
Russia’s Christmas Day attacks ‘inhuman’, Ukraine says
Nearly three years into the war, the strikes wounded at least six people in the northeastern city of Kharkiv and killed one in the region of Dnipropetrovsk.
- Updated
- Pavel Polityuk
Azerbaijani airliner crashes in Kazakhstan, killing dozens
The Embraer 190 was flying from Baku to the Russian city of Grozny when it tried an emergency landing. Remarkably, many passengers survived. Watch the footage.
- Katie Marie Davies
Opinion & Analysis
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.
Columnist
Why did Germany’s bizarre terrorist send me angry messages?
Little did I know that the sender would end up being the main suspect in Friday’s Christmas market attack in the eastern city of Magdeburg.
Contributor
This is how China could lift growth while cutting global emissions
A shift towards green development could help stabilise the Chinese economy while supporting the world’s energy transition.
Contributor
China’s staggering manufacturing muscle needs to be seen to be believed
Since Trump was last in office, Beijing has doubled down on its efforts to gain global supremacy in electric cars, robots and rare materials. America could be toast if it doesn’t respond.
Contributor
From the Financial Times
‘Courses in love’: China steps up campaign to promote marriage, babies
Universities have been asked to educate single students on relationships and regular articles appear in state media about the benefits of having children.
- Eleanor Olcott, Nian Liu and Wang Xueqiao
Fine wine market in the red as Chinese demand dries up
The falls mark a second consecutive tough year for the industry, which was hit in 2023 by higher interest rates and dwindling sales from Asia.
- Laurence Fletcher
- Opinion
- World politics
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
This Month
Bill Clinton admitted to hospital after developing a fever
The former US president is in “good spirits” after being admitted to hospital in Washington DC.
- Justin Sink
- Opinion
- World politics
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
ASX to edge higher as US big tech rallies
Wall Street slid briefly before recovering after data showed US consumer confidence unexpectedly sank for the first time in three months.
- Rita Nazareth
Mangione pleads not guilty to murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO
An attorney told the court that officials, including New York Mayor Eric Adams, had turned the accused into a political pawn, depriving him of a fair trial.
- Michael Sisak and Jake Offenhartz
How Mossad tricked Hezbollah into buying exploding pagers
Dressed in ski masks and sunglasses the disguised former spies reveal the secrets of the 10-year operation to sell 16,000 booby-trapped pagers to Hezbollah.
- Jotam Confino
Biden commutes sentences for 37 out of 40 inmates on federal death row
The move will frustrate Donald Trump’s plan to expand executions. Unlike executive orders, clemency decisions cannot be reversed by a president’s successor.
- Nandita Bose
UK economy flat-lines in new setback for Starmer government
GDP is estimated to change 0 per cent in the third quarter and officials have slashed expectations for future growth.
- Reuters
King dumps chocolate brand from royal list for first time in 170 years
Cadbury, which got its first royal warrant from Queen Victoria, was among 100 companies cut from the list that allows them to display a royal coat of arms.
- Hayley Dixon
- Opinion
- Terror charges
Why did Germany’s bizarre terrorist send me angry messages?
Little did I know that the sender would end up being the main suspect in Friday’s Christmas market attack in the eastern city of Magdeburg.
- James Jackson
Trump threatens to take back Panama Canal
The president-elect argued that ships were charged “ridiculous” fees to pass through the vital transportation channel linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
- Bill Barrow and Will Weissert
US shoots down its own F/A-18 over Red Sea
The American military’s Central Command said that the two pilots had been safely recovered after they ejected from their fighter jet.
- Yan Zhuang and Matthew Mpoke Bigg
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”.
- Christopher F. Schuetze and Mark Landler
- Opinion
- Inside China
This is how China could lift growth while cutting global emissions
A shift towards green development could help stabilise the Chinese economy while supporting the world’s energy transition.
- Yiping Huang
Trump hints at change of heart on TikTok ban
The role of the popular social media app in last month’s election victory may have convinced the president-elect to give parent company ByteDance a reprieve.
- Gram Slattery
Why North Korean troops are now a problem for Putin
Many have expressed surprise at the apparent naivety of the Asian troops, under live fire for the first time.
- Iain Hollingshead
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
Saudi Arabia warned German police over market suspect’s extreme views
Saudi Arabia sent four warnings to German authorities over the extreme views of Taleb al Abdulmohsen, who posted of his plans to do “something big”.
- Roland Oliphant, James Rothwell and Jorg Luyken
Qantas, Virgin to resume flights to Vanuatu after earthquake
The two Australian airlines are both operating Port Vila-Brisbane services on Sunday and Jetstar is running a flight on the same route on Monday.
- Holly Hales
Republican revolt shows limits of Trump’s power
The rebellion over the funding bill cast doubt on whether the US president-elect will be able to fulfil his election campaign promises.
- Benedict Smith
- Opinion
- Inside China
China’s staggering manufacturing muscle needs to be seen to be believed
Since Trump was last in office, Beijing has doubled down on its efforts to gain global supremacy in electric cars, robots and rare materials. America could be toast if it doesn’t respond.
- Thomas Friedman