Hamish McDonald

Trump's legal challenges. Report on Russian hacking during US election. China retaliates against Canada over Huawei arrest. Theresa May braces for Brexit defeat. Local ceasefire in Yemen brings hope. Morrison's Jerusalem gambit pleases no one.

Drug policy reform in Portugal, from pill testing to decriminalisation, may provide a model for Australia. Lisbon’s ‘dissuasion commissioner’ Nuno Capaz talks about understanding drug use as a medical, rather than a moral, issue.

Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou bailed in Canada; Donald Trump’s lawyer jailed.

Theresa May suffers defeats on Brexit. Trump backs down when facing Xi Jinping at G20. Trump’s former lawyer pleads guilty. Philippine journalist charged with tax fraud.

Heat on Paul Manafort to tell all. Republicans hold on in Deep South. Nancy Pelosi under pressure.

US and China clash at APEC ahead of G20. Trump won't pursue Mohammed bin Salman. Theresa May’s next Brexit deadline.

Scott Morrison and Xi Jinping take on international diplomacy in the Pacific. Beijing boosting regional security, not military. South-west Pacific in political turmoil. ‘Soft power’ review under way as case made for Radio Australia’s return.

Asia-Pacific leaders gathering in Singapore for next week’s ASEAN Summit won’t find many ‘crazy rich Asians’ of the hit film variety, but rather a lot of unhappy ones who are feeling the pinch.

President Trump on the attack after mixed US midterms. Asia shows its working around Trump's US economically as the region prepares for key summits. Sanction waivers make Iran oil ban toothless. Xi Jinping attracting domestic criticism.

Trump stays on message for midterms. Right-wing gains in Brazil and Germany. Constitutional crisis in Sri Lanka. Independence vote for New Caledonia. The debate over refusing China in our 5G network.

Democrats targeted with pipe bombs; Erdoğan applies heat to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman; Widodo treads gently with Saudis.

Morrison’s embassy misstep; aftermath of Khashoggi murder; PNG’s APEC spending.

Pence adds to pressure on China, Brazil’s Duterte, Timor-Leste’s LNG pipedream.

Dennis Richardson was chief of ASIO and ambassador to Washington before heading the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and then Defence. Here, he talks about China, Trump and Australia’s foreign policy.

Trump boosts new treaty with Mexico and Canada; Boris Johnson’s leadership pitch.

Russia upgrades air defences. UN warns of famine in Yemen. EU seeking sanctions on Poland.

Former general jailed in Philippines; backdown on new seasonal visa.

In Sydney’s west, the Uygur community has joined calls for Australia to sanction China over its internment of more than one million members of the Muslim minority.

Bolton warns of sanctions against ICC members, and challenges Palestinian Authority referral of Israel. Russia and Syria attack Idlib. Far-right gains in Sweden.

Trump no-show at Asian forums. Pacific unhappy with Australia over climate change. Xi Jinping increases African aid. Namibia rebuff s China.

Marise Payne to take up China reset. Julie Bishop's legacy. Myanmar ‘genocide’. McCain snub.

Cohen pleads guilty and Manafort convicted. US dumps Clean Power Plan. US joint exercises in NT. Police raid domestic intelligence agency in Austria.

Turkish lira collapses aft er Trump doubles trade tariffs. Joko Widodo names running mate. Youth protests in Bangladesh. Trump chides Harley-Davidson.

China pushes back on dissent. Misgivings over Xi's leadership spread. Dalai Lama succession plan.

After contracts were awarded in the Turnbull government’s $90 billion naval upgrade, the most successful local shipbuilder is being pushed closer to exiting Australia.

US answer to China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Imran Khan wins in Pakistan. Violence after Zimbabwe elections. China's support extends Hun Sen's reign in Cambodia. Trump offers Rouhani meeting without conditions.

US president to visit Australia after APEC? Iran responds in kind to Trump threats. US allies working around its global trade war.

Trump in damage control after Putin summit. Israel seeking Syria deal with Russia and the US. Chinese dissident Liu Xia freed.

Donald Trump’s in Europe for NATO summit; Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s new start for Turkey; US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo goes to Pyongyang.

Despite international disapproval of his bloody war on drugs, Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte is popular at home as a leader from outside the normal corruption of politics.

Merkel gives in on refugees. Timor-Leste warned of fiscal crisis. Mexico elects left-wing president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador. US chasing Kim Jong-un on nuclear promises.

Trump's tariff war escalates. US Muslim travel ban upheld. Erdoğan maintains grip on Turkey. Greyhound racing ends in Asia with Macau closure.

Mahathir Mohamad’s spectacular return to the prime ministership of Malaysia – and its first overturning of government since federation in 1957 – was meant to pave the way for Anwar Ibrahim’s leadership. But will the 92-year-old Mahathir rush to fulfil that promise?

Trump relents on family separations. Merkel under pressure over asylum seekers. Rhetoric heats up for US–China trade war.

This week’s smiling, hand-shaking pleasantries are a long way from earlier threats of ‘fire and fury’ and nuclear attacks. But did the Trump–Kim meeting in Singapore really broker long-term disarmament?

Trump goes his own way on trade. Italy turns back refugees. Activists jailed in Hong Kong.

US and North Korea ready for talks. Italy swings right. Islamists and secularists will face off in Indonesian poll.

Questions mount over the direction Malcolm Turnbull is taking with China, as clues emerge from a former adviser’s report with ASIO and an ex-ambassador’s turning on the government.

Italy elections repeat could see rightward swing. Chinese financial crisis forecast. Trump–Kim talks back on.

While some may see Kim Jong-un as ill equipped to broker deals on the world stage, nothing could be further from the truth.

Australian MP alleges FBI suspect. Italy prepares for far-right/far-left coalition government. Najib Razak investigated.

US embassy moves to Jerusalem. Family bombers in Java. Anwar Ibrahim released.

US to reimpose sanctions on Iran. Trump believes Iran decision will impress North Korea. Mahathir sweeps back into power in Malaysia.

Historic Korean meeting plays well for Kim. Trump yet to confirm Iran sanctions waiver plan. Mahathir pledges to pardon Anwar. Bishop and Dutton at loggerheads over ASD.

The Australian government is watching New Caledonia’s independence referendum with caution, seeing it as a precursor to the potentially more volatile vote in Bougainville next year.

Historic Korean talks ahead of Trump and Kim meeting. Macron charms on US trip. Timor poll holds up gas plans.

James Comey on press tour; Trump still pulling punches with Moscow; Israel–Iran hostilities deepen.

FBI raid on Trump lawyer; Malaysian elections; Espiritu Santo wharf proposal.

The attempted murder in England of former spy Sergei Skripal with a nerve agent developed in Russia has stirred Cold War tensions, but evidence of Moscow’s involvement is yet to be found.

Australia advised to allow more Pacific Islander workers. Japanese navy equipping small aircraft carriers. Dutton and Downer freelancing foreign policy.

Julie Bishop hauls in Russian ambassador Grigory Logvinov; students take anti-gun protest to Washington; US national security adviser replaced.

Cambridge Analytica in Australia. Trump fires up. Poison case gets Boris Johnson treatment. Menadue scolds Dutton over South Africa comments.

Trump brinkmanship on North Korea. No term limit for Xi Jinping. Shinzō Abe in trouble.

Australia and Timor-Leste finally sign treaty; Italy’s poll results.

Germany still dealing on coalition. Macron in trouble. Brexit chaos grows.

The Beijing model and Australia’s response. Russian trolls charged. Lesson on wage growth and corporate tax from Japan.

Benjamin Netanyahu facing corruption claims; North Korea in Winter Olympics charm offensive; Harry Harris the new ambassador to Australia.

US and Russia developing new short-range nuclear weapons. Democracy wobbles in Africa. Timor-Leste and Australia close to treaty. Theresa May in trouble a year out from Brexit.

Trump and the FBI memo. Berlusconi possible kingmaker. Germany close to coalition decision.

After decades spent unchallenged as lenders of capital, the major banks find themselves rivalled by union-run superannuation funds. Now big business is going to the funds for investment.

Winter Olympics freeze North Korea tensions. TPP back on.

Trump's tax bill. Ramaphosa elected ANC leader. Capital punishment abounds.

Problems with One Belt One Road. Democrat wins Alabama senate seat. Australian silence on Nobel Peace Prize.

Mike Flynn pleads guilty to lying to the FBI; Yemeni leader killed; the Chinese spy scare.

North Korea explores bitcoin investment; defence white paper.

No government yet for Germany. Mugabe quits. US against Australian scientist's involvement in nuclear weapons program.

Mugabe under house protection. Exaggerating Australia's military successes. Australian navy in Red Sea. Ireland debates remaining in EU.

Trump tours Asia as tax bill hits at home. British sex scandal could derail Brexit.

Paul Manafort, Rick Gates and George Papadopoulos charged. Europe swinging to the right.

Election win for Shinzō Abe. Thai king farewelled. Still no government comment on ICAN's Nobel peace prize.

Another term likely for hawkish Shinzō Abe. Trump puts Iran deal in hands of congress. Jacinda Ardern becomes NZ's prime minister. Tsar Nicholas scandal shows Putin loyalty.

Possible Yemen role for RAN. 4-star ambassador for Australia.

Trump's wayward messages on Puerto Rico and North Korea. Catalan protests growing. UN committee rejects West Papua petition.

Shinzō Abe seeks military mandate. Australia’s support for Iran deal. Germany’s far-right party splits.

Jacinda Ardern gets Labour closer in NZ. Kurds seeking state. Aung San Suu Kyi evasive on Rohingya.

North Korea crisis eases. Singapore gets first female president. Elgin Marbles in Brexit play.

Rohingya tragedy; Kenya back to polls; Submarine corruption arrests in Israel; Timor Sea breakthrough.

Trump pardons sheriff; Samsung heir jailed; China’s trouble finding military recruits.

Xi Jinping keeps economy pumped up; South Koreans in favour of going nuclear; Australia under US ‘umbrella’.

Australia staunch on US defence ties. Korean War legacy. Trump in civil war territory. Tony Jones's book reignites Balkan hostilities

US cautious on Marawi action; Sara Netanyahu facing indictment for misusing funds.

Talisman Sabre and US strategy; new head of defence; Boris Johnson addresses Lowy Institute dinner.

Timor poll results; Indian editor quits over Adani.

Travelling the Balkan borderlands from Serbia to Greece is a navigation of the bristling enmities of the former Yugoslavia.

Political turmoil in Brazil and South Africa; Vale Liu Xiaobo; Extra voters in PNG poll.

Putin masterful at G20; Russian hacking stops cybersecurity talks with US; PNG election monitors quit.

Michael Ignatieff, head of the Central European University in Budapest, is fighting an attempt to have the George Soros-funded private institution thrown out of Hungary by its authoritarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán.

North Korea’s missile tests; Iraq and Syria after Daesh; Obama in Indonesia; Malaysian fraud case.

Xi Jinping visits Hong Kong on 20th anniversary. Brandis and Dutton push 'Five Eyes' on encryption. Australian Defence secretary candidates.

Kurds could fight for Iraqi homeland; US hawks eye Iran forces in Syria; PNG elections begin

Brexit talks begin; Trump not welcome in London, but Canberra keen; China’s online crackdown on arts news.

While many in the West are turning to Angela Merkel’s Germany for leadership in the face of Trump’s America, the chancellor is more a pragmatic politician than a visionary.

May Day at the UK elections; Qatar cut off by Saudi, Egypt, Bahrain and UAE.

Merkel steps up in EU and Germany; Trump returns to family crisis; More Australian troops to be sent to Afghanistan.

Trump singles out Iran on terror; Trump in Israel; Jared Kushner next in Russian link investigation.

“A maritime boundary fixed according to the best geological and legal principles would be an investment in Australia’s relationships with its region. In the short term, it would be a huge boost for the increasingly embattled secular-nationalist government …”

Donald Trump’s “Russian Thing”, Syria’s “de-escalation zones”, China’s One Belt One Road initiative, North Korea and the WannaCry ransomware attack

Security agencies get $321 million budget boost; Just the start for Macron; Jakarta governor jailed for two years.

Macron favourite in French poll; Hamas gets new charter; Visa changes upset India, NZ.

China calls for US restraint; Macron and Le Pen into election second round; Turnbull committed on Afghanistan.

France goes to the polls; Baswedan elected Jakarta governor; Korean missile fails.

China is attempting to reshape global trade through massive development projects across the old Silk Road of central Asia. But some fear it will bring economic disaster.

US and North Korea face off; Reaction to Syria’s chemical attack; Australia helps Japan with new spy agency: Novel ideas on Chinese diplomacy.

Bashar al-Assad denies responsibility for chemical attack; Xi Jinping visiting Mar-a-Lago; Donald Trump diplomacy.

Arabs paying price for US bungling; Hamas changes policy; Britain begins exit from European Union.

Fethullah Gülen has become enemy No. 1 of President Erdoğan of Turkey, leaving the US-based Muslim cleric’s supporters, including those in Australia, fearful for their livelihoods and freedom.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visits Australia; Rex Tillerson in Asia; FBI denies wire-tapping Trump Tower.

Asia-Pacific hotbed; Dutch elections.

Europe shaky as elections loom; Washington's Kremlingate grows; North Korean missile message.

Putin's presdiential rivals brave; Saudi's King Salman visits Indonesia; Geert Wilders' mixed ancestry

Russian ties to US property deals; Benjamin Netanyahu's Australian visit

Kim Jong-un’s brother murdered; Jokowi’s hopes for Jakarta governor; Lú-Olo poised in Timor-Leste

Netanyahu plans to visit Australia; IMF damns PNG; Jakarta test in gubernatorial elections

Bannon fodder; Fanning flames of anti-Muslim views; Wall Street falters

Beneath one of Tokyo’s busiest train lines is an izakaya bar run by an expat Englishman, the inheritor of his Japanese family’s long-running deal in the city’s famous fish market.

Focus on US marines in Darwin; testing times ahead; Brexit tensions.

Unholy conflict; China warning shot; Ahok judgement; Euro loses currency

Last bastion falls; Donor cabals; Trump credit chaos; Erdoğan angles; ABC pulls Pacific short-wave plug

Taiwan trade risk; NZ friendlier for seasonal workers from Pacific Islands; Italy’s PM resigns.

South Korea’s Park offers to fall on her sword; China eyes change; James Curran forecasts less united states.

President-elect chooses candidates for key posts; vale Des Ball.

Third arrow misfire; Vlad-handing; LDP bloodline flows Down Under; Trump’s Razzie.

Asia surprised at Trump win; ANZUS as usual.

Asia-Pacific chaos; upping the ante for American allies.

Royal Thais in bind; African nations quit Hague crime court

What happens to Mosul after Daesh?; Hillary Clinton plays Donald Trump in final debate; Julian Assange’s internet outage.

Trump’s locker-room talk hits support; Republicans stand back from candidate; Russian hacks not helping; South Australian citizens contributing to nuclear debate.

Trump and Clinton recruit former CIA chiefs; Insiders vie to be Jakarta’s governor; Referendum blues in Hungary and Colombia

“Of Pine Gap's 54 antennas, why can’t we have one or two working for us before the bomb goes off? We should be searching for JI members who log in on any system, anywhere, any time.”

US unclear on nuclear first strike; deadlier weapons heading to Aleppo; The Hague orders Australia into mediation with Timor-Leste over maritime boundary.

US bill for wars estimated at $5 trillion; Putin gains more seats; Anti-immigrant party joins Berlin’s local parliament; Labour activist found guilty after Thai factory exposé

US buzzes Korea; Cosying up to Brits; Clinton’s ill tidings; Russia’s Trump card

Chinese donations scare overblown; Building with LegCo; Trumputin hacks; Riady to come clean

Timor-Leste’s leaders are at odds over progressing with plans for a huge oil and gas project despite the uncertain outcome of talks in The Hague over maritime boundaries.

US, China rivalry a key EAS focus; Pivot turns sour; Asia shake-up as old foes get closer

Weasel words at UN working group; Turkish president moves to head off Kurds; Russia ‘shows off’.

Hong Kong writer’s column suspended by economic journal; Rape atrocity in South Sudan may lift UN presence; Ruddock needs updating for new human rights role.

Does the imminent ascension to the throne of Thailand’s playboy prince Vajiralongkorn make it more or less likely the military junta will loosen its grip on power?

India’s bold GST; Japan’s succession; Thai Prince Duntroon links; Kim goes for gold

Suu Kyi offers olive branch to ethnic rebels; Wiranto appointment a baffling Joko twist; Rudd still a chance

At the forefront of Timor-Leste’s fight for independence, José Ramos-Horta remains an active figure in world politics. He shares his thoughts on Kevin Rudd, hypocrisy over maritime borders and making another bid for the Timorese presidency.

Conciliatory Akihito to stand down; Tony Jones blunders on myth of ‘Croatian Six’; Always smile at a crocodile; Jokowi restores tough minister

Republicans drop ‘two-state’ solution; Erdoğan consolidates power after coup; envelope journalism by app.

Abe targets Japan’s pacifist constitution; North Korean anger over US missile base in South Korea; New British prime minister Theresa May.

Ruling on China’s maritime claims; Ramadan ends with suicide attacks; Hillary Clinton questioned by FBI; two women vying for Tory leadership.

Boris dancing?; Nukes subplot; Istanbul attack; Timor recruits US

China syndrome; Economic Modi-fication; Abbott brigade

Pollies return fire; gunmakers’ stocks up, 22 die each day; Guthrie’s world view.

UN turns blind eye on Saudi record in Yemen conflict; Saudi prince’s plan to wean kingdom off oil.

Fairfax Sinos on; Chewing the Fat; Trying to reset the spinster cycle

Asia ‘pivot’ wanes; Not so ‘One China’; Israel tensions flare

CSIRO cuts could affect Antarctic rights; New chairman for Golkar party; China’s efforts at total control

Tense times over nuclear deterrence; Hong Kong closing ranks on financial transparency; Kalashnikov to have a clothing line.

Philippine Trump; Kim Jong-un gets the party started; Daesh bans opium; Panama corral

Offshore troops still in the shadows; Trump swaps gimmicks for cynic

PNG’s police farce; BRICS bats; Our man in Manila

Malcolm Turnbull treads warily in China on trade; legal net closes on PNG’s PM Peter O’Neill; peace moves in Middle East

Wealthy ‘countries’ unto themselves; Sanders and Cruz win Wisconsin; all eyes on downed Syrian jet.

Syria conundrum; HK publishers brought to book; Fishy business in South China Sea; GOP gunning for an Ohio showdown

Unmade seabeds in Timor-Leste; Egypt stays quiet on student’s death; China has a case of the Ips.

Russia withdraws in Syria; Aung San Suu Kyi’s shadow; Indonesia’s proxy war

Republicans have some primary concerns; border guards on Timor-Leste; US bombers coming Australia’s way.

Moves to recapture Mosul from Daesh; high Iran poll turnout; Malaysian PM Najib Razak’s millions.

Tory ranks divided over Brexit strategy; Daesh still a target; RAN submarine bids; Ugandan election arrest; literary notes from the Middle East.

US Supreme Court hangs in balance; trouble in PNG and Fiji.

China’s abduction and arrest of publishers of scandalous books in Hong Kong is being seen as a brazen challenge to the ‘one country, two systems’ arrangement.

North Korea causes security headaches for China; Sanders and Trump in New Hampshire.

Syria strategy; elections in Vanuatu, Myanmar and Vietnam; Putin anxiety.

Demographic insecurity. Australian submarine tender.

Malcolm Turnbull’s visits to Washington and elsewhere continue his reshaping of the tone of Australia’s foreign policy, away from Tony Abbott’s bullish moralising.

Taiwan elects first female leader. Iran free to reopen oil markets.

Is Le Pen mightier than accord?; Coming up Trump; Ki-moon descends but will Kevin rise?; Farewell to scholar Benedict Anderson; Super spy story

Our dynamic duo in Washington; mine shakedown claims rock Jakarta; Japan-China rail battle gains speed.

Challenge to Philippine presidential candidate Grace Poe. Japan resumes whaling. Vanuatu corruption claims a third of parliament. Yemeni island bans popular narcotic.

As Timor-Leste continues its dispute with Australia over oil and gas resources, the tiny nation risks blowing its budget on a giant white elephant.

Russia under increasing fire; Thailand’s human rights wrongs.

Daesh turns to soft targets; Western security stretched; Enlist defectors, says think tank; Seeking solutions to Syrian hotbed.

Aung San Suu Kyi looks set to be the backseat driver of Myanmar’s next government. Unravelling a half-century of military control and cronyism now awaits her.

GOP faithful falling; Modi dealt a blow in Bihar poll; Netanyahu visits Washington; writings land Iranian poets lengthy jail terms.

China boosts KMT; Turkish Kurds used in election; Hague to ponder South China Sea disputes; CCP members’ golf ban

With China’s anti-corruption campaign biting hard on his Macau casinos, James Packer is trying to spread his bets elsewhere.

US Navy makes point to China; Turkey's presidential election; China's Confucius Peace Prize

As incoming vice-chancellor of the Australian National University, Nobel prize winner Brian Schmidt has a clear vision of how to take Australian achievements into the stratosphere.

Fresh Taliban threat; US looks to do deal with Pakistan; Jokowi’s first year.

PNG economy slides further; black days in India as anti-Muslim sentiment rages; Mahathir hypocrisy; China tempers North Korea slurs.

Delicate China; No dice on rice.

Kunduz captured; US loses control but Obama soars; drug ship queries; Train gets navy intel back on track.

TPP a farmers’ market; US asks Xi to stop Chinese hackers; Freedom and kleptocracy; Putin’s hand in Syria

As both sides of politics tussle over the China–Australia Free Trade Agreement, the father of diplomatic relations with Beijing laments our current lack of vision when dealing with Asia.

Malcolm less bullish on China; Putin boosts Assad; ALP to follow British Labour’s left turn?; Singapore’s Lees

Iran deal close; China also loose on Pacific War history; Ugandan president ducks and swerves Sydney rival

Entrepreneur Steve Killelea talks about his Global Peace Index, a comparison of nations including factors such as prison populations and ease of access to small arms.

Syria in firing line; Egypt’s hard line on journos remains; Indonesia cuts no-go zone red tape.

Reshuffling before Myanmar election; Canada’s hardline prime minister.

Abe king-hit; Rajapaksa’s decline; Loving Yew

China’s economy baffles the experts; ABC changes overseas; what Princely reward for Charles?

Discord over TPP dispute provision; Sub smokescreen; Key latches on to British royalty

Sri Lankan polls; heads roll over 1MDB scandal; Russia to host clash of tank titans.

Shinzo Abe battles history; Myanmar presidential elections.

Alexis Tsipras’s big fat Greek debt; Aung San Suu Kyi’s party plan; Cattle cuts payback

‘No’ vote opens door to drachma; Malaysian PM in financial scandal; Asia’s same-sex sensibilities

Obama on the line to keep Putin at bay; nation-building by another name.

Japan surveys Spratly Islands. Sifting terrorists from anti-IS corps; UN reports possible Gaza war crimes; US muscles up in Eastern Europe; Timor-Leste spy saga.

Canada flexes passport muscle; Pope Francis wants to cut fossil fuels; Trump adds colour amid dynasties

India’s energy company scandals; Greenpeace targeted in India; Tension in PNG over Bougainville; Balibo 5 appointment

Bernardi speaks against Abbott’s ‘power creep’. Terror talk of citizenship oath unsettles migrants. Nuclear Iran deal affects IS fight. Emboldened Eurosceptics evoke ‘Anglosphere’.

Headaches ahead over B-1 bombers; IS and Ramadi mirror Mad Max; Hong Kong press freedom and judicial threats; ABC Tokyo bureau closure untimely; Hello Kitty’s 40th.

Assad regime genocide fears; Rohingya crisis is a test of ASEAN strength.

Jokowi strengthens Papua relations; Singapore’s new media predicament; tense days in the Middle East.

Australian links to Texas shooting. Opium’s new highs.

Greek ‘gambler’ out. Abe minces words. Rebuilding Nepal. Jokowi’s death row.

Agencies hack foreign states. Xi’s Pakistan deal. Kudos for NZ Anzacs.

The US and Japan have quietly cornered the Chinese navy with an undersea surveillance ring that is framing Australia’s defence policy.

Julie Bishop in Iran. Australian soldiers face turmoil in Iraq. Mahathir calls out Najib Razak.

Bishop and Zarif talks; Greek bailout beyond even Putin; Jokowi holds hopes for Chan and Sukumaran.

Sydney-based doctor Aggrey Kiyingi hopes to unseat Uganda's dictator president.

Nigeria elects former coup leader; US banning gays on religious grounds; India’s free speech; capital punishment.

Lee Kuan Yew played to win; Netanyahu shores up foreign allies; ASIS to train Japanese spies.

Myanmar is finding its feet as a tourist destination, and the best way to take advantage is to leave the ground.

Illegals undermine seasonal labour; Asia-Pacific policy adrift; Israel election.

TPP concerns; Iran nuclear treaty; US dodges push to recapture Tikrit; Capital punishment double standards

Netanyahu’s speech to US congress; Nemtsov's death blow to hopes of change in Russia.

IS social media skills overstated; Malaysia wants Villawood murderer

Police target KPK. Papua little changed. Did Sri Lanka arm terrorists?

A defender of the Iraq war, who also saw off an inquiry into the AWB scandal, the new head of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet will nonetheless be willing to ask the tough questions.

Bali clemency push; Malaysia regresses; Thai military rule makes US uneasy; Delhi in vote against Modi

Jokowi’s execution smokescreen; unease between Iran, the US and Israel.

Suu Kyi’s resurgence. Patchy reforms. Buddhist violence. Thai ‘prison’ boats.

Abbott abroad; LNG fails PNG; Tamil abuse report.

Russian rouble falls; rupiah slide hits Golkar chairman; poor polls for Shinzō Abe; gun lobbyist weighs in on siege.

Papua New Guinea’s corruption scandals continue to dog its government, and threaten to envelop Prime Minister Peter O’Neill as he courts Australian investors.

China defies Hague over sea dispute; CIA’s damning torture report; Disney, Skype on Luxembourg tax list.

China setbacks in HK and Taiwan. Third divorce for Thai prince? Sri Lankan elections.

Iran nuke deal delayed. Netanyahu bill controversy in Israel. Cracks in Sri Lankan Freedom Party. Modi's wife comes forth.

Abbott coaches on two percenters. Obama’s time running out on Iran’s nuclear deal.

Luxembourg tax dodgers leaked; Japan’s history wars claim scalp; Abbott’s hairy-chested adviser.

And China looks to the past for inspiration.

TPP’s prospects rise. Jokowi’s cabinet echoes Megawati.

Balibo Five case a bipartisan albatross. Death penalty in Asia.

Threat to reporters rings alarm bells; Asian Islamic nations shut out IS; Australian tutting over HK protesters.

Time for words, not just bombs. A masterclass from China’s Xi.

Abbott should not forget Jakarta; Cambodia asylum-seeker option just adds to cruelty.

Islamic State targets youth on social media. Putin may avoid his Brisbane reckoning.

Iraq venture has eye on domestic politics. Industry support doesn’t include submarines. US action on Ebola.

Love thy neighbour as Canberra flatters Timor-Leste; Indonesian assassination case still unresolved; all eyes on the Scottish ayes.

Sunni support vital in Iraq; Hong Kong elections; Singaporean discontent

Fiji’s prime minister, Frank Bainimarama, is facing his first elections since seizing power in 2006. The strongman’s campaign road trip of expat communities found him in Sydney’s battler belt.

Ultra-realism on Gaza’s prospects; New ambassador for Indonesia; Macau casino staff up stakes.

It’s only spying if you get caught; Terror’s new wave; Hitler rides again in Indian politics

PLA's march south; India fretting over Pakistani power; Fiji's Commodore hits the hustings; O Abbott, where art thou?

Gaza and how it came to this, again; the T-word is finally admitted in Washington.

Adelaide may lose subs; ASIO files reveal AFP link to Yugoslav intelligence.

Bishop's UN move an adroit gambit; Hanoi ponders oil rig removal tactics; North Korea airs China frustration.

The wrong time to admire martyrdom; soft treatment for 'psycho' Prabowo.

Will a vote away from elite patronage-based leadership ease Indonesia’s often-touchy relationship with Australia?

Clinton wins neocon approval; Buddhist violence in Myanmar; out of the blue threat to Union Jack.

Australian forces in South Korea. China’s HK warnings. US spooks.

On the eve of the Indonesian elections, the victory of a dangerous relic of the Suharto regime is worryingly likely.

Julie Bishop to visit Myanmar; climate weighing on US business.

Has the US project to reshape Iraq failed? Here are the origins of the state’s internal divisions, and the advent of ISIS, a group thought too radical even by al-Qaeda.

Modi courts Japan; thinking local in Indonesia.

PNG's LNG debut; mines in spotlight; digging deep on Freeport deal.

The US experience provides a glimpse of our potentially prosperous but unsettling future, if we let loose a gas and oil fracking boom.

Modi gets tough; gas price pressure; Jokowi team casts shadowy figures; more than a few blips in search for MH370.

China snares deal for Russian gas; Thai coup won’t inspire Myanmar’s democracy; candidates in Indonesia get dirty; Guinea-Bissau shows how democracy is done.

“Is China the new post-Bismarckian Germany, a century on, challenging the dominant sea power of our age?”

Two-horse race for president. King’s longevity holds the answer. Watching Korea. Transmission cut.

Malcolm Fraser's call to step back from US alliance a welcome prompt for rethinking our Pacific engagement

Indonesia named the world's 10th largest economy, with China meanwhile predicted to emerge as the world's largest economy by the end of this year.

Slave rant prompts fall from grace; conservatives see red over inequality claims; superannuation funds cheer buried treasures.

Power plays; Chinese navy's video takes off; new broom sweeps away Snowden leaks; DFAT goes back to the ’80s on Burma.

Could Joko Widodo form workable coalition? India’s election. CIA director visits Ukraine. US to carve better TPP deal.

Spotlight on NSA. Taiwan’s sunflower protests defy China. Will HK get direct elections?

Minnow flexes muscle; Obama red-faced; billionaire backing; Australia’s Antarctica claims; Japanese submarines may return to our seas.

Asia's newest odd couple might help Obama get trade agreement over the line.

Britain no longer Europe's go-to power; Jokowi set for a landslide but remains a mystery; Japan PM shores up support of national broadcaster.

Waxing emotional to the Duma; Obama banks on IMF; helping Putin's numbers; China feeling nervous; MH370 mystery sounds alarm bells

US flounders. Gas industry response. Laser changes. Rudd’s long-term plan.

Diplomacy in the Ukraine. US defence cuts. Submarine program. China’s Ukraine response.

Demystifying the TPP; Abbott’s labo(u)r man in Washington; life after SBY.