Today
US attitude towards Vietnam remains imperialist, not capitalist
Hanoi’s relationship with Washington since the end of the war has been one of remarkable redemption, but trade negotiations with Donald Trump show the scars remain.
Yesterday
US concludes BYD and Alibaba have links to Chinese military
The companies are among a number that the Pentagon believes could pose a threat to American national security.
This Month
Austal slashes earnings outlook after double counting US Navy contract
More than $600 million was wiped from the country’s largest shipbuilder after it said it had added incentive payments twice to its annual profit forecasts.
The Lowy cocktail party under sniper guard
The mobilisation of security for the visit of Israel’s president extended to private get-togethers.
Albanese stalls on Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ as allies walk away
The government is privately grappling with how to say no to the Trump administration’s invitation without provoking a diplomatic fallout.
PM unites with Herzog on Iran, but raises death of aid worker
The leaders jointly condemn Iran during a meeting at Parliament House, but Anthony Albanese maintains push for investigation into death of an Australian aid worker.
Chinese warships came within 10km of Australian waters: Defence
Chief of the Defence Force David Johnston reveals a Chinese flotilla identified in November came much closer to Australia than previously thought.
Two Chinese nationals charged with foreign interference
The two were charged with allegedly gathering information on a local Buddhist group on behalf of Beijing.
Middle powers may need nuclear weapons: Ukraine envoy
Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia wants the Albanese government to take a more active role brokering peace in his country’s war with Moscow.
AFP warns MPs and Jewish community in extremists’ sights
Religiously motivated violent extremism remains the biggest terrorism challenge, Australian Federal Police commissioner Krissy Barrett has warned.
Antisemitism envoy says her warnings were not heeded
Jillian Segal said she had warned about the threat posed by extremism before the Bondi attack and she wished Labor had worked faster to enact her plan.
Jewish Council does not speak for Jewish Australians
When an already maligned, grieving community is spoken for by those who not only don’t represent their views but hold opposing ones, it feels like a secondary attack.
Islamic extremism ‘undeniable’ threat to Australia: spy chief
The new head of the Office of National Intelligence, Kathy Klugman, also said the Indo-Pacific has become a hotbed for international tensions.
Two years of agony preceded Bondi: Herzog
Israeli President Isaac Herzog told a Jewish community event in Sydney that rising antisemitism was a prelude to the Bondi terror attack.
Herzog’s welcome visit shouldn’t limit the right to dissent
State-enforced limitations on speech rarely change minds and sanitising the public square drives extremist sentiments underground or galvanises protesters.
Not all Jewish Australians welcome Herzog here
The Israeli President’s visit has exposed a widening chasm within Australian Jewry and a persistent failure by our leaders to acknowledge it.
Parmesan, prosecco and feta look safe in EU trade deal
The EU appears to have softened its long-standing demand for Australian farmers to stop using these distinctly European labels on their produce.
AUSTRAC boss Brendan Thomas’ unlikely road to the top
The man who runs our national financial crime watchdog left school at 14 and was told he couldn’t get an apprenticeship because he was Aboriginal. It was a mighty motivator.
Aussie workers would gain easier access to EU under trade deal
Highly skilled professionals and investors would be able to work in Europe more easily under a two-way mobility deal with the European Union.
Defence to sell 67 prestige suburb sites in $1.8b property overhaul
Bases across Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney’s north shore and eastern suburbs will be sold in a move that will free up land for housing.
‘Not helpful’: Australia against tariffs on China minerals, says King
Washington is mulling price guarantees and tariff carve-outs for allies that sign up to a market aimed at breaking China’s grip on critical minerals production.
Shutting Canberra’s Afghan embassy would be a gift to the Taliban
There’s no conceivable national interest that would be served by such a move, and every reason to think the Taliban would see it as a tremendous victory
Carney’s middle powers agenda leaves Canberra squirming
Anthony Albanese said he agreed with the Canadian PM, but it is highly unlikely he or any of his national security ministers would give the same kind of speech.
January
Australia’s defence must be home-made in drone warfare era
The challenge is to make sure that we support our domestic manufacturing sector to expand its capacity to produce and develop these autonomous technologies.
Australia to hand Timor billions in gas revenue to counter Beijing
Australia will donate at least a third of the revenue it would receive from the Greater Sunrise gas development to Timor-Leste as part of a new partnership.
