Last updated: November 3, 2017

Friday 3rd November 2017

We can’t admit to being wrong

(FILES) File image dated October 24, 2017 shows US President Donald Trump speaking about his tax reform proposal in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC. The year since Donald Trump's election has revealed a president thirsty for acclaim, consumed by grievance and -- for better or worse -- realizing his promise to shatter the norms of office. / AFP PHOTO / SAUL LOEB / TO GO WITH AFP STORY by Andrew Beatty "Bristling Trump upends White House in first chaotic year"

Research suggests trying to persuade Brexit or Trump supporters to switch isn’t going to work.

Thursday 2nd November 2017

Set Xi straight on North Korea

Donald Trump

The US President needs to deliver some home truths to the puffed-up regime of Xi Jinping.

Trump needs strategy change

AYHAM

The attack in New York is a vivid reminder that the ideology that animates Islamist extremism is alive and kicking.

Wednesday 1st November 2017

Theses that rocked the world

Martin Luther statue in Wittenberg, Germany 
Image supplied by Viking Cruises

Five hundred years ago an event occurred that would change the course of history.

Trump just a sideshow

U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump give out Halloween treats to children in Washington

Robert Mueller’s mission is not to topple President Donald Trump and claim a political scalp.

Tuesday 31st October 2017

West must end silence on Kurds

A member of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) holds a Kalashnikov assault rifle as he stands in the town of al-Karamah, 26 kms from the Islamic State (IS) group bastion of Raqa, on May 10, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / DELIL SOULEIMAN

When it comes to securing statehood for Kurdish people, the West has been strangely silent.

Monday 30th October 2017

Suu Kyi’s deplorable silence

Aung San Suu Kyi

In the past two months, 600,000 Muslims have fled their Myanmar homes.

Saturday 28th October 2017

Abe must rewrite constitution

Japan's Prime Minister and ruling Liberal Democratic Party leader Shinzo Abe attends a press conference at the party headquarters in Tokyo on October 23, 2017, a day after Japan’s general election. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stormed to a landslide "super-majority" in snap Japanese elections, near complete projections showed Monday, with the hardline nationalist immediately pledging to "deal firmly" with North Korea. / AFP PHOTO / Behrouz MEHRI

The pacifist wording of Japan’s constitution is a hindrance to global peacekeeping.

Friday 27th October 2017

Rich get richer in Xi’s China

Chairman of the BBC Trust Lord Chris Patten arrives to speak to journalists outside New Broadcasting House in central London on November 11, 2012. Patten called for a radical overhaul of the world's largest broadcaster after it was plunged into crisis following the resignation of the director-general amid a sex abuse scandal. AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLIS

Xi Jinping, the leader offended by Winnie the Pooh memes, has asserted his undisputed authority over China.

Thursday 26th October 2017

Meet the Xennials

David Beckham and Victoria Adams, pre-makeover; Sarah Michelle Gellar and Kurt Cobain.

We’re the same age as ‘the Buffy woman’, we remember Becks before his makeover and sorry, Kurt Cobain would be too old now to be considered an icon.

Juncker’s authority melting away

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker looks on during a plenary session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, on October 24, 2017.  / AFP PHOTO / PATRICK HERTZOG

Complacent president seems not to notice that European solidarity is collapsing on his watch.

Wall against effective government

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) Announces He Will Not Seek Re-Election And Rebukes President Trump In Senate Chamber Speech

Donald Trump is fast running out of Republicans to help him implement his agenda.

Wednesday 25th October 2017

Communism as evil as fascism

Melanie Phillips columnist The Times

Despite causing appalling suffering, Marxist views are tolerated in a way far-right extremism isn’t.

Tuesday 24th October 2017

Catalans crave respect above all

People gather in front of the Palau Generalitat in Barcelona, Spain awaiting for Catalan President Carles Puigdemont's speech Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017. Spain announced an unprecedented plan Saturday to sack Catalonia's separatist leaders, install its own people in their place and call a new local election, using previously untapped constitutional powers to take control of the prosperous region that is threatening to secede. (AP Photo/Santi Palacios)

Tinpot politicians in Madrid and Barcelona have fuelled a crisis that could have been resolved with a little respect.

Military reform a step too far

Japan's Prime Minister and ruling Liberal Democratic Party leader Shinzo Abe answers questions at the party headquarters in Tokyo on October 22, 2017. Abe swept to a resounding victory in a snap election on October 22, winning a mandate to harden his already hawkish stance on North Korea and re-energise the world's number-three economy. / AFP PHOTO / Toru YAMANAKA

Constitutional reform is beyond Shinzo Abe’s reach because most Japanese simply do not want it.

Monday 23rd October 2017

The perils of young leaders

Portraits Of New Zealand Labour Party Leader Jacinda Ardern

Voters worldwide are willing to trust young leaders. But it takes more than an energetic prodigy to run a country.

Security key to Africa’s success

(FILES) This file photo taken on July 25, 2016 shows US soldiers of 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division taking position near a hut during a combined training exercise with Senegalese 1st Paratrooper Battalion in Thies. The killing of four US special operations soldiers in Niger has highlighted the increasing role elite units are playing across Africa, which is rapidly becoming a major center of US military action. Their mission is to counter the advances of a slew of jihadist movements across the continent, including Al-Shabaab in Somalia, affiliates of the Islamic State group in the Sahel region and Boko Haram in Nigeria.  / AFP PHOTO / SEYLLOU

Australia should be doing more to strengthen counter-terrorism capabilities in Africa.

JFK files won’t alter history

Cameron Stewart dinkus The Asutralian

The expected release of secret files relating to President Kennedy’s assassination is unlikely to change history.

Friday 20th October 2017

Students must learn how to argue

The Times columnist Philip Collins.

Unis denying speakers a platform is nonsense on stilts - although stilts are probably banned for fear someone might fall off.

Xi speech claimed world power

Xi speech claimed world power

Xi Jinping gave his 3½-hour congress speech in an even and pleasant tone. But the message was thoroughly combative.

The Australian doesn't play nicely with your current browser.

Please take a moment to upgrade to the latest version.

Internet Explorer

v10 or later

Upgrade now