Semua Kabar

AUSTRALIANS HAVEfelt lucky but anxious since the first colonists waded ashore, over two centuries ago. An edge of insecurity endured even as Australia became prosperous, safe and envied: a liberal democracy with a resource-rich continent to itself, guarded by a deep blue moat on the bottom of the world. Today, Australian fears are acute, for two pillars supporting its modern rise—its defence alliance with America and itstrade with China—are wobbling. For all that, after a week Down Under talking to business, political and national-security bigwigs, The Telegram has a hunch that Australian angst gives the country a head start.

This article appeared in the International section of the print edition under the headline “Australia the lonely”

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

After decades of rising secularism, Christianity is holding its ground—and gaining among the young

Its plan was to hold off a Chinese attack until America turned up. What now?

MAGA-world flirts with forces that once tore Europe apart

His regime uses payouts to salve Russian families’ grief

WITHIN HOURSof his party winning national elections,Friedrich Merz, Germany’s presumptive next leader, dropped a bombshell. Donald Trump “does not care much about the fate of Europe”, he said. The priority was to “step by step…achieve independence from theUSA”. This was not some distant aim. He was unsure, he said, whetherNATOwould still exist “in its current form” in June, when leaders are due to meet in the Netherlands, “or whether we will have to establish an independent European defence capability much more quickly”.

This article appeared in the International section of the print edition under the headline “Very well—alone”

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

After decades of rising secularism, Christianity is holding its ground—and gaining among the young

Its plan was to hold off a Chinese attack until America turned up. What now?

MAGA-world flirts with forces that once tore Europe apart

His regime uses payouts to salve Russian families’ grief

IF AMERICA MUSTbe ruthless, at least let it be brilliant. That is the prayer that defenders of President Donald Trump must murmur, as he blames Ukraine for being invaded andsides with Russiaat theUN. Mr Trump’s admirers need to believe that cold yet clever gambits explain his concessions to Russia’s leader, Vladimir Putin. One popular theory involves China. It is claimed that Mr Trump is wooing Russia to prise it from the arms of China, the superpower that is America’s most daunting rival. Some call this a “reverse Kissinger”.

This article appeared in the International section of the print edition under the headline “America’s self-isolating president”

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

After decades of rising secularism, Christianity is holding its ground—and gaining among the young

Its plan was to hold off a Chinese attack until America turned up. What now?

MAGA-world flirts with forces that once tore Europe apart

His regime uses payouts to salve Russian families’ grief

HIGH-MINDEDAmericans fear that President Donald Trump will make a pariah of their country. Ask foreign governments about Trumpian statecraft and they offer an opposite concern. When other countries ponder the basic elements of an America First foreign policy—indifference to liberal values, scorn for global rules and norms, and a cold-eyed focus on the national interest—a surprising number of them worry: this is going to catch on.

This article appeared in the International section of the print edition under the headline “America First is a contagious condition”

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

After decades of rising secularism, Christianity is holding its ground—and gaining among the young

Its plan was to hold off a Chinese attack until America turned up. What now?

MAGA-world flirts with forces that once tore Europe apart

His regime uses payouts to salve Russian families’ grief

“NEW CHOPPERS, boots on the ground, more co-ordination, and increased resources.” These were some of the steps Canada has taken to halt the flow of fentanyl across the border to America, said the prime minister, Justin Trudeau, on March 3rd. Just 13 grams of the stuff was seized by American border authorities in January, down 97% from the same month in 2024. Nevertheless, hours later President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico and China in order, he said, to force those countries to stop drugs “pouring into our country”.

This article appeared in the International section of the print edition under the headline “The tech bros selling drugs by drone”

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

After decades of rising secularism, Christianity is holding its ground—and gaining among the young

Its plan was to hold off a Chinese attack until America turned up. What now?

MAGA-world flirts with forces that once tore Europe apart

His regime uses payouts to salve Russian families’ grief

This is the introduction to the War Room, a weekly, subscriber-only newsletter in which our correspondents turn their gaze on the latest developments in defence.

After decades of rising secularism, Christianity is holding its ground—and gaining among the young

Its plan was to hold off a Chinese attack until America turned up. What now?

MAGA-world flirts with forces that once tore Europe apart

His regime uses payouts to salve Russian families’ grief

AS A YOUNGnaval fighter pilot operating from a French carrier during the Kosovo war in 1999, Lieutenant Pierre Vandier would pore over surveillance photographs developed from celluloid film. Now an admiral, the French officer isNATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, one of the alliance’s two most senior commanders. His job is to work out, among other things, how to useartificial intelligenceand human skill to make sense of the mass of surveillance imagery and data that the alliance collects. He is, in effect, in charge of bringingNATOinto the 21st century.

This article appeared in the International section of the print edition under the headline “NATO’s race against Russia”

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

After decades of rising secularism, Christianity is holding its ground—and gaining among the young

Its plan was to hold off a Chinese attack until America turned up. What now?

MAGA-world flirts with forces that once tore Europe apart

His regime uses payouts to salve Russian families’ grief

“WE WOULD BEsafer if we had our own nuclear arsenal,” Donald Tusk, Poland’s prime minister, told his country’s parliament on March 7th. The reason he gave was the “profound change of American geopolitics”, a euphemism for Donald Trump’sdiplomatic arson, which also required Poland to expand its conventional armed forces.

This article appeared in the International section of the print edition under the headline “Eurobombs”

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

After decades of rising secularism, Christianity is holding its ground—and gaining among the young

Its plan was to hold off a Chinese attack until America turned up. What now?

MAGA-world flirts with forces that once tore Europe apart

His regime uses payouts to salve Russian families’ grief

WHEN ENVOYSof President Donald Trump travel the world making promises, demands and threats, do they speak for America’s national interest? Or are they travelling partisans, representing the ambitions and prejudices of the 47th president, and—to be generous—of the 77m voters who returned him to office?

This article appeared in the International section of the print edition under the headline “Trump’s whims are overriding the national interest”

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

After decades of rising secularism, Christianity is holding its ground—and gaining among the young

Its plan was to hold off a Chinese attack until America turned up. What now?

MAGA-world flirts with forces that once tore Europe apart

His regime uses payouts to salve Russian families’ grief

IN HIS FIRSTfew months, President Donald Trump has shredded the transatlantic alliance and damaged the trust of America’s allies. He has suspended arms shipments and intelligence-sharing with Ukraine, and then restored both when Ukraine accepted a proposed 30-day ceasefire. All this has sparked doubts across Europe about the wisdom of relying on American arms for security.

This article appeared in the International section of the print edition under the headline “Satellite warfare”

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

After decades of rising secularism, Christianity is holding its ground—and gaining among the young

Its plan was to hold off a Chinese attack until America turned up. What now?

MAGA-world flirts with forces that once tore Europe apart

His regime uses payouts to salve Russian families’ grief