Brisbane will host the Olympics in 2032 but the starter’s gun has already sounded in the cost versus benefits contest.

But it won’t be the end of the story.

The Pegasus spyware saga puts a spotlight, again, on a lack of parliamentary accountability for intelligence agencies.

Countries of the Global South hold the greatest potential for new internet users. But also the spectre of violence.

India and Pakistan both have deep ties to Afghanistan and as US troops withdraw, a fresh conflict may fill the void.

A reported pivot by special forces to the region raises questions about the role expected of Australia and New Zealand.

Southeast Asian nations have learned to be wary of big powers offering promises of security in return for loyalty.

Manny Pacquiao is famously conservative. By turning on Rodrigo Duterte, the boxer-senator wants to deliver a knock-out.

Sport and politics make an unhappy union at one of the most controversial Olympics ever.

A new database tracks incursions and crackdowns on journalists’ capacity to report.

Farewell after 14 years charting Australia in the world from the country’s leading foreign policy research institute.

Can a step-up speed up? And what of the economic and cultural benefits of migration in Covid times?

The world moves on, while a crippled Appellate Body takes the US with it.

Thailand’s holiday island Phuket is trialling vaccine tourism in a bid to recover from the Covid-19 wave.

What responsibility does the government have for those on the periphery of the Australian campaign in Afghanistan?

More ambitious, more educated and more engaged — the CCP powers into the second century.

Patchwork restrictions haven’t contained the virus. And now the danger is spilling over the border to neighbours.

A safe place for young people in China to discuss their sexual and gender identities has suddenly been silenced.

A stocktake shows rising political appointments but Australia’s heads of mission now far better reflect the population.

As US-China rivalry creates the prospect of competing technology ecosystems, practical measures will maintain an edge.

Foreign policy trade-offs are an uncomfortable truth on the road to rules-based freedom.

UK Foreign Secretary manages a mid-pandemic whistle-stop tour of Asian nations in a bid to promote “Global Britain”.

Rumsfeld’s memorable quips should not obscure his central role in the catastrophe of the 2003 Iraq invasion.

The passing of the former president – and scion of political heroes – could remind people of the power of their choice.