Australia Tried to Push Back on China. China Pushed Harder.

Since resuscitating relations with China from a low point a few years ago, the Australian government has relied on an oft-repeated mantra to “cooperate where we can, disagree where we must.” Some of those disagreements came into view this week as Chinese diplomats pushed back against an Australian intelligence assessment and Canberra’s security-deal making in the Pacific, accusing the country of stoking paranoia and unfairly targeting China. In one of the public skirmishes, China’s ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, responded to an annual threat assessment speech given by Australia’s top…

The Great Political Realignment of 2026

The Supreme Court’s recent decision on the Voting Rights Act has supercharged a redistricting frenzy in states across the country. The Times Opinion contributors Robert Siegel and E.J. Dionne and the SCOTUSblog editor Sarah Isgur discuss the ruling’s implications for future elections. Ms. Isgur makes the case that voters are over reality TV politics and warns Democrats against embracing Trump-style candidates. Below is a transcript of an episode of “The Opinions.” We recommend listening to it in its original form for the full effect. You can do so using the…

What People in China Say of Trump

Even for everyday people in China, President Trump’s influence looms large. A steel trader in the southern city of Fuzhou said his business had been depressed by the trade war. A taxi driver in northern China complained that the increase in global gas prices amid the war in Iran meant he had to pay more at the pump. At a shopping mall in Beijing, Sunny Sun, a woman who was invested in stocks, said she was watching her portfolio, wary of the impact of announcements from the president’s summit with…

Taiwan’s Doubts About America Are Growing. That Could Be Dangerous.

The collection of American memorabilia, vast and well-lit in a busy area of City Hall in the southern Taiwanese city of Tainan, reflected decades of eager courtship. Maps highlighted sister cities in Ohio and Arizona. There was a celebration of baseball, an American flag laid out on a table. And in the middle of it all, a card sent to the United States that seemed to reveal the thinking of Tainan, a metropolis of 1.8 million, and nearly all of Taiwan. “Together, stronger,” it said. “Solidarity conquers all.” The message…

Biden’s Rating Dips on Gaza, and Marvel Drops Actor

The New York Times Audio app is home to journalism and storytelling, and provides news, depth and serendipity. If you haven’t already, download it here — available to Times news subscribers on iOS — and sign up for our weekly newsletter. The Headlines brings you the biggest stories of the day from the Times journalists who are covering them, all in about five minutes. NYT

The Wild Card in Taiwan’s Election: Frustrated Young Voters

In the months leading up to a pivotal presidential election for Taiwan, candidates have focused on who can best handle the island democracy’s volatile relationship with China, with its worries about the risks of war. But at a recent forum in Taipei, younger voters instead peppered two of the candidates with questions about everyday issues like rent, telecom scams and the voting age. It was a telling distillation of the race, the outcome of which will have far-reaching implications for Taiwan. The island is a potential flashpoint between the United…

Americans Are Losing Faith in U.S. Democracy as Far Right Revolts

There was a time, not that long ago, when the United States presumed to teach the world how it was done. When it held itself up as a model of a stable, predictable democracy. When it sent idealistic young avatars to distant parts of the globe to impart the American way. These days, to many watching at home and abroad, the American way no longer seems to offer a case study in effective representative democracy. Instead, it has become an example of disarray and discord, one that rewards extremism, challenges…

Is It Time to Negotiate With Putin?

Listen to and follow ‘Matter of Opinion’Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music It’s been 18 months since Russia invaded Ukraine. No true negotiations have happened. As the stalemate continues, what role should the United States play in the fight? This week on “Matter of Opinion,” the hosts discuss how the war is playing out at home and why the G.O.P. seems more interested in invading Mexico than defending Ukraine. Plus, a trip back in time to a magical land of sorcerers and “Yo! MTV Raps.” (A full transcript of…

Nikki Haley Is Focused on New Hampshire — and Moving Up in the Republican Primary

Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador, five months into her first run for president, acknowledges the position she is in. Though she was the first Republican to announce a challenge to former President Donald J. Trump, she hasn’t spent a dime on television ads, is polling well behind Mr. Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida and has struggled at times to make a case for her campaign. But in an interview on Friday, at a picnic table outside a Veterans of Foreign Wars post…

If Biden Wanted to Ease U.S.-China Tensions, Would Americans Let Him?

As tensions between their countries mount, President Biden and Xi Jinping, China’s leader, have repeatedly pushed back on comparisons to the Cold War. But efforts to repair relations may run into a problem: public opinion. Polls show striking similarities between the hostility, pessimism and militarism in Americans’ views of the Soviet Union during the late 1940s run-up to the Cold War, and how they view China today. While the parallels remain limited and the contexts different, this could complicate attempts to avert a Cold War-like clash. The parallels In both…