Foreign Affairs

The blaze that consumed Wang Fuk Court burned for two days, but its political shock waves may echo for weeks, even months.

Three groups within Defence will be rolled into one entity as part of a sweeping restructure of the department. 

Many of the people who managed to escape the Wang Fuk Court fires in Hong Kong believe the disaster could have been prevented, saying they had flagged safety concerns more than a year ago.

Something has now been unleashed in Europe which is going to be hard to put back in the bottle.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro sings John Lennon's 'Imagine' during a rally, as he calls for peace amid rising tensions with US.

Tensions between Donald Trump and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro Moros have been escalating after months of launching lethal air strikes on vessels accused of shipping deadly drugs north to the US.

The Iranian Government has condemned Australia's formal listing of its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a state sponsor of terrorism as "offensive and unjustified", accusing the Albanese government of doing Israel's bidding.

It comes as a senior Kremlin official confirms Steve Witkoff is set to visit Moscow next week as efforts to find a consensus on ending the nearly four-year war between Russia and Ukraine pick up speed.

The latest Asia Power Index shows Australia slipping behind Russia for influence, while the region remains dominated by the US and China.

Australia and Solomon Islands have made little progress on a $190 million package to expand the Pacific nation’s police force, almost a full year after the high-profile initiative was announced.

China's escalating confrontation with Japan is colliding directly with its attempt to join one of the world's most demanding trade agreements.

The US and Ukraine say they have created an "updated and refined peace framework" to end the war with Russia, apparently modifying a Trump-backed plan Kyiv and its allies saw as too sympathetic to Moscow.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is under pressure to agree to a peace deal, while US President Donald Trump faces domestic blowback over his foreign policy decisions.

Ukraine and its European allies are scrambling to come up with counter-proposals after US President Donald Trump gave Kyiv a tight deadline to approve a deal to end the war that accepts some of Russia's hardline demands.

Europe is pouring resources into military production and coordination which will impact its agency as well as that of the United States.

A breakthrough in long-stalled negotiations over a free trade deal between Australia and the European Union could come as soon as this weekend, sources have told the ABC.

Adelaide will not host next year's COP summit, but Australia's energy minister, Chris Bowen, will lead the negotiations, and a pre-event will be hosted by a Pacific Island nation.

Trump's absence could neuter the forum's ability to move the dial on the summit's priorities, including helping nations adapt to weather disasters, the transition to clean energy, cutting excessive debt costs and working together in the global rush for critical minerals.

The opposition leader will pledge to spend 3 per cent of GDP on defence during a speech at the Menzies Institute in Melbourne on Thursday.

Anthony Albanese is refusing to be drawn on how much a program to remove people from Australia's northern waters using repurposed fishing boats is costing, saying it is a legacy project.