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The latest news, analysis and opinion on History. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
Iranian women walk past a memorial in Tehran to a school that was targeted by a US air strike in February killing 165 children and staff. Photo: EPA
United States

Asian Angle | The Thucydides Trap is a lie created to justify a US-China war

Ancient Greece offers no lessons for Asia. The Global South must stop letting America’s war machine write history.

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European travel

William Shakespeare’s only London house finally found with 17th century map

Chinese culture

Reflections | What an old Chinese snack can teach people about the ‘proper’ way to eat dishes

Jewellery

King Tut’s 3,200-year-old legacy inspires a new era of Egyptian jewellery

The opening of Giza’s Grand Egyptian Museum is sparking renewed interest in ancient motifs from brands like Azza Fahmy and Bibi van der Velden.

Azza Fahmy The Tutankhamun necklace. Photo: Handout
Japan

Video | Is Japan ready for a female emperor?

A new poll shows most Japanese support a woman ascending to the Chrysanthemum Throne, even as the prime minister proposes a plan that preserves the male-line succession.

Art

From Jurassic Park kid to dinosaur expert in what was ‘a gentleman’s science’

Natalia Jagielska, dinosaur researcher, illustrator and scientific consultant, explains how women are under-represented in her field.

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Asian cinema: Chinese films

What A Foggy Tale taught Will Or and 9m88 about Taiwan’s White Terror era

Will Or and Joanne Tang (9m88) reveal how their characters in A Foggy Tale inspired and moved them in different ways.

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Will Or (front) and Caitlin Fang in a still from A Foggy Tale. The historical drama co-starring 9m88, which is set during the early years of Taiwan’s White Terror period, won the best narrative film and best original screenplay gongs at the 2025 Golden Horse Awards.
US, Israel war on Iran

South Korean president’s Holocaust remarks spark Israel outcry

Lee Jae Myung’s comparing military action against Palestinians to the Holocaust comes as Israel remembers the 6 million Jews killed by Nazis.

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France

France open to engaging on slavery reparations, says Ghana

The African nation says discussions with President Macron last week included economic inequities, structural racism and looted artefacts.

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Malaysia

Was Penang ‘robbed’ from Kedah? Malaysian states face off in sovereignty row

A grievance dating back hundreds of years resurfaces as Kedah state lays claim to the country’s richest island.

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George Town on Penang Island, Malaysia. The city won won Unesco World Heritage status in 2008. Photo: Shutterstock
Russia

Russia criminalises denial of ‘Soviet genocide’ by Nazis during World War II

Under the law, anyone who damages monuments to victims of the Soviet occupation – in Russia and abroad – will be jailed for up to 4 years.

Visitors at the Soviet war memorial in Tiergarten park, Berlin, Germany. Photo: EPA-EFE
Belt and Road Initiative

Open Questions | China always a connector, never a coloniser, author says

Sheng-Wei Wang says China’s Belt and Road Initiative echoes the voyages of 15th century Chinese explorer Zheng He, who promoted trade but never stayed.

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Italy

Mussolini’s summer villa on Italian coast to be a cultural space

Italian seaside town pays US$1.3 million to prevent property from becoming a site for far-right sympathisers.

Art

Extraordinary tale of Chinese-British collaboration revealed in new exhibition

The London show spotlighting an English botanist sheds light on 18th century science and exchanges between China and England.

The 1776 painting of Huang Yadong by Sir Joshua Reynolds. Huang was brought to England from Guangzhou (Canton) by John Bradby Blake, an employee of the East India Company. This painting owned by the National Trust is part of the “Seeds of Exchange” exhibition at the Garden Museum in London. (Credit: National Trust)
Food and Drinks

How Okinawan food evolved with Chinese influences to become ‘truly unique’

Long ago, Okinawa was part of the Ryukyu Kingdom, a trade hub linking Japan to Asia. Today, dishes like goya champuru reflect this history.

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Champuru is a representative dish of Okinawa, Japan. Its use of goya, or bitter melon, reveals its Chinese influences. Photo: Getty Images
Trending in China

Compound Chinese surnames come from historic figures, ancient states; fewer than 100 remain

From celebrities to ordinary folk, millions of Chinese have such family names, which are considered rare and precious.

Lessons from China's history

Reflections | History of Chinese flatbreads reflects how food has echoes of faraway places

How ‘hubing’ came to China is reflected in Hong Kong’s Jenny Bakery cookies smelling like Malaysia’s Rotiboy coffee buns, Wee Kek Koon says.

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Denmark

Wreck of Danish flagship sunk by famed British admiral discovered after 225 years

Marine archaeologists find the Dannebroge, sunk during a brutal hours-long naval clash considered one of Admiral Horatio Nelson’s ‘great battles’.

An archaeologist points to a computer screen, showing a map of the wreck of Danish flagship Dannebroge that sank during the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801. Photo: AP
Chinese culture

As I see it | Why China is always misunderstood and misrepresented

By insisting on the superiority of its own standards of judgment and experience, the West distorts the realities of other societies.

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The Philippines

Ahead of first Philippine visit since WWII, Japan’s past catches up with troops

Critics oppose the return of Japanese troops over Tokyo’s lack of a formal apology for the wartime abuse of Filipino ‘comfort women’.

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Art

A riot of colourful artworks in Padua defines Italy’s Painted City

The World Heritage site’s colourful attractions include one of the earliest depictions of a kiss in Western painting.

Meeting at the Golden Gate (circa 1305), by Giotto, in Padua’s Scrovegni Chapel. Photo: Getty Images
South Korea

Death of South Korean ‘torture expert’ reopens authoritarian era wounds

Lee Geun-an, who was notorious for using methods such as ‘chicken roasting’ and water torture on victims, did not regret his past.

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Lee Geun-an, the former chief inspector, and his team were responsible for torturing students and workers in South Korea when it was ruled by a military-backed authoritarian government. Photo: YouTube
Chinese culture

As I see it | How to win friends and influence people in ancient China

Although the ancient text Guiguzi may not be widely read, its contents remain a prescient guide for job interviews, marketing and even diplomacy.

Fame and celebrity

Meet RoseMarie Terenzio, close friend of JFK Jr and Carolyn Bessette

As the obsession over FX’s Love Story continues, some are turning to Terenzio’s books – JFK Jr and Fairy Tale Interrupted – for a more accurate account of ‘America’s prince’ and his wife.

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United Nations

UN designates African slave trade as ‘gravest crime against humanity’

US, Israel and Argentina opposed the UN measure, while Britain and EU member states abstained.

An 1853 illustration depicting slaves and slave traders on the coast of Africa. Photo: Chicago History Museum via Getty Images
The Netherlands

Lost remains of French musketeer d’Artagnan may have been found in Dutch church

DNA testing is under way to verify ⁠the skeleton. D’Artagnan, fictionalised in Alexandre ⁠Dumas’ novel The ⁠Three Musketeers, died in 1673.

An excavation pit opened in the floor at the Peter and Paul Church in Maastricht, Netherlands, where archaeologists believe they may have uncovered the skeletal remains of musketeer d’Artagnan. Photo: Reuters
100 Top Tables: Cities of Gastronomy

International Cities of Gastronomy Fest Macao launches 10-day celebration

As the city hosts the 10-day celebration, its centuries-old fusion cuisine is embracing a new wave of global chefs and bold ideas.

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Britain

Truth battle: did UK king’s long march to Hastings in 1066 really happen?

The account of the legendary mission, taught in classrooms and museums, rests on what a historian now says is a misinterpretation of records.

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