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December 22, 2024
 

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Ben Westcott
Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. addresses the Summit of the Future in the General Assembly hall at United Nations headquarters in New York City in September.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 2, 2024
Palau leader says China pushing for Taiwan switch
Palau’s President Surangel Whipps Jr. also accused China of violating the exclusive economic zone of his nation, which is located north of Australia.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong
BUSINESS
Sep 3, 2024
Australia firms should invest in Southeast Asia, foreign minister says
Southeast Asia is expected to be the world’s fourth-largest economy by 2040 with an expanding population.
A student walks across campus at the University of Sydney.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 27, 2024
Australia decides to cap foreign students in bid to curb migration
Australia is just the latest country to crack down on international students over migration concerns.
The cooling towers of the Saint-Laurent-Des-Eaux nuclear power plant site near Orleans, France, in 2023. Long a nuclear-power holdout, Australia is now debating a switch that could see the country end its decadeslong resistance to the energy source.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Jul 11, 2024
One of the last holdouts, Australia weighs nuclear power pivot
Australia's potential turn to nuclear power is in line with a global trend amid a rethink about energy security and efforts to reduce emissions across the world.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang visits the Adelaide Zoo during his trip to Australia on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 16, 2024
China’s Li begins Australia trip as symbolism masks tensions
Beijing’s No. 2 official will meet with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Canberra before heading to a critical minerals project in Perth with links to Chinese business.
Australia Treasurer Jim Chalmers in Sydney on Wednesday
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 12, 2024
Australia ‘not naive’ on China as Li visit looms, Chalmers says
Premier Li Qiang will visit Australia for four days starting Saturday, touring Adelaide, Canberra, and Perth in the highest-profile Chinese visit since 2017.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang waves as he boards his plane at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, South Korea, on May 27.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 11, 2024
China to send premier to Australia for first time since 2017
But some say the diplomatic milestone could be overshadowed by renewed frictions over investment and military deployments.
Solomon Islanders queue up to vote outside a polling station in Honiara on Wednesday. The election could reshape regional security, with citizens effectively choosing if their Pacific nation will deepen ties with China.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 17, 2024
China and Taiwan ties hang in the balance in Solomon Islands vote
While domestic issues will be key to voters’ choices, the result will have repercussions for the islands’ ties with China.
Police stand outside the Assyrian Christ The Good Shepherd Church after a knife attack that took place during a service the night before, in Wakely in Sydney on Tuesday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Apr 16, 2024
Sydney bishop stabbed by teen in terror attack, police say
The teenager who allegedly stabbed the Bishop in western Sydney was known to police but not on any terrorist watch lists.
On the Diving Deep podcast hosted by Olympic athlete Sam Fricker, Former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison dismissed the idea that China is unable to become a multiparty democracy, saying there is no "anti-democratic” instinct in the Chinese people.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 29, 2024
Former Australia PM Scott Morrison says China can be a democracy
The former Australian PM said Canberra’s relationship with China will always be transactional and never "values-based” like Australia’s ties with the U.S.
Australia and China have rapidly improved their diplomatic relations since the election of the center-left Labor government in May 2022, including the restoration of high-level official meetings and the lifting of trade sanctions imposed by Beijing at the height of tensions.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 20, 2024
China and Australia face difficult diplomatic road after trade spat
Hurdles exist in the form of persistent political differences and increased competition between Beijing and Canberra’s principal ally, the U.S.
The Yarra River in Melbourne. The leaders of every ASEAN member, bar Myanmar, were in Australia for a three-day summit to commemorate 50 years of relations.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 4, 2024
Australia and Southeast Asia push to bolster ties in China’s shadow
The leaders of every ASEAN member, bar Myanmar, were in Australia for a three-day summit to commemorate 50 years of relations.
Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 29, 2024
Marcos to chart deeper Australia-Philippines ties as China rises
Marcos will be the first Philippine leader to address a joint sitting of parliament in Canberra.
The Royal Australian Navy vessel HMAS Toowoomba is docked at Changi Naval Base in Singapore on May 4, 2023.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 20, 2024
Australia to more than double size of naval surface fleet
Revamp of country's military capabilities come in the face of growing tensions in the Indo-Pacific, China's rise and concerns over its navy's aging fleet.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 23, 2024
China pivot from Taiwan would be Tuvalu's decision, says Australia
Comments by Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong come after agreement with Tuvalu that gave Australia greater say in the Pacific nation’s defense and security decisions.
Locals in the Cook Islands are cynical about the growing attention fixed on their small country, with many saying they don't necessarily trust either superpower to do the right thing by them.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 19, 2024
U.S.-China fight for one Pacific nation mirrors a regional battle
The success of Beijing’s strategy in the Pacific was reinforced just this week when Nauru became the latest island nation to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attend a news conference after visiting the Temple of Heaven in Beijing on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 9, 2023
Australia’s Albanese to face anti-nuclear push at Pacific talks
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is beginning 24 hours of intensive meetings between the leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong at the 43rd ASEAN Summit in Jakarta on Sept. 6
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 23, 2023
U.S. and China visits put Australian PM’s diplomatic skills to test
There has been a significant easing in tensions between Australia and China since Anthony Albanese’s election.
From left: Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin hold a news conference in Brisbane on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 29, 2023
U.S. to expand military footprint in Australia
Changes include frequent visits of U.S. submarines to Australia, rotation of U.S. Army watercraft and collaborating on guided missile production.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 28, 2023
China rebuilds Australia ties after failing to pressure economy
On the Australian side, the election of a center-left Labor government has seen a change in tone from the more confrontational approach taken by its predecessor.
Record 78% of people in Japan feel anxious, government survey finds
The public opinion survey on people's lives, conducted by the Cabinet Office, found that 28.1% of respondents think that their standard of living is at a lower-middle level among the general public — the highest percentage to give that response in 35 years.
Police raided suspect's home to arrest him after fatal Kitakyushu stabbing
Broken window glass is seen at Masanori Hirabaru's house in Kitakyushu's Kokuraminami Ward.
Taiwan lawmakers brawl over bills that would 'damage democracy'
Lawmakers from the Democratic Progressive Party and opposition party Kuomintang brawl in parliament in Taipei on Friday.
Ride-hailing restrictions to be eased during 2025 Osaka Expo
A venue for the 2025 Osaka Expo in the city of Osaka
Foxconn's interest in Nissan said to be on hold amid Honda merger talks
Foxconn’s pause in its pursuit of Nissan is the latest development in the unexpected emergence of two suitors for the ailing Japanese carmaker.
Japanese officials inspect Yokota Air Base over PFAS concerns
The Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo in September 2019. An inspection of the base by Japanese government officials on Friday came amid public pressure to investigate suspected links between the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam by the U.S. base and contamination of soil and groundwater in western Tokyo.
Crime numbers rise in Japan for second straight year
A police officer stands in front of the residence of a man alleged to have stabbed two junior high school students in Kitakyushu.
A year of Oscar wins and a quiet push for diversity
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” released in Japanese theaters in April, sharply dramatizes the clash between rural and urban values. The film won five awards at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, including the second-place Silver Lion prize.
Curiosity didn’t kill the meme: Why cats still rule Japanese YouTube
A screen shot from YouTube user @lagelda shows the simplicity of going viral in Japan in 2024: A cat dancing to EDM in front of a green screen.
With rare Asia carrier deployment, France seeks greater interoperability
The flight deck of the French Navy's Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier during a stop at Changi Naval Base in Singapore in May 2019

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Yasuyuki Yoshida stirs a brew in a fermentation tank at his brewery in Hakusan.
The quake that shook Noto's sake brewing tradition
By Alex K.T. Martin

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