Tag - australia

 
 

AUSTRALIA

A government worker destroys counterfeit cigarettes in Durban, South Africa.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Feb 21, 2024
Chinese man held in Australia for U.S. over North Korea smuggling scheme
Jin Guanghua is suspected of having purchased tobacco for companies owned by North Korea that was then used to make counterfeit cigarettes for sale.
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.
Women workers demand equal pay during a protest in Melbourne.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 7, 2024
Asia is fighting off the diversity backlash
Gender equality is at a crossroads amid a corporate backlash that is threatening progress in in workplace diversity.
Analysts say the sentencing serves as a reminder of how fraught any improvement in relations will prove even after both Canberra and Beijing affirmed the need to bolster ties.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 6, 2024
Harsh sentence for Australian writer tests ties with China
The sentencing serves as a reminder of how fraught any improvement in relations will prove even after both nations affirmed the need to bolster ties.
A Beijing court heard Yang Hengjun's trial in secret in May 2021 and the case against him has never been publicly disclosed. He has denied working as a spy for Australia or the United States.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Feb 5, 2024
Beijing court gives Australian writer suspended death sentence
Yang Hengjun had been accused of spying for a country China has not identified and the details of the case against him have not been made public.
Ground Self-Defense Force troops participate in a joint military drill and demonstration with the U.S., British, Canadian, German and other countries' militaries in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, on Jan. 7.
COMMENTARY / Japan / EXPLAINER
Feb 5, 2024
The Rosetta Stone to decipher Japan's new security deals
Japan has already signed several agreements this year that, together with previous ones, form a dense web of security pacts — one worth untangling.
Ground Self-Defense Force members land using an amphibious vehicle on the shore of Tokunoshima island in Kagoshima Prefecture as part of large-scale joint drills with the U.S. Marine Corps in March 2023.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Feb 2, 2024
Japan starts 2024 with flurry of security deals
In January alone, Tokyo signed cooperation deals with at least four countries, strengthening and expanding its network of like-minded partners.
A soldier stands in front of the grave sites of fallen soldiers in Kinmen, Taiwan, on Aug. 23, 2023. Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered his military to be ready to take Taiwan by 2027, though many analysts see that as an attempt to galvanize his military rather than a timeline for invasion.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 1, 2024
How Washington is preparing for a Chinese invasion of Taiwan
It is looking at a key vulnerability — military logistics — and is setting up hubs in the Indo-Pacific region to ensure supplies are readily available.
A bottle of Bayer AG Roundup brand weedkiller concentrate
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 31, 2024
Bayer faces billions in Roundup claims as legal strategy falls short
In the firm's biggest courtroom loss so far, a jury awarded $2.25 billion to a former user who blamed his cancer diagnosis on exposure to the herbicide.
Australian Tayler Paulsen and her Kiwi husband Neil managed to purchase a fully-equipped lodge in Myoko, Niigata Prefecture, for only AU$110,000 (about ¥10 million).
COMMUNITY / The Foreign Element
Jan 29, 2024
In Niigata, a winter (and real estate) wonderland
For Australians and New Zealanders facing expensive prices back home, Japan’s snow country is a hotbed for cheap real estate.
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.
Newly appointed Australia head coach Joe Schmidt outside Rugby Australia's head office in Sydney on Friday.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Jan 19, 2024
New Zealander Schmidt confirmed as new Wallabies coach
Schmidt takes over for Eddie Jones, who acrimoniously quit in October after the team's calamitous World Cup campaign and was quickly hired to coach Japan.
Flags of Solomon Islands and China flutter near the Tiananmen Gate in Beijing on July 11, 2023.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 17, 2024
China helps Pacific Islands with policing, not defense: ambassador
Solomon Islands and Kiribati switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 2019, with Nauru joining just after Taiwan's election.
Australian players celebrate the team's second goal in their win over India on Saturday at the Asian Cup in Qatar.
SOCCER
Jan 14, 2024
Australia outmuscles India with 2-0 win in Asian Cup
The match also saw Japan's Yoshimi Yamashita become the first woman to referee a men's Asian Cup game.
Security guards along the Bund in front of buildings in the Lujiazui Financial District in Shanghai on Tuesday. The pivot away from China may accelerate as positive catalysts are missing at a time when the U.S. Federal Reserve shifts toward monetary easing.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 11, 2024
China is fast losing its place as a must-have in global portfolios
An analysis of filings by 14 U.S. pension funds with investments in Chinese stocks show most of them have reduced their holdings since 2020.
Activists protest outside the offices of the Australian Immigration Department in Sydney in February 2016
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 10, 2024
The danger of talking down immigration Down Under
Australians are facing an economic dilemma Down Under amid an unsettling debate over immigration policies.
The Pilbara Minerals Pilgangoora lithium project in Port Hedland, Western Australia
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 9, 2024
Lithium’s promised land looks more like the old country
Two decades ago, Australia mined less than a fifth of the world’s lithium. In 2021, it dug more than every other country put together.
David Warner walks off the pitch in his final test cricket match on Saturday in Sydney.
MORE SPORTS / Cricket
Jan 6, 2024
Entertainer Warner bows out of cricket test game a winner
Australia opener David Warner said he hoped to be remembered as an entertainer after retiring from cricket's longest format at his home ground in the wake of a third test victory over Pakistan on Saturday.
A JFE Steel plant in the city of Chiba. JFE Steel plans to buy more coking coal on the spot market to increase the liquidity of the market and to reflect true demand and supply.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 29, 2023
Japan's JFE takes new tack to tame volatile coking coal prices
Japan's No.2 steelmaker plans to buy more coking coal from the spot market to boost activity and make prices more transparent.
The iconic structure with its shell-shaped roof at Bennelong Point in Sydney is a source of immense pride for many Australians.
CULTURE / Art
Dec 27, 2023
Yuzo Mikami: The unsung hero behind the Sydney Opera House
On the building's 50th anniversary, those with memories and knowledge of the Japanese architect say recognition of his achievements is long-overdue.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?