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Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (right) with his Japanese counterpart Sanae Takaichi in Canberra on May 4. Photo: EPA
Australia

Albanese refuses to say sorry for ‘insulting’ melon joke about Japan PM

The Australian leader made the remarks about his Japanese counterpart last month, sparking backlash over perceived disrespect.

Australia

Jetstar plane brakes suddenly to avoid colliding with Boeing 777 in Sydney

Banking & finance

The US helped boost the yen. Can China do the same for the Australian dollar?

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Pacific nations

Solomon port plans mark US reset of ‘anaemic’ Pacific ties

The move aims to ensure Honiara partners with Western allies in sectors with security implications, analysts say.

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The port in Honiara, capital city of Solomon Islands in April 2024. Photo: AFP
The port in Honiara, capital city of Solomon Islands in April 2024. Photo: AFP
Pacific nations

New Zealand’s Pacific defence diplomacy shifts into overdrive

Wellington’s four-month diplomatic blitz aims to lock down regional allies as Washington’s commitment wavers.

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Australia

Singtel weighs Optus stake sale as Australian watchdog launches court action

Australia’s ⁠communications ⁠regulator has taken Optus to court over last year’s network outages, which were linked to four deaths.

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Australia

Australia weighs first refinery in 60 years as Middle East war strains fuel supply

With only two operating plants left nationwide, Canberra orders a study on a major new Western Australia facility.

The Viva Energy Geelong refinery in Victoria, one of Australia’s only two remaining operating oil refineries. Photo: EPA
The Viva Energy Geelong refinery in Victoria, one of Australia’s only two remaining operating oil refineries. Photo: EPA
Australia

Australia’s far-right Hanson loses appeal in racism case

Federal Court rejects free speech defence and upholds racial vilification finding over comments directed at a Muslim senator.

Australia

Australia ramps up Aukus funding with US$3.2 billion for nuclear submarine yard

Aukus, designed to check China’s military advance in the Indo-Pacific, is expected to cost Canberra up to US$250 billion over 30 years.

Australia

‘1 in 15 million’: woman in Australia gives birth to identical quadruplet girls

Doctor believes the natural conception of the four girls from a single egg is an Australian first.

The identical quadruplet girls in incubators. Photo: Metro North Health/Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital
Pacific nations

China’s missile test exposes lack of unity among Pacific island nations

While some Pacific Islands Forum members have criticised the test near Tuvalu, Papua New Guinea appears to have backtracked, analysts say.

A ballistic missile test launched from a Chinese nuclear-powered submarine in the South Pacific on July 6. Photo: Xinhua/AP
A ballistic missile test launched from a Chinese nuclear-powered submarine in the South Pacific on July 6. Photo: Xinhua/AP
US-China relations

Top Chinese South Pacific security partner to let US patrol its waters

Agreement will allow US vessels to patrol with local police as Honiara expands maritime ties with Washington despite close Beijing links.

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Cambodia

Asia-Pacific cyberscam victims lost up to US$114 billion last year: UN

The losses from online scams, mostly investment fraud, are at least triple that from 2023, reflecting a ‘dramatic scaling’, the report says.

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Australia

Australian politician barks ‘sit down’ at dog during live interview

When the journalist asks him to ignore the dog and answer her question, former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce tells her not to be rude.

Barnaby Joyce yells at his dog while being interviewed on ABC on Monday night. Photo: ABC
Pacific nations

Australia, Fiji and now New Zealand: a new Pacific alliance takes shape

Wellington’s bid to join the pact flags a hard-security pivot, but analysts ask if such treaties serve Pacific societies’ best interests.

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Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese shakes hands with Fiji’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka (right) before the Ocean of Peace Alliance signing on July 6. Photo: AFP
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese shakes hands with Fiji’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka (right) before the Ocean of Peace Alliance signing on July 6. Photo: AFP
India

Can Australian uranium fuel India’s nuclear future without sparking arms race?

A new deal gives Delhi access to the world’s largest known uranium reserves for ‘peaceful’ use, advancing its nuclear energy goals.

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Obituaries

Sam Neill, known for roles in Jurassic Park and The Piano, dead at 78

The New Zealand actor’s death was ‘sudden and unexpected’, his family says.

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New Zealand

New Zealand-India trade, defence pact celebrated despite criticism

Anti-immigration members of Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s coalition and anti-Modi members of the Indian diaspora opposed the deal.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi (left) and New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on Saturday. Photo: AFP
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi (left) and New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on Saturday. Photo: AFP
Australia

YouTube says Sydney massacre ‘crisis actor’ video can stay online

The video calls an Isis-inspired attack that left 15 dead a ‘false flag operation’, an Australian inquiry heard.

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Singapore

Singapore is world’s most expensive city for luxury spending for fourth year

Zurich, Monaco, Hong Kong and London rounded out the top five in Swiss wealth manager Julius Baer Group’s Lifestyle Index.

Australia

Vandal demands peanut butter sandwich to end Australian bridge stand-off

Police believe the bridge climber is the serial vandal responsible for the Pam the Bird graffiti appearing across Melbourne.

A man gestures from the top of the eastern pylon of the Bolte Bridge in Melbourne on Tuesday. Photo: EPA
New Zealand

Bargain homes are to be had in New Zealand but here’s the catch: floods

In Auckland, where thousands of properties were swamped in 2023, buying a home in a flood-prone area offers discounts of up to US$60,000.

Homes are submerged in a flood caused by Cyclone Gabrielle in Awatoto, near the city of Napier in New Zealand, on February 14, 2023. Photo: AFP
Homes are submerged in a flood caused by Cyclone Gabrielle in Awatoto, near the city of Napier in New Zealand, on February 14, 2023. Photo: AFP
Malaysia

Australia’s Lynas partners South Korea’s JS Link for Malaysian magnet factory

The factory in Kuantan, which can produce 3,000 tonnes of magnets per annum, is expected to create ‌up to 400 jobs.

Australia

Australia, Fiji sign mutual defence pact to boost Pacific security

Australia has greatly upped its diplomatic efforts in the region following China’s secretive security deal with the Solomon Islands in 2022.

Extreme weather

‘Catastrophic’ Super Typhoon Bavi hits US island of Rota

Significant flooding, coastal inundation and catastrophic damage are predicted, the National Weather Service says.

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Super typhoon Bavi develops and nears Guam and the Northern Mariana islands in the Pacific Ocean on Sunday. Photo: NOAA/RAMMB/CIRA via AFP
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