Tag - australia

 
 

AUSTRALIA

A rice paddy field on the outskirts of Srinagar, Indian Kashmir, this month.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 5, 2026
Hot weather hurts Asian crops as powerful El Nino takes shape
Dry weather is disrupting crop planting across the world’s most populous region, and an expected severe El Nino weather pattern could inflict more damage.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, in October 2024.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Jun 4, 2026
India’s China dilemma: engagement vs. dependence
India’s attempt to reduce dependence on China, for now, requires deeper engagement with the Asian giant. This is the central contradiction shaping the relationship.
A model of an upgraded Mogami-class destroyer is displayed during the DSEI Japan exhibition at Makuhari Messe in Chiba last May.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jun 2, 2026
Australian Mogami ships to have ‘core DNA’ of Japan versions, ADF chief says
The move could prove a boon for Japan’s defense industry, as it would allow domestic firms to play crucial roles in the vessels’ maintenance and repair throughout their lifespan.
A storage facility for Inpex's offshore Ichthys project in an industrial park in Darwin, Australia. Ichthys accounts for about 2% of global output and has the capacity to export around 9.3 million tons a year, mainly to Japan.
BUSINESS
Jun 2, 2026
Australian LNG union begins strikes at Tokyo-based Inpex’s Ichthys plant
Ichthys accounts for about 2% of global output for liquefied natural gas and has the capacity to export around 9.3 million tons a year, mainly to Japan.
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles (center) is flanked by U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (left) and British Defense Secretary John Healey ahead of an AUKUS defense ministers' news conference at the U.S. Embassy in Singapore on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC
May 31, 2026
AUKUS nations to develop payloads for uncrewed undersea vehicles
The U.S. defense secretary met his Australian and British counterparts on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, where they reviewed progress on the AUKUS pact.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks to reporters as New Zealand defense chief Chris Penk (left) and Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles listen on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 30, 2026
Mogami frigate talks anchor first Japan-Australia-N.Z. trilateral defense chiefs’ meeting
The three nations’ first such meeting signaled the emergence of a new regional security format as they explore a three-way expansion of Tokyo’s Mogami-class frigate program.
Royal Australian Air Force firefighters extinguish a demonstration fire using fluorine-free foam at RAAF Base Amberley in 2021. The Australian government said on May 28 that it had launched a $1.43 billion legal action against U.S. consumer goods giant 3M over the contamination of military bases that used firefighting foam containing so-called forever chemicals.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 28, 2026
Australia sues 3M over ‘forever chemical’ contamination near military bases
Canberra is seeking damages to recover the cost of managing environmental contamination at 28 military bases from per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
Mizuho Financial Group’s CEO Masahiro Kihara said on Wednesday that he expects the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates in June or July, though any modest hike is unlikely to have a major market impact.
BUSINESS
May 27, 2026
Mizuho CEO floats idea of first outsized BOJ hike since 1990
Masahiro Kihara says whether the BOJ raises rates in June or July is unlikely to have a big impact on the market unless the increase is large.
A truck carrying rare earths travels toward Lynas Corp's Mount Weld processing plant, northeast of Perth, in Western Australia.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 27, 2026
A warning to critical mineral buyers: avoid butter mountains and aluminum floods
In the 1980s and 1990s, subsidies, cheap energy and price guarantees fueled overproduction of various products which flooded markets, tanked prices and spread pain globally.
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi (second right) shares a laugh with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong (left), Indian Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar (second left) and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a "Quad" ministerial meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 26, 2026
‘Quad’ diplomats tout ‘concrete’ deliverables in bid to resuscitate partnership
Officials emphasized a clear future for the four-nation grouping, announcing new initiatives on critical minerals, maritime security and energy security.
Elon Musk at a federal courthouse for his lawsuit with OpenAI, in Oakland, California, on April 30. In a separate case in Australia, a court upheld a regulator's fine against Musk's social media company X after it failed to supply information to regulators in line with online child protection measures.
BUSINESS
May 21, 2026
Elon Musk’s X loses Australia child protection compliance lawsuit
The ‌eSafety regulator, a frequent target of online attacks by ​Musk, fined the company in October 2023, beginning the nearly three-year dispute.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping greets U.S. President Donald Trump outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing during their two-day summit on May 14.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 20, 2026
How will Japan react to Trump’s China pivot?
For Tokyo, the critical issue is whether the U.S. is fundamentally rethinking its approach toward China — and whether that shift could leave Japan dangerously exposed.
Mice can attack emerging crops, devour and soil stored grain, and damage machinery by chewing through cables.
ASIA PACIFIC
May 19, 2026
Mouse plague drives Australia to allow potent bait to save crops
The economic impact from mice can be widespread as they can attack emerging crops, devour and soil stored grain, and damage machinery and infrastructure by chewing through cables.
Australia's Gout Gout celebrates after winning the men's 200m final and setting a new national record at the Australian Athletics Championships in Sydney on April 12.
MORE SPORTS / Athletics
May 12, 2026
Australia’s Gout to take on 4x400m relay at under-20 world championships
The 18-year-old sprinter clocked ​a world record of 19.67 seconds ‌in the ‌200m at Australia’s championships in Sydney ​last month to underline his enormous potential.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (left) and her Australian counterpart, Anthony Albanese, visit the Canberra Nara Peace Park in Canberra on May 4.
JAPAN / FOCUS
May 11, 2026
Takaichi’s Golden Week diplomacy: a cheat sheet
The prime minister’s administration used the lull in domestic politics to advance its “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” strategy across Southeast Asia, Africa and Australia.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi waves as she departs a Royal Australian Air Force base in Canberra on May 5, after a three-day official visit.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 10, 2026
Was Japan’s recent Golden Week diplomatic offensive effective, let alone ‘strategic’?
Prime Ministger Takaichi risks continuing a pattern of compressed, opportunistic diplomacy — busy, but not always effective.
The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Mogami-class stealth frigate JS Mikuma at Yokosuka naval base
JAPAN
May 7, 2026
New Zealand eyes Japan and U.K. warships as frigate replacements
New Zealand is weighing the purchase of advanced warships to modernize its aging fleet and bolster its defense capability.
Campaign signs depicting One Nation candidate David Farley and controversial former Australian Army officer Ben Roberts-Smith are displayed outside a pre-polling center ahead of a by-election in Albury, Australia, on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 7, 2026
As Trump-adjacent populism surges in Australia, wealthy donors join in
Encouraged by Australia’s richest person, some of the country’s wealthiest donors are shifting support from the conservative establishment to an anti-immigration outsider party.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi lays flowers at a monument for the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Canberra on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
May 6, 2026
Takaichi aims to boost diplomacy through revamp of her mentor’s policies
The prime minister has vowed to continue former leader Shinzo Abe’s diplomatic approach during her latest tour of Vietnam and Australia.
Sheina Gutnick, whose father was killed in the Bondi Beach mass shooting, speaks to the media on Monday after the first hearing block of the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion in Sydney.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
May 4, 2026
Australia begins hearings into Bondi Beach attack and rising antisemitism
Witnesses from ⁠the Jewish community told the public inquiry into December’s mass shooting that they felt unsafe amid rising hostility since the start of the war in Gaza.

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The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival