Australia

A significant proportion of Australians of Chinese descent have reported being subjected to racism since the pandemic began and relations with Beijing deteriorated.
International relations

Australia's tough-on-China election stirs fears of racism, tensions

Critics question costs as Morrison hammers Beijing for alleged meddling, Ukraine

8 March 2022
A U.S. nuclear submarine: Australia is due to acquire such subs under the AUKUS alliance, and it is set to build a base for them.
International relations

Australia to build $7.4bn nuclear submarine base

Morrison warns 'assault' by autocracies poses gravest security risk in 80 years

7 March 2022
AGL's earnings have been hammered in recent years by an influx of cheap solar and wind power.
Energy

Australia's AGL Energy shuns 2nd bid from Brookfield-led consortium

Revised deal was valued at $4bn but the company deems it as 'materially the same'

7 March 2022
The government's working group on basic measures to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic meets on March 4 in Tokyo. The group recommended the extension of the quasi-state of emergency in some prefectures.
5 March 2022
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks with the leaders of the U.S., India and Australia online on March 3. (Photo courtesy of Japan's Cabinet Public Affairs Office)
Indo-Pacific

Quad urges India to condemn Russia over Ukraine

New Delhi has abstained from voting at U.N. General Assembly

4 March 2022
Australia's economy continues to recover from the pandemic, but the persistence of COVID-19 and the Ukraine crisis make the outlook harder to gauge.
Economy

Australia GDP up 3.4% in Q4 as election looms for Morrison

Consumers help push annual growth to 4.2% but Ukraine war fuels inflation threat

2 March 2022
A view of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Japan's benchmark index closed lower on Feb. 21 as investors worried about the situation surrounding Ukraine.
Markets

Nikkei index closes down over fears Russia may invade Ukraine

Japanese benchmark recovers some losses as efforts ramp up to prevent conflict

21 February 2022
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison's Liberal-National Party coalition is trailing in the polls with an election approaching fast.
Politics

Australia reopens to world as election sparring heats up

Behind in polls, PM eyes tourism boost, accuses foes of doing China's bidding

21 February 2022
Investors who bought in at the top of a surge in "buy now, pay later" stocks are nursing hefty losses and putting their faith in industry consolidation to revive battered prices. (Source photos by Reuters, Getty Images and courtesy of Afterpay) 
Market Spotlight

'Buy now, pay later' companies lose their stock market luster

Shares tank as investors reevaluate new lending sector

21 February 2022
Scott Morrison, pictured in Canberra on Feb. 1: the Prime Minister portrays Labor and its leadership as compromised on national security.
Opinion

Chinese reds-under-bed hysteria will not scare Australian voters

Attempts to tie Labor-led opposition to Beijing fall flat

21 February 2022
Passengers at Sydney Airport in November 2021: Australia reopens to fully vaccinated tourists, business travelers and other visa holders on Feb. 21.
Your Week in Asia

Australia reopens, South Korean presidential debates, Hong Kong vaccine passport

Your weekly lineup of Asia's biggest business and political events

20 February 2022
Moderna, which developed one of the main COVID-19 vaccines used worldwide, is looking to begin production in Asia. (Source photo by Akira Kodaka and Reuters)
Interview

Moderna taps Singapore, Hong Kong for COVID era expansion

Taiwan, Malaysia also picked; CEO Bancel eyes vaccine plants in Asia

16 February 2022
From left: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi speak to reporters on Feb. 11.
Ukraine war

Ukraine crisis 'impacts' Indo-Pacific, Blinken says at Quad meeting

Foreign ministers gather in Australia with regional order 'under pressure'

11 February 2022
Inpex plans to separate and recover carbon dioxide for gas at a plant near the northern city of Darwin.
Climate Change

Japan's Inpex to spearhead carbon capture at Australian gas field

Company seeks global partners for project located near Darwin

9 February 2022
A new Tritium manufacturing facility in Tennessee will produce 30,000 electric vehicle chargers a year. 
Climate Change

Biden welcomes Australian EV charger's plan for Tennessee plant

U.S. set to announce state-by-state allocation of $5bn for charging network

9 February 2022
Scott Morrison, pictured in Canberra on Feb. 1: the Australian prime minister has benefited from a benign environment.
Opinion

Defeat stalks Australia's Scott Morrison as May poll looms

Speculation that ruling party could switch leaders before general election

7 February 2022
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will head to Australia next week for a Quad foreign ministers' meeting. 
International relations

Blinken's Asia visit to emphasize commitment despite Ukraine crisis

U.S. secretary of state meets with Quad counterparts and Pacific Island states

5 February 2022
An aged-care facility in Melbourne in August 2020. Australia's government has come under pressure over the spread of the omicron variant in aged-care homes. 
Coronavirus

Australia may use defense forces to help COVID-hit aged-care sector

PM Morrison says about 560 aged-care residents have died since omicron hit

4 February 2022
Japan's first large-scale test facility for carbon capture and storage is located on the northern island of Hokkaido.
Climate Change

Mitsubishi, Mitsui eye carbon capture with BP and Woodside

Study for Australian project comes as Japan lags in efforts to store CO2

4 February 2022
Then-U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, left, shakes hands with then-Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel during a roundtable discussion in 2014. Emanuel also has served as President Barack Obama's chief of staff.
Biden's Asia policy

Biden's China hands: Trusted allies tapped as Quad envoys

Ambassadors to Japan, Australia and India entrusted to enhance Indo-Pacific alliance

4 February 2022
 Sydney Airport: Expensive stocks and low bond yields have left pension funds eager to invest in infrastructure assets, which offer stable long-term returns. 
Business deals

Sydney Airport shareholders vote on $16.8bn buyout offer

Deal would leave few Australian infrastructure assets trading on market

2 February 2022
Australian venture capital firm AirTree Ventures says investors are still eager to bet on tech startups. (Photo courtesy of AirTree Ventures)
Startups

AirTree raises $495m to back Australian startups

Hefty haul signals investors' risk appetite despite tech sell-off

1 February 2022
Qianhai business district in Shenzhen, pictured in May 2021: China has had the biggest expansion in its net worth,
Opinion

Asia-Pacific should use its increasing wealth more productively

More investment in intangible assets will help recalibrate the region's economy

30 January 2022
The EU launched a challenge at the WTO on Thursday accusing China of discriminatory trade practices against Lithuania that it says threaten the integrity of the single market.
Trade

Australia to seek part in China-EU trade row at WTO

Canberra 'opposes use of economic coercion' and 'discriminatory' trade practices

29 January 2022
Fumio Kishida and Scott Morrison attend a video signing ceremony of the Reciprocal Access Agreement on Jan. 6: Japan needs to adopt fresh thinking.
Opinion

Japan's Middle East policy needs fresh thinking

New Asian defense pacts can help set a new tone from the Indo-Pacific to the Gulf

28 January 2022