Australia

The Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia's South Gobi region. Mongolia owns 34% of what is one of the world's largest-known copper and gold deposits, with Rio controlling the rest.
Materials

Rio Tinto and Mongolia settle feud over Oyu Tolgoi copper mine

Deal marks a positive development for Anglo-Australian mining giant

25 January 2022
An iron ore mine in Western Australia: The country's energy and mining companies are looking urgently for new sources of revenue amid the global push to decarbonize. 
Climate Change

Australia's energy and iron ore producers bet big on hydrogen

Woodside and Fortescue jump on global decarbonization bandwagon

19 January 2022
Novak Djokovic practices at Melbourne Park on Jan. 13: the Serbian tennis player was in Australia only to play tennis, not to talk about vaccines and COVID.
Opinion

Djokovic deportation reveals Australia's authoritarian mindset

Personal views now reason enough do deny any high profile person entry

18 January 2022
A screen shows an image of Xi Jinping at the Museum of the Communist Party of China in Beijing: 2022 will be a year of recalibration for China's foreign policy.
Opinion

Retirement of China's chief provocateur signals course correction

Former Global Times editor Hu Xijin was equivalent to a three-star general

17 January 2022
Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic practices at Melbourne Park on Jan. 13. 
Coronavirus

Djokovic back in Australia detention hotel before court hearing

Hearing on tennis star's appeal set for 9:30 a.m. local time on Sunday

15 January 2022
Fumio Kishida and Scott Morrison attend a video signing ceremony on Jan. 6: the Reciprocal Access Agreement only goes some way to mitigating the fact that Canberra and Tokyo have at times quite different instincts about how to deal with China.
Opinion

New wave of Asian defense pacts no magic template for countering China

U.S. will need to increase military presence to change Beijing's strategic calculations

12 January 2022
Joe Biden hosts a Quad leaders summit at the White House in September 2021: American, Australian, Indian and Japanese interests are not entirely congruent.
Opinion

The Quad needs an economic pillar to stand on

Four nation grouping needs to focus on more security to maintain relevance

10 January 2022
Novak Djokovic waits at an Australian Border Force desk on his arrival at Melbourne Airport on Jan. 5: it is not just Djokovic who will pay the price.
Opinion

Djokovic saga highlights Australia's border obsession

Unsympathetic sporting himbo is an unlikely exposer of injustice

8 January 2022
Officers from Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force and the Australian Army coordinate plans during last summer's Talisman Sabre joint exercise in Australia. (Photo courtesy of Australian Department of Defense)
Indo-Pacific

Japan and Australia strengthen quasi-alliance with eye on China

Reciprocal Access Agreement paves way for more joint drills in Indo-Pacific

7 January 2022
Japan is in lockstep with Australia on China.
Opinion

Australia can learn from Tokyo's smarter approach to China

Japan has played its Beijing cards more intelligently than Canberra

5 January 2022
The JS Shiranui destroyer takes part in the Malabar naval exercises in 2021. (Photo courtesy of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force)
Interview

Japan needs more offensive firepower for deterrence: Patrick Cronin

Hudson Institute analyst sees vital role for Tokyo in peace across Taiwan Strait

5 January 2022
Elections in Asia this year will be an important test of several countries' political mood and institutions.
Asia Insight

From Philippines to South Korea: A guide to a busy election year

Democracy under pressure in Asia as pendulum swings toward authoritarianism

4 January 2022
Growing up in Australia, Chan became fascinated by "odd sounds and textures," as well as the "deeper and richer sonic palette" offered by electronic music, as well as contemporary music-making and recording techniques.
Arts

Rainbow Chan's sounds of then

Sydney-based artist's new album "Stanley" pays homage to Hong Kong

3 January 2022
Cortical Labs is attempting to harness the power of human brain cells to make computer chips far more powerful and efficient. (Photos courtesy of Cortical Labs) 
Business Spotlight

Brains on a chip: Why startups are combining cells and silicon

Australia's Cortical Labs is working on 'holy grail' of AI: general intelligence

31 December 2021
"Pig-butchering" swindles, long run in the Chinese language, are targeted increasingly at Anglophone residents of nations in Asia and beyond, including in Europe, the U.S. and Australia. (Source photo by AP and screenshot from victim's WhatsApp message)
Society

Victims in Asia, Europe and U.S. fight back against online romance scams

Volunteer group says criminal networks originally from China target people abroad

31 December 2021
A projector image shows immunofluorescence staining of cells infected with the omicron coronavirus strain in Hong Kong.
Coronavirus

Omicron: 5 things to know as studies lift hopes for milder disease

After a month of rapid global spread, experts warn against complacency

30 December 2021
A medical worker administers tests at a drive-through COVID-19 testing center in Sydney on Dec. 22.
Coronavirus

Australia COVID infections hit high as omicron strains politics

Over 11,000 new cases, mandatory self-isolation threaten reopening plans

28 December 2021
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has likened wearing a mask to "slapping on the hat and slapping on the sunscreen."
Coronavirus

Omicron spells new test for Morrison ahead of Australia election

PM stresses 'personal responsibility' over lockdowns as cases set records

25 December 2021
From left, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, then-Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi after a "two-plus-two" meeting in Tokyo in March.
International relations

Japan and U.S. to move 2+2 security talks online over omicron

Kishida weighs trips to Australia and India as hope for Biden summit recedes

25 December 2021
An Australian solar power facility: Some plans for large-scale renewable energy are meeting resistance from farmers concerned about infrastructure cutting across prime agricultural land.
Environment

Australia's net-zero goal spotlights green energy land conflicts

Farmer resistance, scattered private projects complicate renewables expansion

23 December 2021
A Rincon Mining employee takes a sample at a lithium plant in Argentina. Rio Tinto will acquire Rincon's project for $825 million.
Business deals

Rio Tinto's $825m Argentina lithium deal extends battery push

Agreement follows $2.4bn decision to buy Serbian lithium project

23 December 2021
The Science of Fiction, a hybrid film-screening event held at Indus. Evening events like these were popular among Jakartan creatives who traveled to Bali for the festival. (Photo by Felix Rio)
Arts

Bali's big little book festival goes hybrid

Online events keep Southeast Asia's largest festival of words and ideas alive

21 December 2021
The open pit mine of Molycorp's Mountain Pass rare earth facility in California, pictured in September 2009: the U.S. cannot make the same mistake again.
Opinion

Breaking China's grip on rare earths should be an AUKUS mission

Beijing has too much control over critical materials vital to advanced technology

20 December 2021
In their recent book, co-authors Henry Reynolds and Nicholas Clements argue that Tasmanian Aboriginal leader Tongerlongeter is a war hero worthy of a place in the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. The image on the right depicts Tasmanian Aboriginal fighters attacking a shepherd's hut. (Cover image courtesy of the publisher)
Arts

Book review: Reevaluating Australia's dark history

Aboriginal leader emerges as resistance hero of Tasmania's forgotten war

17 December 2021
Ministers and delegates of the Pacific Rim trade bloc attend a joint press conference in Tokyo in January 2019: current CPTPP members should proactively lobby the U.S. to join the trade agreement.
Opinion

U.S. must rethink its approach to a flexible and inclusive Indo-Pacific

Washington needs to properly anchor itself into regional frameworks

14 December 2021