Oceania

Afterpay has been the bellwether of the niche online payments sector which burst into the mainstream last year as more people chose to pay in instalments for everyday items during the pandemic.
Business deals

Square to buy Afterpay for $29bn as buy now, pay later booms

Afterpay's board unanimously recommends the deal to its shareholders

2 August 2021
Scott Morrison's problem is the lack of a Plan B.
Opinion

Australia's COVID-19 about-face is a warning for everyone

Scott Morrison should channel the Hawke-Keating era to get creative about reform

2 August 2021
Australian Integrated Carbon provides guidance to livestock farmers on how to regrow native vegetation lost due to deforestation or excessive grazing. (Photo courtesy of AI Carbon)
Climate Change

Mitsubishi joins Aussie carbon market in reforestation effort

Japan trading house seeks to gain know-how via stake in local player

29 July 2021
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks to the media at Papeete's harbor on July 27.
International relations

Macron declares 'debt' to French Polynesia over nuclear testing

President stops short of apology on Pacific 'Tour de France' with eye on China

28 July 2021
A man fishes across the harbor from the Sydney Opera House on July 27. Residents and businesses in the greater Sydney area are under tight COVID-19 restrictions.
Coronavirus

Sydney COVID lockdown extended as double-dip recession fears grow

Australia's tight rules and low vaccination rate threaten economic comeback

28 July 2021
Fiame Naomi Mata'afa took office in the country's first transition of power in 23 years.
Politics

Samoa's first female PM to review costly China-backed projects

Fiame takes office after months of constitutional crisis

28 July 2021
A fierce debate is unfolding over whether Australia's nascent hydrogen industry should be powered by fossil fuels or renewables. (Source photo by Getty Images) 
Energy

Australia's hydrogen dreams colored by 'blue' vs. 'green' divide

Reliance on fossil-fuel based output seen as risk to future competitiveness

24 July 2021
Who will be the next Olympic legend? (Nikkei montage/Reuters/USA Today)
Tokyo 2020 Olympics

Star athletes to watch at Tokyo Olympics

The lowdown on the players to keep an eye on at this year's Games

24 July 2021
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern cited health risks to citizens in shutting down the travel bubble with Australia.
Transportation

New Zealand suspends travel bubble with Australia over delta wave

Eight-week pause in effect after three Aussie states impose lockdowns

24 July 2021
The decision removes a lifeline for Crown which has been trying to convince regulators it can rebuild its culture after an earlier inquiry in February found it allowed money laundering on its premises for years.
Travel & Leisure

Australia's Star Entertainment pulls $6.6bn bid for Crown Resorts

Casino operator says it may consider a tie-up with the troubled company

23 July 2021
The Southbank forecourt is a potential venue for archery at the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane. 
Tokyo 2020 Olympics

Brisbane selected as host of 2032 Summer Olympics

City made sole bid for the event and will host Australia's third Games

21 July 2021
Dalilah Muhammad of the U.S. celebrates her gold medal in the women's 400m hurdles at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games on Aug. 18, 2016, in Rio de Janeiro.
Tokyo 2020 Olympics

Spending on Olympic medals pays off in swimming and track

Team sports require more money but win far less, as shown by Rio 2016 data

20 July 2021
Samoa's capital, Apia: Telecom Digicel Pacific holds a majority market share in the Pacific island nation.
Telecommunication

Australian alliance eyes bid for Pacific telecom to block China

Jamaica-based Digicel's unit reportedly sought by China Mobile

20 July 2021
Australia is the world's top iron-ore producer, supplying 53% of global exports in 2020. (Photo by Fumi Matsumoto)
Commodities

Australian mining industry digs deep for labor shortage answers

Rio Tinto reports steep decline in iron-ore output as prices go up

19 July 2021
Australian Trade Minister Dan Tehan tells Nikkei Asia about how Canberra is navigating its tariff and other disputes with China on July 17. (Photo by Yasunori Okamura)
Interview

Australia wants China talks but will be 'patient': trade minister

'Team approach' with industry mitigates Beijing tensions as Quad ties deepen

18 July 2021
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison's poll numbers are slipping as the country grapples with slow vaccinations and renewed lockdowns.
Coronavirus

Australia COVID vaccine woes weaken Morrison's political immunity

With Sydney in lockdown, CEOs seethe and polls shift ahead of 2022 election

16 July 2021
Farmworkers prune Merlot vines on a farm near Griffith, Australia: they talk of piece rates that can sometimes yield as little as 3.00 Australian dollars an hour.
Opinion

Australia's shameful attempt to squeeze Southeast Asian workers dry

New ASEAN visa scheme will exacerbate exploitative conditions on farms

16 July 2021
Australian Army soldiers aboard a light armored vehicle disembark from a landing craft during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2019. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Pacific Fleet)
Indo-Pacific

11 nations participate in massive US-Australian military drills

China sends intelligence-gathering ship to nearby waters as Talisman Saber begins

16 July 2021
Food delivery group Zomato is one of the most popular services in India. It has upsized its IPO target by 14% to $1.26 billion. (Photo by Rie Ishii)
Your Week in Asia

Zomato IPO, China GDP and Tokyo's new state of emergency

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

11 July 2021
Japan takes 36 times longer to process trade paperwork than France or Italy, the World Bank reports.
Trade

Blockchain greases trade wheels between 7 Asian-Pacific economies

TradeWaltz aims to keep supply chains of 5,000 companies moving at steady pace

11 July 2021
In his latest book, "Toxic," author Richard Flanagan writes about the "slow, rolling destruction" he says Tasmania's salmon industry is wreaking on the environment. (Nikkei montage/source photos by Penguin Books and Getty Images)   
Arts

Book review: Acclaimed Australian author takes on local 'salmon barons'

Richard Flanagan lifts lid on dark side of Tasmania's lucrative fish farming industry

11 July 2021
Yara International's plant in Australia's Pilbara region carries an annual capacity equivalent to around 5% of the world's tradable ammonia (Photo courtesy of Yara International)
Energy

Norway's Yara looks to supply zero-CO2 'green ammonia' to Japan

Fertilizer company plans to begin output of fuel at Australian site by 2023

8 July 2021
A shared working space in Tokyo: The city's remote working infrastructure, cultural attractions and other factors contribute to its appeal for "digital nomads." (Photo by Tetsuya Kitayama)
Economy

Tokyo and Singapore trail Melbourne in 'digital nomad' ranking

List highlights places best positioned to lure new breed of remote workers

2 July 2021
Protesters rally against Myanmar's coup outside Australia's Parliament House in February. While Western allies have imposed fresh sanctions on top junta officials, Canberra has held off. 
Myanmar Crisis

Myanmar rights advocates blast Australian inertia on sanctions

'It's crazy,' top lawyer says as Canberra resists calls to punish Min Aung Hlaing

2 July 2021
Xi Jinping's comments to the Politburo were not a signal for his cadres to back down.
Opinion

Australia gives a lesson in how to defang China's wolves

International public opinion is moving decisively against Beijing

1 July 2021