Oceania

A passenger prepares to catch a flight to New Zealand at Australia's Sydney Airport on April 19, as the countries' quarantine-free travel bubble opens.
Coronavirus

Australia-New Zealand travel bubble off to fast, emotional start

Quarantine-free trips raise hopes for an economic shot in the arm

19 April 2021
Citibank headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. The U.S. bank is closing its retail business in Malaysia and a number of other countries in Asia
Finance

From Manila to Seoul, Citigroup ends an era of pan-Asian retail banking

US lender will prioritize Hong Kong and Singapore wealth management

16 April 2021
Qantas Airways expects domestic passenger capacity to exceed pre-COVID levels in the next fiscal year.
Transportation

Qantas sees domestic flights back at 90% capacity this quarter

Australian carrier enjoys local travel revival as country controls COVID spread

16 April 2021
Fortescue is looking to Tasmania to produce green hydrogen. The island state last year became fully powered by renewable energy.
Environment

Iron ore giant Fortescue bets on green hydrogen in zero-carbon push

Aussie mining company to ease dependence on China and cultivate Japanese market

10 April 2021
Members of Victoria Police perform random checks in Melbourne in July 2020: Australian police have a insidious method of breaking the human spirit.
Opinion

Why I no longer call Australia home

The Lucky Country's unbearable slide into paternalism

9 April 2021
Mathias Cormann, Australia's former Finance Misister and the secretary-general designate of the OECD, pictured in October 2020: there is one way Cormann could be a real game-changer.
Opinion

The OECD should set its sights on China

Mathias Cormann's golden chance to even up the global economic system

8 April 2021
Japan will propose an in-person summit with fellow Quad members the U.S., India and Australia.
International relations

Japan seeks first in-person Quad summit in June on G-7 sidelines

Suga plans trip to India after Washington visit to shore up support

8 April 2021
One analyst told Nikkei Asia that the central bank is "genuinely worried that the government will start to consolidate the fiscal position prematurely" as the economy improves.
Economy

Australia's fast COVID recovery leaves central bank nursing doubts

RBA wary of government focus on deficit as China looms and vaccines lag

6 April 2021
French amphibious assault helicopter carrier, Tonnerre, approaches to dock at Cochin Port, in Kochi on March 30.
Indo-Pacific

France to lead Quad naval drill in Indo-Pacific challenge to China

Five-nation exercise in Bay of Bengal seeks to promote maritime cooperation

2 April 2021
Australian officials deliver thousands of initial AstraZeneca vaccine doses to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, on March 23.
Coronavirus

Australia vaccine diplomacy tested as COVID slams Papua New Guinea

Vying with China for Pacific influence, Quad member aims to win over skeptics

31 March 2021
The freighter Shinas Max carrying 400,000 tons of iron ore is berthed at Zhoushan Port in China's Zhejiang Province. China currently relies on Australia for more than 60% of its iron ore imports.
Commodities

China determined to build iron ore hub in Africa as Australia goes Quad

World's largest untapped reserve in Guinea could be online by 2025, expert says

31 March 2021
 A Dash studio in downtown Hong Kong costs HK$8,000 to HK$30,000 a month, including internet, utilities, housekeeping and on-site events. (Photos courtesy Dash Living)
Property

Hong Kong co-living group raises funds for Asia-Pacific expansion

Unscathed by pandemic, Dash Living eyes Tokyo and Sydney

30 March 2021
China continues to import Australian iron ore as part of its economic recovery push even as it imposes tariffs and other curbs on other Australian products.
Trade

Despite China feud, Australia resource exports to hit record by value

Soaring iron ore prices make up for friction in bilateral trade

30 March 2021
Australia's buoyant property market is served by over 260 dedicated tech companies, half of which are less than five years old. (Photo by Fumi Matsumoto)
Property

Australian tech revolutionizes business practices in property

Contract signing times for rental renewals slashed from 7 days to 4 minutes

29 March 2021
The International Energy Agency predicts that renewables will be the number one source of electricity within five years, overtaking natural gas and coal.
Opinion

How COVID-19 gave renewables an energy boost

Even oil majors concede pandemic may have marked peak fossil fuel production

27 March 2021
Aerial shots of the Rock Islands in Palau in 2015.
International relations

Taiwan and Palau set to open quarantine-free 'travel bubble'

One of Taipei's few diplomatic allies looks to boost COVID-ravaged tourism

27 March 2021
A man wades through his flooded yard in a Western Sydney suburb on March 23. Some experts say plans to build more houses in flood-prone areas should be scrapped.
Natural disasters

Australia floods raise alarm on Sydney's great housing gamble

Plans to meet surging home demand go underwater as rain wreaks havoc

25 March 2021
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, addresses his fellow Quad Leaders, top to bottom, U.S. President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, from New Delhi on March 12. (Photo courtesy of Prime Minister's Office of India)
Indo-Pacific

Why Quad boosts India's vaccine diplomacy: 5 things to know

Group to make and distribute 1bn COVID doses to counter China's moves

22 March 2021
The offer was priced at A$11.85 per share, a premium of 20.2% to Crown's closing price of A$9.86 on Friday.
Travel & Leisure

Crown Resorts receives $6.2bn buyout offer from Blackstone

Australia's casino operator says its board had not yet formed a view on the bid

22 March 2021
The Quad leaders on a monitor during the virtual meeting, pictured in Tokyo on Mar. 12: India's partners seem unfazed with India turning into a China lite.
Opinion

What the Quad misses about India is that it wants to follow China

The one thing most Indians agree on is Beijing-style authoritarianism

21 March 2021
A barley crop in Canada. Chinese importers are responding to a high tariff on Australian barley by buying more from Canada, France, Argentina and Ukraine.
Agriculture

China tariff on Australia's barley reshapes global trade

Surging price hits brewers and livestock farmers while exporters shift to new markets

19 March 2021
Japan's NEC, France's Alcatel Submarine Networks and China's Huawei Marine had submitted bids for a project to connect Nauru, Micronesia and Kiribati with an optical cable. (Source photo by AP)
International relations

Bids by Chinese and other companies for Pacific cable no longer valid

US has warned that Beijing could use undersea infrastructure for spying

18 March 2021
The agreement with Facebook involves The Australian newspaper and metropolitan papers such as The Daily Telegraph in New South Wales.
Media & Entertainment

News Corp. agrees to 3-year deal with Facebook in Australia

Murdoch-run company declares victory in war over big-tech compensation

16 March 2021
Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison participates in the Quad leaders meeting via video link in Sydney on Mar. 13: the biggest beneficiary was Australia.
Opinion

Quad leaders hand Australia a bigger stick to fend off China

Beijing's attempts to bully Canberra have been utterly counterproductive

16 March 2021
Protesters in Sydney join nationwide demonstrations on March 15 over the treatment of women in Australian politics, following explosive sexual assault allegations.
Politics

Australia sex assault protests pressure Morrison to deliver reform

Thousands join 'March 4 Justice' rallies as high-profile political scandals burn

15 March 2021