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July 02, 2026
 

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Kirsty Needham
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).
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese looks on during a press conference, announcing Australia will hold a Royal Commission inquiry into the deadly mass shooting during a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach, at Parliament House in Canberra on Jan. 8.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 15, 2026
Australia’s hate speech and gun law reforms face free speech concerns
Tougher laws were proposed by Australia’s center-left Labor government in the aftermath of the Bondi Beach mass shooting
Mourners gaze out over the sea of flowers left in memory of the victims of the Bondi Beach mass shooting in Sydney, Australia on Dec. 19.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 12, 2026
Australian parliament to return to pass hate speech laws after Bondi attack
The lawmakers will return next Monday, ‍and Prime Minister Albanese said he wanted to step up penalties for hate speech and authorize a gun buyback.
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles during a news conference at the U.S. State Department in Washington on Monday
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 10, 2025
Australia says it will meet ‘challenges’ of AUKUS nuclear submarine timeline
Canberra is “very self-critical” as it looks to address challenges, including skilling its workforce, for the program, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles says.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto speaks as he stands next to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during a news conference in Sydney on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 12, 2025
Australia and Indonesia announce new security treaty
Anthony Albanese, Australia’s prime minister, said the countries recognized that acting together was the best way to secure peace and stability in the region.
Red crabs walk across a road in Christmas Island, Australia, in October.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 7, 2025
Google planning powerful AI data center on tiny Australian outpost
Military experts say such a facility on the tiny Christmas Island, located 350 kilometers south of Indonesia, would be a valuable asset.
Mike Burgess, director-general of security for the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, delivers the 2025 Lowy Lecture in Sydney on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 5, 2025
Australian spy chief says ‘state sanctioned trolls’ sowing social discord
Australia faces a trend seen across Western democracies of declining trust and rising disinformation.
A Russian consulate staff member (right) inspects the damage after a car was driven into the gates of the Russian consulate in Sydney on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 1, 2025
Man arrested after car crashes into Russian consulate in Sydney
A 39-year-old man was arrested and a 24-year-old constable received an injury to his hand, a police statement said.
Flags from the Pacific Islands countries wave on the breeze in Yaren, Nauru, on the last day of the 2018 Pacific Islands Forum.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 12, 2025
China, U.S. pledge funds for Pacific Islands ahead of meet they are barred from
The Solomon Islands, which hosts an annual leaders meeting for the region blocked 21 donor countries from attending after pressure from Beijing to exclude Taiwan.
People shop at a covered market in Suva, Fiji, on Sept. 5.
BUSINESS
Jun 17, 2025
Pacific Islands should boost women’s participation in work, says World Bank
Six countries did not have paid parental leave, often forcing women to leave the labor force when they started families, a report said.
A Chinese Coast Guard vessel on screen in Beijing. The coast guard demonstrated the capabilities of one of its largest ships to Pacific Island ministers last week.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 7, 2025
China demonstrates coast guard capability with move toward high seas patrols
The Chinese Coast Guard demonstrated the capabilities of one of its largest ships to Pacific Island ministers last week.
The Virginia-class fast attack submarine USS Minnesota off the coast of Western Australia in March
WORLD / Politics
Apr 10, 2025
AUKUS nuclear submarine sale under scrutiny as U.S. tariffs shake Australia
Disappointment that defense ties didn’t win Australia exemptions from the U.S. tariffs has put the program under unprecedented public scrutiny.
The Virginia-class fast attack submarine USS Minnesota is seen off the coast of Western Australia on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 17, 2025
U.S. starts to build submarine presence on strategic Australian coast under AUKUS
U.S. Navy personnel are due to arrive by the middle of the year at Western Australia’s HMAS Stirling base to prepare for the Submarine Rotational Force West.
Mental health, education and social services needed to intervene in many cases before the behavior of minors became a police issue, said a research paper by the Five Eyes, which also include the U.S., Canada, Britain and New Zealand.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Dec 6, 2024
Young people involved in one-fifth of Australian terrorism cases, intelligence chief says
Australia passed legislation this month to ban children under the age of 16 years from social media platforms starting late next year.
Commonwealth Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland, Baroness Scotland of Asthal
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 21, 2024
Focus on gender inequity as Commonwealth summit begins in Samoa
At a forum on Monday, women politicians said gender inequality remains widespread among the Commonwealth.
Funafuti, Tuvalu’s most populous island, on Sept. 6
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Sep 26, 2024
Tuvalu fights to retain its maritime rights amid climate change inundation
Tuvalu’s economic zone is rich in tuna, but few foreign jurisdictions that fish in the Pacific have supported efforts to safeguard its maritime boundaries.
U.S. and Philippine soldiers participate in a live fire exercise at Laoag, Ilocos Norte, Philippines, on May 6. The Philippine Air Force embarked on its first overseas deployment in six decades on Wednesday alongside U.S. and Australian fighter jets.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 11, 2024
Philippines air force joins multination war games in Australia
Four Philippine FA-50 fighter jets and 162 personnel are taking part in the Pitch Black war games.
China's Premier Li Qiang visits Western Australia's only operating lithium hydroxide plant Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia (TLEA) in Kwinana, on the outskirts of Perth, on June 18.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 18, 2024
Chinese premier’s Western Australia tour spotlights global race for critical minerals
Western Australia supplies more than half of the world’s seaborne iron ore, with China its top customer.
Ambassador of Australia to the U.S. Kevin Rudd attends the 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 17.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 7, 2024
War over Taiwan would change world, says Australia ambassador to U.S.
If Chinese President Xi Jinping, who turns 71 this month, wanted to achieve “final national unification” with Taiwan, he would likely act before he reaches his 80s.
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a meeting with New Caledonia's elected officials and local representatives at French High Commissioner Louis Le Franc's residence in Noumea, New Caledonia on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
May 23, 2024
Macron arrives in riot-hit New Caledonia for high-stakes talks
Local group warns things may take a turn for the worse if the French president does withdraw an electoral bill that protesters fear will dilute Indigenous votes.
Japan triples departure tax in push to combat overtourism
Tourists in Yanaka Ginza, Tokyo, on Wednesday. Japan tripled its International Tourist Tax (departure tax) to ¥3,000 from ¥1,000 on Wednesday for all travelers leaving Japan, regardless of nationality.
More facilities in Japan placing sanitary bins in men’s restrooms
A sanitary bin with an awareness sticker placed in a men's restroom in the Nagasaki Municipal Government building
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

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

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