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Tauranga cityscape and beaches viewed from Mount Maunganui in, Tauranga, New Zealand. File photo: via Getty Images
New Zealand

‘We depend on sea’: NZ to invest in drones, ships for maritime security

The oceans are not a barrier to danger, but a vital national interest that must be actively secured, said Defence Minister Chris Penk.

US, Israel war on Iran

Spirit collapsed under high fuel costs. Some Asian airlines could be next

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Australia

Melbourne-US Qantas flight diverted after man bites crew member

Ukraine war

36 nations approve tribunal creation to prosecute Russia over Ukraine

The move came on the same day the WHO said Ukraine’s mental health crisis is growing, with ‘work to do until the end of the century’.

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A neighbour hugs a crying woman at the site of a fatal Russian missile attack on a residential building in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday. Photo: AP
A neighbour hugs a crying woman at the site of a fatal Russian missile attack on a residential building in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday. Photo: AP
China exports

Australian trade minister to visit China to secure fuel during Iran war crunch

Beijing tightened jet fuel exports after the war broke out, forcing Canberra to seek alternative suppliers.

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Japan

Japan-South Korea ‘comfort women’ row stoked by statues abroad

The removal of wartime sex slave memorials in Germany and New Zealand has electrified certain LDP hardliners, risking a diplomatic rift.

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Yuan

How Australia’s mining giants are helping China to globalise the yuan

Mining firms are increasingly using the yuan for financing and settlements, as China pushes to reduce its reliance on the US dollar.

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Cranes unload bauxite ore imported from Australia at a port in China’s eastern Shandong province. Photo: Reuters
Cranes unload bauxite ore imported from Australia at a port in China’s eastern Shandong province. Photo: Reuters
Japan

Mogami momentum: why Japan’s warship is winning over New Zealand

Japan’s Mogami and Britain’s Type 31 are the top two contenders, but Australia may have already tipped the scales.

Australia

Islamic State-linked Australian women charged with keeping slave in Syria

The mother and daughter, accused of ‘crimes against humanity’, were arrested in Melbourne after travelling from a Syrian detention camp.

New Zealand

Japanese Mogami-class ships possible replacements for New Zealand’s ageing fleet

Wellington plans to increase defence spending to about 2 per cent of gross domestic product, citing rising geopolitical tensions.

Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Forces frigate JS Mogami sails in an undisclosed location. Photo: Australian Defence Force/AFP
Australia

Australia warns of arrests as 13 people linked to Isis set to return from Syria

The four women and nine children, who had been living in Roj camp in Syria, are expected to land in Sydney and Melbourne on Thursday.

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Members of Australian families at Roj camp prepare to leave for Damascus as part of a second repatriation effort by Syrian authorities on April 24. Photo: AP
Members of Australian families at Roj camp prepare to leave for Damascus as part of a second repatriation effort by Syrian authorities on April 24. Photo: AP
Japan

Bound by anxiety: Japan and Australia deepen ties for an uneasy age

Shared concerns about trade coercion and energy shocks are driving the two middle powers to ‘institutionalise’ their partnership.

Australia

2 rescue volunteers die as boat capsizes off Australia’s New South Wales

The crew were helping a yacht in distress when their boat rolled over in ‘treacherous’ conditions. A third body was found on shore.

China-Australia relations

China’s fight for Darwin Port could help fragile Sino-Australian relations

Landbridge Group’s legal claim over the port could take several years to resolve, analysts said, providing more time for dialogue.

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China’s Landbridge Group has launched legal action against Australia after failing to reach an agreement over Darwin port in the Northern Territory city of Darwin. Photo: Handout
Singapore

Singapore, New Zealand ink world first deal to secure essential supplies

Both governments committed not to impose unnecessary export restrictions on crucial goods such as food, fuel and healthcare products.

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A container ship docks at Singapore’s port on April 14. Photo: Xinhua
A container ship docks at Singapore’s port on April 14. Photo: Xinhua
Japan

Takaichi bound for Australia to strengthen economic, security ties

The Prime Minister’s three-day visit will focus on defence, critical minerals and broader economic security as Japan takes a more assertive military stance.

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Australia

Riot erupts over Australian indigenous girl’s suspected killer

About 400 indigenous people gathered at the hospital where ‌the suspect was taken after being beaten unconscious by locals.

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Australia

Australian police find body in search for missing indigenous girl

The girl was reported missing from her home in a remote community in central Australia on Saturday.

Volunteers join the police and emergency services in searching the scrubland surrounding Todd River on the third day of the search for a missing 5-year-old, whose family has asked her to be referred to as “Kumanjayi Little Baby” for cultural reasons, in Alice Springs, Australia, on Tuesday. Photo: via Reuters
Volunteers join the police and emergency services in searching the scrubland surrounding Todd River on the third day of the search for a missing 5-year-old, whose family has asked her to be referred to as “Kumanjayi Little Baby” for cultural reasons, in Alice Springs, Australia, on Tuesday. Photo: via Reuters
Australia

Why Australia’s most Instagrammed street is becoming unliveable

‘It’s nice to see people enjoying it, but really, it’s just getting a bit too much,’ a resident says as visitors descend on Gerringong.

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Australia

India overtakes England to become Australia’s largest migrant group

The third-largest cohort comprises those born in China, at 732,000, followed by 638,000 from New Zealand.

New Zealand

New Zealand officials reject statue remembering Japan’s WWII sex slaves

The government said feedback for the statue application included formal representations from Japan.

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A statue of a ‘comfort woman’, pictured in Pyeongchang, South Korea, in 2020. Japan forced up to 200,000 women from Korea, China and Southeast Asia into sexual slavery between 1932 and 1945. Photo: Reuters
India

India, New Zealand boost trade diversification with ‘forward-looking’ pact

The deal, part of a move to reduce reliance on major powers, will also strengthen India’s hand in trade negotiations with the US, analysts say.

Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal presents a silver cow and calf statue to New Zealand Trade Minister Todd McClay after they signed a free-trade agreement in New Delhi on Monday. Photo: AP
Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal presents a silver cow and calf statue to New Zealand Trade Minister Todd McClay after they signed a free-trade agreement in New Delhi on Monday. Photo: AP
New Zealand

India, New Zealand sign ‘once-in-a-generation’ free-trade deal

The deal will cut or remove tariffs on 95 per cent of New Zealand’s exports to India, with all Indian exports to New Zealand duty free.

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Yuan

‘Paradigm shift’: is China’s deal with mining giant BHP a global yuan milestone?

The agreement to partly link iron ore pricing to the yuan is a breakthrough but US dollar dominance in the trade remains entrenched for now, analysts say.

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Australia

Australia signs US$7 billion Japan warship deal to boost firepower against China

The formalised deal offers Canberra a strategic alternative to uncertain US defence ties, analysts say.

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A Mogami-class stealth frigate from Japan’s Maritime Self-Defence Force docks in Darwin, Australia, on June 6, 2025. Photo: Kyodo/AP
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