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Australasia

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China-Australia relations
New Zealand
Pacific nations
the Asian angle
Climate change
TikTok will comply with an under-16 ban in Australia on social media use. Photo: Shutterstock
Australia

TikTok will block under-16s in Australia to comply with ‘upsetting’ new law

Australia’s world-first legislation banning under-16s from social media platforms and websites comes into effect on December 10.

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New Zealand

Swallowed Faberge pendant exits suspect after 6-day wait

Australia

Aukus deal to move ‘full steam ahead’ after surviving Trump review

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India

Trump’s second term ‘harmful’ for Quad nations, poll finds

Respondents in Australia, Japan, India view Trump 2.0 negatively, as US helpfulness in Asia declines amid China concerns; Aukus support varies.

Donald Trump speaks during a press conference after being found guilty over hush-money charges in New York City in May 2024. Photo: AFP
Donald Trump speaks during a press conference after being found guilty over hush-money charges in New York City in May 2024. Photo: AFP
New Zealand

Call of duty: New Zealand police wait for evidence after Faberge pendant theft

The 32-year-old man is accused of eating an ornate Faberge octopus pendant inspired by the James Bond film ‘Octopussy’.

Australia

Fight’s over: YouTube becomes last major platform to accept Australia’s age rule

Despite agreeing to comply, YouTube maintains that it is still ‘fundamentally different’ from other social media services.

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Pacific nations

How sanctioned Russian oil flows freely via a tiny Pacific island nation

Some 20 tankers registered in the microstate allegedly smuggled Russian and Iranian fuel between 2024 and 2025 amid lax oversight.

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An oil tanker called the Eagle S (left), which flies under the flag of the Cook Islands, sails in the Gulf of Finland last year. Photo: AFP
An oil tanker called the Eagle S (left), which flies under the flag of the Cook Islands, sails in the Gulf of Finland last year. Photo: AFP
Australia

Australian sex crimes squad arrests 4 over ‘satanic’ child abuse material

Electronic devices with thousands of videos showing abuse of children aged between five and 12, as well as bestiality, were seized in Sydney.

Australia

Australia’s under-16 social media ban faces high court challenge

Critics say the world-first law, effective next month, infringes on political communication rights. Australia lacks an express free speech right.

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Singapore

Singapore tells TikTok, Meta to block accounts of man fanning racial tension

Singapore said Zulfikar ‘repeatedly continued to stir up discontent within the local Malay/Muslim community against the Chinese community’.

Singapore skyline. The city state has accused an Australian citizen of inciting racial disharmony. Photo: Reuters
New Zealand

Korean mother sentenced to life in prison for New Zealand’s ‘suitcase murders’

Lee Hak-yung killed her son Minu Jo and daughter Yuna Jo, aged six and eight, with an overdose of prescription medication.

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Lee Hak-yung looks down during her sentencing to life imprisonment for the murder of her two children at Auckland High Court in New Zealand on Wednesday. Photo: AFP
Lee Hak-yung looks down during her sentencing to life imprisonment for the murder of her two children at Auckland High Court in New Zealand on Wednesday. Photo: AFP
Australia

Australian senator slammed as ‘racist’ for wearing burka in parliament

Far-right politician Pauline Hanson has long campaigned against Islamic clothing during her parliamentary career.

Australia

Snapchat makes Australian teens verify age as social media ban looms

From December 10, social media platforms in Australia must remove users aged below 16 or face fines, in one of the strictest bans globally.

Australia

‘We can’t have it all’: Turkey to host UN climate summit as Australia budges

Canberra will lead the conference’s negotiations among governments as its neighbour Papua New Guinea slammed the summit process as useless.

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Activists from the Make Polluters Pay coalition pose with fake currency bills in front of a giant oil barrell balloon during a performance urging oil companies to fund climate solutions in Belem, Brazil, on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters
Australia

Murderer slathers Australian state with lawsuit over Vegemite ban in prison

Andre McKechnie argued that he had a right to eat the spread because it was ‘his culture as an Australian’.

An Australian inmate said a Vegemite ban inside Victoria’s prisons violated his human rights. Photo: AP
An Australian inmate said a Vegemite ban inside Victoria’s prisons violated his human rights. Photo: AP
Australia

Australian poll reveals rising concerns over US influence, trade tactics

According to the poll, 57 per cent of Australians believe Washington would force Canberra to pick sides in its rivalry with Beijing.

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China-EU relations

EU’s investment bank to work with Australia on critical raw materials

The move aims to cut reliance on China, which most G7 and EU countries depend on for materials from rare earth magnets to battery metals.

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Australia

Asbestos in play sand forces over 70 school closures in Australia, New Zealand

While respiratory asbestos fibres are unlikely to be released unless the sand is crushed, the risk is still there, Australian watchdog says.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has published a recall notice over children’s play sand that may contain asbestos. Photo: ACCC
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has published a recall notice over children’s play sand that may contain asbestos. Photo: ACCC
International Property

Australia draws mainland China, Hong Kong homebuyers amid stable policies, economy

Australia’s luxury property segment is expected to see increased interest from affluent investors looking for cost-efficient safe havens.

Australia

How a fortune-teller allegedly swindled US$46 million from Vietnamese clients

The feng shui master told clients in Sydney’s Vietnamese community that she saw a ‘billionaire in their future’.

Australia

Russian airbase worries overshadow Australia-Indonesia defence treaty

Foreign Minister Penny Wong urged Jakarta to consult Canberra on issues related to regional security.

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto inspects a guard of honour at Admiralty House in Sydney on Wednesday. Photo: AFP
Australia

‘Our neighbour will help us’: Australia, Indonesia finalise new defence deal

Prime Minister Albanese, who met President Subianto in Sydney, described the pact as the ‘best way to secure peace’ in the region.

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto (left) and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hold a press briefing at a naval base in Sydney on Wednesday. Photo: AP
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto (left) and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hold a press briefing at a naval base in Sydney on Wednesday. Photo: AP
Singapore

Australian woman arrested on return to Singapore for alleged airport theft

The 51-year-old is accused of stealing a box of anti-ageing supplements from a store in the transit area of Terminal 1.

New Zealand

40 hikers rescued in New Zealand amid out-of-control wildfire

The blaze has already burned through around 4.2 square miles of national park in the country’s central North Island.

Climate change

Explainer | As Cop30 begins, what’s the latest in climate science?

While US work to tackle our planet’s environmental challenges is being hit by Trump’s cuts, many other nations are spending more.

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A Marine helps a woman in a flooded street in Poza Rica in Mexico’s Veracruz state in October. Photo: AP
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