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Bottles of Australian wine at a store in Beijing in November 2020. Photo: Reuters
China consumption

How changing tastes in China are hitting Australia’s wine exports

Younger consumers’ preference for healthier, low-alcohol beverages has contributed to shrinking of Chinese market.

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Australia

Record heat in Australia, as temperatures near 50 degrees Celsius

Australia

Australian shark attack victim, 12, dies in hospital

New Zealand

New Zealand landslide: human remains found as rescue operations end

A Chinese national died in another landslide near the Mount Maunganui campsite, both triggered by Thursday’s heavy rains.

Rescuers work at the scene of a landslide in Mount Maunganui on Saturday . Photos: Reuters
Rescuers work at the scene of a landslide in Mount Maunganui on Saturday . Photos: Reuters
Australia

Manhunt under way after deadly shooting in Australia leaves 3 dead

Shooting comes on a National Day of Mourning as Australia remembers 15 people shot dead in Sydney at a Hanukkah celebration on December 14.

New Zealand

‘I could hear people screaming’: several feared buried in New Zealand campsite

‘I looked behind me and there’s a huge landslide coming down. And I’m still shaking from it now,’ a tourist at Mount Maunganui says.

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Australia

Australia deports Malaysian man caught with child sexual abuse material

The 26-year-old was among 17 travellers intercepted by border officials in various parts of Australia earlier this month.

One of the suspects who was caught with child sexual abuse material on his electronic device. Photo: Australian Border Force
One of the suspects who was caught with child sexual abuse material on his electronic device. Photo: Australian Border Force
Australia

Australia approves gun buy-back, hate crime reforms after Bondi attack

New legislation limits firearm access, sets up a gun buy-back programme, and tackles hate speech.

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Australia

Boy, 12, ‘fighting for life’ after Sydney Harbour shark attack

‘It was a horrendous scene … We believe it was something like a bull shark that attacked’ the boy, said a New South Wales police spokesman.

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Australia

Australia faces record guns as Bondi massacre prompts reform

There were more than 4 million guns in Australia in 2025, more than at the time of a 1996 shooting that killed 35 and prompted a gun buy-back scheme.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia, on December 19. Photo: EPA-EFE
Australia

South Korean church deploys ‘special force’ to recruit Australian youths

The Shincheonji church compiles profiles of potential members to draw up personalised recruitment plans, according to a former member.

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South Korean police officers bar entry to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in Daegu after a coronavirus outbreak in 2020. Photo: Yonhap/EPA-EFE
South Korean police officers bar entry to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in Daegu after a coronavirus outbreak in 2020. Photo: Yonhap/EPA-EFE
New Zealand

New Zealand central bank chief scolded for poking nose in Trump-Fed feud

Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters reminded Anna Breman to ‘stick to domestic monetary policy’.

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United States

Not ‘Trump-compatible’? China expert Rudd exits Australia’s US ambassador role

Kevin ‌Rudd left his post a year ‍earlier than planned following criticism from US President Donald Trump at White House meeting in October.

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Australia

Australian Labor MPs apologise over ‘disgusting’ rating game at festival

The three Labor MPs were overheard playing the game about male politicians at a festival, triggering a complaint.

People attend Hobart’s Taste of Summer – a food and music festival held annually on the city’s waterfront during the holiday season in Australia. Photo: Handout
Australia

Australian ambassador hated by Trump to leave US post early

Kevin ‌Rudd, who criticised Trump before he became envoy, will head the Asia Society think tank after finishing his posting in March.

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Kevin Rudd had called Donald Trump “the most destructive president in history”. Photo: Reuters
Kevin Rudd had called Donald Trump “the most destructive president in history”. Photo: Reuters
Australia

Australian social media ban: Meta shuts 550,000 children’s accounts

Australia’s ban on social media usage for under 16s, a world’s first, came into effect on December 10.

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Australia

‘Leave, go’: Australia declares state of disaster amid bushfires

Emergency crews can now force evacuations as conditions rivalled the infamous ‘Black Summer’ blazes of 2019-2020.

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US-China relations

Chip sales to China part of US plan to build its own digital silk road: official

Jacob Helberg tells Consumer Electronics Show audience that Gulf partnerships will help to stall Chinese AI advances.

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Attendees walk through the lobby of the Las Vegas Convention Centre at CES 2026, the world’s largest annual consumer electronics trade show. Photo: Reuters
Attendees walk through the lobby of the Las Vegas Convention Centre at CES 2026, the world’s largest annual consumer electronics trade show. Photo: Reuters
Australia

‘Disappointed’ Australia slams China’s new 55% beef tariffs

Australia faces a 200,000-ton beef quota in China, its second-largest market, risking severe impact on US$667 million in annual trade, experts warn.

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Australia

‘Not cowed’: Australia sees defiant start to 2026 after mass shooting

Many police officers openly carried rapid-fire rifles, a first for the popular annual fireworks display over Sydney’s Harbour Bridge.

Australia

‘It’s worth a million dollars’: locals, tourists get gold fever in Australia

Lured by record gold prices, hobbyists flock to Australia’s ‘golden triangle’ to dig up potential riches.

A shop worker holds three gold nuggets at The Gold Centre store in Maryborough, Australia. Photo: Reuters
Australia

Increased police presence in Sydney for New Year’s Eve following Bondi attack

New South Wales’ premier Chris Minns urged people to ‘show defiance to these evil terrorists’ by celebrating the event at Sydney Harbour.

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Preparations at Sydney Opera House on Tuesday ahead of New Year’s Eve celebrations. Photo: AAP / dpa
Preparations at Sydney Opera House on Tuesday ahead of New Year’s Eve celebrations. Photo: AAP / dpa
Australia

Bondi Beach attack hero wanted to protect ‘innocent people’

Recovering from gunshot wounds, Syrian Ahmed al Ahmed says he ‘saved lots’ but mourns the 15 victims of the tragedy.

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Australia

Australia probes after car with Hanukkah sign torched in Christmas Day attack

The vehicle was scorched by the ‘suspicious fire’ while parked in a house driveway in Melbourne.

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Australia

‘Almost daily surgery’: policeman hurt in Bondi attack wakes from coma

Scott Dyson, 25, woke on the day New South Wales, where the December 14 attack took place, was set to approve new laws cracking down on guns.

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Constable Scott Dyson, injured during a mass shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, has woken from his medically-induced coma. Photo: Handout via Reuters
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