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	Property was Australia’s favourite wealth builder. A tax overhaul aims to end that Just a short ⁠stroll from Sydney’s famous Bondi Beach, auctioneer Clarence White struggles to drum up bids for an ⁠airy three-storey home that boasts five bedrooms and an alfresco lounge – price tag, A$5.2 million (US$3.64 million). “We know everyone’s cagey at the moment, but that’s OK … all power to those who are registered and those who take action,” the veteran auctioneer tells a small group of prospective buyers and onlookers, none of whom bids. Failed auctions like this were once the... Source: © SCMP News
	Australian town crier crowned as world’s loudest person, at 122.4 decibels Joseph McGrail-Bateup, an Australian professional air conditioner cleaner and honorary town crier, has been recognised as the world’s loudest person. Guinness World Records last week acknowledged the 58-year-old Canberra resident recorded the loudest ever shout by an individual. He yelled “now” at 122.4 decibels. That broke the previous record of 121.7 dB set by Northern Ireland teacher Annalisa Flanagan in 1994. She had yelled an ear-piercing “quiet”. That is in the noise range of a chainsaw, a... Source: © SCMP News
	Australia refuses release of climate fund reports for Pacific nation Tuvalu Australia has refused to release internal papers about a trust fund for a climate-vulnerable Pacific nation, telling Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the documents could inflict diplomatic “damage”. Gravely threatened by rising seas, low-lying island nation Tuvalu relies on a US$200 million trust fund to help foot the ballooning costs of climate change. The trust has been invested on Tuvalu’s behalf in funds exposed to coal mining, gas exploration and the world’s largest crude oil refinery, an... Source: © SCMP News
	Australia makes record cocaine bust after 2.7 tonnes found buried in Sydney Australian police seized a record 2.7 tonnes of cocaine hidden in plastic tubs buried underground on the outskirts of Sydney, detectives said on Monday. It was the largest cocaine haul in Australian history, a joint organised crime investigation force said in a statement. Police allege a Sydney-based organised crime group arranged for a foreign vessel to offload the cocaine in northern Queensland before moving it to Sydney for distribution. “Investigations into the origin of the drugs remain... Source: © SCMP News
	Australia reports first case of H5 bird flu, virus spreads to every continent Scientists have detected the H5 strain of bird flu in Australia for the first time, meaning the highly contagious variant has now spread to every continent. Australian Agriculture Minister Julie Collins told a press conference on Saturday that the disease had been found in a migratory sea bird, a brown skua, in remote Western Australia, and the result was confirmed by the national science agency. Samples from another sick bird, a giant petrel, had also shown as a suspected positive result, she... Source: © SCMP News
	US military plans permanent war-ready weapons stockpile in Australia The US military is planning a permanent war-ready weapons stockpile for its Marine Corps on Australia’s southeast coast beyond the range of most Chinese missiles, according to tender documents and officials. The development of the stockpile, a first for the Marine Corps in Australia, came as the US was keen to leverage the continent’s strategic location in the South Pacific to counter China’s rapid military build-up, analysts said. The US Marine Corps began global pre-positioning of military... Source: © SCMP News
	China’s direct strike threat to Australia is ‘growing’, think tank report finds China is capable of a direct missile strike on Australia and the threat is growing as Beijing amasses long-range and hypersonic weapons and builds islands in the South China Sea, an Australian think tank said on Sunday. A Lowy Institute report found the main threat to Australia was from Chinese missiles fired from ships, submarines and a new intermediate-range ballistic missile that could reach the island continent from China. China’s capacity to strike Australia would grow over the next decade... Source: © SCMP News
	Beachgoers in Australia rescue woman after shark attack at Sydney’s Coogee Beach A woman swimmer was ⁠seriously injured in a shark ⁠attack at a Sydney beach on ⁠Saturday, authorities said, in the latest of a spate of such encounters off Australia’s coast. Emergency services were called to Coogee Beach in the east of Sydney, Australia’s largest city, in the morning on reports that the 35-year-old had been bitten by a large shark about 30 metres (100 feet) from the shore. “The woman was pulled from the water by members of the public, who commenced first aid,” police said in a... Source: © SCMP News
	Inside Australia’s first major new airport in more than 50 years Sydney’s new A$5.6 billion (US$4 billion) airport will ⁠open to passengers in ⁠October after more than a decade ⁠of planning, adding red-eye flight options from Australia’s largest city as the existing hub operates under night curfew restrictions. The current airport, located closer to Sydney’s central business district, can host take-offs and landings only until 11pm and after ‌6am due to tough noise regulations, limiting airline scheduling options relative to other major Australian cities like... Source: © SCMP News
	Storm cuts off New Zealand’s capital as flights, ferries cancelled Gale-force winds and rough seas battered New Zealand’s capital ⁠of Wellington on ⁠Tuesday, forcing ferry and flight ⁠cancellations and road closures as authorities urged hundreds of residents along the city’s south coast to evacuate. A light aircraft was briefly blown over by strong winds at Wellington airport after a gust ‌of wind tipped the plane onto its wing and wheel, the airport confirmed by email. “Nobody was injured and it was quickly righted,” it said. The New Zealand Herald said the... Source: © SCMP News
	Albanese vows to cut Australian migration after rise fuels support for populist One Nation Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday migration levels were reducing, responding to an opinion poll showing a right-wing populist party ahead of governing Labor. Support for the One Nation party was 31 per cent, ahead of Labor on 30 per cent, a Newspoll aurvey published in The Australian newspaper on Monday showed. Albanese’s net approval rating has sunk to its lowest level since the 2022 election at minus 24, with 36 per cent of Australians satisfied with his performance,... Source: © SCMP News
	New Zealand’s Wellington hit by ‘disgusting’ deluge of faeces, sanitary items after storm Homes in New Zealand’s capital were flooded with faeces and sanitary products on Friday after an overnight storm blocked waste water pipes, the city’s utilities company said. Wellington Water said the waste water overflow in the picturesque suburb of Island Bay was the result of a blocked main. It said five properties were affected by the overflow and its crews were working to remove the faeces and sanitary products and disinfect the homes. “There is a suction truck on-site at the overflow,”... Source: © SCMP News
	5 lessons for Asia as it studies wars from the privilege of peace Since the Ukraine war began in 2022, Asia has been watching conflict as if enrolled in a study course. We have heard every argument: Nato enlargement, Russian insecurity, Ukrainian sovereignty, European fear, American power, energy politics, sanctions, nationalism and resistance. We have watched Gaza burn. We have watched the United States capture Venezuela’s president and defend the act as lawful. We have watched Iran absorb attacks and retaliate. For Asians, these are no longer distant events.... Source: © SCMP News
	Australian beef will soon be hit by 55% tariff in China, ministry says Australian beef will soon be subject to an additional 55 per cent import duty in China, with shipments of the meat about to surpass an annual quota set by Beijing, China’s Ministry of Commerce confirmed on Tuesday. Imports of Australian beef have already reached 90 per cent of this year’s quota, meaning that a tariff adjustment will soon be triggered, the ministry announced via an alert. Until recently, most imports of Australian beef were subject to low or even zero tariffs in China under a... Source: © SCMP News
	Australia catches Europe’s right-wing populist wave Australia’s populist One Nation party surged past the ruling Labor party to lead a nationwide opinion poll for the first time, highlighting voter disappointment with last month’s budget and reinforcing signs of a fracturing of the conservative side of politics. One Nation’s primary vote advanced 4 percentage points to 31 per cent from a previous poll conducted ahead of the May 12 budget, while the centre-left government slipped 3 points to 28 per cent, according to a Redbridge Group/Accent... Source: © SCMP News
	For SpaceX, global dominance may not be written in the stars The excitement around SpaceX, fuelled by the targeted US$1.8 trillion valuation for its initial public offering and its promising Starship rocket development, has revived a familiar claim: that SpaceX is on course to dominate the space market. Commercially, that view is understandable. SpaceX conducts more space launches than anyone and at very competitive costs, its Starlink satellite internet company provides strong in-house demand, and it has a scale advantage unmatched by any other private... Source: © SCMP News
	New Zealand tells US it lacks billions ‘under the couch’ to raise defence spending New Zealand does not have the fiscal headroom to increase defence spending to the levels the US might expect, Finance Minister Nicola Willis said. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told delegates at an Asia security forum in Singapore on Saturday that New Zealand’s target of raising defence spending to 2 per cent of the economy is not enough and was an example of “freeloading”. He hinted that nations should aspire to a target as high as 3.5 per cent. “That would be extremely challenging,” Willis... Source: © SCMP News
	Writing’s on the wall for the bond market – for those who can read it There is a good deal more to the rapid rise in bond yields around the world, not least in Asia, than meets the eye. It suggests a recognition by financial markets that governments are spending beyond their means, tax revenues and borrowing power. The implication is that either taxes need to rise or public spending needs to fall, or alternatively that financial markets, stock markets in particular, must shift their priorities away from glamour stocks in the tech and artificial intelligence (AI)... Source: © SCMP News
	Can middle powers restore the international order? Think again Recent articles in an Asia-focused international policy forum suggest that states such as Australia, Canada and South Korea can join up with other middle powers to secure the maritime order and restore the liberal international order. While well meaning and encouraging, the unfortunate truth is that these tasks are beyond the capacity of middle powers. The smartest ones won’t even try. Maritime security has transformed from a permissive environment dominated by uncontested naval supremacy into a... Source: © SCMP News
	Suspected sea lion bite halts New Zealand surfing event A photographer shooting the final day of the World Surf League (WSL) in New ⁠Zealand was injured by what organisers suspect was a sea lion or shark bite on Monday, forcing the event to be put on hold for several hours. The New Zealand Pro semi-final between Brazilian world champions Yago Dora and Italo Ferreira at Raglan was halted after the ‌in-water photographer suffered puncture wounds and needed medical attention, the WSL said. “This morning one of the water photography team suffered a... Source: © SCMP News
	New Zealand to invest almost US$1 billion in drones, ships to protect maritime security New Zealand intends to spend about NZ$1.6 billion (US$936 million) on drones, ship maintenance and naval upgrades to bolster the island nation’s maritime security at a time of increasing concern about supply routes. Defence Minister Chris Penk said on Saturday that the government would invest in two types of drones: one for the southwest Pacific to provide long-duration intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and the other a polar-capable vehicle that could operate from naval vessels in... Source: © SCMP News
	Some Asian airlines could collapse like Spirit without help on rising fuel costs Asian airlines need government support to cope with the more than doubling of jet fuel prices that otherwise risks some carriers collapsing like US-based Spirit Airlines, according to the new head of the region’s industry body. Wong Hong, who took over as director general of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines last month, said carriers needed varying levels of help and relief, from direct financial support to being able to cut flight schedules without negative consequences. “Nobody wants to... Source: © SCMP News
	Melbourne-US Qantas flight diverted after man bites crew member Australia’s Qantas was forced to divert a flight bound for the United States over a disruptive passenger, with local media reporting the man bit a flight attendant. The flight from Melbourne was headed to Dallas on Friday when it was forced to make a stop-off in Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia, due to the disruptive passenger. The man was restrained by fellow passengers, with local media including national broadcaster ABC reporting he bit a member of Qantas staff. The man was met by... Source: © SCMP News
	Ukraine war: 36 nations approve tribunal creation to prosecute Russia over invasion Thirty-four European states plus Australia, Costa Rica and the EU said on Friday they would join a future special tribunal for Ukraine to prosecute Russia over its invasion of the country. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed an accord with the Council of Europe last year to create a legal body to prosecute the “crime of aggression” in the invasion Russia launched in February 2022. The Council of Ministers, comprising foreign ministers from the organisation’s 46-member states, in a... Source: © SCMP News
	Australian trade minister to visit China to secure fuel during Iran war crunch Australia’s trade minister will visit China in an effort to shore up fuel supplies that have run short this year because of bottlenecks in the Strait of Hormuz during the US–Israeli war in Iran. Australian Trade and Tourism Minister Don Farrell told a press conference that he would travel to China to meet Commerce Minister Wang Wentao after a stop in Japan on Monday. “Very much the topic of the day will be how do we continue to ensure reliable fuel supplies into this country,” Farrell said,... Source: © SCMP News
	Japan-South Korea ‘comfort women’ row stoked by statues abroad Statues erected by South Korean civic groups on the other side of the world honouring the tens of thousands of women forced into sexual slavery by imperial Japanese forces during World War II have once again succeeded in making Tokyo’s elites deeply uncomfortable. The decisions by local governments in Germany’s capital and New Zealand’s largest city to rescind or decline to renew permits for “comfort women” memorials have been pounced on by conservatives within Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic... Source: © SCMP News
	How Australia’s mining giants are helping China to globalise the yuan Australia’s mining giants are aiding China’s push to internationalise its currency and reduce the dominance of the US dollar, as they gradually shift towards using the yuan for financing and settlements, analysts said. China has been using its heft as the world’s dominant iron ore buyer to push global mining companies to adopt the yuan. And several firms are already making the switch, with China’s relatively low interest rates becoming an added incentive. BHP, the world’s largest mining company,... Source: © SCMP News
	Why Japan’s Mogami-class warship is winning over New Zealand Japan’s Mogami-class destroyer appears to be pulling ahead in the race to become the next generation of warships for the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN), in what would be another major deal for Japan’s defence industry just weeks after Tokyo announced it was lifting its long-held ban on weapons exports. Under its 2025 Defence Capability Plan, the government in Wellington has committed to replacing its two ANZAC-class frigates – launched in the early 1990s – with more capable, modern warships. The... Source: © SCMP News
	Thanks to Trump, the gloves are off. There may be no new global order The old order is dead. We just don’t know what will replace it. As Henry Kissinger reminded us in his 2014 book World Order, “no truly global order has ever existed”. After US President Donald Trump’s erratic actions, the gloves are off. American comedians and Iranian Lego cartoons tell us all we need to know about the demise of the old order. If the unipolar order is not viable, and America is abandoning the multilateral order and the rules of the game it created after World War II, what are... Source: © SCMP News
	Islamic State-linked Australian women charged with keeping slave in Syria Two Australian women “kept a female slave” after travelling to Syria in 2014 to support Islamic State, police said on Friday after the pair were charged in Melbourne. The women returned to Australia on Thursday evening for the first time in almost a decade, travelling from a Syrian detention camp where they were stranded after the group’s collapse. They were immediately arrested after their Qatar Airways flight landed at Melbourne International Airport. Police accused the women – a mother and... Source: © SCMP News
	Why China’s warning over military blocs is finding listeners in Asia When the United States and the Philippines opened this year’s Balikatan exercises, the message travelled far beyond the parade ground. More than 17,000 troops are taking part in drills set to run until May 8. What matters is where the drills unfold, who has joined and what kind of regional habit they are helping to normalise. Japan took part in its first Balitakan live-fire exercises. Australia, Canada, France and New Zealand were also active participants. Then the exercises moved closer to... Source: © SCMP News
	New Zealand eyes Japanese Mogami-class warships as possible replacements for ageing fleet New Zealand is weighing the purchase of advanced warships from Japan or the UK to modernise its ageing fleet and bolster its defence capability. The South Pacific nation, member of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network alongside Australia, the US, the UK and Canada, is focused on Japanese Mogami-class or the UK’s Type 31 frigates. Discussions are under way with the Royal Australian Navy and the UK’s Royal Navy about the frigate replacement and ongoing service arrangements, Defence Minister... Source: © SCMP News
	Australia warns of arrests as 13 people linked to Isis set to return from Syria A group of 13 Australians related to alleged Islamic State (Isis) jihadists is returning home from Syria, Australian authorities said on Wednesday, warning some will face arrest. The four women and nine children, who had been living in Roj camp in Syria, are expected to land in Sydney and Melbourne airports on Thursday, according to local media. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said he received an alert on Wednesday morning when the group’s travel booking was made. “The government is not... Source: © SCMP News
	Anxious Australia and jittery Japan deepen ‘quasi-alliance’ for an uneasy age Japan’s prime minister touched down in Australia on Sunday with a set of shared anxieties – about Trump, China and the fragility of supply chains that the two insular nations have long relied upon – to which she sought some small relief. By the time she departed, Sanae Takaichi and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had signed an economic security pact, unlocked nearly US$1 billion in critical minerals funding and laid the groundwork for what observers describe as the most comprehensive... Source: © SCMP News
	2 volunteers die during rescue after boat capsizes off Australia’s New South Wales coast Two marine rescue volunteers died after their boat capsized while attempting to help a yacht in distress off the east coast of Australia, according to New South Wales police. On Monday evening, a member of the public reported that a yacht appeared to be struggling at a breakwall in Ballina in northern New South Wales, police said. A vessel of volunteer service Marine Rescue NSW with six crew on board was responding to the call when “their vessel capsized while crossing the Ballina Bar in heavy... Source: © SCMP News
	China’s fight to keep Darwin Port could help fragile Sino-Australian relations: analysts Chinese multinational company Landbridge Group’s legal claim regarding Darwin Port – the first case ever brought against Australia at the international tribunal – is likely to yield a multi-year proceeding, which could serve as a buffer to provide some positive impacts for the Australia-China relationship, analysts said. The owner of Landbridge, Ye Cheng, filed a case with the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investor Disputes (ICSID) requesting “arbitration proceedings” over... Source: © SCMP News
	Singapore, New Zealand sign world’s first bilateral treaty to protect essential trade Singapore and New Zealand on Monday signed the world’s first legally binding bilateral agreement to keep essential supplies – including food, fuel, healthcare products and chemical and construction materials – flowing even during crises. The Agreement on Trade in Essential Supplies was signed by Singapore’s Minister-in-charge of Energy, Science and Technology Tan See Leng and New Zealand’s Minister for Trade and Investment Todd McClay at the Singapore-New Zealand Annual Leaders’ Meeting in... Source: © SCMP News
	Takaichi bound for Australia to strengthen economic, security ties Japan’s prime minister is set to arrive in Australia to strengthen ties with one of her country’s strongest allies as she seeks to build on an updated regional strategy laid out in Vietnam. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is scheduled to touch down late on Sunday local time in Canberra for the three-day visit, which will focus on defence, critical minerals and broader economic security. The two countries have grown increasingly concerned about the changing security and economic environment in the... Source: © SCMP News
	Riot erupts over Australian indigenous girl’s suspected killer Hundreds of protesters clashed with Australian emergency services workers in a remote town following the arrest of a man suspected of murdering a five-year-old indigenous girl, police said on Friday. Australia’s prime minister, the Northern Territory’s police commissioner and a spokesperson for the victim’s family all appealed for calm after an angry crowd of roughly 400 indigenous people gathered on Thursday night at the hospital where ‌the suspect was taken after being beaten unconscious by... Source: © SCMP News
	Australian police find body in search for missing indigenous girl, 5 Australian police ⁠said on Thursday they have found a ⁠body believed to be that of a missing five-year-old indigenous girl and were searching for the man who allegedly murdered her. The girl, now referred to by her family as Kumanjayi Little Baby in line with Indigenous customs, was reported missing from her home in ‌a remote community in central Australia late on Saturday. Police said they located a body of a young Indigenous girl they believed was hers shortly before midday on Thursday about... Source: © SCMP News
	Tourists overrun Australia’s most Instagrammed street, driving locals to the brink Viral posts of an Australian street dubbed the country’s “most beautiful” have enticed coachloads of visitors to a picturesque seaside town – and locals have had enough of it. Just a two-hour drive south of Sydney, Gerringong is much like many other photogenic hamlets along Australia’s east coast, with multimillion-dollar properties set against stunning views of the azure blue sea. But recent posts on Instagram, TikTok and as far afield as China’s RedNote showing the town’s Tasman Drive have... Source: © SCMP News
	India overtakes England to become Australia’s largest migrant group Indians are now Australia’s largest migrant group, supplanting the English for the first time ever, in a change that highlights the rise of immigration as an increasingly contentious political issue. Some 971,020 people in Australia – or 5.2 per cent of the population – were born in India, narrowly surpassing the 970,950 born in England, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The England-born population slipped from just over 1 million in 2013. The third-largest cohort... Source: © SCMP News
	New Zealand officials reject statue remembering Japan’s WWII sex slaves New Zealand officials rejected on Wednesday an application to install a statue commemorating so-called “comfort women” enslaved by Japan before and during World War II after Tokyo suggested it could harm diplomatic relations. Japan forced up to 200,000 women from Korea, China and Southeast Asia into sexual slavery from 1932 until 1945 and the issue remains a sore point in Tokyo’s relations with its neighbours. The Korean Garden Trust had sought to install a statue honouring the survivors at... Source: © SCMP News
	India, New Zealand boost trade diversification with ‘forward-looking’ pact A free-trade agreement signed between India and New Zealand has marked yet another regional push towards diversification and away from overdependence on major powers. The deal, which comes after 15 years of on-and-off negotiations, gained urgency in recent weeks as Indian exporters contend with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and steep American tariffs that have rattled supply chains. New Zealand, for its part, has been pursuing a strategy to reduce dependence on China, its largest trading... Source: © SCMP News
	Without diplomacy, deterrence in Asia is a path to escalation “Balikatan 2026” is meant to reassure allies and deter adversaries. But the military exercise hosted by the Philippines also reveals a harsher truth: the Indo-Pacific is drifting into a security logic in which deterrence no longer contains risk but multiplies it. Every move taken in the name of stability now invites a countermove. Every display of resolve is answered by another. The result is not equilibrium, but a trap. That is why diplomacy has to return to the centre of regional strategy... Source: © SCMP News
	India, New Zealand sign ‘once-in-a-generation’ free-trade deal India and New Zealand on Monday signed a free-trade agreement to deepen economic ties and expand market access, as both countries navigate mounting global trade disruptions. The deal comes as New Delhi moves to diversify export markets to offset the impact of steep tariffs imposed by the United States and instability in shipping and energy routes due to the Iran war. For New Zealand, the agreement is part of a broader push to reduce reliance on China, its largest trading partner. The agreement... Source: © SCMP News
	Why US-led security alliances in Asia are losing coherence Geopolitics, at its core, examines how geography shapes international politics, power distribution and security dynamics. One enduring idea is geographer Halford Mackinder’s “heartland” theory, which situates Eurasia as the central arena of global power competition. In 1904, Mackinder argued that the vast land mass of Europe and Asia – what he called the “world island” – contained a pivotal core, the “heartland”, rich in resources, population and strategic depth. His dictum – “Who rules Eastern... Source: © SCMP News
	Will China’s deal with Australian mining giant BHP boost yuan internationalisation? Australian mining giant BHP’s decision to adopt a yuan-denominated index for a major Chinese buyer poses a challenge to the US dollar’s long-standing dominance in iron ore pricing, delivering a hard-won victory for Beijing, analysts said. But while the agreement marked a breakthrough in Beijing’s push to gain greater commodity pricing power at a time when the United States faces growing “geopolitical isolation”, analysts stressed that its broader efforts to reshape the old order remained far... Source: © SCMP News
	Australia’s US$7 billion Japan warship deals signals shift from US overreliance A landmark warship deal between Australia and Japan is expected to drive further defence technology cooperation between the two Asia-Pacific nations, comparable in scope to Canberra’s security arrangements with Washington. Analysts say the agreement with Tokyo will also help Canberra address navy shortfalls and reduce its overreliance on the US at a time of great volatility. Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles and his Japanese counterpart Shinjiro Koizumi announced on Saturday that the... Source: © SCMP News
	Pacific Islanders skip food, medicine amid global fuel shortage from Iran war Far-flung Pacific nations ⁠are reeling from the impact of a global ⁠fuel crisis as authorities scramble to manage energy supplies while families must grapple ⁠with fuel curbs and higher costs for food and access to healthcare. Global oil supplies are running down as the US-Israeli war with Iran disrupts traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which typically carries about 20 per cent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas flows. Aid agencies have warned that the crisis has driven up prices... Source: © SCMP News

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