World
Asia
Biden pledges US military will defend Taiwan if China attacks
The White House was quick to insist US policy towards Taiwan ‘had not changed at all’ but the president’s remarks yet again challenge strategic ambiguity.
- by Jennifer Jacobs
Latest
Male newsreaders wear masks in protest as Taliban cover female TV anchors
Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers have begun enforcing an order requiring all female TV news anchors in the country to cover their faces while on-air as part of a hard-line shift.
- by Rahim Faiez
Exclusive
Timor-Leste
‘In their strategic interest’: Ramos-Horta calls on Australia to spend big in East Timor
As China spruiks its links with Australia’s near neighbour, its new president is keen to see the incoming Albanese government back a major infrastructure drive in south-east Asia’s newest nation.
- by Chris Barrett
Miracle plane crash survivor credits seat choice for ‘bonus life’
Surviving a crash in which 97 people were killed while he was one of just two survivors has transformed Zafar Masud’s view of life.
- by Ben Farmer
Sri Lanka’s protesters stay in the streets
As hundreds of student protesters continued their call for the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, they were met with police tear gas and water cannons.
- by Mujib Mashal
Updated
South Korea
North Korea nuclear threat tops agenda for Biden-Yoon meeting
Joe Biden’s visit to a massive Samsung semiconductor plant in Korea underscored a message of economic security with an eye on China and the war in Ukraine.
- by Trevor Hunnicutt
In a massive Chinese sinkhole, scientists find a secret forest
Researchers say the hole, which spans around 50 million cubic metres, could be home to previously unidentified plant and animal species.
- by Marisa Iati
One man received Japanese town’s COVID stimulus by mistake - then he gambled it away
The man gambled it away after promising to return the accidental payment, police said.
- by Hisako Ueno and Mike Ives
‘Shift to higher gear’: Philippines’ Bongbong Marcos talks up closer ties with China
Marcos, who won last week’s election by a landslide, said he held “very substantial” talks by phone on Wednesday with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
- by Neil Jerome Morales and Karen Lema
Philippines’ new president Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos makes secret trip to Australia
Days after winning the presidential election in the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos jnr has quietly flown to Melbourne, where his youngest son is said to be enrolling to study.
- by Chris Barrett and Matilda Finn
Sri Lanka only has one day’s petrol as economy tanks
New Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is printing money to pay salaries, selling the national airline and using Indian line of credit to buy more fuel.
- by Alasdair Pal and Uditha Jayasinghe