Yesterday
ASEAN fiddles while Myanmar burns
ASEAN members can’t agree on the next step as aid agencies warn the Myanmar’s health system is on the verge of collapse.
- Emma Connors
Japan faces its greatest Olympic race
Australian softballers were the first athletes to land in Japan for the Tokyo Games, but their preparation is anything but typical.
- Michael Bleby and Michael Smith
Hong Kong police clamp down on Tiananmen anniversary
Activists have called on citizens to defy a ban on events commemorating the Tiananmen massacre.
- Michael Smith
Lessons for Australia from Asia’s COVID-19 horror show
Singapore has learnt how to hold the line but its close neighbour Malaysia is getting crushed.
- Emma Connors
Have three children? No way, many Chinese say
Intense workplace competition, a lack of childcare and widespread job discrimination against pregnant women have made childbearing an unappealing prospect.
- Vivian Wang
Hong Kong parking spot sells for record $1.7m
The sale at the luxury Mount Nicholson residential project overlooking the city shows buyers’ confidence is returning to the prestige homes market.
- Shawna Kwan
This Month
Biden to amend Trump’s China blacklist, target key industries
The amended order, which the US President is expected to sign later this week, will change the criteria for blacklisting entities to capture those that operate in the defence or surveillance technology sectors.
- Jenny Leonard, Jennifer Jacobs and Saleha Mohsin
Burnt out cargo ship threatens Sri Lanka with massive oil spill
Sri Lankan authorities are scrambling to stop hundreds of tonnes of oil leaking into the Indian Ocean after an effort to tow the ship into deeper waters failed.
- Emma Connors
China may find out three’s not a crowd
In its swing from restricting to encouraging births, Beijing cannot afford to repeat past mistakes as it looks to halt the population slowdown.
- Yuan Yang
Indian coal giant’s $6.5b wage bill set to rise amid rocky outlook
Coal India, the world’s biggest producer, is expected to begin talks this month that could result in pay cheques climbing 20 per cent or more.
- Rajesh Kumar Singh
- Opinion
- Papua New Guinea
Australia must respond to China’s Pacific Island adventures
China covets the strategic location and the resources of the Pacific Islands. Australian must offer something more attractive.
- Jeffrey Wall and Anthony Bergin
- Opinion
- Digital transformation
Japan’s old corporate champions are holding it back
No longer does Sony churn out one must-have new product after another. The rest of the developed business world has moved on.
- Richard Katz
Cormann issues rallying cry against autocracies
OECD secretary-general Mathias Cormann used his first speech to say democracies must unite to bring out the best of liberal, market-oriented values.
- Jacob Greber
Thailand approves further stimulus for virus-wracked economy
Thailand’s economy is facing strong headwinds from the country’s latest COVID-19 outbreak, which has totaled more than 130,000 cases since it began in Bangkok nightlife venues in April.
- Suttinee Yuvejwattana
More aid for businesses as Malaysia struggles with outbreak
The latest fiscal stimulus and relief package is the largest this year.
- Emma Connors and Natalia Santi
- Analysis
- Inside China
Why China’s three-child policy is too little, too late
Facing a demographic crisis, China has increased the number of children allowed per family from two to three. The problem is, nobody wants them.
- Michael Smith
- Opinion
- Australia's China challenge
China’s row with Australia is a warning to the world
There’s a risk that if China feels newly cornered over COVID-19, it will again respond with aggression. The drive to understand the origins is necessary. It’s also dangerous.
- Gideon Rachman
May
Singapore on track to relax third wave restrictions
While the more contagious B.1.617, or Indian strain, has been found in clusters at a hospital and Changi airport, authorities were able to contain the outbreak, which came four months after vaccinations began.
- Updated
- Emma Connors
China to allow couples to have three children to boost birthrate
China has been gradually reforming its stringent birth policy that limited most families for many years to only having a single child, with a second child allowed since 2016.
- Updated
- Bloomberg News
Leading scientist warns of ‘COVID-26 and COVID-32’ without lab probe
Professor Peter Hotez said coming to firm conclusions about how the virus emerged was ‘absolutely essential’ in preventing future pandemics.
- Steven Zeitchik
