Vietnam urges restraint amid maritime tensions with China
HANOI – Vietnamese President and Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong has called for restraint in the disputed South China Sea amid a tense months-long standoff between Chinese and Vietnamese ships, state…
Choke point: Vietnam skilled labour squeezed by Sino-US trade war
HO CHI MINH CITY/HANOI – A new front has opened in the US-China trade war as companies shifting manufacturing to Vietnam engage in a fierce battle for skilled labour, aggravating…
Top Israeli court nixes house arrest for Australian sex-crime suspect
JERUSALEM – Israel’s Supreme Court has overturned a lower court order that a former Australian school principal suspected of sexual assault, and who Australia is seeking to extradite, be released…
Elderly couple become first fatalities of early Australian bushfire season
MELBOURNE – The remains of an elderly couple have been found in a burned-out home in rural New South Wales state, police said, as Australia comes to grips with an…
Netherlands, Australia vow to pursue convictions for downing of MH17
SYDNEY – Australia and the Netherlands say they will pursue criminal prosecutions for those responsible for the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 that killed 298 people even if it…
Australian prosecutors argue no grounds for ex-Vatican treasurer’s final sex crimes appeal
MELBOURNE – Prosecutors have urged Australia’s High Court to refuse to hear a final appeal by former Vatican treasurer George Pell against his convictions for sexually abusing two 13-year-old boys…
Air quality app under ‘coordinated attack’ in Vietnam amid heavy Hanoi smog
HANOI – Independent online air quality index monitor AirVisual says its under “coordinated attack” to discredit the company after its data showed Hanoi has at times recently topped its list…
Australia to fund research on medicinal cannabis as demand grows
MELBOURNE – Australia will provide $3 million for research on the use of cannabis to help cancer patients, its health minister said, as the demand for medicinal cannabis products grows…
Australia says Iran frees couple held for months; drops charges
MELBOURNE – Iran has freed an Australian couple detained for several months and dropped its charges against them, Australia‘s Foreign Minister Marise Payne said. The couple, identified by the ministry…
Australia offered help in May for White House probe of Mueller inquiry
SYDNEY – Australia offered assistance in May for US President Donald Trump’s investigation of the origins of a damning report about Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election, a…
