South China Morning Post - Australasia

An Australian jury on Thursday convicted a former Catholic bishop renowned for hosting alcohol-fuelled house parties of sexually abusing two young Indigenous men. The District Court of Western Australia jury convicted Christopher Saunders, 76, of 13 out of 19 charges of sexual abuse that allegedly occurred between 2008 and 2019 in his sprawling diocese on the country’s tropical ...

A visit by Vietnam’s top leader To Lam to Australia and New Zealand this week is expected to lead to stronger maritime security cooperation, especially in intelligence-sharing and joint patrols. The Vietnamese president is seeking to bolster partnerships and strengthen cooperation in science and technology, according to a government statement. During Lam’s six-day trip, which en...

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese sidestepped calls to apologise on Tuesday after a clip emerged of him engaging in crude banter about a gift from his Japanese counterpart. Albanese had already faced a backlash and apologised over comments made during an interview last month with the Bush Deep podcast in which he said he would “shag” singer Kylie Minogue. But separate c...

Safety regulators launched an investigation on Sunday into a “near collision” between two passenger aircraft at Australia’s busiest airport that injured a crew member. The incident, which involved a Jetstar pilot being forced to apply sudden brakes to avoid crashing into a Qatar Airways jet on Sunday morning, disrupted operations at Sydney airport. The Australian Transport Safet...

While global markets watched closely for a joint move by Washington and Tokyo to prop up the Japanese yen this week, Australian dollar traders have been laser-focused on the actions of another power: China. Some analysts view the Australian currency as particularly sensitive to policy moves in Beijing. If China intervenes to boost domestic growth, that could also lift the Austra...