Asia Pacific

Beijing has stepped up operations in the Indo-Pacific with new defence exercises while at least seven groups of Chinese warships were spotted operating across the western Pacific at the beginning of the week. 

Triggered by longstanding territorial disputes, the latest round of fighting followed a skirmish on Sunday that wounded two Thai soldiers.

Australian travellers have been told not to travel within 50kms of an 800km stretch of land, warned the Government may not be able to help them as fears of all-out war reignite.

The 15-year effort by Japan is a model for countries now scrambling to reduce their dependence on Beijing’s critical metals.

An enormous 7.6 magnitude quake has struck Japan late at night, with major warnings issued for 90,000 people, as horror videos of the shudder emerge.

Thailand has launched air strikes against Cambodia after one of its soldiers was reportedly killed by gunfire.

The grim warning on Beijing’s flotilla in the Philippine Sea came the same week that Beijing flexed its maritime muscle with more than 100 vessels in the region.

Authorities are on edge after residents spotted smoke pouring from a volcano in Bali, following several recent eruptions that caused chaos for holidaymakers in Indonesia. 

Australia’s spy chief has warned that major conflict could break out in the Indo-Pacific region within the decade as China’s navy ratchets up its intimidation tactics.

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Hong Kong officials have said that contractors at the ill-fated housing estate where a fire killed more than 150 tried to conceal the use of unsafe material.

A Sydney man facing the death penalty for allegedly orchestrating a deadly shooting in Bali has made an emotional apology to his victim's widow.

The death toll from an inferno at a high-rise apartment complex in Hong Kong has risen to 83 as police arrested the bosses of a construction company.

Three people have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter as police continue to investigate the apartment complex inferno which has left at least 44 people dead and 270 missing.

A fire that spread across seven apartment buildings in a Hong Kong housing complex has killed at least 44 people, with three people reportedly arrested.

The Shenzhou-22 spacecraft has been launched to help China bring back a team of astronauts after a damaged vessel left them temporarily stranded.