Asia

Foreign Minister Penny Wong says Australia opposes the death penalty, calling on the junta to release unjustly detained prisoners and end violence in the country.

Among those executed was former hip-hop artist and ousted MP Phyo Zeya Thaw, who has close ties to Australia and whose death has sent a ripple of shock through the diaspora community here.

Australian shares struggle for momentum as gains in miners on the back of firm commodity prices counter losses in technology and financial stocks.

A volcano on the southern Japanese island of Kyushu erupts, sending a black ash cloud billowing high into the air.

The federal government says it is doing enough to stop foot-and-mouth disease entering the country, but some farmers and travellers aren't convinced, despite new control measures being introduced last week.

A Chinese court has overruled a rare legal challenge brought by an unmarried Beijing woman who was refused access to egg-freezing services by a hospital.

As Sri Lanka plunges further into a crippling economic crisis that has led to shortages of food, fuel and gas, many expats in Australia are sending essential supplies to desperate families back home.

South Korea plans to lift its decades-long ban on public access to North Korean television, newspapers and other publications as part of its efforts to promote mutual understanding.

Thirteen of the bodies have been identified, state media reported, after heavy rains in the central parts of Estehban County, with video on social media showing cars caught in rising waters and carried away.

Official documents reveal an Australian embassy spent $750,000 at a luxury hotel built on land owned and leased by Myanmar's military junta, with activists saying taxpayer dollars should not have been used. 

China's government has established a new minerals giant that will purchase iron ore from abroad on behalf of Chinese steel producers — a move seen as an attempt to gain long-term leverage in price negotiations with Australian exporters.

Australian shares are heading for their best day in weeks, with resources stocks jumping on worries over a supply crunch and banks advancing on expectations higher interest rates will boost profits.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese comes to power at a decisive moment for South-East Asia, a decade that likely will determine if the region's ceaseless quest for strategic autonomy is sustainable as China's influence grows and competition with the United States intensifies.

Eight security experts reviewing the assassination of former Japanese leader, Shinzo Abe, say his bodyguards could have saved his life.

As comments from two US central bank officials eased fears about a bigger interest rate hike this month, Australian shares rose on Monday, while Suncorp scrip jumped after ANZ said it would buy the insurer's banking business.

After Chinese models with small eyes were blasted for insulting China by nationalists online, the government has urged TV companies to conform to the "correct aesthetic". 

Flash floods in south-west and north-west China leave at least a dozen people dead and put thousands of others in harm's way, according to state media.

Politicians are meeting to decide who will become Sri Lanka's next president after Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigned. The parliament's speaker has promised it will be a swift and transparent political process.

Analysts say it's possible a million people have been detained in the region over time, but the Chinese president shows no signs of backing down from policies that have come under criticism from the West. 

Although its COVID cases spiked after a public holiday this week, Singapore has resisted reintroducing most restrictions, allowing residents to all but return to pre-pandemic life, ahead of September's Formula 1 Grand Prix.

Expectations that China's leader Xi Jinping will reverse his unofficial ban on Australian coal imports are growing as the country's economic problems continue to mount.

The Australian share market lost ground weighed down by heavyweight miners after iron ore prices tumbled. Rising business inflation and lower profits at big Wall Street banks weighed down US stocks. 

Hundreds remain in limbo after a COVID-19 outbreak slowed Tonga's efforts to recover from January's volcanic eruption and tsunami, but spirits remain high and ambitious plans are in place to rebuild.

Despite both prime ministers coming to an understanding on the controversial issue, Chinese assistance in Solomon Islands hasn't been entirely ruled out. 

Australian shares have risen on Thursday, lifted by mining and gold companies after a sharp rebound in commodity prices, although worries over hot US inflation data and an impending rate hike capped gains.