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Despite warm words from the US and Japanese leaders during their summit this week, back in Japan the spectre of a second Trump White House looms largeJoe Biden was effusive in his praise for Japan and its “bold” prime minister, Fumio Kishida, during a state visit that took place this week amid new and growing security threats in the Asia-Pacific, wars in Ukraine and...

US president describes defence commitment to the Philippines and Japan as ‘ironclad’ as Beijing accuses Manila of violating Chinese sovereigntyJoe Biden has pledged to defend the Philippines from any attack in the South China Sea, as he hosted the first joint summit with Manila and Tokyo amid growing tensions with Beijing.“The United States’ defence commitments to Japan and to the Philippines are ironclad,” the...

Three rescued in the Pacific after making message in the sand with palm fronds, just as another group had done four years priorThree fishermen stranded on a remote Pacific atoll for more than a week were rescued after spelling out the word “Help” in the sand using giant palm fronds.A crew from the US Coast Guard cutter Oliver Henry plucked the men, in their...

Company accused of violations including Chinese employees improperly downloading files relating to Pentagon programsBoeing said on Thursday it had reached a $51m settlement with the US state department for numerous export violations including Chinese employees in China improperly downloading documents related to US Pentagon programs.The state department said from 2013 through 2017 three Chinese employees at Boeing facilities in China downloaded technical data involving...

Takeshi Ebisawa is being charged over a conspiracy to traffic uranium and plutonium from Myanmar, believing Iran would use it to make weaponsThe head of a Japanese crime syndicate conspired to traffic uranium and plutonium in the belief that Iran would use it to make nuclear weapons, US prosecutors have alleged.Federal officials said Takeshi Ebisawa, 60, and others showed samples of nuclear materials that...

Statement signed by former foreign ministers, a Nobel laureate and academics outlines anxieties about possibility of conflict in Indo-Pacific regionBob Carr and Gareth Evans: China and the US must agree to peaceFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastAustralia must step up diplomatic efforts to “avert the horror of great power...

Heather Mack, 28, pleaded guilty to helping boyfriend kill Sheila Wiese-Mack in 2014 to gain access to $1.5m trust fundAn American woman who pleaded guilty to helping kill her own mother and stuffing the body in a suitcase during a luxury vacation in Bali has been sentenced to 26 years in prison.Judge Matthew Kennelly gave Mack credit for the approximately two years she spent...

Wenheng Zhao, 26, pleaded guilty in October to passing sensitive military information to Chinese intelligence officerA US navy petty officer who pleaded guilty to providing sensitive military information to a Chinese intelligence officer was sentenced to more than two years in prison on Monday, the US justice department said.Wenheng Zhao, 26, and another US sailor, Jinchao Wei, were arrested in August on suspicion of...

Filipino nurses for Ohio-based company say they have been forced to pay thousands in fees after signing training contractsFilipino nurses are calling for the US’s top labor watchdog to review controversial “stay or pay” training repayment agreement provisions that have left them facing lawsuits and thousands of dollars in fees after they quit their jobs.Training repayment agreement provisions (Trap) are contracts employers require workers...