Chinese premier promises more pandas and urges Australia to put aside differences

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Sunday promised a new pair of giant pandas to a zoo and urged Australia to set aside its differences with Beijing at the outset of the first visit to the country by China's second-highest ranking leader in seven years. ...

Chinese premier lands in Australia on first such visit in 7 years

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Chinese Premier Li Qiang arrived in Australia on Saturday on a relations-mending mission with panda diplomacy, rock lobsters and China’s global dominance in the critical minerals sector high on the agenda. His visit is the first by a Chinese premier in...

Boy accused of terrorist act in Sydney church faces new charges of stabbing bishop and priest

SYDNEY (AP) — A 16-year-old boy accused of committing a terrorist act by stabbing a bishop in a Sydney church in April faces two additional charges, a court was told on Friday. The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested at the scene of the stabbing on April 15 in...

Stock market today: Asian shares mixed after AI hopes nudge Wall St to records. BOJ stands pat

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mixed in muted trading Friday after Wall Street’s continued frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology nudged indexes on Wall Street to more records. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 jumped 0.7% to 38,998.04 after the Bank of Japan kept its...

Chinese Premier Li and New Zealand’s Luxon hail close ties as they sign trade deals in Wellington

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Chinese Premier Li Qiang met with New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on Thursday in Wellington, where the two leaders played up the ability of “good friends” to respectfully disagree — while publicly diverging on little. Li, China’s...

Titmus sets a women’s 200-meter freestyle world record at Australia’s Olympic swimming trials

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Ariarne Titmus set a world record in the women’s 200-meter freestyle on Wednesday at Australia’s Olympic swimming trials. Titmus finished in 1 minute, 52.23 seconds in the final, taking almost two-thirds of a second off Mollie O’Callaghan’s world...

Ariarne Titmus breaks the world record in the women’s 200-meter freestyle at Australia’s Olympic swimming trials

Australia anticipates China will lift final obstacle for exports as they ease past 2020 row

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell on Wednesday predicted the final obstacle for exports to China, Beijing’s ban on live lobster imports, will be lifted soon after Chinese Premier Li Qiang visits the country. The return of lobsters to the Chinese...

Palestinian players continue push for World Cup qualification amid war back home

PERTH, Australia (AP) — Mohammed Rashid once worked as a forklift driver in a Chicago warehouse. Fast forward to these grim times and Rashid, along with his Palestinian soccer teammates, carry a heavier weight knowing success on the field offers a little respite from the war raging...

Chinese premier to visit New Zealand, Australia and Malaysia

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Chinese Premier Li Qiang will visit New Zealand, Australia and Malaysia starting Thursday, officials said. Li will visit the three countries from June 13 to 20, a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement said Tuesday. Australia earlier announced...