President Donald Trump's late call to "substantially reduce" military exercises with South Korea has prompted speculation he is courting a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
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When Araki Osamu first heard reports a bear had been seen in the streets of his home town, a 1-hour bullet train ride north of Tokyo, he dismissed it as "fake news".
While the public will remember Thai teenager Tunchanok Donhomla for the tragic nature of her death, her aunt, Mee Boonsert, will remember the baby she helped raise.
Australia's multi-billion-dollar deal with Japan for its future warships could set a template that will help Tokyo rapidly expand defence exports across Asia.
Japan has oil stockpile sites littered around the country, and as the world faces a fuel crisis, neighbours in Asia have been turning to Tokyo for assistance.
Australia imports most of its jet fuel from Asia, particularly China, Singapore and South Korea. But those countries rely on the Middle East for crude oil, meaning they are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of war.
Iran is running one of the world's most critical shipping lanes as a "toll booth" and has likely made hundreds of millions of dollars of extra income from selling its own oil since the US and Israel waged war against the regime.
