SINGAPORE/SYDNEY/TOKYO -- As global distribution of coronavirus vaccines remains heavily tilted toward certain wealthy nations, countries are striking bilateral deals to temporarily "swap" extra doses that are close to expiring.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a sharing deal with the U.K. in early September for 4 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, enough to fully vaccinate about 8% of the population Down Under. Australia will send the same amount back later this year. It reached a similar agreement with Singapore for 50

SEOUL -- North Korea has intensified efforts to distance South Korea from the U.S., as leader Kim Jong Un announces plans to reopen a communications hotline between Pyongyang and Seoul.

In a speech to the Supreme People's Assembly on Wednesday, Kim said he intends to restore the link in early October. The rubber-stamp parliament that day appointed Kim Yo Jong, the leader's sister, to the country's top ruling body, the State Affairs Commission.

Kim Yo Jong has been active in

HONG KONG -- China's embattled HNA Group revealed on Thursday that it owes $170 billion to creditors, marking a turning point in the government-led restructuring of one of China's highest-profile bankruptcy cases.

Gu Gang, head of HNA's court-appointed working group and secretary of the debt-laden conglomerate's most important Communist Party cell, reported to almost 2,000 party cadres and employees of subsidiaries in an internal meeting, according to HNA Group's

BEIJING -- China will raise this year's quota on the production of rare-earth metals by 20%, the government said Thursday, as it moves to secure a supply chain that is immune from U.S. sanctions.

The country will now produce 168,000 tons of rare earths, according to a notice from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Ministry of Natural Resources. Officials announced in February an 84,000-ton quota for the first

NEW YORK -- In former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Washington found a strong ally who originated the idea of a free and open Indo-Pacific to counter growing Chinese power in the region. But now it prepares to deal with a new leader in Tokyo, Fumio Kishida, who may represent a new era of politics at a time of heightened doubts over the dependability of American commitments in the wake of the disordered exit from Afghanistan.

Kishida, a foreign minister under Abe, was chosen as the president of Japan'

TOKYO -- Electric vehicles could eventually travel around 20% further with new Hitachi technology installed in their wheels.

No timeline for mass production has been announced. But the Japanese company aims to develop the system, announced Thursday, into a viable propulsion option for electrics.

Created with Honda Motor joint venture Hitachi Astemo, the new direct-drive system integrates an in-wheel motor, inverter and brake. The simpler drive mechanism slashes energy loss by 30% compared with conventional electric vehicles.

There is also more room

Susannah Patton is research fellow, Ashley Townshend is director, and Tom Corben is research associate, all with the Foreign Policy and Defence Program at the United States Studies Centre, University of Sydney.

Before the AUKUS announcement, evidence that the Biden administration was prioritizing the Indo-Pacific region was scant.

Sure, the administration talked a lot about China, but President Joe Biden mostly cast this as a long-term global contest for who would win the 21st century focused mainly on competing political systems and technology governance.

NEW DELHI/NEW YORK -- In the first month since the U.S. completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Taliban have taken steps to curtail freedoms and impose their unchallenged authority on the country.

The Taliban have said they will suspend the constitution put in place by the previous government and restore a charter that was last valid in 1973. The constitutional monarchy that ruled at the time granted the king paramount authority.

"The Islamic Emirate will implement the constitution of the era of former King Mohammad Zaher

ISTANBUL -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he discussed cooperation with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on military and civilian projects -- including new nuclear plants, submarines and the space program -- and vows to press ahead with a missile defense system deal that has resulted in U.S. sanctions.

There will be "no step back" from the purchase of Russian-made S-400 missiles, Erdogan told Turkish reporters Wednesday on a flight back from the Russian city of Sochi, where he met with Putin