SYDNEY -- Australian mining heavyweight BHP Group has decided to divest a $294 million stake in a Colombian thermal coal project in response to criticism from environmentalists.

BHP will transfer the entirety of its 33.3% interest in the Cerrejon coal mine to Swiss resource supplier Glencore, a joint venture partner. The deal will close in early 2022 pending approval by regulators.

The only other thermal coal mine in BHP's portfolio is the Mt Arthur development in the Australian state of New South Wales

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. looks to bring together partners in Europe and the Indo-Pacific for more joint military exercises to tackle the threats posed by China and Russia, the U.S. Department of Defense's principal director for Europe and NATO policy told Nikkei.

Cyber, space and nonproliferation are areas where "NATO sees that we have common security challenges" with partners such as Japan, Australia and South Korea, Andrew Winternitz said in a recent interview.

In a June summit communique , NATO warned

YANGON/BANGKOK -- Myanmar's military on Feb. 1 detained State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint in the country's first coup since 1988, bringing an end to a decade of civilian rule.

The Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy had won a landslide in a general election in November . But the military has claimed the election was marred by fraud.

For all our coverage, visit our Myanmar Coup page.

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Katsuji Nakazawa is a Tokyo-based senior staff writer and editorial writer at Nikkei. He spent seven years in China as a correspondent and later as China bureau chief. He is the 2014 recipient of the Vaughn-Ueda International Journalist prize for international reporting.

TOKYO -- Back in 1989, as China plunged into political upheaval following the Tiananmen Square crackdown, it became difficult to buy simple items like T-shirts.

Most Western students on the mainland returned home. For the small number of

William Pesek is an award-winning Tokyo-based journalist and author of "Japanization: What the World Can Learn from Japan's Lost Decades."

A must-have for any Museum of Corporate Shame would be the Toyota Motor wing.

Turns out, Japan Inc.'s most iconic name is the top benefactor of Republican members of Congress who backed Donald Trump's Jan. 6 coup attempt. Toyota's political action committee had pledged not to support the lawmakers who tried to scam a second presidential term

PALO ALTO, U.S. -- Shares in Didi Chuxing, China's largest ride-hailing company, gave up strong initial gains to close with a 1% rise in its U.S. stock market debut Wednesday, as investors questioned the company's long-term profit path and regulatory headwinds.

Didi opened at $16.65 on the New York Stock Exchange and closed at $14.14, up from the initial public offering price of $14 per share

TAIPEI/WASHINGTON -- For the first time in five years, the U.S. and Taiwan on Wednesday held their first talks under a dormant trade and investment framework as they pursue stronger trade ties to ramp up pressure on China. But the path to an agreement will likely be rocky.

Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Terry McCartin and Yang Jen-ni, deputy trade representative from Taiwan's Office of Trade Negotiations, took part in Wednesday's virtual meeting, where the two sides discussed intellectual property

TOKYO -- Japan's Ministry of Defense will revamp its communication channels with communities where its bases and other facilities are located as the country works to fine-tune defensive capabilities in response to China's military buildup.

The ministry's Bureau of Local Cooperation had previously been divided into sections that each specialize in a certain issue, like noise pollution. It is switching to a region-based approach effective Thursday to address local concerns more effectively and comprehensively. One section is dedicated to all issues in eastern Japan,

HONG KONG -- China Huarong Asset Management has said it cannot estimate when it will publish its 2020 financial results and has proposed delaying its annual shareholders meeting, sparking fresh fears over the fate of the nation's biggest distressed asset manager and the risk it poses to China's financial system.

Huarong, which has more than $43 billion in bonds outstanding, said business operations were continuing as normal and it was continuing with auditors to finalize the accounts for 2020. It separately said