China has protested over the Dalai Lama’s presence at a public event attended by US president Barack Obama, saying America was exploiting the issue of Tibet for political purposes.

A Canadian woman detained in China along with her husband on suspicion of stealing state secrets has been released on bail.

China dismissed accusations it stole F-35 stealth fighter plans as groundless, after documents leaked by former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden on a cyber attack were published by a German magazine.

Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro is this year’s winner of the Confucius Peace Prize, China’s alternative to the Nobel Prize.

Beijing has launched a security crackdown on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the crushing of pro-democracy protests centred on the capital’s Tiananmen Square.

Chinese and Australian planes have spotted several objects in an area identified by multiple satellite images as containing possible debris from the missing Malaysian airliner.

Malaysian officials have confirmed the search for the missing passenger jet has been expanded into the Indian Ocean.

US Secretary of State John Kerry and foreign ministers of other major powers converged today to lend their weight to the Iran nuclear talks after envoys reported progress on key issues blocking an interim agreement to curb the Iranian programme in return for limited sanctions relief.

North Korea put its missile units on standby to attack US military bases in South Korea and the Pacific, after the US flew two nuclear-capable stealth bombers over the Korean peninsula in a rare show of force.

A Chinese plane has been spotted above small islands controlled by Tokyo but claimed by Beijing, officials in Japan said.

The UN Security Council condemned North Korea’s successful rocket launch today and said it will urgently consider “an appropriate response”.

World leaders hailed President Barack Obama’s sweeping re-election, with allies pledging to deepen cooperation with the United States on fighting the world economic slump and maintaining security across the globe.

China’s top leader-in-waiting Xi Jinping, who has set off a storm of rumours after not showing up at scheduled public events for more than a week, is nursing an ailment, possibly a back injury suffered while swimming, sources said.

United Nations and Arab League envoy to Syria Kofi Annan was in Beijing today to seek China’s backing for his plan for a negotiated end to the bloody conflict in Syria.

THE European Union may approve fresh sanctions against Iran within weeks, after a UN agency said Tehran had worked to design nuclear bombs, EU diplomats said.

US President Barack Obama held a White House meeting today with the Dalai Lama, a fellow Nobel Peace Prize laureate, hours after China called on the US to rescind an invitation that could sour relations with Beijing.

THE International Criminal Court’s (ICC) chief prosecutor said yesterday it could be “game over” within months for Muammar Gaddafi, who is wanted on charges of crimes against humanity.

China said today that Libya’s foreign minister was visiting Beijing just days after Chinese officials announced they had reached out to the rebel forces challenging Libyan dictator Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

CHINA denied it supports hacking activities and said it is part of global efforts to combat computer security threats yesterday, a day after Google disclosed some of its email users suffered hacking attacks that orginated within the country.

CHINA’S ambassador to the European Union said Beijing could increase its holding of eurozone government debt and said he hoped troubled eurozone states like Ireland would ensure the investment was secure.

China said it respects Southern Sudan’s vote for independence and wants peace and stability in the oil-rich region.

NORTH KOREA staged an artillery drill yesterday within earshot of a South Korean island shelled earlier this week, and warned that an upcoming US-South Korean naval exercise heightens the risk of war.

A US aircraft carrier group set off for Korean waters yesterday, a day after North Korea rained artillery shells on a South Korean island, in a move likely to enrage Pyongyang and unsettle its ally, China.