In early 2018, in a complex of low-rise buildings in the Australian capital, a team of government hackers was engaging in a destructive digital war game.

Oil prices rose more than $1 a barrel yesterday, after US President Donald Trump said he would hold an extensive meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit later on this month.

Expressions of ‘deep sorrow and regret’ are unlikely to be enough to save embattled Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam, write James Pomfret and Greg Torode.

Hong Kong police have used tear gas, pepper spray and high-pressure water hoses against protesters who have massed outside government buildings.

European stock markets held up well even as the US-China trade spat remained unresolved, but sterling continued to reflect fears of a hard Brexit.

Donald Trump’s own landing on the Normandy beaches to commemorate D-Day will be launched from the links in Doonbeg, Co Clare.

Stocks around the world tumbled and oil prices slumped after US President Donald Trump threatened to raise tariffs on China, triggering an investor exodus from risky assets.

Airbus secured a $35bn (€31bn) jet deal from China during a state visit by President Xi Jinping to France, dealing a blow to Boeing as it grapples with the grounding of its best-selling jet.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is putting the spotlight on women in his attempts to win over world opinion.

America’s trade deficit widened in February, reaching the largest monthly gap between exports and imports of goods and services in a decade.

Your morning bulletin...

US ambassador Nikki Haley said that North Korea's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile that some observers believe could reach Washington and the entire east coast of the United States "brings us closer" to a war.

US President Donald Trump has threatened new sanctions on North Korea after its most powerful missile test yet.

China has sent a high-level envoy to North Korea in a bid to improve relations after US President Donald Trump urged Beijing to pressure Pyongyang to end its nuclear weapons programme.

US President Donald Trump has held talks with Philippines leader Rodrigo Duterte as part of his tour of Asia.

President Donald Trump has denounced China for unfair trade practices just a day after he heaped praise on President Xi Jinping in Beijing.

The encrypted messaging service WhatsApp suffered intermittent disruptions in China on Tuesday as communist authorities tightened censorship ahead of a major ruling party meeting.

President Donald Trump has ordered new sanctions on individuals, companies, and banks doing business with North Korea as the US increases pressure on Pyongyang for its weapons programmes.

The UN Security Council has unanimously approved new sanctions on North Korea.

A strong earthquake has hit a mountainous region in south-western China near a famous national park, killing 13 people, injuring 175 others and crippling power and phone networks.

China's economic growth held steady in the latest quarter, boosted by trade and consumer spending, despite concerns about a possible impending slowdown.

US president Donald Trump has described his lengthy head-to-head encounter with Russian president Vladimir Putin as a "tremendous meeting".

The rising superpower has built up enormous holdings in poor, resource-rich African countries – but its business partners aren’t always thrilled, writes Brook Larmer

There has been little else but talk about North Korea’s weapons programme for almost quarter of a century. That may not be true for much longer, says Michael Mandelbaum

The Chinese government is launching a 14-month-long "clean-up" of the internet industry as part of its campaign to root out services which circumvent strict online controls.

China has said it is willing to have constructive dialogue with the Vatican - as long as its Catholics are loyal to Beijing and their religion is adapted to Chinese society.

More than 1,000 protesters walked and chanted in front of China's defence ministry today, the latest apparent demonstration by soldiers as the world's largest standing military modernises and downsizes.

Authorities in China have ordered hundreds of factories to cut back activity ahead of the Group of 20 summit in Hangzhou in early September, in a bid to ensure clean air, but the restrictions may cut oil demand in the world’s second-biggest oil consumer.

A Chinese lawyer has been jailed for seven years in the third in a series of subversion trials demonstrating the ruling Communist Party's determination to silence independent human rights activists and government critics.

Bang & Olufsen shares soared after the identity of its Chinese suitor became clearer, and a Danish newspaper reported the offer topped yesterday’s closing price by 25%.

Iran is divided between those seeking to embrace a Western way of life and the tradtionalists, writes Janine Di Giovanni

A photo of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg jogging in Beijing's notorious smog has prompted a torrent of mockery on Chinese social media.

Brahma Chellaney looks to China to demonstrate that Cuba’s economic opening does not necessarily indicate a move towards democracy    

China’s anti-graft authority yesterday announced an investigation into the chairman of China Telecom, the latest high-ranking official to be targeted by the Communist Party as President Xi Jinping cracks down on corruption.

Police have scuffled with protesters at a Beijing courthouse as prominent Chinese human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang stood trial on charges of provoking trouble and stirring ethnic hatred.

China has rejected a call from a United Nations rights watchdog to halt torture of detainees, saying the group’s recommendations were based on unverified information and that it should “improve its work style.”

President Xi Jinping has said that China needs at least 6.5% economic growth in coming years to become “moderately prosperous”.

China’s economic growth dipped below 7% for the first time since the global financial crisis, figures showed yesterday, hurt partly by cooling investment, raising pressure on Beijing to further cut interest rates and take other measures to stoke activity.

Increased infrastructure investment is key to stabilising China’s economic growth, a top state adviser said yesterday, while calling on the country’s central bank to lower the cost of financing for companies and increase overall credit.