Beijing

Amid a surge in violence targeting Chinese interests, a devastating suicide bombing struck a convoy of Chinese engineers in northwestern Pakistan, claiming the lives of six individuals. This latest attack marks the third significant assault on Beijing-linked projects in the country within a week, raising alarm over the security of foreign investments in Pakistan.

"Support Chinese chips, join the enterprise of the century" read an upbeat slogan at a recent semiconductor industry fair in Shanghai, where the mood was defiant despite the intense pressure placed on the sector by geopolitical tensions.

The United States, Britain and New Zealand have accused Beijing-backed cyber groups of being behind a series of attacks against lawmakers and key democratic institutions — allegations that prompted angry Chinese denials.

Hong Kong's new national security law came into force on Saturday, putting into immediate effect tough penalties of up to life imprisonment for crimes including treason and insurrection.

The law — commonly referred to as Article 23 — targets five categories of national security crimes and was swiftly passed by Hong Kong's opposition-free legislature on Tuesday.

China's top diplomat capped his trip to Australia Thursday with one of the most controversial meetings on his agenda, hosting outspoken ex-prime minister Paul Keating at the Chinese consulate in Sydney.

China and Australia claimed to have stabilised long-strained relations after talks in Canberra on Wednesday, despite tensions over a high-profile prisoner, trade and China's crackdowns in Hong Kong and elsewhere remaining evident.

Four-time Olympic cyclist Christos Volikakis tested positive for doping in retests of samples from the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, the International Cycling Union said on Friday.

Volikakis won medals for Greece in track cycling at world and European championships but not the Olympics where he was selected at each edition from Beijing in 2008 through the Tokyo Games in 2021.

The U.S. House of Representatives has overwhelmingly approved a bill that would force TikTok to sever ties with its Chinese parent company or be banned in the United States.

The decision by the US Congress to greenlight a law that could potentially spell the end of TikTok's presence in the United States has sparked intense reactions from various quarters.

Chinese consumer prices rose in February for the first time since August, data showed on March 9, bucking a months-long stretch of deflation that compounded the country's myriad economic woes.

The world's second-largest economy posted some of its lowest growth in decades last year and is battling a prolonged property sector crisis and soaring youth unemployment.