The basic text making the case for an international-relations rulebook was provided by the ancient Greek historian Thucydides in his account of the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta in the fifth century BCE.

China's central bank on Friday said all financial transactions involving cryptocurrencies are illegal, sounding the death knell for the digital trade in China after a crackdown on the volatile currencies.The global values of cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin have massively fluctuated over the past year partly due to Chinese regulations, which have sought to prevent speculation and money laundering."Virtual currency-related business activities are illegal financial activities,"

Within the span of a generation, a new super-rich class emerges from a society in which millions of rural migrants toiled away in factories for a pittance. Bribery becomes the most common mode of influence in politics. Opportunists speculate recklessly in land and real estate. Financial risks simmer as local governments borrow to finance railways and other large infrastructure projects.

While COVID-19's origin story is currently defined by a lack of hard evidence and data, scientists around the world continue their search for answers to how the pandemic began.As the world approaches the two-year mark since this novel coronavirus was first detected, there have been many twists and turns in the investigation into the origins of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that caused the pandemic.

Worried his appearance would detract from opportunities in China's competitive society, Xia Shurong decided to go under the surgeon's knife to reshape his nose - one of the millions of young men in the country turning to cosmetic surgery.The 27-year-old researcher wanted medical procedures to transform his look from an "engineering geek" to something he thinks will boost his life chances. Beauty standards in China can be exacting, from pressure over skin tone, eye

Southern Chinese cities closed schools and ordered testing for millions on Tuesday in a race to curb a new COVID-19 outbreak which has sparked concerns over infections among unvaccinated schoolchildren.Putian, a city of 3.2 million in coastal Fujian province, ordered testing of all residents on Tuesday after Delta variant cases linked to a returnee from Singapore ballooned into a province-wide outbreak of more than 100 people.China has now been hit by multiple outbreaks of the highly contagio

China has handed over to Cambodia a US$150 million stadium in Phnom Penh, with officials saying Sunday it is the result of Beijing's biggest ever infrastructure grant to the country.The 60,000-capacity venue is the latest project under China's trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a plan to fund infrastructure projects and increase its sway overseas.The presentation of the arena, intended as the main venue when Cambodia hosts the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in 2023, was ma

Chinese authorities have ordered gaming giants to end their focus on profits and cut content perceived to be breeding "effeminacy", as Beijing tries to direct youth culture, gender ideals and the reach of big tech.The move is the latest by authorities to tighten their grip on the embattled technology sector and sparked a collapse in the share prices of some of the industry's biggest names.Officials on Wednesday summoned gaming enterprises including Tencent and NetEase, the two

United States (US) President Joe Biden and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping talked for the first time in seven months Thursday, with both leaders urging a path away from conflict but holding ground on the fierce competition between the superpowers.In the 90-minute call, Biden warned against misunderstandings that could lead to confrontation between Washington and Beijing, the White House said, while Xi called for a new direction in a relationship beset by "serious difficulties".&n

Britain's new HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier has paid a port call to Japan, in a mission that adds to pressure from Tokyo, the United States (US) and allies on China over its increasingly assertive regional maritime presence.The Queen Elizabeth is the flagship of the United Kingdom's (UK) Carrier Strike Group (CSG) deployment, which has been making stops around Japan and carrying out exercises along with vessels from allied nations in recent weeks."This port call to Japan