A much anticipated meeting between US President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Japan where discussions on trade dominated went “better than expected”. “We has a very very good meeting with China,” Mr Trump told reporters after the meeting in Osaka on Saturday at 12pm (AEST). “I would say probably even better …

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has used his first foreign policy speech to call for calm between China and the US. Now his real challenge lies ahead: Talking Donald Trump out of a trade war that could devastate the Australian economy. But don’t expect Mr Morrison to make a show of calling out the US president. Speaking in Sydney on Wednesday …

A man has gone on a stabbing rampage at a bus stop near Tokyo, leaving two people dead and more than a dozen injured. A sixth grade schoolgirl and man in his 30s were killed, the Japan Timesreports, while another 15 victims were also school children. National broadcaster NHK said the suspect detained at the scene died later after turning the …

A Sri Lankan minister says an initial investigation shows the deadly Easter Sunday attacks were carried out in retaliation for last month’s Christchurch mosque shootings. Police announced they had arrested 40 people in connection with the coordinated bomb blasts, while the death toll from the attacks had risen to 321, with more than 500 injured. Two domestic Islamist organisations, including …

The grace and poise of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has comforted us all. Her courage and composure have captured world attention. Apparently, one male commentator quipped that we should be thanking her speech writer. But her eloquence, let alone her compassion, are not at someone’s artful direction. What we have seen is instinctive grief and empathy for her people. How …

An Australian is among those who have been arrested after 49 people were killed and dozens more injured in terrorist shooting attacks at two Christchurch mosques. At least one gunman with a semi-automatic weapon massacred worshippers gathered for Friday prayers in two locations: a mosque at Deans Avenue in central Christchurch and another mosque in the nearby suburb of Linwood. …

Australian coal producers have suffered another savage hit, with Chinese authorities placing an indefinite ban on imports ahead of a strict new regime of quotas. The Reuters news agency reported customs officers based at the key northern port of Dalian stopped Australian coal imports and would move to cap imports through their harbours at 12 million tonnes a year. The …

As Hakeem Al-Arabi’s teammates at Pascoe Vale Football Club in Melbourne prepare to start a new season, their star defender is about to mark two-and-a-half months in a Bangkok jail. The Bahraini refugee and Australian permanent resident was arrested in November last year, on an invalid Interpol red notice from the country he fled as he entered Thailand for his …

Princess Ubolratana Barnavadi has broken the long-standing tradition of Thai royalty staying out of politics by entering the election in an unprecedented move. A Thai princess will run for prime minister in March elections in an unprecedented entry by a royal into frontline politics, pitting her against the chief of the ruling junta and redrawing the nation’s political landscape. Princess …

The Japanese Government has confirmed it will restart commercial whaling in July, exiting the International Whaling Commission (IWC). It will stop its so-called scientific whaling in the Antarctic Ocean, and only fish in seas near Japan and the country’s exclusive economic zone. Japan has long been fed up with the deadlock at the IWC, with pro- and anti-whaling nations unable …