China's first Mars rover named Zhurong

China's first Mars rover has been named Zhurong, which means the god of fire in Chinese mythology.

China launched Mars probe Tianwen-1 on July 23, 2020. The spacecraft consists of an orbiter, a lander and a rover.

It entered the parking orbit of Mars on February 24 and is preparing for a landing on the Red Planet.

Wang Yi puts forward five suggestions to U.S. on bilateral ties

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is calling on the United States to understand and view China's development objectively and rationally.

He made the remarks at a meeting with U.S. Council on Foreign Relations via video link.

Wang Yi urged Washington to work with Beijing on a new path of peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, and respect and tolerate the path and system that China has independently chosen.

He also said the United States should practice multilateralism in real sense and refrain from interfering in China's internal affairs.

Putin signs decree on countermeasures against "unfriendly" countries

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law to limit the number of local staff working at foreign diplomatic missions and other agencies, and ordered the government to draw up a list of "unfriendly" states that will be subject to the restrictions.

The bill comes amid an escalating diplomatic row between Russia and the United States and some European countries.

The law authorises the government to restrict, or even ban outright, employment contracts with "state bodies and state institutions of foreign states committing unfriendly acts against the Russian Federation."

Ex-police officer Chauvin to be sentenced on June 16 in Floyd case

The Minnesota Judicial Branch says the former police officer convicted of murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd will be sentenced on June 16.

Derek Chauvin faces a combined 75 years in prison for the charges of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter after being found guilty on Tuesday.

Biden to visit Britain, Belgium in June

The White House says President Joe Biden will travel to Britain and Belgium in June, the first overseas visit since he took office in January.

Biden will attend the Group of Seven (G7) Summit in Cornwall, Britain and then travel to Brussels, Belgium for a NATO Summit.

The G7 gathers Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain, and the United States.

Australia, India, and South Korea are invited as guest countries to this year's G7 summit.

U.S. lifts pause on Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine

U.S. authorities have lifted an 11-day pause on COVID-19 inoculations using Johnson & Johnson's vaccine.

The pause was recommended after several women recipients developed a highly unusual kind of blood clot.

But ultimately Friday, the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention decided that the one-and-done jab is critical to fight the pandemic - and that the small clot risk could be handled with warnings to help younger women decide if they should use that shot or an alternative.

EU likely to vaccinate 70 pct adult population by end of July: von der Leyen

The European Commission President says the European Union (EU) aims to vaccinate 70 percent of its adult population by the end of July instead of late September as previously predicted.

Speaking after visiting Pfizer's vaccine plant in Puurs, Belgium, Ursula von der Leyen expressed satisfaction that "the EU's vaccination campaign is on track," passing the mark of 150 million doses delivered and 123 million vaccinations deployed.

This made the bloc among the top three in terms of COVID-19 vaccinations worldwide, after the United States and China.

The EC president also said her commission was close to concluding a deal with BioNTech and Pfizer to supply 1.8 billion additional vaccine doses for next year and 2023.

Indonesian navy frigate joins search for missing sub

More Indonesian ships are joining the search for a missing submarine with 53 people onboard.

The vessel went missing after its last reported dive on Wednesday off the resort island of Bali.

Concerns have mounted that it may have sunk too deep to reach or recover in time.

The chief of the Indonesian Navy has said the submarine was expected to run out of oxygen early Saturday morning.

It is believed to have disappeared in waters about 95 kilometres north of Bali.

IAEA: Iran cuts number of centrifuges enriching uranium to 60% purity

Iran has reduced the number of centrifuges enriching uranium to up to 60 percent purity at an above-ground plant to one cluster from two.

The International Atomic Energy Agency did not say why Iran made the change or say how many centrifuges are in each cascade.

Iran announced the shift to 60 percent in response to an explosion and power cut at the Natanz enrichment facility last week.

Tehran has blamed it on Israel.