President Xi reiterates China's support to India in fighting COVID-19

Chinese President Xi Jinping has sent a message of condolences to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

President Xi says China is willing to provide support and help to India.

He also stressed that only through solidarity and cooperation can all countries across the world defeat the pandemic.

Chinese military sends vessels to assist Indonesia over sunken navy submarine

The Chinese military has sent vessels to assist Indonesia in the rescue of a wrecked submarine.

China has also expressed deep condolences to families of the victims in the incident. 

The submarine carrying 53 people on board went missing in waters off Bali last week. 

It was later declared sunk and all crew members were confirmed dead.

Spanish Olympic Committee president gives full backing to Beijing 2022

The President of the Spanish Olympic Committee has given his full support to the Beijing Winter Olympic Games.

Alejandro Blanco says he believes that Beijing 2022 will be on a par with the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

He also echoed the thoughts of Chinese president Xi Jinping, saying the Games will be celebrated in a simple, safe and excellent way.

Adrian Zenz's claims on Xinjiang a widely questioned fallacy: report

A report by the Xinjiang Development Research Center says claims of genocide by Adrian Zenz are a fallacy that has faced doubts and opposition from the international community. 

The report says that the Uygur population in Xinjiang grew from 10 million in 2010 to nearly 13 million in 2018. The report also says its growth rate was significantly higher than that of the Han population in the region. 

It also refuted claims on so-called forced labor in cotton picking, citing figures that nearly 70 percent of the cotton in Xinjiang was harvested by machines.

Joshua Wong pleads guilty over 'illegal assembly' last year

Joshua Wong has pleaded guilty to participating in an illegal assembly in Hong Kong last year.

Wong is already in prison after he was found guilty of participating in and organizing an unauthorized assembly in 2019.

Nineteen others are facing similar charges.

Indonesia approves emergency use of China's Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine

Indonesia has authorized the emergency use of the COVID-19 vaccine produced by China's Sinopharm.

The chief of the country's food and drug regulator says the decision was based on results from phase III clinical trials in countries including the the United Arab Emirates.

Companies and legal entities will be able to arrange inoculation for their own employees for free using the Sinopharm jab. 

Another Chinese vaccine by Sinovac has previously gained emergency use approval in Indonesia.

U.S. embassy slashes most consular services in Russia amid diplomatic row

The U.S. embassy in Russia has announced the reduction of its consular services, citing Moscow's limit on the mission's work force.

The embassy is also urging U.S. citizens in Russia with an expired visa to leave the country before June 15.

Earlier this month, the Russian Foreign Ministry unveiled a slew of retaliatory measures against recent U.S. sanctions, including a ban on U.S. diplomatic missions from hiring citizens of Russia or third countries, to administrative or technical posts.

U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan left Moscow last week for consultations on the bilateral ties in Washington.

South Korean President to visit White House on May 21

South Korean President Moon Jae-in will visit the White House on May 21 for talks with his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden. 

The White House says President Biden looks forward to working with President Moon to further strengthen the two countries' alliance and cooperation.

The event will mark the second in-person summit with a foreign leader of Biden's presidency, which began in January.

China's manufacturing PMI edges down to 51.1 in April

The purchasing managers' index for China's manufacturing sector came in at 51.1 in April, indicating ongoing expansion.

The reading is down from 51.9 in March.

The PMI for the non-manufacturing sector came in at 54.9 in April, down 1.4 points from the March figure.

China adopts decision to jointly build SKA radio telescope

China has approved joining a convention on building and setting up the world's largest radio telescope. 

The country's top legislature passed the decision to participate in the establishment of the Square Kilometer Array on Thursday.

The project will consist of a network of radio antennas of varying sizes located at several sites in Western Australia and Southern Africa.

NASA, SpaceX target Saturday for first crew mission return

NASA and SpaceX are targeting Saturday for the return of their first crew mission from the International Space Station.

The Crew-1 mission consists of three NASA astronauts and one Japanese astronaut.