Xi congratulates on 70th anniversary of Cambodian People's Party

General Secretary Xi Jinping has sent a message of congratulations for the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Cambodian People's Party.

He says the Communist Party of China attaches great importance to friendly cooperation with the Cambodian party, adding that he is ready to work with President Hun Sen to strengthen political guidance for the development of the relations between the two parties and the two countries.

CPC makes friends worldwide: official

Officials say the Communist Party of China maintains regular contact with more than 560 political parties and political organizations from over 160 countries and regions.

The remarks were made on Monday as part of efforts to mark the centenary of the Party.

Officials also said the courage to carry out reforms is the most distinctive part of the Party's character.

Baihetan starts generating power

Two generating units at the Baihetan hydropower station have been put into operation.

The facility is located on the Jinsha River in Southwest China.

As the world's second largest hydro facility after the Three Gorges Dam in China, it's expected to generate more than 62 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 52 million tons.

U.S. strikes facilities used by Iran-backed militia in Iraq, Syria

The Pentagon has confirmed airstrikes against facilities used by Iran-backed militia groups in the border area between Iraq and Syria.

Three targets were destroyed in the operations ordered by President Joe Biden.

The facilities are said to have been engaged in drone attacks against U.S. personnel and facilities in Iraq.

Florida condo collapse death toll rises to 9

More than 150 people remain missing four days after the collapse of a beachfront condo in Surfside, Florida.

On Sunday, the number of people dead rose to nine after a person died in hospital, and rescuers recovered four more bodies from the wreckage.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief Alan Cominsky says the rescue teams are quickly pursuing any potential for finding survivors.

"The debris field is scattered throughout and it's compacted, extremely compacted, so it's a very slow process where we have to shore, we have to stabilize the best we can as we're moving through the area, because, again, if there is a void space, we want to make sure we're giving every possibility for survival."

The 12-story Champlain Towers South collapsed early on Thursday.

New UK health secretary on COVID-19

Newly appointed British Health Secretary Sajid Javid says that bringing the coronavirus to an end is his immediate priority.

He replaces Matt Hancock, who resigned Saturday after breaking social distancing rules with an aide he's allegedly having an affair with.

"We are still in a pandemic and I want to see that come to an end as soon as possible."

Javid returns to the cabinet 16 months after he resigned as UK Treasury chief. He had also served as Home Secretary under then-Prime Minister Theresa May.

SA re-imposes stricter COVID-19 lockdown

South Africa has returned to stricter lockdown measures amid the grip of a devastating COVID-19 third wave.

President Cyril Ramaphosa says the latest surge in cases is driven by the Delta variant, which is more contagious.

Starting today, all gatherings and the sale of alcohol are prohibited, while restaurants and pubs can only serve food for take-away or delivery.

A curfew has been imposed from 9 pm to 4 am and non-essential establishments will have to close by 8 pm.

Belgium edges Portugal at Euro 2020

Belgium held onto a first-half lead to beat Portugal 1-0 and advance to the quarterfinals of the European Championship.

Thorgan Hazard scored from a long range strike just before the end of the first half.

Head coach Roberto Martinez says his side has shown champions' quality in the game.

"We never lost concentration on the way that Portugal tried the victory into the last second. And probably this gave me an incredible satisfaction because this is what a winning team needs. We all know the talent and the good football that we can play. I think it's all the elements that you need to show were shown today and as a code you couldn't be proud of."

Belgium, which has never won a major tournament title, will next face Italy.

In the other game, the Netherlands suffered a shock exit after a 2-0 defeat to the Czech Republic.

The Netherlands was forced to play most of the second half with 10 men after defender Matthijs de Ligt was sent off for a handball.

Dutch coach Frank de Boer says he is to blame for the loss.

"I'm responsible at the end of the day. It wasn't our best game. It's not that we didn't dominate. In the second half we had even more control. We also created two good opportunities, but this is top sport, played on the top level."

The Czechs capitalized with goals from Tomas Holes and Patrik Schick after getting the one player advantage on the pitch.

They will next play Denmark in the last 8.