China calls for restraint following Ryanair diversion incident

China is calling for restraint amid increasing tensions between the European Union and Belarus over the recent Ryanair diversion incident.

A flight of the Irish airline from Athens to Vilnius was directed to an airport in Minsk on Sunday after its crew members were alerted to a possible security threat by Belarusian authorities.

But EU leaders have accused Minsk of "hijacking" the plane to detain a journalist on board.

They have agreed to cut the bloc's air links with Belarus.

Air France and Polish airline LOT have halted flights over Belarus, while Ukraine will ban flights to and from Belarus starting Wednesday.

WHA's decision shows "Taiwan independence" is dead end: mainland spokesperson

A Chinese mainland spokesperson says a decision by the ongoing World Health Assembly (WHA) has once again proven that seeking "Taiwan independence" is a dead end.

The WHA has decided not to include the island on this year's agenda.

Zhu Fenglian of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council says hyping up Taiwan-related issues at the WHA only finds dwindling support.

China's Huawei to launch HarmonyOS for smartphones

Chinese telecom giant Huawei says it will officially launch its new operating system for smartphones on June 2.

HarmonyOS, or Hongmeng in Chinese, is designed for various devices and scenarios. It was first launched on Internet-of-Things devices.

Seven of eight injured in tragic Baiyin marathon out of hospital

Seven of the eight people who sustained injuries during the tragic ultra-marathon in Gansu Province have been discharged from hospital. 

The eighth person, who sustained severe injuries, is now in stable condition.

21 runners died after unexpected, extreme cold weather hit the 100-kilometre cross-country race in the city of Baiyin on Saturday.

Iran announces 7 qualified candidates to run for presidency

Iran has announced the names of seven qualified candidates to run for its upcoming presidential election.

The country's Constitutional Council says that the qualification of only seven candidates, out of some 590 registered ones, has been approved by the vetting body.

Japan: travel advisory will not affect American Olympians

Japan says that a 'no travel' advisory announced by the United States won't affect American athletes participating in the Tokyo Olympics.

US authorities have warned Americans against travel to Japan because of a surge in coronavirus cases in the country.

But the US Olympic & Paralympic Committee says it still anticipates that American athletes will be able to safely compete at the Tokyo Games this summer.

LVMH's Bernard Arnault beats Jeff Bezos as world's richest person

French fashion tycoon Bernard Arnault has dethroned Amazon's founder Jeff Bezos to become the world's richest person.

Arnault is the owner of Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy, a luxury group that owns Fendi, Christian Dior and Givenchy.

The group reported a 32 percent sales growth to 17 billion US dollars in the first quarter of this year.

The biggest contributions to the soaring sales have come from Chinese and US shoppers.

Total lunar eclipse combines with super moon

The first total lunar eclipse in more than two years will coincide with a super moon this week.

The super "blood" moon will be visible Wednesday across the Pacific as well as the western half of North America, bottom of South America and eastern Asia.

The total eclipse will last about 15 minutes. But the entire show will last five hours.

The next total lunar eclipse will be May next year.