The Belgian Ambassador to China Jan Hoogmartens and counsellor Johan Van Hove visited the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing on March 14, and held discussions and exchanges with Fan Dian, Dean of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, on strengthening cooperation and exchanges in the field of culture and art.

Japan's crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant commenced the operation of equipment needed for its nuclear-contaminated wastewater dumping plan for the first time on Friday as a prelude to the wastewater's final release into the open ocean.

At the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to Russia from March 20-22. In a joint written interview with Global Times reporters Fan Anqi and Xing Xiaojing, Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui noted that after 2013, President Xi once again made Russia the first stop of his overseas visit after being elected as Chinese president, which fully reflected the profound personal friendship between Xi and Putin, and the great importance he attaches to China-Russia relations in the new era.

Most Pacific islands will not survive if marine resources are contaminated by Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water that Japan plans to dump into the sea, Jelta Wong, Papua New Guinea's minister for fisheries and marine resources, told the Global Times via email on Thursday.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to Ethiopia and Niger, the latest in a series of visits to Africa by senior Biden administration officials, exposed the US intention of competing with China and Russia over influence in the region. However, experts warned that Washington's attempt may be futile, as discord between the US and Ethiopia is yet to be resolved, and being forced to take sides is not welcome in the region.

The Festival of German Cinema (FGC) in China is organized by German Films with co-organizers, the Goethe-Institut China and Broadway Cinema, and is supported by the German Embassy in China. The film festival will be held in Beijing from March 24 to April 2. This time it brings people the complete screening schedule of films for the festival, which includes Broadway Cinemas Screenings and Special Screenings, with a total of 14 films in two screening sections. A special screening will be held at the Goethe-Institut China. Actress Huang Yao will participate in the opening as the good will ambassador of the festival, having just returned from 2023 Berlinale where she presented her most recent film The Shadowless Tower in competition.

Thai Festival in Beijing 2023 was held at the Embassy of Thailand in China from March 11 to 12. The event is being run as an online and offline hybrid for Thai and Chinese friends to experience Thai culture.

The Embassy of India in China organized “Vasant Mela - a celebration of colors” at the old chancery premises on March 11, attended by over 3,000 people with stalls selling Indian handicrafts, diverse cuisines and activities for children and adults as well as nonstop day long cultural extravaganza.

“You See We Feel” charity exhibition for the visually impaired is held in Danish Cultural Center in Beijing's 798 Art District from March 11 to 26. This exhibition focuses on the lives and visions of 17 million visually impaired people, and also discovers how charity and accessible design can help make our world more inclusive. By inviting well-known designer, the exhibition explores issues of “How to get social opportunity for disadvantaged people, how culture and art can make an impact.”

Fifteen months after operation began, the China-Laos Railway (Laos section) is set to introduce on Wednesday the LCR Ticket App, which allows passengers to make ticket purchases via their mobile phones, bringing Laos into the era of online train ticket sales.

​The lack of political trust between the US-led West and Russia for a long time, as well as the contradictions and divergences apparent across the "collective West," has delayed the launch of an objective, impartial and professional investigation and led to the current impasse of the situation, said Russian studies experts.

Saturday marks the 12th anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in Fukushima which triggered a nuclear disaster that still haunts the region until today.

Japanese high school students who were on a study trip in Okinawa under the name of "Thinking about Peace" have been observed shooting at a US military base, in a sign of the country's war-oriented education and a re-emergence of pre-war militarized school education, GT learned from Okinawan scholars and residents.

US President Joe Biden proposed a $6.8 trillion budget for the 2024 fiscal year on Thursday, laying out plans that include increasing military spending, promoting social welfare programs, raising taxes on the rich and deficit reduction. The US will invest in new ways to outcompete China globally, as the latter is "the US' only competitor with both the intent to reshape the international order and increasingly, the economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to do it," read the US budget.

Kazakhstan is looking forward to strengthening bilateral relations with China, and the Kazakh president may visit China twice in 2023 to attend the first China-Central Asia Summit and the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, the Kazakh ambassador to China said on Friday.

The continuous hype of the COVID-19 pandemic “lab-leak” theory by US politicians poses threats and escalates tensions in China-US relations, Chinese observers said on Thursday, following the US House staging its first ever politicized hearing on the origins of COVID-19.

After a strong earthquake hit Turkey's southern region near the Syrian border, China quickly provided emergency humanitarian aid to the Syrian side. Mhd Ziad Zaitoun, a spokesman of the Syrian Embassy in China, expressed his gratitude to China for its civil and official assistance.

The Belgian Ambassador to China Jan Hoogmartens made a trip to Chongqing Municipality in Southwest China, which is his first visit after the COVID-19. His delegation consisted of representatives from the three Belgian regions of Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels and the commissioner for agriculture. Hoogmartens was received by the Mayor of Chongqing Hu Henghua.

The British Embassy in China launched the #Women Making Waves# podcast series to celebrate the International Women's Day. The British Embassy invited several female creators from China and Britain to share their knowledge and insights, so that more people can understand the impact women have made on culture and society and create the value in life, art and thought.

The Embassy of Greece in China hosted an online conference on “Achievements and Prospects of Greek Language Teaching in China.” The Ambassador of Greece in China Evgenios Kalpyris, embassy officials in charge of culture and information and the heads of Greek departments and Greek language centers from Chinese universities, professors, scholars shared their achievements and prospects for the future of Greek language teaching.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng recently attended a networking event held between the Cuban Embassy in China and the Foreign Ministry. Cuban Ambassador to China Carlos Miguel Pereira and representatives of relevant departments of the Foreign Ministry were present.

"The significance of the two sessions for Nepal is obvious," he said. He expressed confidence that the bilateral ties between China and Nepal will grow further after the two sessions.

"Every year it is important to listen and read what is being discussed at the two sessions, as during the meetings, ideas to address the challenges facing not only China but also other countries are discussed. We as politicians have to improve the quality of life of our people," Narvaja told the Global Times in an exclusive interview.

China's outbound travel has seen a rapid rebound in the month since the country resumed cross-border group tours on Feb 6, with more passenger trips and increased flight capacity. Also, more destination countries are welcoming the return of Chinese tourists, an important driver of their economic recovery.

Another train derailed in Ohio on Saturday, which is the second such incident in the same state in about a month, further highlighting a serious crisis of confidence for the current US administration.

Netherlands Film Festival kicked off on February 23 in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, following Beijing and Southwest China's Yunnan Province. Nine newly released Dutch films were screened from February 23 to March 5 at Baimei Cinema Hangzhou and Broadway Cinema Hangzhou.

After three years, the 13th China-Japan Friendship Adult Ceremony was successfully held at the Embassy of Japan in China on February 25. Japanese Ambassador Tarumi Hideo, Chinese and Japanese guests attended the ceremony on that day.

The Embassy of Kazakhstan in China held the regular meeting of the Friends of Kazakhstan in China Club on February 24, where there was an in-depth exchange of views on the current situation in Kazakhstan and the future prospects of Kazakhstan-China cooperation.

On February 25, the Spanish Tourism Authority, together with the Prado Museum and the Shanghai Cervantes Library, held a large-scale interactive event titled “Tribute to the Spanish Golden Age: The reproduction of the masterpiece of The Maids of Honor”, inviting Shanghai residents to experience the culture and art of the 16th century Spanish Golden Age up close.

Anyin Choo, Ambassador of Guyana to China, wore a red cheongsam and read a Chinese poem in fluent Putonghua with her young daughter in a video to express her New Year wishes to Chinese friends. The poem written in the Song dynasty (960-1279) shows how people usher in the Chinese New Year with the sound of firecrackers and an atmosphere full of warmth, hope and happiness. With those words, Choo also summarized her wonderful life in China.

Nepal is a virgin land for investment and it welcomes investment from China in the nationally prioritized sectors including energy, agriculture, tourism, mines, mineral, infrastructure, and information and communication technology, said Nepali Ambassador to China Bishnu Pukar Shrestha on Tuesday.

The international landscape is currently undergoing fundamental changes. The development of relations between China and the US, the world's two major powers, carries great significance for the world. How will the so-called balloon incident impact bilateral ties? Will a major conflict between the two countries be unavoidable? Global Times reporters Xie Wenting and Bai Yunyi (GT) conducted an exclusive interview with George Yeo (Yeo), former Singaporean minister of foreign affairs on these matters.

South Korea will reportedly lift a post-arrival COVID-19 test requirement for travelers from China starting from Wednesday, with expectations that more flights between China and South Korea will be added. Experts predicted that it will still take time to see a tourism boom between the two countries as some Chinese tourists will keep a “wait-and-see” stance.

The Global Times (GT) recently conducted an exclusive interview with new Russian Ambassador to China Igor Morgulov (Morgulov), which was the first time that Morgulov gave an exclusive interview to Chinese media since he arrived in China on October 20, 2022. He told the Global Times that despite many changes in the international landscape, Russia and China have a high degree of mutual trust and anyone who tries to “drive a wedge” between the two countries' friendship will not succeed. As for the Ukraine crisis, he said that Russia has never refused to engage in dialogue with Kiev and the West. And of course, this can only happen when they “take Russia's fundamental interests and concerns into account.” During the interview, Morgulov noted that Russia appreciates China's independent foreign policy, and respects China's balanced position.

Iguazu, a famous tourist city in southern Brazil, signed a bill officially listing Chinese New Year as an official holiday in the city, the city mayor Chico Brasileiro announced on Sunday local time.

One year since the Ukraine crisis, it is worth looking into how the US kidnapped war with stories, used “hegemonic stability theory” to create turmoil, used "international order" to beautify "unilateral laws," and quelled "hegemonic anxiety" by selling "fear."

If the weapons including tanks provided by Washington and NATO are used to seize our “constitutional territory” or use sub-caliber armor-piercing projectile with a uranium core, Russia will take “severe retaliatory action” which may have serious consequences: Russian Ambassador to China

Three weeks after the "toxic train" incident in Ohio, US, the local department of natural resources has increased its estimate of the number of animals killed by the hazardous chemicals to nearly 44,000. This has raised concerns among agricultural experts and Chinese consumers regarding food security issues.

By using the balloon saga, some US politicians have pushed anti-China sentiments in Washington to a climax in recent weeks so as to push the China-US relations to nadir. Aside from drumming up the rhetoric of the alleged "China threat," US officials are hyping up a more sensational accusation by claiming China has a "wider fleet" of balloons that span five continents for surveillance.

From February 25-28, all Nordic diplomatic missions in China will to enjoy a diverse selection of contemporary Nordic films from Iceland, Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Finland, Greenland, Norway and Sweden at the Danish Cultural Center in Beijing's 798 Art District

Ambassador Wim Geerts of the Netherlands to China participated in the Ambassador's Round Table: Cross-Cultural Communication and Global Economic and Trade Cooperation in the New Media Era, organized by the Center for China and Globalization.

The delegation of the Embassy of Belgium, led by Belgian Ambassador to China Goessens Guillaume, held a meeting with Li Yi, a deputy director general of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Government of Beijing Municipality. As friendship cities, the BrusselsCapital Region and Beijing have cooperated on many projects in the fields of art, food, tourism, trade and investment, as evidenced by the fact that Hub.brussels has been part of the China International Fair for Trade in Services for four consecutive years.

Mauricio Hurtado, the ambassador of Chile in China, attended the “First Coordinators' Meeting of the Belt and Road International Cooperation Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and Emergency Management” in Beijing on February, 15

The delegation of the Embassy of Belgium, led by Belgian Ambassador to China Goessens Guillaume, held a meeting with Li Yi, a deputy director general of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Government of Beijing Municipality

A 7.2-magnitude earthquake jolted Tajikistan at 8:37 a.m. Thursday Beijing Time, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC).

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the suspension of Russia's participation in New START, the last remaining nuclear arms control pact with the US, in his State of the Nation Address to the Federal Assembly on Tuesday, a move that experts saw as an urgent call for a return to normalcy in its ties with the US and a signal of intensified confrontation between Russia and NATO.

In light of the response to the so-called “balloon incident”, the US' overreaction has made people question whether “guardrails” have been built between the two countries' relations. Can cooperation still move forward when one side keeps stirring up antagonism and creating trouble? Before the “balloon incident,” the US had reportedly reached agreements with the Netherlands and Japan to tighten export restrictions against China's chip sector, and stopped providing US companies with licences to export to Huawei. What is the aim of such moves by the US? Is it still possible for the two countries to cooperate? What are the prospects of bilateral ties in 2023? The Global Times reporters Xie Wenting and Bai Yunyi (GT) talked with Charles W. Freeman Jr. (Freeman), a former senior US diplomat who has witnessed the establishment and development of China-US diplomatic relations.

A truck loaded with Chinese-made daily commodities such as handsets departed from the Zhengzhou Xinzheng Comprehensive Bonded Zone in Zhengzhou, the transportation and manufacturing hub in Central China's Henan Province, on Monday before heading to Moscow, marking the first Transport Internationaux Routiers (TIR) cross-border road freight line between the two places as companies tap into the potential of booming China-Russian trade.

The 14th “Love Knows No Borders” international charity sale was held in Beijing on February 8. It is strongly promoted and supported by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, and ambassadors and senior diplomats from various countries came into the live streaming channel to recommend their own special products.

Evgenios Kalpyris, Greek ambassador to China, delivered a speech at the opening ceremony of 2022 (7th) World International of Things convention (WIOTC), in Beijing on February 10-11.

Julio Herráiz España, charge d'affaires, minister counsellor of the Kingdom of Spain to China, participated in the Chinese promotion activity of the “Iberico Ham, Ambassador World Project,” in Beijing. Jorge Toledo, European Union ambassador to China, Antonio Prieto, president of the Inter-professional Association of Iberian Pig, chef Irven Ni, and representatives of other institutions and the restaurant industry also attended the event. The “Iberico Ham, Ambassador World Project” is a joint project of ASICI, the Spanish government and the European Union to promote Iberico ham and to spread its cultural story.

How many times have you picked up a newspaper or social media platform and read something on a topic you're familiar with and realized that you're reading something which isn't true? Annoyingly, it happens to us all.

The discovery of a US sail drone in Namibian territorial waters signified the increasing tendency of US spying in every corner of the world and countries should be vigilant as US investment in intelligence globally will pose a bigger threat, analysts said. Local media outlets reported that the Namibian military confirmed a sail drone had been found in waters near Lüderitz and that it was controlled by the US.

The Chinese Consulate-General in Chicago lodged strong indignation and stern condemnation over the brutal criminal act of killing innocent people during a shooting rampage at Michigan State University on Monday local time that has resulted in three deaths and five others, including two Chinese overseas students, injured.

Gun Violence in the United States: Truth and Facts

Chinese pet owners have expressed concerns over pet food safety of American brands, following the serious Ohio chemical leak, as many of their frequently consume brands, such as Orijen and Acana, are headquartered in the neighboring state of Kentucky.

We haven't ceased witnessing the sincere support of the Chinese people since the earthquake. They are continuously sending us offers of help in a moving spirit of solidarity with the Turkish people, Turkish Ambassador to China Abdulkadir Emin Önen told the Global Times in an exclusive interview.

The Norwegian Consulate General in Shanghai, the Scandinavian Tourist Board and the Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC) jointly held the Norwegian Froztventure in Shanghai on Friday, in a bid to promote Norway's tourism resources and seafood.

With the optimization and adjustment of its COVID policies, China is expected to welcome more foreign leaders in 2023. Among them, French President Emmanuel Macron has expressed explicitly his willingness to visit China. In recent years, China-EU relations have seen some obstacles emerging against the backdrop of the US-led strategic containment of China and the Ukraine war. In an exclusive interview with Global Times reporters Chen Qingqing and Bai Yunyi (GT), Chinese Ambassador to France Lu Shaye (Lu) talked about prospects of China-EU relations as influenced by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Taiwan question, and China-France ties with the US' exertion of pressure on its major allies.

A large number of high-rise buildings have been severely damaged in the earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syria early this week, which has impeded rescue work, images sent back by some Chinese commercial satellites showed. Currently, several rescue teams from China are searching for survivors in Turkey.

This year is the Year of the Rabbit in China, and the MoCAShanghai and Mercis BV, the licensing company of Miffy in the Netherlands, collaborated together on “Nice to Miffy you”, an exhibition in which 26 Chinese artists from different fields worked together with Miffy to create a crossover exhibition that included painting, sculpture, installation, new media, graffiti and interactive video. Miffy is a carton image created by Netherlands's artist Dick Bruna in 1955. Its mouth is the shape of an “X”, the smart and shy little bunny is favored by children all over the world with its innocent and rosy image.

Recently, the Belgian Ambassador to China Dr. Jan Hoogmartens took part in the Ambassador's Kitchen program of Jiangsu TV to introduce Belgian gastronomy to Chinese audience. Participants were also allowed to cook some Belgian dishes themselves. In addition to its famous chocolate, beer and fries, Belgian cuisine is known for its generosity and special flavors.

On February 6, 2023, Ambassador of Kazakhstan in China H.E Shakhrat Nuryshev met with Secretary General of Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation Commission of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Zheng Wei.

An opening ceremony was held in Harbin, Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province on February 2, 2023 to mark the official inauguration of the fifth Consulate General of the Russian Federation in China. Russian Ambassador to China H.E. Igor Morgulov, Russian Consul-General in Harbin Vladimir Oshchepkov, Vice Governor of Heilongjiang Province Yu Jian and Director-General of the Department of Consular Affairs of the Chinese Foreign Ministry Wu Xi attended the ceremony and delivered remarks.

More than 80 diplomats from 51 foreign consulates in Shanghai recently celebrated the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) at the famous Yuyuan Garden, collectively experiencing the city's vibrant festive atmosphere.

Japan should attend to the serious concerns of the international community about the dumping of contaminated water into the ocean from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, experts said. It comes as Japan seeks understanding from Pacific island nations who sent a delegation to Tokyo this week to voice their concerns.

Five months after the explosion of the Nord Stream gas pipelines which shocked the world, an article by veteran US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh has accused the US of being the culprit of the blasts.

In an exclusive interview with the Global Times, Mohammed Hasanein Khaddam, Syrian Ambassador to China, said that the roots of Syria's suffering - the US' long-arm jurisdiction - are further exacerbated by the disaster.

Many Chinese netizens are concerned about the safety of Idris Talha Kartav, a Turkish guest in a popular Chinese variety show called Informal Talks. No-one has heard from Kartav since the deadly earthquake in Turkey and Syria.

The 82-member Chinese rescue team arrived at Adana Airport at 4:30 am local time (0130 GMT) on Wednesday after flying over 8,000 km on a chartered Air China plane.

A video of Thai tricycle taxi drivers watching Chinese TV series The Knockout has gone viral on social media, prompting discussion about the huge popularity of Chinese films and television series overseas.

As the Russia-Ukraine conflict is about to enter a second year, prospects of a truce or peace are still gloomy, Chinese analysts commented on Tuesday. They said that the conflict is in fact a hybrid war staged by the US aiming to ultimately weaken and dismember Russia, with Ukraine, the unfortunate proxy and the direct victim, hardly having any say about its own fate.

Russia believes that China's explanation of the circumstance of the entry of its balloon into US airspace is sufficient, and Beijing's reaction to the incident was very responsible, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Tuesday.

China's Ministry of Emergency Management has sent a team of 82 members with rescue equipment and supplies to Turkey. The rescue team departed from Beijing at around 4 pm on Tuesday.

A civilian rescue team of named Ramunion from Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province is expected to arrive in Turkey on Wednesday, with an advance team consisting of eight experts with rich international earthquake rescue experiences. This is the first Chinese civilian assistance force sent to Turkey, after a series of earthquakes devastated parts of the region.

The Philippines' tourism industry has been keenly anticipating the arrival of Chinese visitors, Philippine tourism authorities told GT, with outbound tour group services set to resume on Monday.

A Chinese national has died in an avalanche in the Alps in the west of Austria, the Global Times learned from the Chinese Embassy in Austria on Monday. There have been no reports of any other Chinese citizens injured in the avalanche so far.

A 7.8-magnitude earthquake jolted Turkiye, at 6:24 pm Monday Beijing Time, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC).The epicenter was monitored at 38.0 degrees north latitude and 37.15 degrees east longitude, with a depth of 20 km, the CENC said.

An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 jolted 23 km E of Nurdağı, Turkey at 2023-02-06 01:17:36 GMT on Monday (2023-02-06 09:17:36 Beijing Time), the US Geological Survey said.

European Union (EU) leaders arrived in Kiev on Friday for a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at what some Western media called a "historic" summit, but observers believe it could dash Ukraine's hopes for swift membership into the EU.

The US has been criticized for pushing for more military presence in Asia out of a zero-sum game mentality and jeopardizing regional stability, after the US has managed to expand access to four additional military bases in the Philippines to boost its military flexibility in possible war scenarios with China.

The UK is being shaken by the biggest wave of strikes in more than a decade, with as many as half a million workers' discontent over pay and working conditions finally erupting after brewing for months. Meanwhile, widespread protests are also taking place on the other side of the English Channel, where protesters in France demonstrated their anger over President Emmanuel Macron's plans to raise the retirement age.

Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a message of condolences to his Pakistani counterpart, Arif Alvi, on Wednesday over the severe terrorist attack in the country's northwestern city of Peshawar.

Nine Chinese citizens were hit in an armed attack on Monday night in the town of Gebre Guracha in the northern part of Oromia State, Ethiopia, located about 160 kilometers from the capital Abbie Ababa. One was shot dead, according to an announcement of Chinese Embassy in Ethiopia on Tuesday.

With the development of molecular biology and synthetic biology, human beings have gained the capability to synthesize viruses. However, it remains difficult to synthesize new viruses in a laboratory, an expert was quoted as saying by Health Times on Sunday.

Any further extension of quarantine measures against Chinese tourists could lead to a loss of tourism income, the latest statistics for outbound travel by Chinese visitors showed.

The danger of “another World War” in Europe is increasing, said Chinese military experts, as a NATO senior military official said the US-led military bloc is ready for direct confrontation with Russia. Ukraine and Western countries have recently agreed to talk for more weapon supplies including long-range missiles and warplanes. The experts predicted that Russia will launch a new round of offensive before NATO's assistance is transformed into Ukraine's combat capability on the battle fields.

Five Chinese nationals were confirmed dead in a mass shooting at Half Moon Bay in California, according to Consulate-General of China in San Francisco. The Consulate-General was shocked and saddened by the serious shooting that occurred on Monday, a spokesperson of the Consulate-General in San Francisco said in a statement on Thursday.

A Chinese official to the UN has called for the full implementation of the Security Council's resolution on the extension of Syria's cross-border humanitarian assistance, stressing that the illegal stationing and military operations of foreign troops in Syria must end and the illegal plundering of natural resources in the country by foreign troops must stop immediately.

Although it is uncertain how this will help the Ukrainian army to improve its combat capabilities, the announcement by the US and Germany that they will provide Ukraine with offensive tanks will undoubtedly drag Russia and Ukraine into a quagmire, pushing the end of this conflict further away.

Chinese Consulate-General in San Francisco issued an alert to Chinese nationals to enhance safety awareness to ensure their own safety after a deadly shooting occurred in Half Moon Bay, California leaving 7 people dead & 1 injured, including Chinese nationals.

Outbound tourism bookings during the Spring Festival holiday has seen a boom following the country optimizing COVID-19 rules and is expected to resume pilot outbound group tours from February 6 with the outbound air tickets booking recorded a fourfold increase on year-on-year basis.

An Egyptian archeological mission on Tuesday discovered a complete residential city dating back to the Roman era near the Luxor Temple in eastern Luxor.

Uganda on Tuesday started the drilling of oil for commercial production in the Western Region district of Kikuube on the shores of Lake Albert.

Brazil's financial market raised its inflation forecast for both this year and the next, from 5.39 percent to 5.48 percent in 2023 and from 3.7 percent to 3.84 percent in 2024, the Central Bank of Brazil said Monday.

Communities in Southern California honored the victims and survivors of the mass shooting that happened on the Eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year in Monterey Park, a city on the eastern edge of Los Angeles, and denounced gun violence.

A new metro line connecting central Istanbul and the city's new international airport officially opened to the public on Sunday, featuring China-made automated driverless trains that could run up to 120 kilometers per hour.

With fireworks, lion dance, and a festival of tastes, Serbians and overseas Chinese welcomed the Chinese Lunar New Year in Belgrade on Saturday.

Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles has confirmed that at least one Chinese citizen was among victims in the deadly Lunar New Year mass shooting that has killed 11 in a dance studio in Monterey Park, California.

Burri is now eyeing the development of bilateral relations, an area where there is lots of potential, he said. China has recently made its COVID-19 adjustment and released a series of measures that further facilitate the movement of people and goods as well as international travel. "The fact that people can travel again and the tourism sector is opening up will surely boost the Chinese economy," Burri said.