China

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong police on Tuesday said they arrested nine people on suspicion of engaging in terrorist activity, after uncovering an attempt to make explosives and plant bombs across the city.

The arrests come amid a political divisive time in Hong Kong, two years after months of massive anti-government protests rocked the city. Last week, a Hong Kong man stabbed a police officer with a knife, before killing himself.

BEIJING, July 5 (APP): Indian people should wake up and stop Indian intelligence agency’s actions in support of terrorism which are not only harmful to India itself but for others. The region and the international community should jointly condemn it.

These views were expressed by Cheng Xizhong, Visiting Professor at Southwest University of Political Science and Law and former military diplomat in South Asian countries in a statement issued here.

BEIJING, July 5 (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday told French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel he hoped China and Europe would expand cooperation to better respond to global challenges, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

In a three-way video call, Xi also expressed the hope that Europeans can play a more active role in international affairs, achieve strategic independence and offer a fair, transparent and unbiased environment for Chinese companies, CCTV said.

JIUQUAN, July 5 (Xinhua) -- China sent a new meteorological satellite into planned orbit from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Monday morning.

The satellite, Fengyun-3E (FY-3E), was launched by a Long March-4C rocket at 7:28 a.m. (Beijing Time), and this was the 377th flight mission of the Long March rocket series, according to the China National Space Administration.

Equipped with 11 remote sensing payloads, FY-3E will be the world's first meteorological satellite in early morning orbit for civil service.

HONG KONG, July 4 (Reuters) - Beverage maker Vitasoy (0345.HK) has become the latest target of Chinese netizens' calls for a boycott after an employee circulated a memo online offering condolences to the family of a worker who had stabbed a Hong Kong police officer.

In a statement on the Chinese social media platform Weibo on Saturday, Vitasoy said a staff member had circulated a memo that it described as "extremely inappropriate" without authorisation, and the company reserved the right to take legal action.

BEIJING (AP) — Two astronauts made the first space walk on Sunday outside China’s new orbital station to work on setting up a 15-meter (50-foot) long robotic arm.

Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo were shown by state TV climbing out of the airlock as Earth rolled past below them. The third crew member, commander Nie Haisheng, stayed inside.

The astronauts arrived June 17 for a three-month mission aboard China’s third orbital station, part of an ambitious space program that landed a robot rover on Mars in May.

BEIJING, July 2 (APP): China has independently researched and developed green coal power including an Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) power station located in Tianjin.

“Due to its difficulties, only a few western countries developed IGCC. As we are gradually completing the project, we’d love to share our research results, technologies, and devices with our iron brother, said Wang Xiang Ping, Vice President of Tianjin IGCC project.

BEIJING (AP) — As the World Health Organization draws up plans for the next phase of its probe of how the coronavirus pandemic started, an increasing number of scientists say the U.N. agency it isn’t up to the task and shouldn’t be the one to investigate.

Numerous experts, some with strong ties to WHO, say that political tensions between the U.S. and China make it impossible for an investigation by the agency to find credible answers.

They say what’s needed is a broad, independent analysis closer to what happened in the aftermath of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

HONG KONG (AP) — Marking the anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to Chinese control, a top city official defended the national security law imposed by Beijing to crush pro-democracy rallies and said Thursday it would be used further in the coming year to ensure stability.

HONG KONG, June 30 (Reuters) - Amnesty International said on Wednesday that Hong Kong authorities have used a new national security law to target dissent and justify "censorship, harassment, arrests and prosecutions that violate human rights" in the year since it was implemented.

Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law in June last year that sets out punishment for anything it deems as subversion, secession, colluding with foreign forces and terrorism with up to life in prison, setting the city on a more authoritarian path.