China

BEIJING (Reuters) - Twenty-nine people were killed and seven seriously injured when a restaurant collapsed in northern China’s Shanxi province, the country’s emergencies ministry media said on Sunday.

The building collapsed at 9:40 a.m. (0140 GMT) on Saturday in Xiangfen county in the southwest of Shanxi, the Ministry of Emergency Management said in a statement.

The accident in the two-storey structure occurred as villagers and relatives gathered for a birthday party, and the rescue operation ended early on Sunday, state media said.

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Wuhan, Ground Zero for the COVID-19 pandemic and the Chinese city hardest hit by the coronavirus, will reopen all its schools and kindergartens on Tuesday, local authorities said.

As many as 2,842 educational institutions across the city are set to open their doors to almost 1.4 million students when the autumn semester gets underway, the local government announced on Friday. Wuhan University reopened on Monday.

BEIJING, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- Four Chinese COVID-19 vaccine candidates have started international phase-3 clinical trials, according to the State Council joint prevention and control mechanism against COVID-19.

Some of the phase-3 trials are expected to complete the first round of vaccinations in early September, with preliminary data expected as early as November.

Phase-3 clinical trials usually involve thousands of people to verify the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines, which are key to their market approval.

BEIJING, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Friday urged the United States "not to make an issue out of China in its election."

"We have no comment on the U.S. presidential election, which is an internal affair. At the same time, we urge the U.S. not to make an issue out of China in its election," Zhao Lijian said at a regular press conference.

Zhao said China's policy toward the United States is consistent and clear.

BEIJING, Aug 28 (APP): A special flight of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will transport around 200 Pakistani nationals from Pudong International Airport, Shanghai, China to Islamabad on Sunday.

In view of the disruption of commercial flight operations, it will be seventh special flight of the national flag carrier to transport Pakistani nationals from China to back home, Qadir Bux Sangi, PIA Country Manager for China said on Friday.

BEIJING, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- China's Mars probe Tianwen-1 has traveled around 100 million km as of 10:08 a.m. Friday, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

The Mars probe is in stable condition and its multiple payloads have finished self-checks. It has traveled in orbit for 36 days and is 10.75 million km away from Earth.

BEIJING (AP) — China blocked imports from an Australian beef producer on Friday after reporting a banned drug was found in its meat, and Australian officials said they were working to resolve the problem.

Imports of beef from John Dee Warwick Pty. Ltd. that contained the banned chemical, chloramphenicol, were destroyed, the General Administration of Customs of China announced.

BEIJING, Aug 27 (APP): A Chinese Defense Ministry’s Spokesperson Thursday said that China and India had agreed to further ease border tension following the clashes between the two militaries in Galwan Valley in June this year.

“Since the Galwan Valley clash, China and India have held several rounds of talks through military and diplomatic channels, and progress has been made in disengaging the frontline troops of both sides,” Chinese Defense Ministry’s Spokesperson, Senior Colonel Wu Qian said during a regular press conference.

BEIJING, Aug 27 (APP): China on Thursday welcomed and applauded the agreement between Iran and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to allow voluntary access to the inspectors of the United Nations (UN) nuclear watchdog to two nuclear locations.

Hong Kong, Aug 27 (AP) TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer resigned Thursday amid US pressure for its Chinese owner to sell the popular video app, which the White House says is a security risk.

In a letter to employees, Mayer said his decision to leave comes after the political environment has sharply changed .