On 9 May, the Conference on the Future of Europe will get underway. Floated well before the COVID-19 outbreak, its timing in the wake of the seismic shifts precipitated by the pandemic, and its implementation alongside the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan, means that the outcomes could be far-reaching. Coupled with the parallel forces of greater digitalisation and climate change, Europe (and indeed the world) has seen a shift in the current paradigm

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has said that the bloc needs to work towards preventing a new refugee crisis in Europe by averting the economic collapse of Afghanistan.

Anti-China forces are planning a new round of smearing campaigns against China's Xinjiang policy as the "Uyghur Tribunal," an organization formed by secessionists and Western anti-China forces in London, is about to hold what it terms as a first hearing of whether China's policy in Xinjiang is tantamount to genocide starting from Friday to Monday.

"Such a 'tribunal' is neither legal nor credible. It is just another anti-China political farce concocted by a few people. It attempts to run in the name of "tribunal" to engage in anti-China political and public opinion manipulation. This is nothing but an insult on the law," Wang Wenbin, spokesperson of China's Foreign Ministry, said on Thursday.

Belarus has announced unscheduled maintenance of the "Friendship" pipeline transporting oil from Russia via Belarus to a number of EU countries, RT news agency reported. According to Belarus, the repair will take approximately three days.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief has sent a letter inviting Chinese experts to participate in a working group pertaining to Japan's disposal of nuclear wastewater, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Friday.

Confirming the relevant information, spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a daily news briefing that IAEA is actively preparing to assemble the working group after repeated requests from stakeholders such as China and the Republic of Korea (ROK).

China is ready to provide support and assistance to the best of its capability to help India fight the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Friday.

In a phone conversation with Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Wang said that China is very concerned about the new wave of COVID-19 infections in India, and Chinese President Xi Jinping has sent a message of sympathy to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

China on Wednesday voted against a draft resolution on Belarus submitted by some European Union member states to the 46th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

The draft resolution expressed concerns about alleged human rights violations that occurred in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election in Belarus and in its aftermath.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has started a rolling review of China's Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine, the EU's top drug regulator announced Tuesday, and experts said that once the vaccine is approved, China will further fulfill its international responsibilities as a major power and provide support to the international community in the pandemic fight.

Sinovac and another China-produced COVID-19 jab, Sinopharm, are also under WHO assessment for emergency use, and results are anticipated in a week.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday held a video talk with New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta, calling for the promotion of cooperation on high-quality development.

Wang said that China attaches great importance to its relations with New Zealand and cherishes the mutual trust that has been established between the two countries.

Many Europeans love taking a sip of the wines from the collection in their cabinets when they get home. Now such experience is made smarter by an intelligent wine cabinet co-produced by renowned Chinese home appliance manufacturer Haier and the world's largest online wine dealer Vivino.

The cabinet, which was exhibited at the Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin last year together with many other new home appliances and solutions, is able to recognize over 1,000 wine brands, as well as the years and locations of production. It can also be connected to a Haier phone application through which users can buy and manage wines.

The White House on Wednesday extended the so-called "national emergency with respect to Hong Kong" as part of U.S. sanctions on China. Such blatant interference in China's internal affairs has once again exposed U.S. insolence in defending its self-proclaimed supremacy and its deep-rooted paranoia to sow instability worldwide.

- Nobody cares more about the future of Hong Kong than the central government in Beijing and people of China. After all, Hong Kong is a part of China.

- In order to secure a better future for Hong Kong, a full and accurate implementation of the national security law is both crucial and necessary.

The Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity COP15 starts today on 11 October in Kunming, China. The aim is to agree on targets and actions to halt the global biodiversity loss. Actual decisions are expected in the second part of the Conference of the Parties, which will be held from 25 April to 8 May 2022.

Election of the new head of the European Parliament are scheduled for January 18, as planned, even despite President David Sassoli's death, and his first deputy, Roberta Metsola, will take the seat until then, the press service of the parliament said in a statement.

European Commissioner for the Economy Paolo Gentiloni said on Tuesday that factors contributing to high inflation in the European Union will diminish, but not earlier than in the second half of the year.

The European Union is running out of sanctions options in its standoff with Belarus over migrants and could create some wiggle room if it scaled them back, Tom Vandendriessche, a member of the European Parliament, told Sputnik.

The EU Council has reached an agreement with the European Parliament on the 2022 budget, setting total commitments at $194.1 billion and payments at $195.4 billion, Council of the EU said on Tuesday.