The leaders of the European Union countries discussed on Tuesday updating the EU-NATO declaration on counteracting mutual threats as well as the alliance's new strategic concept, an EU official said.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed structural inequalities in healthcare capacity across EU Member States threatening convergence in healthcare - where central and eastern Member States with lower health indicators had been catching up with more affluent Member States in a number of areas.

The European Union will invest 1 trillion euros ($1.1 trillion) in sustainable energy by 2030, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday said the bloc will increase its humanitarian aid for Afghanistan by extra 100 million euros to avert the humanitarian disaster in the country.

The European Union will not recognize the Taliban regime, imposed through violence, said European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen on Saturday.

The Government welcomes the European Commission's proposal to establish a common charging solution for mobile phones and similar radio devices using wire charging. These include tablets, headphones, headphones with microphones and handheld videogame consoles. The standard port for the common charger would be USB-C.

The European Commission said on Tuesday it proposed to create a legal framework in the EU to counter the use of migrants for political purposes.

The European Parliament on Wednesday ratified the agreement on trade and cooperation between the European Union and the United Kingdom in a 660-5 vote.

The document must now be approved by EU member states to enter into force officially.

The European Union on Tuesday said that it will continue to coordinate with the UN and its agencies on the stabilisation of Afghanistan, ensure that humanitarian aid reaches vulnerable populations and for this purpose, will also step up financial support.

Acceptance of Rule of Law “compromise” gives Fidesz more than a year to change Hungarian laws, constitution and to channel public funds into private foundations “controlled by his [Orbán’s] cronies”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has, it appears, “caved to Hungarian and Polish extortion” by brokering a compromise on rule of law at the EU summit that “constitutes the worst of all possible worlds”, according to philanthropist and financier, George Soros.

Light meals with low calories, low fat and high fiber have become increasingly popular on Chinese dining tables as consumers become more health-conscious.

The total market value of Chinese meal replacement products is expected to hit 120 billion yuan ($17.4 billion) by 2022, estimated Euromonitor International, a global market consultancy.

"Putin is reaffirming its ties to China" and the two countries are without doubt getting closer, said the expert.

 The extension of the China-Russia Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation reflects closer bilateral ties, a scholar has said.

The joint statement on the extension of the treaty, issued during Monday's talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin via video link, reflects the deepening of China-Russia relationship, Andre Liebich, honorary professor of international history and politics at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, said in an interview with Xinhua.

Milan Cancer Institute (INT) in Italy on Friday confirmed to China Media Group that the World Health Organization (WHO) has requested it to re-check blood samples collected in 2019 that were reported to have SARS-CoV-2 antibodies.

INT authorities said no further details will be provided for now, and a press release will be issued on the matter in the next few days.

A China-Europe freight train bound for Western Europe from Nanjing, in east China's Jiangsu province, departed for the city of Tilburg in the Netherlands on May 10, with the train set to become the first to depart Nanjing for a destination in Western Europe.

The European Union is in no hurry to recognise the Taliban nor to establishing official relations with the group, said Gunnar Wiegand, the European Commission's managing director for Asia and the Pacific on Wednesday.

The ifo President Clemens Fuest wants Germany’s next government to show more commitment to European politics. The EU must deepen collaboration with the US but at the same time reduce unilateral dependencies vis-à-vis the US and China, he writes in a guest article in Handelsblatt.

Talks come amid intensive diplomatic engagement between key economies

President Xi Jinping will meet via video link on Monday with European Council President Charles Michel, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the rotating chair of the regional bloc, the Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday.

The meeting comes amid intensive diplomatic engagement between China and the EU countries amid the COVID-19 pandemic and global economic recession due to the impact of the outbreak.

Debris from China's Long March-5B Y2 carrier rocket, which sent the first section of China's space station into orbit, is very likely to fall in international waters and people needn't worry, Chinese space analysts told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Wreckage from rocket launches falling back to Earth is common in the aerospace field, and the Pentagon's reported claim that the rocket wreckage will fly back "out of control" and "may cause damage if it hits inhabited areas" is nothing but Western hype of the "China threat" in space technology advancement, observers noted.

Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, on Friday held a phone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the latter's request.

Noting that dialogue and cooperation should be the mainstay of China-U.S. relations, Yang said cooperation must be mutually beneficial and address each other's concerns in a balanced manner.