WORLD

Beijing, China | XINHUA | China successfully launched its first Mars mission on Thursday. Here are some fast facts about Mars and the mission: — What is the terrain like on Mars? Mars has a variety of terrains including mountains, plains and canyons. Its southern hemisphere is full of highlands and …

London, UK | XINHUA | China has largely controlled COVID-19, and the rest of the world can still learn from China’s successes in bringing its outbreak under control, according to the latest editorial by medical journal The Lancet. China’s response shows the importance of domestic research and public health capacity, said …

Washington, US | XINHUA | A U.S. testing giant has said that it will not be possible to boost coronavirus testing capacity to meet the surging demand in the flu season in autumn, according to media reports. James Davis, executive vice president at U.S. clinical laboratory Quest Diagnostics, was quoted …

Brussels, Belgium | XINHUA | The European Commission on Friday launched new measures offering guarantees for borrowing by micro borrowers, micro- and social enterprises to counter the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the instrument worth 400 million euros (464.5 million U.S. dollars), the European Investment Fund will offer guarantees …

Washington, US | XINHUA | U.S. Senate Republicans and the Trump administration have reached an agreement in principle on the next COVID-19 relief package, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday. McConnell said Senate Republicans will release their proposal, which will focus on kids, jobs and healthcare, next week as …

Kampala, Uganda | XINHUA |  U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he is canceling the Jacksonville, Florida component of the upcoming Republican National Convention (RNC) over the coronavirus outbreak. “The timing for this event is not right. It’s just not right with what has happened recently, the flare-up …

Kampala, Uganda | XINHUA |  China said on Thursday the U.S. request to close the Chinese Consulate General in Houston will cause serious damage to bilateral relations, calling the move “taking down the bridge of friendship between Chinese and U.S. people.” The consulate general in Houston was the first one …

Washington, US | XINHUA | People could need multiple vaccine doses to immunize themselves against the coronavirus and deploying a vaccine will require a global effort, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said on Wednesday. “None of the vaccines at this point appear like they’ll work with a single dose,” Gates told …

Kampala, Uganda | XINHUA | The immediate introduction of a temporary basic income for the world’s poorest people could slow the current surge in COVID-19 cases by enabling nearly 3 billion people to stay at home, according to a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report released Thursday. The report, Temporary …

Wenchang, China | XINHUA | China launched a Mars probe on Thursday, aiming to complete orbiting, landing and roving in one mission, and taking the first step in its planetary exploration of the solar system. A Long March-5 rocket, China’s largest launch vehicle, carrying the spacecraft with a mass of …