Chinese, South Korean FMs meet in Tokyo

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has met with his South Korean counterpart, Cho Tae-yul, in Tokyo.

The meeting came ahead of the 11th China-Japan-South Korea Trilateral Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on Saturday.

Wang called on China and South Korea to draw inspiration and warnings from history to ensure that bilateral ties develop in the right direction.

Cho called on the two countries to maintain strategic dialogue on the Korean Peninsula issue.

The Chinese foreign minister will also co-chair the Sixth China-Japan High-Level Economic Dialogue with his Japanese counterpart during his time in Japan.

Portuguese FM to visit China

Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel will visit China next week.

He will hold the second China-Portugal strategic dialogue at the foreign ministers' level with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.

The visit runs from Monday to Friday.

China welcomes visit of U.S. individuals from all sectors: FM spokesperson

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson says the country welcomes visits by individuals from all sectors of the United States, including members of Congress.

Mao Ning made the remarks after U.S. Republican senator Steve Daines arrived in Beijing on Thursday for a visit to China.

She said China welcomes Daines' visit, adding that the stable, healthy and sustainable development of China-U.S. relations serves the common interests of both peoples and meets the universal expectations of the international community.

China tightens security management over facial recognition

China has made public a set of security management measures concerning the application of facial recognition technology.

The measures will take effect on June 1st.

They aim to standardize the use of the technology and protect people's personal information rights.

The document sets forth basic requirements and processing rules for the use of facial recognition technology in handling facial data, security standards for the technology's application, and supervisory and management responsibilities.

It also stipulates that facial recognition cannot be the sole verification method if the same purpose or business requirement can be achieved without the technology.

The measures say people should be provided with other reasonable and convenient alternatives if they don't agree to identity verification through facial recognition.

South Korea's opposition parties submit impeachment motion against acting president

South Korea's opposition parties have submitted an impeachment motion against acting President Choi Sang-mok.

They submitted the motion for four reasons, including Choi's alleged involvement in impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol's botched imposition of martial law and his refusal to appoint a constitutional court justice for over three weeks.

The nine-member court currently has eight justices because of Choi's refusal to add the final member.

On Monday, it plans to decide whether to impeach Prime Minister Han Duck-soo.

Military personnel, journalists killed in drone attack in Sudan's capital

A military source says a drone attack targeting a military and media gathering inside the Republican Palace in the Sudanese capital killed military personnel and journalists.

The attack came after media reported that the Sudanese Armed Forces regained control of the palace in central Khartoum.

The Rapid Support Forces had been holding the palace since April 2023.

It said the palace battle is not over yet.

Fighting that broke out nearly two years ago has killed tens of thousands of people and left millions of others displaced.

Heathrow Airport closes due to power outage

Heathrow Airport in London has closed because of a power outage.

A fire broke out at an electrical substation supplying power to the airport.

British Airways has warned of what it described as “significant impacts” from the closure.

Screening of "Ne Zha 2" extended to April 30th on Chinese mainland

Cinemas on the Chinese mainland will screen Chinese animated blockbuster "Ne Zha 2" until April 30th.

This follows an extension of the screening by another month, the second extension since its release on Chinese big screens on January 29th, Chinese New Year's Day.

It was previously announced that the screening would be extended to March 30th on the mainland.

"Ne Zha 2" has grossed over 15 billion yuan or 2.1 billion U.S. dollars globally as of Friday, placing it fifth in the all-time box office rankings.