Xinhua

Two dozen world leaders are gathering in Russia on Tuesday for the opening of a summit of the BRICS group, an alliance of emerging economies that the Kremlin hopes will challenge Western "hegemony."

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday told his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong Un that Beijing hoped to "deepen friendly... cooperation" with Pyongyang, as the two leaders exchanged messages to mark a major diplomatic anniversary.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called Monday for a "fair trade order" during a visit to China where he met leader Xi Jinping and aimed to boost ties despite a tariff standoff between Beijing and the European Union.

State news agency Xinhua said Sanchez met Xi on Monday, without sharing details.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping will host over two dozen African leaders at a lavish dinner in Beijing on Wednesday, kicking off the city's biggest summit in years with promises of cooperation in infrastructure, energy and education.

A Chinese probe carrying samples from the far side of the Moon started its journey back to Earth on Tuesday, the country's space agency said — a world first and a major achievement for Beijing's space programme.

The ascender module of the Chang'e-6 probe "lifted off from lunar surface" and entered a preset orbit around the Moon, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said.

The death toll from a highway collapse in southern China's Guangdong province has risen to 48, state media said Thursday, as rescue work continued.

Heavy rains caused a stretch of road running from Meizhou city towards Dabu county to cave in at around 2:10 am on Wednesday (1810 GMT Tuesday), according to state news agency Xinhua.

Greece expects more Chinese tourists this year by offering a tailored tourism product to suit the needs of the Chinese market, a Greek tourism official said on Wednesday.

A major 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck along the China-Kyrgyzstan border on Tuesday, the United States Geological Survey said, warning of potentially widespread damage though no casualties have been reported.

Forty-seven people were buried in a landslide in China's southwestern Yunnan province on Monday, state media reported.

The landslide took place at 5:51 am (2151 GMT Sunday) in Zhenxiong County, state news agency Xinhua reported, citing local authorities.

China called for an end to "harassment" of civilian vessels in the Red Sea on Friday after attacks on ships by Huthi rebels in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

Huthi aggression against vessels in and around the Red Sea has led to retaliatory strikes in Yemen by U.S. and British forces.