China's State Administration for Market Regulation has fined Alibaba Group over 18 billion yuan, or nearly 2.8 billion U.S. dollars, for abusing dominant market position.

Authorities launched an antitrust probe into the company in December.

An official statement issued on Saturday says Alibaba had been "abusing market dominance" since 2015 by preventing its merchants from using rival platforms.
The e-commerce giant is ordered to make "thorough rectifications" to strengthen internal compliance and protect consumer rights.
Alibaba has released a statement, saying it accepts the decision and will resolutely implement the rulings.

Chinese FM urges continuity, stability of China-EU relations

Foreign Minister Wang Yi is calling on China and the European Union (EU) to maintain continuity and stability of their relations and to jointly confront destabilizing factors in the world as well as various global problems.

He made the remarks in a phone conversation with Emmanuel Bonne, diplomatic counselor to French President Emmanuel Macron.

Wang suggested that both sides should not randomly interfere in each other's internal affairs, or even impose unilateral sanctions and confront each other.

Bonne said France will properly handle sensitive issues on the basis of mutual trust, adding that Paris stands ready to jointly play a bigger role in addressing global challenges such as climate change and biodiversity.

Iranian FM urges U.S. to return to nuke deal, lift sanctions after latest Vienna talks

The Iranian Foreign Minister is calling on the United States to return to the 2015 nuclear deal and lift all anti-Iran sanctions.

The remarks by Mohammad Javad Zarif followed the meeting of diplomats of parties to the deal, including Iran, Britain, China, France, Russia and Germany.

The meeting in Vienna was aimed at bringing the United States back into the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

It took place without the United States, which unilaterally left the deal in 2018 under then-President Donald Trump.

In response to the U.S. withdrawal, Iran has been steadily increasing its stockpile of enriched uranium, increasing the purity it is enriching, and installing and operating new, more efficient centrifuges.

Chinese envoy urges U.S. to immediately lift unilateral sanctions

China's representative to the Vienna meeting is calling on the U.S. to immediately put into action its promise on lifting unilateral sanctions against Iran.

Wang Qun said the lifting of these sanctions is "not only a bilateral issue, but also an important aspect of safeguarding the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.

U.S. President Joe Biden, who was vice president under Barack Obama when the original deal was negotiated, has said he wants to bring the U.S. back into the deal but that Iran must reverse its violations.

Iran argues that Washington's departure from the deal was the first violation and that the U.S. must make the first move and remove sanctions before Iran returns to compliance.

Sinopharm, CoronaVac to be assessed between April 26, May 3: WHO

An official with the World Health Organization says the final decision on whether China's Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines can receive emergency validation from the organization is expected between April 26 and May 3.

The two jabs are on the final stage of evaluation by the Emergency Use Listing, an internal procedure of the WHO to assess unlicensed vaccines.

If approved, the vaccines can be used under the WHO-led COVAX Facility, a scheme aimed at providing more equitable access to vaccines for low and middle-income countries.

Hong Kong to delay imports of AstraZeneca vaccine

The Hong Kong government says it will delay shipments of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine amid mounting concerns over possible links between the shot and rare blood clots.

The region had ordered 7.5 million doses from the British-Swedish company, which were scheduled to arrive in the second half of the year.

Officials say the local vaccine supply is still sufficient with 15 million doses of Germany's BioNTech and China's Sinovac jabs available at the moment.


NASA's Mars helicopter to attempt first flight

NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity will attempt its first flight on the Red Planet this weekend.

Ingenuity arrived at Mars' Jezero Crater on Feb. 18, attached to the belly of NASA's Perseverance rover.

The helicopter is a technology demonstration with a planned test flight duration of up to 30 Martian days.