China will safeguard multilateral trading system with greater resolve -- premier

Chinese Premier Li Qiang said on Monday that China is determined to safeguard the multilateral trading system with greater resolve, and stands ready to work with all parties to uphold true multilateralism.

Li made the remarks while addressing the fifth Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Leaders' Meeting held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Monday.

In his remarks, he recalled that Chinese President Xi Jinping once said that "only openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation is the right way forward for humanity."

Since the RCEP agreement came into effect more than three years ago, economic and trade cooperation among its members has continued to deepen against the backdrop of generally weak global economic momentum, and the regional economy has maintained relatively rapid growth, he said.

Chinese FM hopes China, U.S. to create conditions for development of bilateral relations

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday expressed hopes that China and the United States will work in the same direction to get well poised for high-level interactions and create conditions for the development of bilateral relations.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks in a phone call with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

He said China-U.S. relations have a bearing on the whole world, and a healthy, stable and sustainable bilateral relationship serves the long-term interests of both countries and meets the common expectations of the international community.

Alassane Ouattara wins Cote d'Ivoire's presidential election with 89.77 pct of votes

Cote d'Ivoire's incumbent President Alassane Ouattara, candidate of the Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace, has won a fourth term in the presidential election with 89.77 percent of the votes, according to provisional results released Monday by the country's Independent Electoral Commission (CEI).

According to the CEI, Ouattara garnered 3,759,030 votes out of a total of 4,187,318 valid ballots cast, with voter turnout reaching 50.10 percent among the 8.7 million registered voters within Cote d'Ivoire and abroad.

The other candidates, Simone Ehivet Gbagbo of the Movement of Capable Generations, Jean-Louis Billon of the Democratic Congress, independent candidate Ahoua Don Mello, and Henriette Lagou Adjoua of the Group of Political Partners for Peace, gained their respective shares of the vote as 2.42 percent, 3.09 percent, 1.97 percent and 1.15 percent.

Paul Biya re-elected president of Cameroon

Paul Biya has been re-elected president of Cameroon for an eighth term, securing 53.66 percent of the votes, the country's Constitutional Council announced Monday.

The candidate of the Cameroon National Salvation Front, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, finished second with 35.19 percent of the votes. More than 4.6 million Cameroonians cast their ballots out of over eight million registered voters, bringing the turnout rate to 57.76 percent, compared with 53.85 percent in 2018 and 65.82 percent in 2011.

While proclaiming the final results, Constitutional Council President Clement Atangana said the election was free and fair.

Hungary to block EU accession talks with Ukraine

Hungary will not support the launch of European Union (EU) accession talks with Ukraine as long as a national government is in power, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Monday.

Responding to questions in parliament, Szijjarto said the chance for Ukraine's EU bid to symbolize peace has passed, and that Hungary continues to veto the talks over concerns about European security, the economy, and labor markets.

"As long as I serve as foreign minister and Viktor Orban is prime minister, Ukraine's accession chapters will not begin," he said, adding that Budapest faces intense pressure from Brussels.

2 killed in Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon

Two people were killed Monday in an Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported.

Citing the Health Ministry's emergency center, the NNA said the strike hit a site on the outskirts of the village of Al-Bayad in the Tyre district, killing two brothers and wounding several others.

A Lebanese army intelligence source told Xinhua that the victims were Hezbollah members Hussein and Hassan Suleiman.