The 3rd Silk Road Global News Awards calls for submission

When M.F.M Fairoz, a senior lecturer of Ocean University of Sri Lanka, made a phone call to Hambantota International Port, he was originally looking for samples of sea urchin-related pathogens for a new research topic.

Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) on Monday lifted its tsunami warning, hours after ordering evacuations of northern coastal areas threatened by tsunami waves following a strong earthquake in the Philippines.

Recently, northern and central Indian plains are reeling from a life-threatening extreme heatwave, with temperatures regularly exceeding 48 C and major urban centers such as New Delhi suffering critical water shortages.

President Xi Jinping arrived in Pyongyang on Monday for a state visit to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan received a warm welcome from Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the DPRK, and his wife Ri Sol Ju at the airport.

The European Union (EU) is preparing to disburse a first tranche of 9.1 billion euros (10.5 billion U.S. dollars) to Ukraine in June as part of a landmark 90-billion-euro (103.8 billion dollars) financial assistance package, European Commission spokesman Balazs Ujvari said on Monday.

North China's Shanxi Province passed a regulation on the protection of the Great Wall at the 28th session of the Standing Committee of the 14th Shanxi Provincial People's Congress on Monday.

Thailand's industrial sector is navigating a widening divide between fast-growing technology-linked industries and traditional manufacturers facing mounting cost pressures, the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) warned on Monday.

"In the past, this area was plagued by blowing sand, and in spring the airborne sand made it difficult for people to go outside," said Guo Yan, who is in charge of sand control and afforestation at the Forestry and Grassland Bureau of Horqin Left Wing Rear Banner, Tongliao city, north China's Inner