China ready to promote flagship Belt and Road project, boost trade, investment with Ethiopia -- Premier Li

China stands ready to work with Ethiopia to promote the sustainable development of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway, a flagship project of the high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and expand bilateral trade and investment, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said here Sunday.

Li made the remarks during his meeting with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Ethiopia 55 years ago, the two countries have always treated each other sincerely and supported each other no matter how the international situation has changed, Li noted. The cooperation between the two sides has long been at the forefront of China-Africa cooperation, he added.

China, Myanmar, Thailand endeavor to eradicate telecom fraud networks

China, Myanmar and Thailand agreed to intensify cooperation to dismantle all telecom scam compounds and arrest all suspects in Myawaddy and other telecom fraud hubs, China's Ministry of Public Security announced Sunday.

The decision came during a recent ministerial meeting on a joint crackdown against telecom fraud attended by law enforcement agencies of the three countries.

Thanks to their joint efforts, over 5,400 Chinese nationals suspected of fraud in Myawaddy have been repatriated in 2025, marking significant progress in the tripartite crackdown campaign.

Colombia, Uzbekistan join BRICS Bank

Colombia and Uzbekistan have joined the New Development Bank (NDB), expanding the membership of the multilateral lender commonly known as the BRICS Bank, the institution's president, Dilma Rousseff, announced here Saturday.

The announcement came at a press conference held after the 10th meeting of the NDB's Board of Directors, ahead of the 17th BRICS Summit scheduled for Sunday and Monday.

The bank's Board of Governors approved the accession of the two countries, bringing the total membership to 11.

Current members include Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Bangladesh, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Algeria, Colombia and Uzbekistan.

Houthis vow continued attacks on Israel

Houthis on Sunday reaffirmed the group's support for the Palestinian people and its hostility toward Israel and the United States.

Speaking on the occasion of Ashura, Houthi leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi said the group will "spare no effort in confronting the enemy with our brothers in the axis of resistance and Jihad."

He reiterated that his armed forces would continue launching ballistic missile attacks against Israel until the military operation on Gaza stops and the food blockade against the Palestinian people is lifted.

Israel launches strikes on Red Sea ports in Yemen

Israel launched a series of airstrikes on Yemen's Red Sea ports in western Hodeidah Province late Sunday night.

The strikes came minutes after the Israeli military issued an urgent evacuation warning on the social media platform X. Witnesses reported explosions in several locations along Yemen's western coast, including the port of Hodeidah.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement that the strikes targeted what he described as Houthi strongholds, including the ports of Hodeidah, As Salif, and Ras Isa, the Ras Katib power station, and the Galaxy Leader, a ship seized by Houthi forces in November 2023.

Israeli PM heads to Washington, says trip "great opportunity" to expand Mideast peace

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu departed for an official visit to Washington on Sunday, calling the trip a "great opportunity" to expand the circle of peace in the Middle East.

Speaking before boarding his flight, Netanyahu said there were new prospects for Israel to reach normalization agreements with Arab countries "far beyond what we could previously imagine."

Netanyahu has made expanding normalization efforts a central goal of his foreign policy. Under the 2020 Abraham Accords, Israel signed normalization agreements with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco. The country has peace agreements also with Egypt and Jordan.■