Profits of China's major industrial firms up 15.7 pct in first eight months

China is mapping the geological history of Mars, with a new global map set to reveal how the planet's surface has changed over billions of years.

China's major industrial firms posted a 15.7 percent year-on-year rise in profits in the first eight months, with total profits exceeding 5.2 trillion yuan.

The Ministry of Natural Resources says China's Mengxiang ocean drilling vessel has set a national record in deep-sea drilling, elevating its capability to the 5,000-meter level, after obtaining basalt samples from the South China Sea basin.

The Syrian Petroleum Company has begun transporting gasoline supplied for Iraq through the Banias oil terminal, as regional energy flows face disruption from instability around the Strait of Hormuz.

Giant pandas Ping Ping and Fu Shuang have arrived in Atlanta for a 10-year stay in the United States. Their stay follows an agreement between the China Wildlife Conservation Association and Zoo Atlanta.

Chinese Vice President Han Zheng has called for stronger multilateralism and greater global cooperation in addressing international challenges in a speech at the UN General Assembly in New York.

Typhoon Dujuan has struck Japan's Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures, leaving 12 dead and three missing. Widespread landslides have damaged railway roadbeds in Chiba.

Iran says only diplomacy can resolve its conflict with the United States and Israel, after US President Donald Trump rejected Tehran's 7-day proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is calling for restoring navigation of the waterway to its status before the US and Israel launched strikes on February 28, without imposing any fees or taxes.

Giant pandas Ping Ping and Fu Shuang have begun their journey to the United States to embark on a 10-year cooperation program in conservation. Chinese President Xi Jinping announced during his state visit to the US that the bears will settle in at Zoo Atlanta.

The disruption is the latest in a series of protests by members of Libya's Petroleum Facilities Guard over salary and administrative grievances. Meanwhile, the UN mission in Libya says attacks targeting the north African country's oil and energy infrastructure, or any actions that may lead to its undermining, could trigger punitive measures under UN Security Council resolutions.