Uyghur rights in focus as UN visits China

New data shows China's economy cooled sharply in April, as many cities including Shanghai suffered Covid-19 lockdowns. Industrial output dropped nearly 3 percent compared to a year before, while retail sales slumped 11 percent. Meanwhile, global wheat prices jump after India announces a ban on exporting the grain due to damage from a heatwave. Finally, we see how tourists are returning to Barcelona. The development is good news for local businesses but could revive tensions over mass tourism.

In a UN Security Council briefing, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said the streets in Iraq could "boil over" if political leaders were unable to end a political stalemate that has gripped the country for over seven months.

Germany's Humboldt Research Fellowships are very popular with visiting Chinese scientists. Back in China, some of them go on to do research for the military, a DW investigation finds.

The UN human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, has traveled to China at Beijing's invitation. But the US has raised doubts about Chinese officials giving her "necessary access" to asses the situation.

A cache of documents known as "The Xinjiang Police Files" sheds new light on human rights abuses by the Chinese government towards the region's Uyghur minority.

The Philippines' incoming president vowed to prevent any foreign interference in the running of his country in comments aimed at Beijing’s claims over the disputed South China Sea.

Nepal's ruling party has become increasingly wary of China's expansive Belt and Road Initiative amid Sri Lanka's financial collapse, fresh loans from the US and a shift towards India.

The 13-2 vote in favor of the resolution was not enough to secure its adoption as Beijing and Moscow have veto-rights. The US said the rejection means Pyongyang "will feel free to take further escalatory actions."

Whilst Russia represents an immediate threat, the long-term one China poses to the global order is more serious, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said.

Activists slammed UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet for her restrained criticism directed at China's leaders after her return from Xinjiang. But Bachelet noted that her visit was "not an investigation."

Beijing has accused the US of spreading "disinformation" after Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned China could try to upend the international order.

China persecutes the Uyghurs and backs Russia's war in Ukraine. That's prompting Berlin to rethink its relations with Beijing. But this "systemic rival" is also Germany's biggest trading partner.