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MOSCOW, June 10 (Xinhua) -- Direct international train service between Pyongyang, capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), and Moscow will resume on June 17, Russian Railways announced Tuesday via its official Telegram channel.

Additionally, passenger train service between Pyongyang and Khabarovsk in Russia's Far East is scheduled to resume on June 19.

The Pyongyang-Moscow route, which will operate twice a month, is currently the longest international train service in the world. The journey covers more than 10,000 kilometers and takes about eight days to complete.

Passenger train services between the DPRK and Russia were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic in February 2020.

Belarus is among the countries with the lowest utility bills, Komsomolskaya Pravda reports, citing Numbeo

Thus, according to the rating, Belarus was among the thirty countries with the lowest utility bills for the month. The rating took into account utility bills for apartments with an area of ​​85 square meters. The payment for electricity, heat and water supply to the home, and waste disposal were summed up. The prices were equalized in dollar equivalent.

As a result, the most expensive utilities are in Austria – about $375.5 per month. Germany is in second place – $344.61, and the UK is third – $320.54. Estonia follows – $312.54.

Belarus was ranked 97th, entering the top 30 countries with the lowest utility bills (27th place among low utility bills). According to researchers, Belarusians need to pay, on average, $53.31 for utilities per month. Iran is at the bottom of the rating, where you need to pay, on average, about $15.59 per month for housing and communal services.

In Belarus's neighboring countries, housing and communal services require much larger monthly payments: in Latvia - $299.7, Poland - $291, Lithuania - $232, Russia - $122.42, Ukraine - $94.55.

France and the United Kingdom are reportedly retreating from earlier plans to recognize a Palestinian state at an upcoming international summit in New York.

French President Emmanuel Macron—co-sponsor of the June 17–20 conference alongside Saudi Arabia—had been urging European allies, including the UK, to support Palestinian statehood during the gathering.

Macron previously described recognition as “a moral duty and political requirement.”

However, French officials have informed Israeli counterparts that the summit will no longer serve as a platform for formal recognition.

Instead, the focus will shift to outlining a roadmap toward recognition, conditional on a series of measures from the Palestinian side, The Guardian reported.

Those conditions reportedly include a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, the release of Israeli captives held by Hamas, reform of the Palestinian Authority, Gaza’s economic reconstruction, and a definitive end to Hamas’s rule in the territory.

The shift comes amid pressure from the United States, reportedly urging Paris and London to hold back.

Last week, Israeli diplomat Alon Pinkas told The Middle East Eye that France’s push was “serious and has the backing of most of the European Union and Saudi Arabia.”

Israel’s ambassador to France, Joshua Zarka, also called Macron’s initiative “disastrous.”

Human rights advocates have criticized the move to delay recognition.

Kenneth Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch, said the proposed preconditions risk turning recognition into an “endless (nonexistent) ‘peace process’,” and urged pressure on Israel to stop obstructing Palestinian statehood.

Although 147 countries already recognize Palestine, many European states have hesitated, often linking recognition to Israeli consent and broader diplomatic progress. Last year, Ireland, Spain, and Norway broke ranks and formally recognized Palestinian statehood.

In an open letter to Macron, The Elders—a group of former senior UN officials—called recognition “an essential transformative step toward peace,” urging France to act on principle, regardless of the pace or terms of future negotiations.

A 2024 report on "China's teacher development" was recently released, highlighting that the size of China's head teacher workforce has steadily expanded, with a notable improvement in educational attainment, with 95.14 percent of head teachers now holding a bachelor's degree or higher, Guangming Daily reported on Tuesday.

The report centered on the development of China's head teacher workforce, introducing an assessment tool tailored to Chinese characteristics. It explored key dimensions such as the social status of head teachers, role identity and professional competence. The research team conducted in-depth field studies across multiple regions in China and performed group profiling and case analyses.

The head of the research team stated that China's primary and secondary school head teacher workforce has moved toward high-quality development in recent years. Head teachers show strong role identity, performing well in role cognition, emotional engagement, and behavioral commitment, and demonstrating firm confidence in their responsibilities. Their professional competence remains at a high level, with outstanding moral conduct guided by the spirit of educators, along with strong communication and classroom management abilities.

"With the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, highly educated teachers have grown alongside information technology. They are more adept at using multimedia teaching tools, online resources, and interactive platforms. Transitioning from textbooks to incorporating modern smart devices has significantly boosted student interest and motivation," Wang Liping, a 43-year-old middle school teacher in Shanghai told the Global Times on Tuesday.

"At a top-tier primary school in Shanghai where I work, especially over the past decade, we've seen the emergence and annual increase of young teachers with master's degrees," said Wang Fei, a 43-year-old primary school teacher in Shanghai. "These new teachers excel in academic writing and leveraging modern technologies for lesson planning and courseware development. Their research-oriented approach brings fresh perspectives to teaching."

At the same time, the report noted several persistent challenges in the professional development of China's head teachers, including the need to enhance workforce quality and social status, emotional stress in their roles, and blurred boundaries between work and life, Guangming Daily said.

Wang Liping added that higher qualifications also mean a shift toward research-oriented teaching. Increased requirements for research projects and academic publishing have added pressure, placing research responsibilities alongside regular teaching duties. "Therefore, finding a balance between teaching practice and academic research is crucial," he said.

The report is part of a research series released by Northeast Normal University. It aims to study the reform of China's primary and secondary school teacher workforce development and the high-quality development of basic education.

Various kinds of good-quality products are turned out at the regional-industry factories built in 20 cities and counties according to the regional development policy of the Workers' Party of Korea.

The foodstuff factories produce a lot of new goods retaining the regional characteristics by depending on locally-available raw materials.

The foodstuff factory in Songchon County of South Phyongan Province witnessed the groundbreaking and inauguration of regional-industry factories first before others. It produces jam, fruit jam and sweet jelly with Songchon chestnut, a special product of the county, as raw materials, which are well-known even to other regions.

The factory set a goal to update the technical indexes of the products for better quality and thus make all the products monopoly and specialities representing the region.

Bar rice cake, black glutinous rice hot pepper paste and other products are turned out at the foodstuff factory in Jaeryong County of South Hwanghae Province, a granary, and different kinds of pickled fish at the foodstuff factory in Sukchon County of South Phyongan Province adjacent to the Korean West Sea. The foodstuff factories in Kim Hyong Jik County of Ryanggang Province and Tongsin County of Jagang Province produce tasty drinks with wild pears, fruit of tara vine, wild grapes and other wild fruits rich in those regions.

Daily necessaries factories and garment factories also increase production with main stress on expanding varieties and improving their quality.

It is not long after they got to production, but those products of the regional-industry factories in 20 cities and counties are winning popularity for their high quality.

The garment factories in Songchon and Sukchon counties of South Phyongan Province and Unsan County of North Phyongan Province presented elegant and graceful clothes for women, different kinds of clothes for men and children's clothes to the "Spring Garment Exhibition--2025", drawing the attention of visitors.

And the Onchon Foodstuff Factory in the city of Nampho, the Unsan County Foodstuff Factory in North Phyongan Province and different other units participated in the 16th Trade Fair of Pyongyang Department Store No. 1.

In particular, the exhibition of products of the regional-industry factories in 20 cities and counties held in Pyongyang in late April clearly showed the development of those factories.

Presented to the exhibition were hundreds of goods of 21 kinds such as condiments with wheat as a main ingredient, confectionery, processed fish and different sorts of foodstuffs, laundry soap, plastic daily necessities, furniture and garments.

Products from Songchon County of South Phyongan Province and Jaeryong County of South Hwanghae Province were highly estimated and processed fish, condiments and other foodstuffs from Onchon County of Nampho and Sukchon County of South Phyongan Province and household goods from Unchon County of South Hwanghae Province won popularity.

Seeing the products of regional-industry factories, which are as good as those produced in the capital city, citizens of the capital city said with admiration:

• They don't look like the products from provinces.

• Really good are the tastes and colours of the basic foodstuffs.

• Without the brand, it's hard to distinguish between the products from the capital city and the ones from provinces.

The gap between the capital city and provinces is narrowing like this. In the future regional-industry factories will be built in 200 cities and counties and such excellent goods be produced a lot.

It is the plan of the WPK to make the capital city envy the provinces, the regional rejuvenation represent the advance and development of our state and the ideal aspect of provinces be true features of socialism of our style.

New streets, public service facilities and cultural establishments reflecting dreams and ideals of the working class rise up every year in Pyongyang. Rather than rents, property value and tax, everything is centered on people's convenience.

This Is Reality

Every man has a dream to live in his or her own house. Kang Rim, Department Head of the Ministry of External Economic Relations, said the realization of the dream depends on the policy of a country concerned, and continued:

"According to data available, the most expensive house in a village in Silicon Valley, California of the United States, costs 33 million dollars and the cheapest one 1.2 million dollars.

The 2024 national housing status report said the house rent rose 26 percent and the house price 29 percent from 2020.

A lot of people are living in rented houses without elementary welfare facilities. The absolute majority of the American people think that it is a pipe dream to buy their own houses."

Today the people's dream comes true in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Over 10,000 flats have been built in the capital city of Pyongyang every year since 2022. They were provided to workers and office clerks free of charge.

Farmers are also given new houses built by the state without paying a penny.

The Workers' Party of Korea enforces the policy of building wonderful houses for the people and providing them to the people gratis.

The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un, General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, said the large-scale operations for housing construction performed by our Party and state are not for getting any economic benefit, but a noble undertaking to thoroughly turn the wealth of the state and the results of the creative labour of the working masses entirely into the well-being of the working people themselves.

Department Head Song Son Yong at the State General Bureau of Design said the people's dream comes true thanks to the Party's policy on dwelling houses, and continued:

"In fact, it is really a bold decision to carry on the housing construction throughout the country at the same time, not in one or two regions, under the difficulties and hardships severer than ever before and in the midst of the intense struggle to promote the great cause of strengthening national power and the dynamic changes in different fields. Moreover, our state is to suffer tremendous economic loss because the houses are built at the state expense and allotted to working people free of charge.

Our Party, however, regards it as its mode of existence to make selfless, devoted efforts for the good of the people and builds ideal streets and villages for them in the capital city and provinces by investing a colossal sum of money."

The contrastive reality seen through the housing problem will exert a strong influence on our audience.

Chinese President Xi Jinping declared Tuesday in Beijing, during his opening speech at the IV Meeting of the China-Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) Ministerial Forum, his support for Latin American and Caribbean countries to “reject external interference”.

After expressing this support, the Chinese head of state urged Celac countries to “follow a path of development in accordance with their national conditions”.

“China supports the nations of the region in defending their national sovereignty and independence”, said the President during his inaugural speech at the IV China-Celac Ministers' Meeting.

The meeting in Beijing will be attended by foreign ministers and representatives of Celac and, uniquely, by the presidents of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva; Chile, Gabriel Boric, and Colombia, Gustavo Petro, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the bloc.

According to the Chinese leader, his nation and the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean are “important members of the global South” and must remain united in the face of growing geopolitical tensions, confrontations between blocs” and ‘growing trends of unilateralism and protectionism’.

“We will work with the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean to firmly safeguard the international system and speak with one voice in international and regional affairs,” he emphasized.

“Development and revitalization are our inherent rights, and equity and justice are our common aspiration” in the face of ‘geopolitical turbulence and confrontation,’ said Xi, who highlighted the joint work ”to practice true multilateralism, safeguard international equity and justice, and promote the reform of the global governance system to foster multipolarity.”

The leader recalled that trade between China and the region reached US$500 billion for the first time last year and expressed his nation's desire to continue to foster reciprocal support with Latin America and the Caribbean on issues that impact their “core interests and concerns.”

Accordingly, Xi announced that his nation will grant a line of credit to the region for some US$9.2 billion and will strengthen collaboration on security and law enforcement.

“We must strengthen exchanges in various fields and strengthen communication and coordination on important international and regional issues,” said Xi, who announced that, over the next three years, Beijing will invite 300 leaders of political parties from Celac member countries to visit China in order to ‘exchange experiences on governance’.

After the inauguration, Xi offered lunch to the attendees, followed by the plenary session of the meeting, which will be held behind closed doors and will conclude with the adoption of a joint declaration.

The central issues of the meeting will be “Electrical Interconnection and Renewable Energy” and “Trade Integration”, two topics that correspond to two fundamental goals of China in Latin America: to promote its New Silk Roads project (BRI) and to ensure access to valuable natural resources in the region such as lithium, rare earths, oil or copper.

After holding a meeting on Friday in the Russian capital with the Venezuelan president, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that Beijing and Caracas are good partners of mutual trust and common development.

The meeting between Xi Jinping and his Venezuelan counterpart took place on the sidelines of celebrations for the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union.

Xi Jinping added that China will always support Venezuela in safeguarding its sovereignty, national dignity and social stability.

The Chinese president stressed that China and Venezuela have forged an iron friendship amid the changing international situation, and commented that since the two countries upgraded bilateral relations to a strategic partnership in 2023.

He also recalled that exchanges between the two nations in various sectors and at all levels have been vigorous, bilateral trade has continuously grown, new breakthroughs have been made in investment cooperation and people-to-people exchanges, and the friendship between the two sides has become increasingly popular among the two peoples.

Xi Jinping affirmed that China has always considered and developed relations with Venezuela from a strategic and long-term perspective.

He also assured that Beijing is willing to expand the exchange of governance experiences with Venezuela, to continue deepening cooperation in various fields and to elevate bilateral ties to new heights, so as to benefit the two peoples.

The Chinese president assured that his country is ready to continue working with Venezuela and other Latin American nations to firmly defend the UN-centered international system and the international order underpinned by international law, and promote steady and sustained progress in building a community of shared future between China and Latin America and the Caribbean.

For his part, President Nicolas Maduro said China is a great friend of Venezuela and expressed his appreciation for the Asian giant's lasting and selfless support in helping his country safeguard its sovereignty and boost economic and social development.

Venezuela hopes to strengthen its strategic partnership with China, and deepen cooperation in trade, energy, agriculture, science, technology and education, among other areas, to achieve more results and benefit the two peoples.

Beyond stressing that Xi's vision of building a community of shared future for humanity has opened new prospects for global peace and development, Nicolas Maduro said Venezuela is willing to strengthen coordination and cooperation with Beijing to defend multilateralism, equity and safeguard the common interests of the international community.

Pyongyang is significantly commemorating the day of Russia's victory.

Choe Son Hui, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the DPRK, said as follows:

Kim Jong Un, President of the State Affairs of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, visited the Russian embassy in the DPRK on the morning of May 9 on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of Russia's victory in the Great Patriotic War and conveyed the best wishes to the state leadership of the Russian Federation and the Russian people on behalf of all the Korean people.

Comrade Kim Jong Un, together with his dearest daughter and leading cadres of the Party and the state, visited the Russian embassy in Pyongyang to warmly congratulate the day of the great victory of the fraternal Russian people with excellent sincerity.

He met with Russian friends residing in Pyongyang with pleasure and conveyed a beautiful flower basket for all the Russian people marking the day of victory.

He made a congratulatory speech.

In his speech, he referred to the unprecedented and important influence on the destiny and future of mankind and the eternal significance of the day of victory when the great Soviet army and people defeated Fascism, and clarified the steadfast stand of our Party, government and people to steadily consolidate and develop the long tradition of the DPRK-Russia relations, the noble ideological foundation and the invincible alliance.

The above-said activities of the supreme leadership of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea are a clear demonstration of the strong will to positively promote the sovereignty and dignity of the two countries, the people's peace and happiness, and the regional peace and security by dint of the DPRK-Russia friendship which has been developed into the relations of genuine comrade-in-arms and a long-standing strategic relations in the new era.

I regard it as an eventful moment to be specially recorded in the history of the development of the relations between the two countries and the two peoples.

Pyongyang and Moscow will always be together.