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The rising Chinese market is too promising for European companies to walk away from, said Joerg Wuttke, president of the European Chamber of Commerce in China, regarding the recent worrying situation in the bilateral trade ties. Trade between China and the European Union (EU) has been advancing in recent years, with China becoming the largest trading partner of the latter.

The pandemic and the Suez Canal blockage have demonstrated that businesses must store more goods if they are to mitigate any risk caused by shocks to the global supply chain, according to one MEP.

Cross-border passenger trains between Finland and Sweden have moved a step closer. Last Thursday, the first train for 29 years pulled into a refurbished station at the Swedish border town of Haparanda.

An apartment fire in Queens, New York has injured 21 people, including 16 firefighters, and displaced hundreds of residents. About 400 firefighters responded to the the blaze that started Tuesday afternoon, WABC-TV reported. (April 7)

Jody Stiger, a Los Angeles Police Department sergeant serving as a prosecution use-of-force expert, testified in Derek Chauvin trial on Tuesday. Stiger said that after reviewing the video of the arrest, he felt "the force was excessive.” (Apr. 6)

CNN's Matthew Chance reports that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny continues his hunger strike in prison despite his declining health.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer got her first COVID-19 vaccine shot on Tuesday, touting the vaccine as the most effective way to protect people and return the state back to normalcy. (April 6)

CNN's Matthew Chance reports that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny continues his hunger strike in prison despite his declining health.

The Biden administration sees 'tough talks' in Vienna as negotiations begin to try to bring the U.S. back into the foundering 2015 Iran nuclear deal. (April 6)

Owerri (Nigeria) (AFP) – The Governor of Nigeria's Imo State visits the prison in Owerri where 1,800 inmates escaped after a heavily armed gang attacked the facility using explosives. The attackers blasted their way into the Owerri prison, engaging guards in a gun battle and breaking out inmates, the national corrections authority said in a statement.

Narayanganj (Bangladesh) (AFP) – The search for survivors from a ferry disaster in Bangladesh was called off on Monday, with the death toll rising to 28 when rescuers pulled the vessel from the water and found bodies inside.