JOHANNESBURG -- The Group of Twenty (G20) Summit opened here Saturday, marking the first time the event is being held in Africa.

Under the theme "Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability," the two-day event highlights a pivotal moment for Africa as it seeks to elevate its role in global governance and advance development priorities shared across the Global South.

"The G20 underscores the value and relevance of multilateralism. It recognizes that the challenges we all face can only be resolved through cooperation, collaboration and partnership," South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said in his opening speech. (South Africa-G20)

- - - -

DUSHANBE -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Saturday called on China and Tajikistan to strive for new progress in the China-Tajikistan comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership in the new era during his first strategic dialogue with Tajik Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin.

The two sides held in-depth discussions on implementing the consensus reached between the two heads of state and deepening mutually beneficial cooperation, reached a broad agreement and jointly launched the China-Tajikistan foreign ministers' strategic dialogue mechanism. (Tajikistan-China-FM Dialogue)

- - - -

COLOMBO -- Four people have died due to a landslide in Sri Lanka's Central Province on Saturday, Sri Lanka's Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said.

According to the DMC, the victims include three men and one woman. At least four others have been injured and hospitalized. Search and rescue operations are ongoing, with officials warning that additional victims may still be trapped under the debris.

The landslide struck a small shop popular among motorists for snacks and tea, sending earth and rocks crashing onto the building and several nearby vehicles, DMC said. (Sri Lanka-Landslide-Deaths)

- - - -

ISLAMABAD -- Six people were killed when a passenger van fell into a ravine in Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Saturday, rescue officials said.

The accident occurred in Abbottabad district after the vehicle's brakes failed, causing the driver to lose control, according to a statement from state-run Rescue 1122. (Pakistan-Traffic Accident)

- - - -

TOKYO -- Hundreds of Japanese people held a protest in front of the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo on Friday, demanding that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi retract her recent erroneous remarks on Taiwan and offer an explanation and apology.

People started to arrive at the rally around 7 p.m. local time, holding signs with slogans such as "Retract remarks, oppose war," "This is all because of Takaichi," and "Takaichi step down," and shouted out slogans like "Prevent the resurgence of militarism."

At a Diet meeting on Nov. 7, Takaichi claimed that the Chinese mainland's "use of force on Taiwan" could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan and implied the possibility of armed intervention in the Taiwan Strait. Takaichi later insisted that her remarks were in line with the government's longstanding view and refused to retract the remarks. (Japan-Takaichi-Protest) Enditem