China said Monday its launch of a new spacecraft was merely a test to see whether the vehicle could be re-used.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said the launch involved a spacecraft rather than a missile and was of "great significance for reducing the use-cost of spacecraft and could provide a convenient and affordable way to make a round trip for mankind's peaceful use of space."

Ansu Fati is quickly becoming Barcelona's go-to player in the absence of Lionel Messi.

The 18-year-old Fati made his first start for Barcelona after a long injury layoff on Sunday, scoring a goal and earning his team a penalty as the Catalan club halted its losing streak by rallying to beat Valencia 3-1 in the Spanish league.

The Taiwanese company that manufactures smartphones for Apple Inc. and other global brands announced plans Monday to produce electric cars for auto brands under a similar contract model.

Foxconn Technology Group will produce cars and buses for brands in China, North America, Europe and other markets, said its chairman, Young Liu. He said the clients can modify their appearance and features for their markets.

Facebook said it plans to hire 10,000 workers in the European Union over the next five years to work on a new computing platform that promises to connect people virtually but could raise concerns about privacy and the social platform gaining more control in people's online lives.

The company said in a blog post Sunday that those high-skilled workers will help build "the metaverse," a futuristic notion for connecting online that uses augmented and virtual reality.

A college basketball player hatched the idea after seeing a discrimination case nearly implode his own team, then wondering why nobody had done anything about it sooner.

Ten years later, that player has developed the idea into a key tool for fixing a sports landscape teeming with cases of sexual abuse, along with examples of racism and sexism in the workplace, discrimination, harassment and doping cheats at virtually every level.

World shares were mostly lower on Monday after China reported its economy grew at a meager 4.9% annual pace in July-September.

Germany's DAX declined 0.5% to 15,506.11 and the CAC 40 in Paris gave up 0.8% to 6,676.21. Britain's FTSE 100 lost 0.2% to 7,216.79.

Ford Motor Co. plans to spend up to 230 million pounds ($315 million) to turn a transmission factory in northwest England into a plant that will make electric power units for cars and trucks sold throughout Europe.

The carmaker said Monday that the Halewood plant would begin producing the power units, which replace the engine and transmission used in internal combustion engines, by mid-2024. Capacity is planned to be around 250,000 units a year.

The first new Alzheimer's treatment in more than 20 years was hailed as a breakthrough when regulators approved it more than four months ago, but its rollout has been slowed by questions about its price and how well it works.

Several major medical centers remain undecided on whether to use Biogen's Aduhelm, which is recommended for early stages of the disease. Big names like the Cleveland Clinic and Mass General Brigham in Boston say they'll pass on it for now.

Almost overnight, Japan has become a stunning, and somewhat mysterious, coronavirus success story.

Daily new COVID-19 cases have plummeted from a mid-August peak of nearly 6,000 in Tokyo, with caseloads in the densely populated capital now routinely below 100, an 11-month low.

More than 1,600 firefighters were battling the blaze in the Santa Ynez Mountains west of Santa Barbara on land and by air. They were able to stop its forward growth, and the blaze was 78% contained, federal officials said.

The Alisal Fire started last Monday and has scorched nearly 27 square miles (69 square kilometers). It is threatening about 400 structures.