China called on all parties concerned in Syria to exercise restraint in order to avoid violence or more bloodshed and conflict in the Middle East country.

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi made the call in his speech at the general debate of the 66th UN General Assembly session.

Yang urged the international community to "respect the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Syria". A recent UN statement put the number of civilians killed in the anti-government protests during the past six months in Syria at 2,600.

 

 

Typhoon hits northern Philippines, 100,000 flee

A powerful typhoon slammed ashore in the eastern Philippines where authorities ordered more than 100,000 people to seek shelter from heavy rains and wind gusts of up to 170 kilometers per hour.

With its immense 650-kilometer cloud band, the typhoon threatened to foul weather across the entire main Luzon Island as it moves across the Philippines toward the South China Sea later this week and then heads toward southern China.

Nesat is the 16th cyclone to lash the Philippines this year.

 

 

Pakistan bus crash kills 26 children, 2 teachers

Police say at least 26 school children and two teachers have been killed in a bus accident in Pakistan.

The bus was returning from a school trip to a salt mine popular with tourists when it plunged into a ditch. Police officials say 40 other people on the bus were injured.

The accident happened in Kalar Kahar, around 160 kilometers east of the capital Islamabad.

 

 

Six students killed in auto collision in N China

Six junior high students were killed and another six were injured after their vehicle was rear-ended by a truck in north China's Shanxi Province.

The van, which is allowed to carry a maximum of seven passengers, had 12 people on board when it was hit by a heavy truck from behind. The van was taking students from Lengquan Village to a middle school in town a dozen kilometers away.

Police but are still looking for the driver of the truck as he fled the scene of the accident.

 

 

China issues forest fire alert in five regions

Chinese authorities issued its second highest alert for forest fire outbreaks in five regions in the country's south and southwest.

The State Forestry Administration said there will be high risks for forest fires in the provinces of Hunan, Guangdong and Guizhou, Chongqing Municipality and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in the next three days, due to the risks caused by high temperatures and scarce rains.

The agency said drought has lingered in most of those areas, with precipitation levels at about half the historic averages.

 

 

Israel releases Palestinian reporter for Al Jazeera

Israel freed a Palestinian correspondent for Al Jazeera from custody, saying he had confessed to links with Hamas and had received a suspended prison sentence.

Samer Allawi, a West Bank native and head of the Arabic satellite station's Kabul bureau, said after his release that his contacts with Palestinian Islamists were part of his work as a journalist.

The Qatar-based station's Jerusalem bureau has occasionally sparred with Israeli officials who accused it of bias.

 

 

Shutdown averted; disaster aid dispute surmounted

Ending weeks of political brinkmanship, the US Congress finessed a dispute over disaster aid and advanced legislation to avoid a partial government shutdown only days away.

The agreement ensured there would be no interruption in assistance to areas battered by disasters such as Hurricane Irene, and also that the government would be able to run normally when the new budget year begins this weekend.

The Senate approved the resolution after a day of behind-the-scenes talks and occasionally biting debate, spelling an end to the latest in a string of standoffs between Democrats and Republicans over deficits, spending and taxes.

 

 

US home-buying season the worst in at least 50 years

The US home-buying season was a bust.

March through August are typically the peak buying months in the US. But this time, Americans bought fewer new homes in that stretch than in any other six-month period since record-keeping began a half-century ago, with roughly 168,000 new homes sold.

And sales of previously occupied homes did not fare much better.

Combined, total sales this spring and summer were the weakest on records dating to 1963. The figures underscore how badly the US housing market is faring and suggest that a recovery is years away.

 

 

Chinese Forbidden City exhibits open at Louvre

About 130 artifacts from the Forbidden City, China's ancient imperial palace museum greeted the French public in the Louvre Museum in an exhibition that will run until early next year.

The exhibits including arms, clothing, bronzes, pieces of jade, lacquerware, enamels, seals, ceramics and personal effects of the Ming and Qing emperors, some of which were on their first overseas visit.

The Louvre, which has no Chinese art department, modified parts of the museum to accommodate the collection.