China strongly opposes Japanese rightists landing on the Diaoyu Islands on Sunday, and urges Japan to put an end to its actions that seek to undermine China's territorial sovereignty.

China's Foreign Ministry Qin Gang said in a statement on Sunday the illegal actions of the Japanese rightists have violated China's territorial sovereignty, and senior officials from the Foreign Ministry have lodged solemn representations to the Japanese ambassador to China.

He said the Japanese side should properly handle the current issue and avoid seriously damaging the overall situation of China-Japan relations.

A total of 150 Japanese lawmakers and members of right-wing groups went to waters around the Diaoyu Islands to mourn soldiers who died in World War II, and 10 of them landed on the Diaoyu Islands Sunday morning, according to media reports.

 

All 31 passengers, including minister, killed in Sudanese plane crash: airport spokesman

A plane crash in Sudan on early Sunday has claimed the lives of all the 31 people aboard it, including a minister.

An airport spokesman told Xinhua that all passengers on board the plane from the capital Khartoum to South Kordofan state belonged to a government delegation, and one of them was Minister of Guidance and Religious Endowments Ghazi al-Sadiq. 

He said the plane, which took off in the morning, crashed in a mountainous region near its destination. 

Sudan has witnessed several plane crashes in recent years.

 

Chinese State Councilor leaves for security talks with Russia 

State Councilor Dai Bingguo left Beijing for Russia on Sunday to hold the seventh round of strategic security talks between the two countries.

He will also pay an official visit to Mongolia as a guest of the Mongolian government.

 

Russia opposes establishing no-fly zone over Syria: FM 

Russia says Russia opposes the idea of setting up a no-fly zone over Syria, which, it believes, would be a violation of Syria's sovereignty.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters if these zones are going to cover the territory of the Syrian state, this will constitute a violation of its sovereignty and of the U.N. Charter.

He says Moscow believes the imposition of the no-fly zone "on the pretext of preventing humanitarian crisis" in Syria is unacceptable.

 

A strong quake jolts Indonesia

A strong shallow earthquake with a magnitude of 6.2 has jolted Central Sulawesi of Indonesia, leaving four people seriously wounded and a number of houses damaged.

Identification of the impact of the quake is underway.

 

SA platinum mine to make compensation for shootout tragedy

As the South African government vows to uncover truth about a tragedy in which dozens of miners were killed, the Lonmin Marikana Platinum Mine has decided to compensate all the families who have lost their loved ones.

The mine says in a statement it will also provide funding for the education of all the children of employees who lost their lives. 

A terrible shootout incident between the platinum miners and police erupted on Thursday as several hundred police attempted to disperse several thousand striking miners at the Lonmin's Marikana mine, leaving 34 people dead and 78 other injured.

 

Russia launches U.S. satellite from floating pad 

A Russian Zenit-3SL rocket carrying a U.S. communications satellite was launched Sunday from a seaborne launch platform in the Pacific Ocean.

The Intelsat-21 satellite was launched at from the Odyssey floating platform. The satellite has successfully separated from the rocket.

The 6,000-kg satellite, launched by the Sea Launch corporation, is designed to operate for 15 years. The satellite will replace the Intelsat-9 to provide telecoms services to people in Latin America. 

It was the second seaborne launch conducted by the Sea Launch corporation in 2012. In June, the corporation successfully orbited a Intelsat-19 satellite.

 

Two dead, 10 missing after rain storms in SW China 

Two are reported dead and 10 others are missing after rain storms in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

Local authorities say the heavy rains from Friday to Saturday had triggered landslides, mud-rock flow and floods and damaged water conservancy, power, and telecommunication facilities, in affected areas.

More rains are predicted in parts of Sichuan over the next five days.

 

Rainfall to hit north China as heatwave to continue in south 

The National Meteorological Center says strong cold air will hit north China in the next two days, bringing heavy rainfall to the region, while scorching weather will persist in the south.

The cold air will arrive between Monday and Tuesday from Mongolia and cause temperature drops and heavy rains in most parts of north China, with downpours hitting some areas. 

Meanwhile, the center maintained the blue high-temperature alert Sunday, forecasting that temperatures will surge above 35 degrees Celsius in east of the Sichuan Basin, parts of Chongqing Municipality, and Guangdong and Hubei provinces and most areas south of the Yangtze River