The Chinese government issued a white paper on Diaoyu Islands Tuesday.

Entitled "Diaoyu Dao, an Inherent Territory of China", it was released by the State Council Information Office.

It says Diaoyu Islands are China's inherent territory in all historical, geographical and legal terms, and China enjoys indisputable sovereignty over the Islands.

 

 

China's first aircraft carrier commissioned

 

China's first aircraft carrier has been commissioned to the People's Liberation Army or PLA Navy.

Overseen by President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, the carrier was officially handed over by the navy's main contractor, the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, at a ceremony held at a naval base in northeast China's city of Dalian.

The carrier, formerly known as the Soviet ship Varyag, was renamed Liaoning after years of refitting as well as a year-long sea trial.

The ceremony makes China the tenth country in the world and the last among the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council to have an aircraft carrier in active service.

The People's Liberation Army says after being commissioned, the Liaoning will continue to serve for scientific research purposes, as well as military training.

China announced its aircraft carrier program in July last year, when the carrier was berthed in Dalian for refitting. Dalian is located on the south coast of Liaoning province.

 

 

Death toll climbs to 20 in NW China mine carriages crash

 

The death toll has climbed to twenty after two carriages carrying mine workers back to ground crashed earlier today in a pit in northwest China's Gansu Province.

A steel cable pulling a locomotive carrying 34-miners in two carriages snapped in the pit in Baiyin city.

The two carriages slipped and overturned, sending all the workers aboard down into the pit.

Rescuers have retrieved all the miners. Most of the 14 survivors are in hospital with injuries.

Company sources said the cable that snapped was replaced recently, but an initial investigation suggested the carriages were overloaded.

 

 

Political dialogue only way to settle Syrian crisis: Chinese FM

 

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi has met with UN-Arab League special envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi in New York.

Yang Jiechi says political dialogue is the only "correct" way to settle the Syrian crisis.

For his part, Brahimi has told the Chinese foreign minister that the situation in Syria is grave.

The former Algerian foreign minister and U.N. diplomat also urges the international community to help to promote political solution in Syria.

 

 

Pakistan's court adjourns hearing on Swiss graft letter till Wednesday

 

Pakistan's top court has given the government one day to redraft a letter to be sent to the Swiss authorities for reopening graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.

The judges raised certain objections concerning the letter and sought clarification from the Law Minister, Farooq H Naek, who had submitted a draft of the letter before a five-member bench of the Supreme Court.

Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf last week told the court that his government had decided to withdraw a letter previously sent to the Swiss authorities for closing graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.

 

 

Israeli Ex-PM Receives Suspended Sentence in Corruption Case

 

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has received an unexpectedly light sentence for his role in a corruption case that forced him from office.

A Jerusalem court ordered Olmert to pay a fine of 18-thousand U.S. dollars and order him to serve a one-year suspended sentence.

He was not given any further jail time or community service.

By avoiding stiffer penalties, Olmert is now eligible to run for parliament, but he remains barred from serving in a Cabinet post while he faces another corruption trial.

Olmert was forced out of office nearly four years ago under a cloud of scandal.

 

 

North Korea approves 12-year compulsory education

 

The Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea has approved a 12-year compulsory education plan.

The universal 12-year compulsory education will be free of charge for all children aged from 5 to 17.

It will consist of one year of pre-school education, five years of primary schooling, three years of junior middle schooling, and three years of senior middle schooling.

The Supreme People's Assembly is the supreme legislative body of North Korea.

 

 

1 dead, 13 injured in stampede of North India

 

At least one person has been killed and 13 others injured in a stampede triggered by overcrowding at a temple in Kanpur, North India.

The incident occured when people gathered to celebrate the Budhwa Mangal festival at the Hanuman temple of Panki.

One eyewitness complained of poor crowd control arrangements. The injured are being treated at hospital.

 

 

35 Mexican police officers arrested over drug cartel links

 

The Mexican Navy has announced the detention of 35-police officers in eastern Mexico for alleged involvement with the Zetas drug cartel.

All of the detained were police officers in the state of Veracruz.

Veracruz has long suffered drug-related violence, it also witnessed the killings of 35 people last September.

The Zetas, a gang formed in the 1990s by deserters of special military forces, is seen as one of the most powerful drug trafficking groups in Mexico.