Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi says China welcomes the agreement between the US and Russia to put Syria's chemical weapons under international supervision.

Wang Yi made the remarks during a bilateral meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Washington, the latest in an attempt to strengthen Chin US ties.

He said ultimately the issue of Syria needs to be resolved through political means and the Chinese side would play "a positive and constructive role" at the UN in helping resolve the crisis.

Wang and Kerry have also discussed the importance of cooperation in trying to achieve a nuclear-free North Korea.

 

Putin comments on Syria chemical weapons developments

Russia is to submit evidence to the U.N. Security Council that the Syrian opposition has used chemical weapons.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says a US attack on Syria is provocative.

He adds that the perpetrators have relied on "primitive" technology, using old Soviet-made ammunition no longer in the Syrian army's inventory.

Meanwhile, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has accused the United States and its Western allies of funding and arming al-Qaida-linked groups fighting in Syria against the government.

Laverov made the comments in a letter addressing the United Nations on Thursday.

A UN report released Monday confirmed that chemical weapons were used in the attack, but did not ascribe blame.

Meantime, in a statement delivered at the State Department, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says the United Nations Security Council must be prepared to draw up a "binding" resolution, after UN inspectors have come up with ample evidence of chemical weapons use in Syria.

 

No abnormality detected in crippled plant after strong quake hits Fukushima, Japan

A 5.8-magnitude earthquake has struck Japan's Fukushima Prefecture early this Friday morning, with strong tremors felt in Tokyo. 

The epicenter is reported to be close to the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

So far there are no immediate reports of damage or injury and no tsunami warnings.

Tokyo Electric Power says they have not found any abnormalities in the Fukushima Daiichi plant. 

It follows inspections of radiation and equipment at the crippled nuclear power facility.

The No. 2 nuclear plant in Tokai is also reported to be normal.

In March 2011, the Fukushima plant was destroyed following a quake-triggered tsunami which caused multiple meltdowns in four of the plant's reactors.

It led to the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986.

The plant has recently been in the spotlight again, following the leakage of highly contaminated water from the stricken complex.

 

Storms leave 97 dead, 58 missing in Mexico

The death toll from two devastating storms has climbed to 97 in Mexico with at least 58 people still missing.

Local authorities are taking efforts to determine whether the missing are still alive.

The disaster, which is the first time since 1958 that two storms have hit the country's opposite coasts within 24 hours, has triggered some of the country's worst flooding and landslides. 

Around 40-thousand tourists in Acapulco resorts are stranded and nearly 50-thousand people nationwide have had to evacuate their homes.

 

5 killed in armed attack outside prison in SE Turkey

Five people have been killed in an armed attack outside a prison in southeastern Turkey.

Reports say unknown assailants attacked the group, including a mother and her four children, who came to visit a relative in the prison in Mardin province.

Turkish security authorities have launched an operation to find and arrest the gunmen, who fled the scene.

 

Colombian peace talks recess

The latest round of peace talks between the Colombian government and the country's largest guerrilla group have concluded in Havana, cuba without any new agreement. 

14th round of peace talks between government and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia focused on what the rebel political participation would look like if a peace deal was struck.

The two parties announced in a joint statement that talks are set to resume on October 3rd.

Earlier, the two sides settled on a partial accord of agrarian reform.

 

Five killed in China makeshift house fire

Five people have been killed in a house fire in central China's Hunan Province.

The fire broke out in a makeshift house in Fangyuan township Thursday morning.

The fire burned 100-square meters of the house and killed five people living inside.

An investigation into the cause of the fire is underway.

 

China issues alert for super typhoon Usagi

China's meteorological authority has issued an alert for this year's 19th typhoon Usagi.

Usagi was upgraded to a super typhoon Thursday evening.

Later, the National Meteorological Center issued a yellow alert for the typhoon, the third highest on the country's four-tier weather warning system.

The administration says Usagi may become one of the strongest typhoons to hit China's south eastern coast this year.