The 22nd Winter Olympic Games opened on Friday night in a spectacular ceremony which was attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the invitation of his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.

Putin declared the Games open at the Fisht Olympic Stadium following a speech by Olympic chief Thomas Bach, who stressed "the Olympics are about building bridges to bring people together." 

President Xi Jinping rose from his seat and waved to the Chinese delegation which was led into the stadium by star figure skater and flagbearer Tong Jian in the athletes parade. 

Xi Jinping's appearance at the Sochi Olympic opening ceremony was the first attendance by a Chinese president at a major overseas sports event, signaling China's strong support for the Olympics and Russia's efforts to host the Games. 

China sent a 138-member delegation including 65 athletes to the first ever winter Olympics held in Russia. 

The Chinese president met Chinese athletes and coaches earlier in the day, giving a boost to their morale.

 

Chinese president, UN chief vow to promote world peace, development

The Chinese President met with the UN Secretary General ahead of the opening ceremony of the Sochi Winter Olympics.

China is proposing and implementing multilateralism in supporting UN peace and development efforts.

The Chinese president stresses that China's development cannot continue without a peaceful and stable external environment. China will vigorously participate in UN efforts to settle international disputes.

 

Airplane from Ukraine forced to land in Istanbul after hijack attempt

A passenger plane en route from Ukraine to Turkey made an emergency landing in Istanbul on Friday after a passenger attempted to hijack the airliner to divert it to Sochi, Russia, where the Winter Olympics are taking place. 

The pilot of the airplane, which departed from Kharkov, Ukraine, sent a hijack signal on the air. Turkey then scrambled a F-16 military jet to force the plane to land at Sabiha Gokcen airport in Istanbul, according to a statement of the Turkish Ministry of Transportation.

 

China says U.S. "irresponsible" over South China Sea ADIZ

China's Foreign Ministry says some U.S. officials are "extremely irresponsible" after the U.S. accused China of planning to set up an Air Defense Identification Zone over the South China Sea.

A Chinese official says the accusations are groundless.

Japan's daily newspaper reported last week that China had drafted proposals for an ADIZ. An U.S. official responded by repeating warnings to China.

China says the allegations are aimed to shift international attention away from Japan in order to cover up Japan's plan to change its pacifist constitution and expand its military power. 

China maintains that it has legitimate rights to adopt all measures to safeguard national security, including setting up an ADIZ.

 

China, India to meet on border issues

Chinese and Indian officials will meet to discuss border issues between the two nations.

The talks, to be held in India, are the 17th round of discussions of their kind.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hong Lei describes the border issues between the countries as "problems left over by history."

He notes that progress has been made in easing tensions.

Special representatives were appointed in 2003 to help the two sides work on border-related issues.

 

Syrian gov't to partake in 2nd round of Geneva II talks

A Syrian official has confirmed his government will take part in the second round the Geneva II conference. 

The delegation will focus on the Geneva I communiqué and putting an end to terrorism in Syria.

The first round of Geneva II talks ended without achieving significant results.

The opposition coalition is demanding a Syrian transitional government with full executive. 

They say President Bashar al-Assad must have no role in the transitional government.

 

Spring Festival tourism revenue up 16.4 pct

Tourism revenue generated during Spring Festival is up more than 16 percent compared to a year ago.

The National Tourism Administration says the sector did more than 126 billion yuan worth of business during the holiday this year, the equivalent of just over 20 billion US dollars.

There were more than 231 million tourists during the holiday, an increase of 14 percent over last year.

 

Zhang Yimou fined 7.48 mln for over-production

Movie director Zhang Yimou has been fined 7.48 million yuan for violating China's family planning policy.

Zhang and his wife have been fined after he acknowledged to having two sons and a daughter. 

The amount of the fine is calculated based on the couple's income and the cost of social maintenance.