The second round negotiations of the Geneva II international conference on Syria has concluded without achieving tangible results.

UN-Arab League Special Envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi said a proposed agenda for the next round of talks was agreed between delegates of the Syrian government and the opposition, but did not reveal the exact date. 

The four-point agenda included fighting violence and terrorism, the transitional governing body, national institutions, and as well as national reconciliation and national debate, according to Brahimi.

 

Death toll rises to four in Indonesian volcano eruption

The death toll from eruption of Kelud volcano in Indonesia's province of East Java increased to four on Saturday with all of them living within the radius of 7 kilometers from the crater of the volcano. 

Due to impacts of the eruption, Indonesia has closed 7 airports on Java island until further notice.

UN chief hails formation of new Lebanese government

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon has welcomed the formation of a new government in Lebanon and called for a successful presidential elections in the Middle East country. 

Earlier Saturday, a new government led by new Prime Minister Tamam Salam was formed in Lebanon, after a 10-month deadlock.

 

Plane forced to turn around after hitting birds in China

An airplane was forced to return to the airport in eastern Chinese city of Hefei after hitting birds en route to Beijing Saturday, but no casualties have been reported.

The China Eastern Airlines plane, was struck by birds on its right engine, about 10 minutes after takeoff at 7:58 a.m. 

The bird strike led to a mechanical fault in the engine, forcing the plane to turn around. The flight was canceled later and passengers were transferred to another plane. 

It is the second such accident in two days at the Xinqiao airport. 

The aviation authorities are investigating the two accidents.

 

Firework frenzy in China aggravates air pollution

China's environmental watchdog said on Saturday that 33 of the 161 cities monitored nationwide were hit by heavy air pollution on the Lantern Festival, due to firework revelry and unfavorable weather conditions.

Beijing, together with its surrounding cities such as Shijiazhuang, Baoding, Xingtai and Hengshui, was rated by the Ministry of Environmental Protection as "severely polluted" .

An official with the ministry says the northern Tianjin-Hebei region will continue to suffer mild to moderate air pollution on Sunday and Monday due to unfavorable atmospheric conditions. 

Beijing will see heavy to severe air pollution over the following two days.

 

China reports new H7N9 cases, cities ban poultry trading

Chinese cities have stepped up control of the live poultry trade as the number of human H7N9 bird flu infections continues to rise.

Health authorities in east China's Anhui Province on Saturday reported a new human H7N9 infection.

The health department in south China's Guangdong Province on Saturday also reported two new H7N9 infection cases. 

There have been more than 120 human H7N9 cases reported in China so far this year, and at least 32 deaths.

Poultry trade has been considered a primary source of human infection for the virus, as most of the diagnosed patients had close contact with poultry.

 

China's new loans reach 1.32 trillion yuan

China's new yuan-denominated lending reached 1.32 trillion yuan (216 billion U.S. dollars) in January, up over 246 billion yuan year on year.

The central bank says the country's social financing, a measure of funds raised by entities through bank credit and other means, amounted to 2.58 trillion yuan last month, surging over 1.3 trillion yuan from December and up 39 billion yuan from a year earlier.

M2, a broad measure of money supply that covers cash in circulation and all deposits, increased 13.2 percent year on year to 112 trillion yuan at the end of January. 

The narrow measure of money supply (M1), which covers cash in circulation plus demand deposits, expanded 1.2 percent to 31 trillion yuan at the end of last month.

 

Chinese film "Black Coal, Thin Ice" won Golden Bear in 64th Berlinale

Chinese film "Black Coal, Thin Ice" won the Golden Bear, the top jury prize awarded to the best film, in the 64th Berlin International Film Festival on Saturday. 

Chinese Actor Liao Fan, for the role of Zhang Zili in film "Black Coal, Thin Ice" , won the Silver Bear for Best Actor.

Chinese Zhou Yang wins Olympic women's short track 1,500m gold

Chinese Zhou Yang defended her women's 1,500m short track speed skating gold medal at the Sochi Olympic Games on Saturday.

The 22-year-old Zhou surged to win the final in 2:19.140 and South Korea's Shim Suk Hee took the silver.

Italian Arianna Fontana got the bronze.