Muncipal authorities here in Beijing have lifted the orange alert for heavy air pollution.

This, after a strong cold front and slight rain rolled through the capital last night, dispersing the week-long smog.

Today, air quality levels are listed as "fairly good", or level 2, here in Beijing. 

Despite this, Chinese President Xi Jinping has issued a new call for more to be done to tackle air pollution.

PM2.5 counts in the capital spiked yesterday, with most monitoring stations in the capital maxing out at the 500-level, which is the highest readings they can provide.

 

China urges Japan to address concerns of wartime forced laborers

China's Foreign Ministry has released a new statement, urging Japanese leaders to address the concerns of Chinese wartime forced laborers, who are suing Japanese firms for compensation. 

The comment comes on word that 37 former forced laborers have filed a lawsuit with the courts here in Beijing.

The group of 37 is seeking compensation of 1 million yuan each, as well as an apology from Mitsubishi and Mitsui.

A court in Japan has already rejected the Chinese plaintiffs' wartime compensation claims.

 

Riot police disbanded in Ukraine

Ukrainian riot police forces have been disbanded after being accused of being responsible for the deaths connected to the political unrest in Kiev.

This comes amid rising tension in Ukraine's Crimea region, where fistfights have broken out between pro- and anti-Russian demonstrators.

At least 20 people have reportedly been hurt in the unrest in the Crimea.

Russian Resident Vladimir Putin has ordered a massive training exercise for military units across Russia, including along the border with Ukraine.

NATO defense ministers, currently meeting in Brussels, now say they're closely monioring the movements of the Russian forces.

 

Thai Protesters outside police HQ demand justice after weekend of violence

Anti-government protesters in Thailand have rallied outside the national police headquarters in Bangkok.

They are demanding justice for the five people killed in a pair of attacks on anti-government rally sites over the weekend. 

Two children were killed in a grenade attack on a protest site in Bangkok, which has prompted a change in philosphy among those who have been taking part in the demonstrations.

On Saturday, a five-year-old girl was killed in an attack on a rally site in the eastern province of Trat.

At least 20 people have been killed since the protests to overthrow the government of Yingluck Shinawatra began in November.

 

26 sentenced to death over Suez 'terror plot'

An Egyptian court has sentenced 26 people to death for plotting attacks on ships passing through the Suez Canal.

The judges in the case say the men are also responsible for manufacturing missiles and explosives.

The defendants have all been tried in absentia. 

The sentencing comes a day after new Egyptian Prime Minister designate, Ibrahim Mahlab, vowed to "crush terrorism in all corners of the country".

Mahlab has been put in charge of forming a new government following Monday's surprise resignation of interim Prime Minister Hazem al-Beblawi and his cabinet.

 

Italian navy rescues 800 migrants in 24 hours

Italy's navy announced on Wednesday that it has rescued 800 migrants over the previous 24 hours.

Several rescue operations involving ships and helicopters have been carried out in the Strait of Sicily between Italy and Tunisia.

Nearly 600 people were rescued overnight with another 200 picked up Wednesday morning.

It was the second major rescue operation of the sort in less than a month. The Italian navy carried out a similar intervention at the beginning of February, saving over 1,100 migrants in 24 hours.

 

China, ASEAN to discuss DOC maritime principles/xinhua

Several Asian nations, including China, will meet on March 18th to discuss a maritime code of conduct.

The Foreign Ministry says it's the 10th round of meetings on Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC).

The government says it is open minded and looking to maintain smooth communications with countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

 

Shanghai FTZ lifts foreign-currency deposit rates cap

Central bank here in China is taking another step toward creating more financial freedom in the Free Trade Zone in Shanghai.

In its latest move, the PBOC is set to remove the interest rate ceilings on smaller foreign-currency deposits in the FTZ.

The new rules will be effective from March 1st.

The relaxation of the rules applies to deposits of less than 3 million U.S. dollars.

Currently, regulatory caps apply to one-year or other shorter-term deposits in U.S. dollars, the Japanese yen, euros and Hong Kong dollars. 

Deposits worth more than 3 million U.S. dollars are not subject to the interest rate ceilings. 

The move marks the full liberalization of interest rates on foreign-currency deposits in the FTZ.

 

China reports pension funds surplus

The Chinese government says the country's pension system is in surplus, a sharp contrast to reports of a possible pension crisis.

The funds balance stood at 3.1 trillion yuan, or 506 billion US dollars, at the end of 2013. 2.8 trillion of that is the balance for registered workers' pensions.

Hu Xiaoyi, vice minister of human resources and social security, says payment into the pension system totalled 2.25 trillion yuan last year, while payments totalled 1.84 trillion.