China has urged Malaysia to continue providing more "thorough and accurate information" about missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 after Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said the disappearance of the missing Malaysia Airlines jet was deliberate.

China's deputy foreign minister Xie Hangsheng says the Chinese government and all the people in the country pay great attention to the latest news on the missing Malaysia Airlines jet.

The Malaysian authorities are now trying to trace the missing jet in one of two possible corridors -- a northern one from the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to northern Thailand, and a southern one stretching from Indonesia to the southern Indian Ocean.

Citing the decision made at an inter-agency emergency meeting held in Beijing following Najib's press conference, Xie Hangsheng urged the Malaysian side to continue stepping up the efforts to search the plane, keeping close touch with the Chinese side on the readjustment for the search deployment, and providing the Chinese side with more thorough and accurate information. 

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said earlier in a press release that China would adjust its deployment for the search in a timely manner and work together with all sides involved to expand the search area at the sea and on the land.

 

Indian air traffic control experts rule out possibility of missing Malaysian jet entering Indian airspace

Indian air traffic control experts have ruled out the possibility of the missing Malaysia Airlines jet entering Indian airspace without being noticed by Indian defense system.

Meanwhile, Vietnam has decided to end the search mission for a missing Malaysian jet.

 

UN Security Council fails to adopt Ukraine resolution

The UN Security Council on Saturday failed to adopt a draft resolution on Ukraine, which otherwise would declare the March 16 referendum on the status of the Russian-speaking Crimea "can have no validity," and urge nations and international organizations not to recognize it. 

Russia, one of the five permanent Security Council members, voted against the draft resolution drawn up by the United States and backed by Western countries. China, also a permanent Security Council member, abstained. 

Meanwhile, China has made a three-point proposal on seeking a political solution to the ongoing Ukraine crisis, stressing that the key to resolving the crisis is to settle differences through dialogue and negotiations.

Liu Jieyi, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, says China holds an objective and fair position on the Ukraine issue.

He says China will continue to mediate and promote dialogue so as to play a constructive role in bringing about a political solution to the crisis in Ukraine.

 

Sevastopol makes final preparation for referendum

Polling stations in the Crimean port city of Sevastopol are making final preparations for a referendum widely expected to transfer control of the Black Sea peninsula from Ukraine to Russia.

Sunday's vote in Crimea, dismissed by Kiev and Western governments as illegal, has triggered the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War.

 

G8 prepares expulsion of Russia: media

Russia is threatened to lose its status as a G8 member country amid the Ukrainian crisis as the G7 group is considering to choose London as an alternative meeting place for the Sochi summit.

Reports say the group of seven major industrialized nations (G7) is reportedly preparing for a meeting without Russia.

The British government suggested London as an alternative meeting place for a G8 meeting that includes Russia and had been scheduled to take place in Sochi in June.

 

China regulates online advertising for user security

Industrial standards for China's Internet advertising went into effect on Saturday as concerns rise over users' information security.

The standards, created by the China Internet Association, require that the collection, use, transfer and sharing of user information should stick to mutual agreements and abide by laws and regulations. 

Websites are required to make clear to users when they are collecting and using information and notify users in a timely manner for privacy protection. Sensitive information can only be collected after agreement by users, according to the standards. 

The association says that, unlike traditional advertising, online advertisers can target special groups of users based on their online behaviors, which can be recorded and analyzed, stirring privacy concerns.

 

China widens yuan daily trading band to 2 pct

China will widen the yuan's daily trading band from the current 1 percent to 2 percent starting next Monday.

The country's central bank says starting March 17, Chinese banks can exchange the yuan in the foreign exchange spot market at 2 percent above or below the central parity against the U.S. dollar announced by the China Foreign Exchange Trading System each trading day.

It says the move will meet market demands and further liberalize the renminbi exchange rate.

China raised the yuan's daily trading limit from 0.5 percent to 1 percent in 2012.