Xi, Medvedev pledge closed cooperation
Chinese President Xi Jinping has met with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev here in Beijing.
The two are promising to enhance their strategic and economic cooperation.
Medvedev has highlighted the flood relief cooperation between the two sides along their shared border in the northeast earlier this year.
Meantime, the two countries have signed over 20 agreements, including several key oil export deals.
The signing of the documents was overseen by Medvedev and his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang.
Under the new deal, Russia will supply an additional 100 million tons of crude oil to China over the next 10 years.
Medvedev is now in China for a two-day visit which will also take him to east China's Anhui.
China, Singapore reach consensus on upgrading bilateral cooperation
The governments of China and Singapore have agreed to upgrade their ties in areas such as economics, financial services, cultural exchanges and all-round growth.
The pledge has been made at the 10th Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation meeting taking place in Singapore.
The meeting is being co-chaired by Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli and Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean.
7 other agreements have also been signed at the meeting, covering areas such as services trade, joint investment in third countries and food safety.
UN working toward Geneva II; 1 killed, 14 injured in northern Lebanon clashes
A leading UN official says the organization is working hard toward establishing an international conference on Syria by mid-November.
The suggestion comes as UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi continues his tour of the region, trying to drum up support for another international conference to be held in Geneva.
Meanwhile, sectarian violence has broken out again in northern Lebanon in connection with the situation in Syria.
One person is dead and over a dozen others hurt, after fighting broke out among Shiite and Alawite factions in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli.
The fighting broke out after Syrian president Bashar al-Assad appeared in an interview on a local Lebanese television station this week.
UN working toward Geneva II; 1 killed, 14 injured in northern Lebanon clashes
Meanwhile, sectarian violence has broken out again in northern Lebanon in connection with the situation in Syria.
One person is dead and over a dozen others hurt, after fighting broke out among Shiite and Alawite factions in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli.
The fighting broke out after Syrian president Bashar al-Assad appeared in an interview on a local Lebanese television station this week.
The Shiite population in Lebanon mostly supports the rebels, while the Alawite population stands behind Bashar al-Assad's administration.
This has led to a series of deadly clashes in Lebanon since the Syrian civil war broke out 30-months ago.
EU to revive membership talks with Turkey
EU ministers have agreed to revive membership talks with Turkey, despite criticizing it for its recent crack-down on protesters in Istanbul.
The renewed talks next month will end a three-year hiatus.
The agreement comes after Germany dropped its opposition to the resumption of talks.
Turkey began negotiations to join the EU in 2005, 18 years after applying.
However, a series of political obstacles, notably Cyprus and resistance from Germany and France, have dragged down the process.
Residents told to leave Blue Mountains to allow firefighters to deal with blazes
People living in the Blue Mountains in southeast Australia have been told to leave their homes to allow firefighters to battle the dozens of wildfires burning in the region.
Officials in New South Wales are asking people to remain vigilant, given that a light drizzle fell overnight.
Firefighters are battling to gain some control over the blazes before the onset of worsening weather conditions for the rest of this week.
The fires have left one person dead.
They've also destroyed or damaged hundreds of homes in New South Wales since last week.
Rain causes flooding as Hurricane Raymond weakens off Mexico's Pacific coast
Hurricane Raymond is weakening and slowly drifting away from Mexico's Pacific coast.
But not before bringing heavy flooding to the region.
Parts of central Acapulco are flooded.
This is the same region still trying to recover from Tropical Storm Manuel a month ago.
Hurricane Raymond is expected to head out to sea.
But it could still bring as much as 30 centimeters of rain to some parts of the Mexican west coast.
Manila mayor to apologize for Hong Kong hostage crisis
The City Council of Manila has passed a resolution, authorizing the city government to issue an official apology for the deadly Manila hostage crisis in 2010 which left 8 Hong Kong tourists dead.
Local media is reporting the Mayor of Manila, former President Joseph Estrata, is going to hand-deliver the apology.
It's unclear if the formal apology will open up any legal avenues for the families of the victims and the survivors when it comes to compensation.
In August of 2010, a recently-fired police officer took a bus full of Hong Kong tourists hostage for 12-hours in downtown Manila, demanding his job back.
The gunman then began slaughering the hostages during an attempt by Philippine special forces to bring the crisis to an end, in an event shown around the world on live television.
The hostage-taker was eventually shot and killed in the final assault on the bus.
Beijing officially adopts emergency response for air pollution
The Beijing municipal government has officially adopted an emergency scheme only put in place when the city's air pollution reaches alarming levels.
The emergency plan will only allow drivers to use their cars every other day in town according to odd- and even-numbered license plates when a red alert is issued.
It will also take 80 percent of cars used by municipal government departments from streets during these days.
The city government has promised to issue warnings at least 24 hours before severe polluted days.
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