Chinese President Xi Jinping has stressed the anti-graft fight is vital to the Party's long term integrity and has urged independent and authoritative supervision from disciplinary agencies.

Xi Jinping made the remarks when addressing the third plenary session of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection which began Monday. 

He stressed zero tolerance of graft and promised to seriously punish any corrupt official who is caught. 

He also urged for efforts to ensure "relatively independent and authoritative supervisory power" of disciplinary agencies at all levels.

 

Bulgarian president reaffirms commitment to Bulgaria-China ties

Bulgaria's President says his country's government pays a lot of attention to its relationship with China.

Rosen Plevneliev made the comments while paying a visit to China Radio International Tuesday in Beijing.

Plevneliev has also held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang respectively as part of his current 4-day visit to China.

Plevneliev and Xi Jinping have overseeen the signing of deals connected to areas such as maritime transport and the establishment of cultural centers. 

Plevneliev is the first head of state to visit China in 2014.

 

16 dead, 5 injured in China factory fire

16 people are dead following a factory fire in Zhejiang.

The fire tore through a shoe factory yesterday afternoon in the coastal city of Wenling.

Around 2-dozen others managed to survive the blaze. Five of them are in hospital.

The fire gutted around 800-square meters in the three hours it took to put the fire out.

The cause of the fire is unclear at this point.

 

1 dead, 21 rescued in China coal mine accident

One person is dead following a collapse at a coal mine in Anhui.

The cave-in took place at a mine in the city of Huainan, which is located about 100-kilometers north of the provincial capital, Hefei.

There were 22 men in the mine at the time of the collapse.

One of the miners made it out after being trapped for around 4-hours.

It took an additional 3-hours to reach the other group of 21, one of whom was dead.

 

Polling stations closed after Egyptian vote for referendum

Polling stations are now closed in Egypt after the first day of a two-day referendum on changes to the country's constitution.

The vote, viewed by some as a milestone in the political transition plan, is the first since the military toppled President Mohamed Morsi.

A "Yes" vote could lead to fresh elections as soon as April.

It is widely believed army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will run in the presidential election.

 

Ban calls for more international help for Syrian refugees

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is urging the international community to do more to help Syrian refugees.

The call comes following a visit to a Syrian refugee camp in Northern Iraq.

The trip to the camp comes ahead of a donor's conference for Syrian humanitarian relief which is set to open in Kuwait later today.

The camp in northern Iraq is home to around 13-thousand Syrian refugees.

 

South Sudan government makes peace with Jonglei rebellion

South Sudan's government says it has made peace with the leader of a rebellion in the country's largest state.

The announcement comes a day after government representatives flew to Jonglei for talks with militia leader David YauYau.

Yauyau has agreed to re-integrate his fighters into the government's military.

Yauyau led the Murle ethnic group in an insurrection against the government in the state of Jonglei.

(BJH/Top/W.soundbite)Yingluck says she will not resign

Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is holding firm to her pledge not to resign, despite intense pressure being put on her by opposition protesters.

This comes as protesters blockade streets across Bangkok in an attempt to shut down the capital.

Yingluck dissolved the lower house of Parliament last month and called elections for next month in a bid to ease tensions.

However, the main opposition party is planning to boycot the elections, demanding Yingluck's administration be replaced by a non-elected "people's council".

 

China's lottery sales exceed 300 bln yuan in 2013

New stats show lottery sales here in China reached 309-billion yuan this past year.

This is up over 18-percent year on year.

Welfare lottery sales increased by just under 17-percent year on year.

Sports lottery sales are up over 20-percent. 

Ministry of Commerce attributes the jump in sales to new lottery products being offered, along with the promotion of quiz-style games and more outlets for online lottery games. 

Money raised through the lotteries is used for the jackpot, management fees and public lottery funds.

 

China's moon rover performs first lunar probe

China's moon rover "Yutu", or Jade Rabbit has completed its first scientific examination of lunar soil.

The Beijing Aerospace Control Center says the rover used its mechanical arm to survey the lunar soil, following instructions from the control center back on Earth.

The examination lasted about half an hour and every operation was precisely performed by the rover.

Yutu will survey the moon's geological structure and surface substances to look for natural resources for three months, while the lander will conduct in-situ exploration at the landing site for one year.