Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has met with his Mongolian counterpart Luvsanvandan Bold here in Beijing.

Bold's visit comes as the two countries mark the 65th anniversary of diplomatic ties this year.

Wang Yi says China will remain a trustworthy partner of Mongolia.

He also suggests the development of China will create more opportunities for its neighboring countries.

For his part, Bold says his government is ready to deepen its two-way cooperation with China.

Bold kicked off his 6-day visit to China yesterday, which is expected to see him make a stop in Xinjiang, on top of Beijing.

 

Russia says Iran will be part of resolution of Syria crisis

Russian President Vladimir Putin has met up with the foreign ministers of Iran and Syria in Moscow.

The meeting comes ahead of the forthcoming Geneva peace talks next week. 

Iran has not yet been invited to the conference.

Despite this, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov says Iran will "inevitably" take part in any resolution to the Syrian conflict.

Lavrov also says Moscow is NOT working on a separate track with Damascus and Tehran to resolve the conflict.

Syria's main opposition-in-exile, the Syrian National Coalition, is expected to vote later today on whether to attend next week's peace conference.

A Syria-based opposition group, the National Coordination Body, has announced it will not attend the upcoming peace talks.

 

Italy picks the port for transfer of Syria's arsenal

Meanwhile the southern Italian port of Gioia Tauro has been selected as the site for the transfer of Syria's chemical weapons stockpiles.

Italian authorities say a total of 60 containers will be transferred to a U.S. ship at the port in Calabria.

None of the containers will be brought ashore.

The first load of material a poison gas and nerve agents are currently aboard a Danish ship.

Navy vessels from China, Russia, Denmark and Norway have been escorting the ship.

The chemical weapons will be transferred to a US cargo vessel for eventual destruction at sea.

 

North Korea calls for stop of military actions from South, warning for nuclear disaster

A new statement from North Korea has struck both a conciliatory and provocative tone when it comes to its relationship with South Korea.

In calling on South Korea to cancel its forthcoming military exercises with the US next month, North Korea suggests the two stop vilifying one-another, saying it will create a climate for better relations.

But in the same televised statement, the North also sees its nuclear capabilities as a "most justified defensive choice" to deter a nuclear threat from the United States.

North Korea views joint military drills between the US and South Korea as provocative action and a prelude to an attack.

Both South Korea and the US say their regular drills are strictly defensive in nature.

Ahead of the North Korean statement, the South announced that its joint military drills with the US next month will go ahead as scheduled.

Amid this, the Chinese government has issued a statement, once-again calling for restraint on all sides.

 

Rahul Gandhi will not run for PM, says India's Congress party

India's National Congress Party has announced Rahul Ghandi will not be the party's candidate for Prime Minister.

In making the announcement, the party says the 43-year old will still be in charge of coordinating the forthcoming campaign.

Many in India had been hoping Rahul Ghandi, the scion of the influential Nehru-Ghandi family, would be tapped to run for the country's top political position.

The Indian National Congress Party is meeting later on this Friday in Delhi, where many had expected Rahul Ghandi was going to be tapped to lead his party in the forthcoming elections.

 

30 killed, 25 wounded in attacks across Iraq

Over two-dozen people have been killed in the latest round of attacks in Iraq.

Authorities are reporting at least 30 people are dead and 25 others wounded in the attacks.

In one incident, 14 people have been found murdered in an orchard near a Sunni village about 30-kilometers north of Baghdad.

The group was kidnapped on Wednesday by men wearing Iraqi army uniforms.

At the same time, unidentified gunmen have also been attacking checkpoints, leaving a number of Iraqi security personnel dead.

The killings are the latest in an almost daily string of violent assaults across the country, which finds itself gripped in some of the worst sectarian violence since the height of the insurgency in 2007.

 

Regional parliament asks Spain hold independence referendum

Catalonian lawmakers in Spain have voted in favor of asking for the right to hold a referendum on whether the region should secede.

The referendum was first proposed in 2012 after the Spanish government rejected Catalonia's plan to reduce the tax revenue the wealthy region transfers to poorer regions in Spain.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has repeatedly said he will not allow a Catalonia session referendum, saying it is unconstitutional.

The vote by Catalonian lawmakers is largely symbolic.

Catalonia can ask Spain for permission to hold an independence vote, but Madrid still has the final say.

 

Railway police ensure smooth travel for Spring Festival

Railway police in China say the measures adopted by the agency will ensure a smooth and safe journey during China's holiday travel rush.

With Spring Festival approaching, the largest human migration on earth began on Thursday.

Over the next 40 days, more than 3.6 billion trips will be made across China, with the railway accounting for 258 million of them.

Railway police have been conducting safety insepctions for the past couple of weeks, while also conducting drills for emergencies and exteme weather.

A task force is cracking down on ticket scalpers and patrols have been stepped up at train stations.

This year's Spring Festival lands on January 31st.