After long and drawn-out negotiations, the warring factions in South Sudan have signed a ceasefire agreement.

The deal has been struck in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

Details of the pact have not been forthcoming at this point.

Factions loyal to former South Sudanese vice-President Riek Machar have been engaged in battles for weeks with those in support of current President Salva Kiir.

While the original fighting started out as a political dispute, the violence later devolved into a tribal battle, as Machar and Kiir originate from different tribal groups.

The threat of an ethnic genocide in South Sudan prompted thousands to seek shelter at United Nations compounds across the country.

Well over a thousand people are believed to have been killed in the weeks of fighting.

 

China's FM meets Arab League Chief on Syria situation

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has sat down with the head of the Arab League to talk about the situation in Syria.

Wang Yi has told Nabil Elaraby that while headway has been made at this week's Geneva peace talks, there are still many hurdles ahead. 

China's foreign minister has also met separately with representatives from the Syrian government and the main opposition in-exile, the Syrian National Council.

The Syrian government and the SNC are scheduled to meet later today in Geneva.

However, its still unclear if that meeting will take place.

The two camps remain divided about the ultimate status of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The Syrian opposition is insisting on his removal from office, while the Syrian government remains unwilling to discuss the possibility of him stepping down.

 

China, U.S. vow to promote bilateral ties, strengthen communication on major regional issues

The Chinese Foreign Minister and U.S. Secretary of State have agreed to boost bilateral ties and strengthen communication and discussion regarding "hot" regional issues. 

They met on the sidelines at the Geneva II conference on Syria in Switzerland. 

A series of meetings and visits are planned for this year.

Both leaders agree that maintaining high-level strategic communication will build a new type of major-country relationship that will contribute to regional and global peace, including pushing for a political solution to the Syrian crisis. 

The two leaders also exchanged views on Sino-Japanese relations and the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

 

Yanukovych calls for special parliament session to discuss crisis

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has called for an emergency parliamentary session in an attempt to diffuse his country's growing political unrest.

Yanukovych says the situation requires urgent resolution and both sides "need to act within the law", 

Yanukovych has also met with oppopsition leaders, who gave the president a 24-hours deadline to make concessions or face renewed clashes. 

Demonstrations spread outside the capital Kiev on Thursday.

Protesters stormed government offices in three western Ukraine cities, forcing one governor to write a letter of resignation.

The protests have turned violent in recent days, as pro-EU demonstrators say they feel Yanukovych has ignored their demands to resign, call a new election and rescind new legislation which bans certian protests.

At two protesters were killed in clashes with police on Wednesday.

The Ukrainian government is blaming the protesters for the upswing in violence.

 

Fire at seniors' residence in Canada kills 3, 30 missing

At least 3 fatalities are being reported following a fire at a seniors housing complex in the Canadian province of Quebec.

However, 30 others remain accounted for.

A massive fire torched the seniors housing complex in the overnight hours early Thursday morning, leaving nothing but the frame of the building.

Most of the residents of the complex were infirm and in their 80's, which is leading to speculation a number of them were killed in the blaze.

 

Forest fire kills five in SW China

Five people have been killed trying to battle a forest fire in Guizhou.

One other has been injured in the blaze, which is still burning on the outskirts of the city of Fuquan, which is about 70-kilometers east of the provincial capital, Guiyang.

The victims include 2 municipal workers and three forest rangers.

Local authorities say they were killed after the wind shifted, engulfing the group before they could escape.

 

Global steel output climbs 3.5% last year

New industry statistics are suggesting the global production of steel rose by 3.5 percent last year, with output from China making up 48.5-percent of the total.

The World Steel Association report is also warning about excess capacity.

But at the same time, the same report also says there are signs of a pickup in demand in some regions.

Among the world's major steel producers, China leads countries including India and Japan with over 3-percent growth in production.

South Korea has seen the largest decline in steel output this past year.

 

Lenovo buys IBM's server business in China's biggest IT acquisition

Lenovo and IBM have confirmed an agreement which will see the Chinese PC maker purchase IBM's low-end server business for a record 2.3-billion US dollars.

Lenovo is paying 2-billion in cash, with the rest being stock in the Beijing-based PC maker.

The acquisition is meant to try to allow Lenovo to diversify its revenue-stream away from its shrinking PC business.

The deal, which has been under discussion for over a year, represents the biggest-ever tech acquisition by a Chinese company.

The deal surpasses Baidu's acquisition of 91 Wireless from NetDragon Websoft, which purchased that for 1.85 billion US dollars last year.