French parliamentry speaker Claude Bartolone says politicians should not interpret history for political reasons.

Bartolone made the comments in Beijing in response to Japanese leader Shinzo Abe's comparison of current Chinese-Japanese relations to pre-World War I Europe.

Abe made the comments on the sidelines of last week's World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, comparing current China-Japan relations to those between Britain and Germany on the eve of World War I.

Bartolone is now heading a parliament and trade delegation to China to mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between France and China.

 

New bird flu cases in Zhejiang, HK prompt live poultry trading bans

Authorities on both the mainland and in Hong Kong are taking action to try to stop the spread of the latest wave of Bird Flu cases which have been popping up ahead of the Spring Festival holiday.

49 people in the eastern province of Zhejiang has been infected with the new strain of the bird flu so far this year, with 12 people succoming to it.

Authorities are shutting down poultry markets in the cities of Ningbo, Jinhua and the provincial capital Hangzhou.

Official figures show 96 people have been infected with the H7N9 strain of the bird flu so far this year in the mainland, with 19 dying from it.

In Hong Kong, authorities there are also banning the import of live poultry from the mainland, after authorities this week discovered a case of H7N9 in a chicken imported from Guangdong.

 

Syrian gov't, opposition talks to continue on Geneva Communique: Brahimi

The latest day of talks to try to find a political solution to the civil conflict in Syria has come to an end with little headway being reported.

UN mediator Lakhdar Brahimi says Monday's negotiations continued in much the same vein as Sunday's talks, with the two sides attempting to figure out how to implement an evacuation of women and children from the beseiged city of Homs.

That agreement between the opposition and the Syrian government delegation was reached Sunday.

However, Brahimi does say they are going to put forward the so-called Geneva Communique into the negotiating framework when talks resume later on this Tuesday.

The Geneva Communique emerged from the first round of talks held in the Swiss city in 2012.

That document calls for the creation of a transitional authority in Syria with full executive powers.

The Syrian government has consistently held that any calls for President Bashar al-Assad to step aside will not be entertained.

 

More chemical weapons materials leave Syria: joint inspection mission

A second batch of chemical weapon materials has been transported out of Syria for destruction.

A UN spokesperson says the chemical weapons were verified by mission personnel before being loaded on Danish and Norwegian cargo vessels in the Syrian port city of Latakia.

The vessels are accompanied by a naval escort provided by China, Denmark, Norway and Russia.

The first batch of chemical materials were shipped out of Syria earlier this month.

They are transported to a port in southern Italy, where they are then tranferred to a US naval vessel for later destruction at sea.

The total elimination of Syria's chemical weapons has a deadline of June 30th.

 

Egypt military council mandates Sisi presidency bid: state media

The Egyptian military has given the green-light for now-former Army Chief Abdel Fatah al-Sisi to contest the forthcoming presidental elections.

In allowing al-Sisi to run, the military has also accepted his resignation as both the Defense Minister and member of the Egyptian military.

The Egyptian consitution only allows civilians to run for President.

al-Sisi - appointed to his now-former position by ousted President Mohammed Morsi - led the Military which removed Morsi from power following weeks of protests against the Islamist President's rule.

While he has yet to officially announce his intentions, al-Sisi is widely expected to run for the Presidency.

He has managed to maintain much of the popularity he enjoyed as the head of the military which removed the growingly unpopular Morsi last summer.

A number of campaigns have been launched to try to convince al-Sisi to run for President.

 

Thai Election Commission suggests minimum one month vote delay

Thailand's Election Commission says the election planned for Sunday should be postponed for at least a month, warning of more bloodshed after violent clashes over the weekend.

A ruling last week from a constitutional Court ruling has opened the way for a delay of the election.

But the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has made it clear it will not back down on the date.

A protest leader was killed and 12 injured in a clash at an advance voting station in Bangkok on Sunday.

Protesters also blocked as many as 45 of the capital's 50 polling stations.

 

Lithuania seeks to join eurozone from 2015: Eurogroup chief

It appears Lithuania is hoping to become the next country to adopt the Euro.

The revelation has come from a Eurogroup finance ministers meeting in Brussels.

Lithuania, already a member of the European Union, reportedly hopes to adopt the Euro by the beginning of next year.

To become part of the Eurozone, applicants have to meet a number of requirements, including maintaing agreed-upon debt-to-GDP levels.

The European Commission and the European Central Bank will reportedly publish the results of Lithuania's application in June.

Lithuania's Baltic neighbor, Latvia, became the latest country to adopt the Euro at the start of this year.

Lithuania's other neighbor, Estonia, joined the Eurozone in 2011.