China, S. Korea protest againt Japans textbook revision over disputed islands

Both China and South Korea are strongly protesting Japan's announced revisions to the nation's junior and senior highschool textbooks.

Japan's education ministry has announced new teaching guidelines that will emphasise Japan's view on islands disputed between Japan, South Korea and China. 

The revision will state that the disputed islets are "integral territories of Japan".

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has issued a formal protest, urging Tokyo to "stop provocations".

The Chinese side is urging Japan to respect historic realities, stop provocations, and teach the younger generation a correct historical perspective.

It's also demanding Japan make real and practical efforts to improve relations with neighboring countries.

 

U.S. envoy nominee pledges to strengthen China-U.S. ties if confirmed

US President Barack Obama's choice to be the next US ambassador to China has testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

72-year old Montana Democratic Senator Max Baucus has told his confirmation hearing he will work hard to improve the China-US relationship, describing it as one of the most important bilateral relationships in the world.

He's widely expected to breeze through his confirmation hearings.

Baucus is due to replace Gary Locke, who will be leaving in March after becoming the first Chinese-American to take up the post of ambassador to China two-and-a-half years ago.

 

Syrian peace talks on hold for the day

Tense negotiations between the Syrian government and the opposition have broken off earlier than planned on Tuesday.

The fifth day of talks at the United Nations offices in Geneva had been focused on the transfer of power and helping besieged parts of the Syrian city of Homs. 

UN mediator Lakhdar Brahimi says despite the difficulties, the talks will continue.

President Bashar Assad's role in any transitional government was reportedly a red line during the negotiations and left vague. 

Tuesday's talks were cut off early to give time for the Syrian government delegation to make its proposal about the future of the country within the context of the 2012 Geneva agreement.

The government presented a working paper on Syria's future on Monday, which the opposition rejected.

 

Egypt court delays Morsi trial over jailbreak to Feb. 22

One of the trials of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has been delayed to Februrary 22nd.

The defense has asked for the postponement to study the case documents. 

The case against Morsi is rooted in the 2011 escape of more than 20-thousand inmates from Egyptian prisons during the unrest which eventually led to the ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak.

Meanwhile, an al-Qaeda-linked group is claiming responsiblity for the assassination of an Egyptian defense official, just hours after Morsi appeared in court.

The Egyptian military is pinning the blame on that killing, and the killing of a police officer outside a Coptic Church on Tuesday, on Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood.

 

EU detains Serb politician suspected of war crimes

A man now-considered a moderate politician in Kosovo has been arrested and detained for alleged War Crimes and Aggravated Murder.

Local Serb leader Oliver Ivanovic is accused of organizing the forced deportation hundreds of Kosovar-Albanians in 1999 and early 2000 in the ethnically-divided city of Mitrovicia.

Ivanovic, who is now being held in detention for 30-days, has faced numerous charges in the past, but has never been convicted.

Following the easing of the tensions in Mitrovicia, he later became a member of the Kosovo Assembly, and ran unsuccessfully for the mayor of northern Mitrovicia.

His lawyer says the new charges are politically-motivated.

 

Fidel Castro meets Brazilian, Jamaican leaders during regional summit

Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro has made another rare public appearance.

The 87-year old has met with the leaders of Brazil and Jamaica on the sidelines of the Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States currently taking place in Havana.

Cuban state newspaper Granma has published a photo of Fidel Castro meeting with Brazilian President Dilma Rouseff and Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller.

The elder Castro has maintained a relatively low profile since handing over power to his brother Raul in 2008 after struggling through intestinal problems for years.

 

China reports 8 new human H7N9 cases

The number of human cases of the H7N9 bird flu so far this year in China has surpassed 100.

8 new cases have been reported on Tuesday.

They include 3 new cases in Shenzhen in Guangdong, one in Jiangsu and 4 more in the worst-hit province of Zhejiang.

In total, 104 people have contracted bird flu on the mainland so far this year.

19 have died.

 

Cold front to hit China during Spring Festival/xinhua

A cold front is expected to hit China during the lunar new year holiday.

The National Observatory says the first two days of the week-long annual festival will see nice weather, but then cold air will hit most of the country.

The first two days of the festival will also see fog forming along the southern reaches of northern China, as well as down the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

Fog is also forecast for southwestern Sichuan province early in the festival.

Temperatures are expected to drop by six to eight degrees celcius in central and eastern China, and 10 to 14 degrees celcius in north and northeastern China.

The last four days of the holiday will see snow and light rain in the southern part of northwestern China, and areas along the Yellow and Huaihe Rivers.