China , Nigeria to strenthen ties
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has met with Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan in the capital city of Abuja.
After the meeting, Li Keqiang said both sides agreed to cement bilateral ties by intensifying high-level exchanges and improving cooperation on the economy, trade and culture.
The premier says better cooperation will benefit the peoples of the two countries and also help to promote regional and world development and prosperity.
"Economics and trade, as well as people-to-people exchanges, are the foundation of bilateral cooperation, and it is also the focus during my trip. We are willing to futher expand our cooperation in the fields of infrastructure, financing, trade and investment, arguriculture, aviation and aerospace, as well as the exchanges among peoples."
Premier Li also met with several leaders from other Afircan countries, who are in the Nigerian capital for the 2014 World Economic Forum on Africa.
Nigeria is the second leg of the premier's four-nation African tour, which will also take him to Angola and Kenya
China urges against Vietnamese interference in territorial water exploration
The Chinese Foreign Ministry has issued a new statement, urging Vietnam to stop disturbing China's exploration activities near the Xisha Islands in the South China Sea.
The statement comes after a Chinese drilling rig was harrassed by Vietnamese ships.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying says such behaviors run contrary to international law and basic norms of international relations as well as to China's sovereignty and administration rights.
China's State Councilor Yang Jiechi had a phone conversation with authorities in Vietnam, demanding that the Vietnamese side stop the disturbance.
The United States has also issued a statement, calling China's exploration activities "provocative."
Hua Chunying says the activities of Chinese companies in China's inherent territory have nothing to do with Vietnam and the U.S.
She says the U.S. is in no position to make irresponsible remarks on China's affairs.
No sign of Russian troop withdrawals from Ukraine border: Pentagon
The US Defense Department says there is no sign that Russian troops have withdrawn from their positions along the Ukrainian border, despite claims to the contrary by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
A Pentagon official says there has been "no change in the Russian force posture" along the border, adding "we would know."
The US continues to call on Russia to withdraw its troops and work with the international community to find a peaceful solution to the crisis in Ukraine.
So far, tensions have remained unabated in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russia activists are engaged in conflicts with government troops.
Nigerian police offer reward for information on schoolgirls
Nigerian police have offered a 300,000 U.S. dollar reward for information leading to the rescue of over 200 schoolgirls abducted by Islamist extremists last month.
The move follows rising public anger following the abduction of another eight girls, seized over the weekend from the same northeastern area of the country.
It's believed that Boko Haram, which earlier claimed responsibility for the mass kidnapping last month, is responsible for the recent abductions as well.
The group has threatened to sell the girls.
China, the U.S and the U.K have offered Nigeria assistance in tracking down and freeing the kidnapped schoolgirls.
Voting stations closed in South Africa
Voting stations around South Africa have closed as the country wraps up national elections.
Vote counting has already started and some of the results will start trickling later today.
A total of 22,000 stations opened countrywide and the election commission says voter turnout was higher than expected.
Earlier polls put support for President Jacob Zuma 's ruling African National Congress at around 65 percent.
U.S. SEC warns investors over bitcoin risks
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has issued an alert regarding Bitcoin and other forms of virtual currency.
A statement from the Commission states that new products, technologies, and innovations -- such as Bitcoin -- come with the potential for increased instances of fraud and high-risk investment opportunities.
The SEC has also expressed concern about the currency's vulnerability to hackers and technical glitches.
Beijing police detain suspect allegedly for leaking state secrets
A senior citizen has been detained by authorities in Beijing, accused of leaking state secrets.
Authorities have announced that 70-year-old Gao Yu has been taken into custody.
She is accused of illegally obtaining a highly confidential document and sending it to an overseas website in June of last year.
Gao was sentenced to six years in prison for leaking state secrets back in 1993.
Nearest bright "hypervelocity star" found: study
Chinese and American researchers have discovered the closest known "hypervelocity star" moving away from the centre of the Milky Way.
This is a star that is moving fast enough to escape the gravitational pull of our Galaxy, and potentially will one day leave our galaxy.
The research paper released by Zheng Zheng, lead author and assistant professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Utah, says the star is moving at more than 1.6 million kilometres per hour.
It's about 42-thousand light-years away from earth.
Researchers say the finding is important because this star can help us understand our galaxy better, from the supermassive black hole at its centre to the halo of dark matter that surrounds the Milky Way. |