Chinese envoy rebuts Vietnamese, Philippine accusations over South China Sea
A Chinese envoy has forcefully refuted accusations made by Vietnam and the Philippines against China over the South China Sea situation, holding the two countries responsible for any disputes.
At the meeting of state parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) held in New York, Wang Min, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, slammed Vietname and the Philippines for infringing upon Chinese territory.
Chinese fleet joins others for RIMPAC exercise
A Chinese fleet joined naval forces from Singapore and the United States in waters off Guam Saturday en route for the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) multinational naval exercise.
The Chinese forces include missile destroyer Haikou, missile frigate Yueyang, supply ship Qiandaohu, hospital ship Peace Ark, two helicopters, a commando unit and a diving squad, totalling 1,100 officers and soldiers.
The fleet departed Monday from military harbors in the southern city of Sanya and eastern city of Zhoushan for the Chinese navy's first involvement in RIMPAC.
Russia indignant at provocative actions against its embassy in Ukraine
Russia has expressed indignation at provocative actions at the Russian Embassy in Ukraine's capital of Kiev.
The Russian Foreign Ministry says Russia demands Ukraine take necessary measures for ensuring security of Russian diplomats in Kiev.
Protests against the Russian Embassy to Ukraine began Saturday, cars with diplomatic plates overturned, the building's windows smashed with rocks and the Russian flag torn down.
The U.S. condemned the attack on the Russian Embassy and urged Ukraine to provide "adequate security."
A military transport plane was shot down by anti-government militants in the eastern city of Lugansk early Saturday, killing 49 Ukrainian troops.
14 Afghan civilians killed in attacks on polling centers
About 14 Afghan civilians were killed and 41 others wounded in attacks targeting polling centers on Saturday.
More than 7 million Afghans cast their votes during the Afghan presidential runoff polls on Saturday
The runoff election will decide whether former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah or ex-World Bank economist Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai leads the country into a new era with declining international military and civilian assistance.
Iraq PM vows to defeat insurgent groups
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al- Maliki has vowed to defeat the insurgent groups, as the troops and volunteers are gathering in the city of Samarra in north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad to fight militant groups who are trying to march toward Baghdad.
Maliki paid a surprise visit to the embattled city of Samarra, some 120 km north of Baghdad, to discuss security measures, as well as a counter-attack plans to retake Salahudin's provincial capital city of Tikrit, some 170 km north of Baghdad, which was seized by extremists militant groups on Wednesday.
Israeli war jets launch intensive airstrikes on Gaza Strip
Israeli war jets on Saturday night carried out a series of intensive and successive airstrikes on various targets in southern, central and northern Gaza Strip, injuring one person.
Earlier on Saturday morning, Israeli war jets also carried out two airstrikes on training facilities that belong to Islamic Hamas movement. No injuries were reported.
The intensive Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip were carried out amid a growing tension between Israel and the Palestinians after Israel officially announced that three Israelis were kidnapped in southern West Bank on Thursday.
Iran says final nuclear deals requires "removal of all sanctions"
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says all the sanctions against the Islamic republic should be lifted if the world powers want to clinch a comprehensive nuclear deal with Iran.
Rouhani's remarks came as Iran's division with the West over the country's nuclear issue endures.
Iran is preparing for a fresh round of high-level nuclear talks with the world powers in Vienna next Monday.
Chinese official stresses gov't policy implementation
Chinese State Councilor Yang Jing has stressed the importance of implementation of government policies, saying inspection teams from the the State Council, China's cabinet, will be dispatched nationwide to check the implementation in a serious manner.
He says punishing the officials who have not fulfilled their duties will be unveiled after the inspection.
China's power consumption rises 5.2 pct in Jan.- May
China's power consumption rose 5.2 percent in the first five months from a year earlier.
The Jan.-May growth figure was in line with the rate in the first four months, according to the National Energy Administration.
In May alone, power use, an indicator of economic activity, gained 5.3 percent from a year ago, picking up speed from the 4.6 percent growth in April.
China issues alert for typhoon Hagibis
China's top meteorological authority has issued a blue alert as typhoon Hagibis is expected to make a landfall in Guangdong and Fujian provinces starting on Sunday.
Hagibis will also become the first typhoon to make a landfall in China this year, according to a forecast from the National Meteorological Center. |