Negotiators from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan have signed an agreement on cross-Strait cooperation in nuclear safety. 

It was signed during the seventh round of talks between the mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits and the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation.

The two sides also continued the discussion about an investment protection agreement between the mainland and Taiwan. 

Industrial cooperation was highlighted in the talks, held in the mainland's northern port city of Tianjin.

 

 

Greece strike to continue amid austerity vote

Greece is bracing for a second day of a general strike and mass protests as parliament takes a final vote on tough new austerity measures.

Running battles between police and some protesters continued overnight in Athens after tens of thousands demonstrated against the cuts.

Parliament is expected to approve the articles of an austerity bill after giving it preliminary approval in a first vote late on Wednesday.

Workers in virtually every sector of the economy are participating in the 48-hour strike.

 

 

Libyan PM says Gadhafi trying to recruit fighters

Libya's acting prime minister says ousted leader Moammar Gadhafi is believed to be recruiting fighters from other African countries and preparing for a possible insurgency.

Mahmoud Jibril has cited reports saying 68 vehicles with at least eight fighters each have crossed the Libyan borders to Mali.

He says Gadhafi has made a deal with the Hamada tribe, which roams the borders between Chad, Sudan and Libya, to provide 12,000 fighters to enter Libya.

Gadhafi loyalists already have put up fierce resistance in several areas, preventing Libya's new leaders from declaring full victory.

 

 

Flood waters near Bangkok

Floodwaters have reached the outskirts of Thailand's capital Bangkok as authorities and residents are racing against time to defend the city. 

In north of Bangkok, water levels have been rising since canal gates upstream were opened to relieve pressure on dikes in critical areas.

The Bangkok administration has ordered 6000 people in the Sai Mai area to evacuate and others were told to move their cars and valuables to higher ground.　

The country's worst flooding in five decades have killed at least 320 people since July, affecting 28 of Thailand's 76 provinces.

 

 

Hunt continues for escaped zoo animals in Ohio, US

In the US state of Ohio, nearly 50 lions, tigers and other beasts have been shot in a big-game hunt across the countryside after the owner of a wild-animal park threw their cages open and committed suicide.

Police say it may have been the owner's one last act of vengeance against neighbours and police.

Officers in Zanesville spread out through fields and woods to hunt down about 56 animals.

Sheriff Matt Lutz from Muskingum County.

"There are 48 animals that we had to put down.　Those animals included one wolf, six black bears, two grizzly bears, nine male lions, eight lionesses, one baboon, three mountain lions and 18 tigers. There are two missing animals at this time, one being a grey wolf and one being a monkey."

The owner of the privately run Muskingum County Animal Farm, Terry Thompson, left the cages open and the fences unsecured before committing suicide.

There were no people injured in the aftermath of the animals' release.

 

 

Ship collision leaves 3 dead, 5 missing in Adriatic Sea off Albania

Three sailors of a Turkish-owned vessel were killed after their merchant ship collided with a ferry off Albania's coast.

Search and rescue operations are under way for five other members of the ship.

The ferry, bound for the Italian port of Bari with nearly 200 passengers, did not suffer any damage.

 

 

11 abducted children rescued in southwest China

Police have cracked a child-trafficking case in China, rescuing 13 children.

11 of them, aging from one to four years' old, will be returned to their homes in Zunyi city, Guizhou Province, while another two babies remain in Henan province for further identification.

They have been taken away from their parents for a period ranging from one month to three years. 

Eighteen suspects were arrested during the crackdown.

Further investigation is underway.

 

 

China allows four local governments to issue bonds to curb debt risks

China's four local governments have won approval to issue their own bonds, a move expected to ease their financial strains and curb the fast-spreading debt risks.

The State Council, or cabinet, has allowed Shanghai, Shenzhen, Zhejiang Province and Guangdong Province to conduct the pilot program this year.

China's local governments had registered debts of 10.7 trillion yuan or 1.7 trillion US dollars by the end of last year.