China and the European Commission have reached a deal to resolve a dispute involving solar panels.

Announcing the agreement in Brusslles, EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said in a statement he was satisfied with the offer of a price undertaking submitted by China's solar panel exporters. 

The Commissioner said the next step for him is to table this offer for approval by the European Commission. 

Further details of the legal acts concerning the undertaking arrangement can only be released following their adoption by the Commission.

 

Chinese soldiers leave for anti-terror drills in Russia 

China has begun to send military personnel and armaments to Russia, where they will join 20-day joint anti-terrorism drills held by both parties.

The transfer of Chinese troops for the exercise will be completed by Aug. 2, according to Zhang Yan, deputy commander of the 646 Chinese military personnel participating in the drill. 

The exercises, dubbed "Peace Mission 2013" and scheduled to run from July 27 to Aug. 15, will be carried out in Chelyabinsk in Russia's Ural Mountains region.

 

DPRK holds military parade to mark 60th anniversary of Korean War Armistice 

North Korea held a military parade marking the 60th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice Agreement on Saturday.

North Korea's top leader Kim Jong Un was seen standing on an upper podium overlooking Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung Square to inspect massive throngs of goose-stepping soldiers. 

The Korean War came to a ceasefire on July 27, 1953, when the Armistice Agreement was signed in Panmunjom on the border of North Korea and South Korea. But the war is not officially over because no peace treaty has ever been signed.

 

Death toll in Egypt's overnight clashes rises to 75: Health Ministry

The death toll in Egypt's overnight clashes that erupted Friday over ousted Islamist-oriented President Mohamed Morsi rose to 75, according to the Health Ministry. 

More than 740 others were injured. 

However, medical reports from the field hospital at Rabia al- Adawiya Square, where Morsi's supporters have been staging an open- ended sit-in say at least 200 of the supporters were killed and over 4,500 injured in clashes with security men. 

Meanwhile, Egypt's Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim has told reporters that ousted president Mohamed Morsi may be transferred to Torah prison, where former president Hosni Mubarak is held. 

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon has strongly condemned "the upsurge of violence" in Egypt following the latest protests, and urged the Egyptian people to "address their differences through dialogue."

 

Nearly 1,200 convicts escape from prison in Libya's Benghazi: official

Nearly 1,200 convicts have escaped from al-Kuifiya prison in Libya's eastern city of Benghazi.

Witnesses say the mass outbreak came after a fierce riot during which some prisoners set fire to the prison complex, while a security official says some unidentified gunmen started to attack the prison from the outside at Saturday dawn. 

Some of the escapees were recaptured by the police and security forces.

It is yet to be determined whether the incident is linked to the ongoing demonstrations in major Libyan cities.

 

Philippines, Japan agree to strengthen maritime cooperation

Philippine President Benigno Aquino III and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have agreed to strengthen bilateral maritime cooperation, describing it as "a pillar of their strategic partnership." 

In a statement released after the bilateral meeting in Malacanang, the presidential palace on Saturday, Aquino said that he and Abe reviewed the security challenges that confront both nations.

 

21 dead, 4 missing in Gansu floods 

Twenty-one people have died and four are missing after rainstorm-triggered floods and mud-rock flows hit a city in northwest China's Gansu Province.

The Local government says four rounds of downpours, which swept Tianshui City recently, triggered floods, landslides and mud-rock flows in seven townships and left people missing and buried.

The local meteorological station forecast the city would have a new round of heavy rain in the next few days.

 

Gov't reassures on world's tallest building construction 

Local authorities have reassured critics of the planned world's tallest building in Changsha, central China, that there will be no substantial construction until the project goes through relevant legal procedures.

They say examination of the construction plans for the "Sky City" basic structure and its firefighting facilities, and application for official licenses are under way as required.

 Nine domestic construction experts have carried out a series of examinations on the project, including its structure and quake resistance.

A ground-breaking ceremony was held on July 20 for the 838-meter-tall tower. But it immediately sparked doubts on the project's safety, environmental concerns and construction speed.

 

China's June industrial profits up 6.3 pct 

Major Chinese industrial firms saw their combined profits rise 6.3 percent year on year in June, slowing from the 15.5-percent rate seen in May.

An analyst with the National Bureau of Statistics says the drop in June industrial profits was mainly due to the slow-down in enterprise business revenue growth, higher costs and relatively higher base for the year-on-year comparison.