Chinese President Xi Jinping is calling for more efforts to build China into a maritime power.

He has also promised the country will pursue, "converging interests" with other countries in oceanic development.

The Chinese president says China will settle all maritime disputes through peaceful channels.

China's top leadership outlined the "maritime power" strategy last November in its key report to the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.

The key elements of the strategy include exploiting marine resources, protecting the marine environment and safeguarding China's maritime rights and interests.

 

China firmly pursues peaceful development: defense minister

Chinese defense minister Chang Wanquan has reiterated the country's defense policy at a reception in Beijing to mark the 86th anniversary of the People's Liberation Army.

Chang Wanquan says China will "unremittingly" follow the national defense policy that is defensive in nature.

The defense minister says the Chinese people love peace and the armed forces will always firmly safeguard peace.

Chang Wanquan is also a member of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China and a state councilor.

He says the Chinese military remains committed to maintaining cooperation and communication with its counterparts from other countries.

The People's Liberation Army is the principal body of China's armed forces.

It is comprised of the army, the navy, the air force and the Second Artillery Corps.

 

Aso's Nazi remarks alarm Asian nations: FM spokesman

Chinese foreign ministry says the recent remarks made by Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso comparing Japan to Nazi Germany are "alarming".

Taro Aso said in a lecture earlier this week that Japan should learn how Germany's constitution under the Weimar Republic was transformed by the Nazis in the early 1930s before anybody knew what was happening.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei says the remarks are alarming Japan's neighbors and the international community about where the country is going.

In his speech, Aso also said it was natural to visit the Yasukuni shrine to pay tribute to those who sacrificed their lives for the country.

The shrine to the 2.5 million Japanese war dead, including 14 convicted Class-A war criminals, is widely seen as a symbol of Japan's past militarism.

Hong Lei says the Yasukuni shrine issue highlights how Japan views its history of aggression and whether it respects the feelings of people of war-victim countries here in Asia.

 

UN, EU stress importance of inclusive political process in Egypt

UN chief Ban Ki- moon and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton are saying an "inclusive political process" is crucial in Egypt.

They have issued the call following their meeting in New York.

The comments come after the Egyptian cabinet installled by the military has tasked the interior minister to "put an end to" sit-ins.

Egyptian Minister of Information Doraya Sharaf Al-Din is calling the sit-ins terrorist attacks which threaten national security.

Thousands of supporters of the ousted president Mohamed Morsi have been staging sit-ins in protest against his overthrow by the army on July 3rd.

 

Counting begins as polls concluded in Zimbabwe election

Counting of votes has begun following Zimbabwe's Presidential ballot. 

The poll chooses a winner between Robert Mugabe and his long-term rival Morgan Tsvangirai. 

This year's presidential poll showdown between the two is the third time in a decade. 

Mugabe, Africa's oldest head of state at the age 89, won the previous two elections which were disputed by his rivals. 

The long-serving president, who has been in power for 33 years, has said that he would step down if he loses the election.

 

UN team to travel to Syria to probe alleged use of chemical weapons

UN inspectors are scheduled to travel in Syria to investigate the alleged use of chemical weapons.

A UN spokesman says the team will go "as soon as possible".

The announcement comes following the visit by senior disarmament officials to Damascus.

Some 27 people were killed in attacks allegedly involving chemical weapons in a town outside Aleppo earlier this year.

 

U.S. Fed sticks to current monetary stimulus

U.S. Federal Reserve says it will continue with current monetary stimulus moves to bolster slow economic growth and job creation. 

The Fed has said in a statement that U.S economic activity expanded at a "modest pace" during the first half of the year. 

The statement is a wrap-up for the Fed's two-day policy meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee.

 

Guangzhou becomes 3rd 3-day visa free city in China

Overseas travellers from 45 different countries are now eligable for 3-day visa-free stays in the city of Guangzhou. 

Guangzhou is now the third Chinese city to allow visa-free stays, after Beijing and Shanghai.

Tourists holding third country visas and plane tickets are allowed to apply for a transit without visa in Guangzhou, Beijing and Shanghai. 

Over a thousand people have applied for the transit visa waiver in Shanghai since the program was launched at the beginning of this year.

 

Drugs suspect die in police raid

A suspected drug trafficker has committed suicide after a gun battle with police in Sichuan.

Police raided an apartment in the city Wednesday morning in an attempt to bust a drug trafficking ring.

Two suspects have been arrested.

However, police say another person jumped from the window of the 10-story apartment and died.

One police officer was hurt in the raid.

The extent of the officer's injuries have not been made clear.