Six Chinese nurses were awarded the Florence Nightingale Medal on Saturday for their outstanding contributions to healthcare.

President Xi Jinping presented the medals to the nurses at a ceremony held in Beijing. He saluted the nation's nurses, Red Cross workers and volunteers. 

Peter Maurer, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said at the awarding ceremony that the nurses have made contributions to the world's humanitarian cause. 

A total of 32 nurses from 16 countries won the Florence Nightingale Medal this year.

 

Bo Xilai trial to continue Sunday

The Jinan Intermediate People's Court on Saturday held the third-day hearing on the case of bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power involving Bo Xilai. It will continue the trial today.

Bo, 64, is former secretary of the Chongqing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and a former member of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau. 

Wang Zhenggang, then director of the Dalian municipal bureau of urban and rural planning and land, and Wang Lijun, former vice mayor of Chongqing, gave testimonies in court on charges of embezzlement and abuse of power, respectively, against Bo Xilai. 

The court investigation on Saturday afternoon focused on the charge of Bo's abuse of power.

 

China issues rainstorm alert for southern regions

China's top meteorological authority has issued a rainstorm alert, warning of torrential rains to hit the southern regions till Sunday morning.

The National Meteorological Center (NMC) forecast Yunnan Province, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and some areas of Jiangsu and Anhui provinces in particular, will see heavy rainstorms. Precipitation in these regions is forecast to reach a maximum of 300 mm.

Meanwhile, some areas in the provinces of Guizhou, Sichuan, Hunan, Hubei, Shaanxi and Henan will also see torrential rains, according to the forecast. 

Local authorities were urged to step up preparatory work against possible mountain floods, landslides, and mud-rock flows.

 

Syrian minister dismisses foreign military intervention

Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi has shunned aside the possibility of foreign military intervention in his country, saying striking Syria would have grave repercussions like a fireball that would burn the entire Middle East region. 

The minister made the remarks on Saturday in an interview with the pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV, during which he said that Washington' s pressures won't be useful and would be a "waste of time and we will not weaver in combatting terrorism." 

The remarks came amid reports that Washington was mulling military options on Syria after recent allegations of the use of chemical weapons in the countryside of the Syrian capital Damascus. 

Meanwhile, the UN chemical weapons investigation team is in Damascus to probe claims of chemical weapons' use in the northern town of Khan al-Assal and another two undisclosed locations.

 

Fresh mortar attack kills 5 in Syrian capital

At lea6 Chinese nurses win Florence Nightingale Medal

Six Chinese nurses were awarded the Florence Nightingale Medal on Saturday for their outstanding contributions to healthcare.

President Xi Jinping presented the medals to the nurses at a ceremony held in Beijing. He saluted the nation's nurses, Red Cross workers and volunteers. 

Peter Maurer, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said at the awarding ceremony that the nurses have made contributions to the world's humanitarian cause. 

A total of 32 nurses from 16 countries won the Florence Nightingale Medal this year.

 

Bo Xilai trial to continue Sunday

The Jinan Intermediate People's Court on Saturday held the third-day hearing on the case of bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power involving Bo Xilai. It will continue the trial today.

Bo, 64, is former secretary of the Chongqing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and a former member of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau. 

Wang Zhenggang, then director of the Dalian municipal bureau of urban and rural planning and land, and Wang Lijun, former vice mayor of Chongqing, gave testimonies in court on charges of embezzlement and abuse of power, respectively, against Bo Xilai. 

The court investigation on Saturday afternoon focused on the charge of Bo's abuse of power.

 

China issues rainstorm alert for southern regions

China's top meteorological authority has issued a rainstorm alert, warning of torrential rains to hit the southern regions till Sunday morning.

The National Meteorological Center (NMC) forecast Yunnan Province, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and some areas of Jiangsu and Anhui provinces in particular, will see heavy rainstorms. Precipitation in these regions is forecast to reach a maximum of 300 mm.

Meanwhile, some areas in the provinces of Guizhou, Sichuan, Hunan, Hubei, Shaanxi and Henan will also see torrential rains, according to the forecast. 

Local authorities were urged to step up preparatory work against possible mountain floods, landslides, and mud-rock flows.

 

Syrian minister dismisses foreign military intervention

Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi has shunned aside the possibility of foreign military intervention in his country, saying striking Syria would have grave repercussions like a fireball that would burn the entire Middle East region. 

The minister made the remarks on Saturday in an interview with the pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV, during which he said that Washington' s pressures won't be useful and would be a "waste of time and we will not weaver in combatting terrorism." 

The remarks came amid reports that Washington was mulling military options on Syria after recent allegations of the use of chemical weapons in the countryside of the Syrian capital Damascus. 

Meanwhile, the UN chemical weapons investigation team is in Damascus to probe claims of chemical weapons' use in the northern town of Khan al-Assal and another two undisclosed locations.

 

Fresh mortar attack kills 5 in Syrian capital

At least five people were killed and some others wounded when a mortar shell struck a Christian- dominated district of the Syrian capital of Damascus on Saturday.

In the southern countryside of Damascus, intense fighting has been raging on between the government troops and the rebel fighters. 

Media reports say the rebels used chemical substance on Saturday in the Jobar suburb, suffocating some soldiers.

 

At least 29 killed in Bolivia prison riot

At least 29 people have been killed and some 50 others injured in a violent prison riot in the eastern Bolivian city of Santa Cruz.

One of the dead was a child living with incarcerated parents. 

The melee began Friday morning when the sound of gunfire was heard, and a huge fire fueled by exploded propane gas tanks injured severely inmates. 

A police commander says the situation has been put under control, and bodies were taken for autopsies and identification.

An investigation into the riot is underway.

 

China vows stringent, speedy punishment for stock market offence

China's securities regulator has pledged to intensify punishment for severe stock market violations amid rising such offences.

Jiang Yang, vice chairman of China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), told a listed-companies summit that in the first six months, 26 cases had been submitted to investigations, representing a hefty increase from the same period a year ago. 

He noted stricter supervision and enforcement has played a positive role in promoting openness and fairness, and protecting small investors' interests.

In the next step, Jiang Yang said CSRC will enhance preemptive oversight, streamline its administrative procedures, and rely on laws to regulate the capital market.

 

Dengue cases reach 257 in Chinese province

The number of confirmed dengue fever cases has risen to 257 in a prefecture of southwest China's Yunnan Province.

There have been no deaths reported since the disease was first reported in the area 10 days ago.

The cases included six originating from overseas. 

Of the confirmed cases, 96 were hospitalized and the others were being treated at home or in clinics. A total of 19 have left hospital after treatment.

Dengue is a mosquito-borne, potentially fatal disease that affects between 50 and 100 million people in tropical and subtropical regions every year, causing fever and muscle and joint aches.