Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov have had a comprehensive and in-depth exchange of views on the Syrian crisis via telephone.

Wang said China welcomed the Russia-U.S deal on Syria, hoping the accord could be implemented as soon as possible. 

Wang maintains China stance on Syria which is against military action. 

He added that China would continue to contribute to helping facilitate a political solution to the crisis.

Both sides have agreed to keep in close contact and coordinate on the issue.

 

Chinese state councilor meets DPRK official

Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi has met with Kim Kye Gwan, North Korea's First Vice Foreign Minister in Beijing.

Kim is in China for an international workshop on the 10th anniversary of the six-party talks. 

Yang said China hopes relevant parties make concerted efforts to strive for an early resumption of the six-party talks.

Kim said the North Korea-China friendship should carry on, and bilateral ties should be strengthened.

 

Hagel lays wreath in honour of those killed in Navy Yard mass shooting

US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel, and other defence officials have laid a wreath in honour of the 12 people killed, after a gunman went on a shooting rampage at the Washington Navy Yard.

Meanwhile, commuters and workers in the neighbourhood of the Navy Yard returned to work on Tuesday.

Officials says the gunman, 34-year-old Aaron Alexis, had serious mental issues, but was not stripped of his security clearance.

Officials have said Alexis, a contract employee on a Navy project, used a valid pass to get into the Washington Navy Yard, where 18-thousand people work, and started shooting.

 

UNGA president calls for "decisive action, highest levels of collaboration" for new development agenda

The president of the 68th session of the UN General Assembly is calling for member states to work out the post-2015 development agenda. 

John William Ashe made the statement as he was opening the new session of the 193-member General Assembly. 

Ashe said the magnitude of the task would require decisive action and the highest levels of collaboration by member states.

 

Brazilian president postpones U.S. trip over spy scandal

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has announced she will postpone an official state visit to Washington D.C next month.

The Brazilian President says the decision follows the U.S government's failure to adequately explain its alleged spying activity in Brazil. 

Documents leaked in the Edward Snowden affair, show the U.S. government had been carrying out widespread surveillance and monitoring of millions of e-mails and phone calls made by Brazilian citizens and companies, as well as foreigners in the country. 

Brazil has demanded an explanation from the United States and asked for an end to the surveillance. 

The U.S has claimed the program was part of a strategy to prevent acts of terrorism and therefore would continue.

 

Iran, US presidents exchange letters: official

The presidents of Iran and the United States have exchanged letters. 

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham says that U.S. President Barack Obama congratulated Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on his election. 

In response, Rouhani thanked the U.S. president and expressed his views about a range of diverse issues.

Diplomatic relations between the countries broke down in 1980, after a group of Iranian students seized the U.S embassy in Tehran and captured some 60 US diplomats in 1979.

 

Egypt's Brotherhood spokesman arrested

A leading spokesman for Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood has been arrested in Cairo.

Gehad El-Haddad was the group's main figure to contact foreign media, before the ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi.

He is reported to be detained in an apartment in the northeastern district of Nasr City. 

He is facing charges of inciting violence and murdering protesters. 

Hundreds of leaders and members of the Islamic group have been detained, since the dispersal of the two major pro-Morsi sit-ins last month, which claimed nearly a thousand lives.

 

Yiwu Financial Reform Scheme Unveiled

The eastern city of Yiwu, which is known as the largest small commodities market here in China, is rolling out a special scheme for financial reforms.

Media reports are suggesting the reforms will focus on seven areas.

This includes facilitating the construction of a local financial system, speeding up the creation of new trade and financial products, as well as improving existing foreign exchange management systems.

Meanwhile, the local government is set to encourage innovation on cross-border yuan businesses and promote foreign currency exchange services.

 

China issues stricter regulation on vehicle exhausts

The Ministry of Environmental Protection has issued a stricter regulation on light vehicle emissions, the fifth of its kind in the country.

The regulation will be fully implemented nationwide on January 1st 2018.

The fifth standard is equivalent to the current regulation on light vehicle emissions in Europe.

The standard will further lift emission control requirements, including stricter controls for nitric oxide and particulate matters, as well as adding a new indicator of pollutant control.