CPC Party leaders have unveiled a new reform blueprint for the development of China.

The document has been issued following the conclusion of a key plenary session here in Beijing on Tuesday.

The communiqué issued following the meeting in Beijing says the market should play a "more decisive role" in allocating resources and enabling farmers to enjoy more property rights.

It states it's going to be a priority of the party to build an "open and unified market with orderly competition".

The document particularly outlines that land in cities and the countryside will be pooled together in one market.

Meantime, the party says it will set up a "central leading team" in charge of designing reform measures and a state security committee.

The communiqué asks for "decisive results" of the reforms to be realized by 2020.

 

FAO calls for immediate interventions in fisheries, agriculture in Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan

The United Nations is calling for immediate action to help the Philippines deal with the extensive agricultural losses brought on by Super Typhoon Haiyan.

The Food and Aggriculture Organization says the swath of destruction brought on by Haiyan has done significant damage to Filipino agriculture and fisheries.

The massive storm hit at the start of the rice planting season in the Philippines.

The FAO estimates around 25-million US dollars is going to be needed for emergency agricultural rehabitation.

Close to 10-million people have been directly affected by the typhoon.

Meantime, the Chinese government is promising to work more closely with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in fighting natural disasters.

The official death toll in the Philippines has reached almost 18-hundred.

Philippine President Benigno Aquino III is warning the death toll could come in at around 25-hundred.

Haiyan has also left 7 dead in southern China.

4 others remain missing.

 

Chinese, Russian, Indian FMs finish meetings in Delhi

Foreign ministers of China, Russia and India have wrapped up a series of meetings in New Delhi.

In a statement following the meetings, the trio have issued a condemnation of the terrorist attack last month in Beijing.

The foreign ministers have also issued a statement of condolence to the Philippines in the wake of Super Typhoon Haiyan.

The foreign ministers of China, Russia and India say all states need to join the fight against terrorism through the auspices of the United Nations.

The group also says its concerned about the situation in Afghanistan, saying the security situation in the country is of common concern in the region.

 

China elected to UN Human Rights Council

China has been elected to the UN Human Rights Council for a three-year term.

China is one of the 14 elected members to the 47-member UN human rights body. 

The UN Human Rights Council was set up in 2006 to replace the 60-year-old Commission on Human Rights.

Members of the UN Human Rights Council are elected directly by the majority of the UN General Assembly.

 

Egypt to lift state of emergency in light of judicial ruling

The months-long state of emergency has come to an end in Egypt.

The Egyptian courts have ordered the government to bring the curfew to an end.

The interim administration says it is abiding by the court's ruling.

A state of emergency was enacted in mid-August amid the height of the protests by supporters of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi.

The state of emergency has given the Egyptian military wide-sweeping powers to make arrests and impose a type of martial law.

 

Israeli PM orders halt to house construction in disputed area

In a sign of reproachment, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has orded the cancellation of a housing tender in the so-called "E1" district.

As per the order, around 12-hundred housing units in the territorial stretch will not be built.

In cancelling the project, Netanyahu says there is no need to pay an international price for a process that doesn't have great significance.

Construction plans in the so-called "E1" sector are considered provocative, as the area is a cooridor between the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Israeli construction between the two could isolate East Jerusalem, which is the proposed capital of an eventual Palestinian state.

Plans to create Israeli settlements in "E1" has been widely condemned by the international community as deliberatly provocative by the Israeli government.

The move to cancel the construction plans comes as the Israeli and Palestinian sides continue to meet in private to try to hammer out a lasting peace agreement.

It also comes at a time when the Israeli government is looking to garner international support for the continuation of international sanctions against Iran.

 

Sudan launches major military campaign to end armed rebellion

Sudanese forces have launched a major offensive against rebel forces along its border regions.

Sudan's Defense Minister says Sudanese forces have begun offensives in Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan, all of which border South Sudan.

The Sudanese goverment says it's fighting the so-called Revolutionary Front.

Sudanese authorities suggest this is a coalition of 4-different rebel groups, which is being accused of planning assassinations and kidnappings.

The military offensive comes following an earlier pledge by Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to bring an end to all armed conflicts in his country by the end of next year.