China's foreign and defense ministries have released a new set of statements, rebuffing international criticism of China's new maritime Air Defense Identification Zone in the East China Sea.

This comes as the Chinese airforce has confirmed it plans to conduct regular patrols of the new zone.

The Air Force says the patrols are defensive only, and comply with international norms.

The Chinese defense ministry released details of the new Air Defense Identification Zone this past weekend.

The new zone covers areas in the East China Sea, including the Diaoyu Islands.

 

Chinese President stresses reform confidence

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for confidence in realizing further reform and determination to overcome difficulties.

The President made the remark during an inspection tour of east China's Shandong Province.

A key reform plan, listing more than 300 measures, has been adopted at a key Party session earlier this month. 

Xi Jinping notes it will be a tough and complicated road for the Communist Party of China to deepen reform. 

He cautions local governments against blindly pushing forward the reform, and asks officials to be flexible and consider local conditions.

The President calls on the whole CPC and Chinese society to unite together under the consensus of pushing forward reform, as well as to understand, support and take part in reform efforts.

 

Chinese premier calls for deeper ties with Uzbekistan

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has met with Uzbekistan's President as part of the final leg of his latest international trip.

Li Keqiang has told Islam Karimov his government is ready to look for new areas of cooperation with Uzbekistan.

Neither the Chinese Premier or the Uzbek President have elaborated on what areas that cooperation could entail.

Uzbekistan is the last stop on Li Keqiang's current trip, which also saw him take part in a summit involving China and countries in central and eastern Europe.

That portion of the trip in Romania saw the Chinese side ink a number of deals connected to trade and infrastructure construction.

 

UN inspectors to visit Arak heavy-water plant in Iran: IAEA

The IAEA has agreed to a deal with Iran which will allow inspectors to visit the Arak heavy-water production plant.

The tour by international nuclear inspectors will take place in just over a week's time.

The agreement to allow inspections of the Arak facility comes following the deal reached among Iran and the P5+1 earlier this month.

That agreement will see Iran stop enrichment of uranium above 5-percent and neutralize its stockpiles of 20-percent enriched uranium in exchange for the loosening of international sanctions.

Uranium enriched to 20-percent levels can be used to produce nuclear weapons.

The Arak facility produces so-called heavy water which is used to cool a nearby nuclear plant still under construction, which Iran says it wants to use to create medical-grade isotopes.

Israel has long-held the facility is being built to create weapons-grade plutonium.

Tehran has consistently denied this.

 

DPRK nuclear reactor may be in use again, warns IAEA

The International Atomic Energy Agency is warning North Korea's nuclear complex may be operational again.

IAEA chief Yukio Amano has told a Board of Governors meeting satellite imagry has detected suspicious activity at the Yongbyon facility north of Pyongyang.

However, Amano has admitted the IAEA's experts can't confirm this, given they don't have access to the site.

North Korean authorities haven't allowed IAEA inspectors access to Yongbyon since 2009.

Yongbyon generates the nuclear materials North Korea has used to create its nuclear weapons.

Yukio Amano says the IAEA is "seriously concerned" about the possible restart of the Yongbyon facility.

The North Korean government is on-record this week saying that while it wants a negotiated solution to create a nuclear-free Korean peninsula, it will continue to develop its "nuclear deterrent."

 

8 killed in Iran's earthquake

At least 8-people are dead following a moderate earthquake in southern Iran.

The 5.7-magnitude quake hit shortly after 5pm local time on Thursday about 60-kilometers northeast of the country's Bushehr nuclear power plant.

While moderate, the quake hit at a shallow depth of just 5-kilometers, intensifying the shaking.

At least 45 others have been hurt in the earthquake, which was epicentered under the city of Borazjan.

It's unclear at this point whether the quake has caused any damage to the Bushehr nuclear power plant, which is the first nuclear power generation facility in the Middle East.

It's been reported the plant was damaged by a pair of stronger earthquakes which hit the region in April and May.

However, Iranian officials have never confirmed these reports.

The Bushehr nuclear facility, built with help from Russia, was designed to withstand an earthquake of magnitude-8 or higher.

 

10 killed in ammunition depot blast in Libya

At least 10 people are dead following an explosion at an ammo dump in Libya.

The blast took place in a relatively remote area in southern Libya, about 500-kilometers south of the capital, Tripoli.

At least 15 others have been hurt in the blast.

Authorities say an unknown group tried to break into the weapons storage facility, setting off the blast.

Southern Libya remains relatively unsecured.

Libya's wide-ranging borders in the south with Chad, Niger and Sudan are frequently used as crossing points for militants and drug smugglers.

The Libyan authorities have rolled out a wide-ranging plan to try to secure the country's borders with the help of the European Union.

Libya and Italy on Thursday signed an agreement to use Italian drones to monitor Libya's vast southern expanse in the Sahara region of north Africa.