China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi has voiced hope for Middle East peace after meeting with Palestinian and Israeli leaders as part of his Middle East tour.

The comment came after Wang Yi held separate talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.

This has been Wang Yi's first visit to the Middle East as China's Foreign Minister.

The visit also comes a week after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry toured the region to push for peace talks.

 

China responds to US funding of Philippines

The Chinese government has issued a response to word Washington is going to provide the Philippines more money to deal with its security challenges.

US Secretary of State John Kerry has announced the US is going to provide the government of the Philippines with 40-million additional dollars to improve the country's maritime security.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying says relevant countries should respect the efforts made by China and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations,and be cautious about their words and actions.

Meeting with Filipino President Benigno Aquino III, Kerry says the committment of funding will be spent over the next 3-years to help upgrade the Philippine Coast Guard and deal with anti-terrorism issues.

 

Xi meets HK chief

Chinese President Xi Jinping has met with the Chief Executives of Hong Kong and Macau.

Both CY Leung and Chui Sai On are in Beijing for their annual report to the authorities.

Xi Jinping has told Hong Kong chief CY Leung the mainland's position on universal suffrage in Hong Kong remains consistent.

Xi Jinping says he hopes people in Hong Kong can discuss and reach a consensus under the guidance of the Basic Law and decisions of the CPC's standing committee.

Speaking with Macau's Chui Sai On, Xi Jinping says Macau needs to develop long-term plans to achieve economic diversification.

 

U.S. Fed announces reduction in monetary stimulus program

The US Federal Reserve has announced a slowdown in its effort to boost the US economy.

The U.S. central bank says it will reduce its pace of bond purchases, the third round of quantitative easing program, by 10 billion U.S. dollars starting in January. 

Stimulus of this kind is designed to lower interest rates and boost economic activity.

The Fed's governing committee cited stronger job growth as a reason for the decision to pullback its program of bond buying.

 

South Sudan crisis be dealt with via political dialogue: UN chief

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says the current situation in South Sudan needs to be dealt with through political dialogue.

Ban made the comment as hundreds including civilians were killed in the clashes in South Sudan capital of Juba during an attempted coup. 

Meanwhile, Ban urges the country's security forces to operate in compliance with international humanitarian law.

Currently, around 20 thousand people are seeking refuge at Juba's UN facilities.

A South Sudan official says at least 5-hundred people, most of them soldiers, have been killed in the country since Sunday.

 

Ousted Egypt president to be tried for conspiracy

Former Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi is to stand trial on charges including conspiring with foreign groups to commit terrorist acts in Egypt.

Egypt's top prosecutor accuses Morsi and other leading Muslim Brotherhood figures of conspiring with groups including the Islamist Hamas Movement and Lebanon's Hezbollah.

If found guilty the charges could result in the death penalty. 

These charges come as the heaviest accusations yet in a series of trials against the Muslim Brotherhood.

 

China Bitcoin exchange suspends RMB recharges

Bitcoin has fallen to less than half the value it recently traded for, following reports of fresh action by China to restrict trade in the virtual currency.

BTC China -- the country's main Bitcoin trading platform -- has suspended recharge services using the Chinese currency.

The announcement comes after a warning from China's central bank along with the banking, insurance and securities regulatory commissions and the Industry and Information Technology Ministry.

The notice stated financial and payment institutions may not accept the Bitcoin as legal tender.

 

Chinese cartoon blamed for children's injuries

A Chinese court has ruled the producer of a popular animation was partly to blame for an intentional injury case.

The court says a 10-year-old boy who tied two of his friends to a tree and set the tree alight has admitted he was imitating a scene from the cartoon "Pleasant Goat and Big Bad Wolf".

The court has ruled the young offender's legal guardians and the cartoon producer are both responsible for the injuries he caused.

 

An apple a day keeps heart doctors away: study

Oxford researchers say the old English proverb "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" is proving to be useful public health advice.

Their latest study published in the British Medicine Journal suggests prescribing an apple a day to adults aged over 50 in Britain would prevent around 85-hundred deaths from heart attacks and strokes every year.

The result is similar to prescribing modern cholesterol-lowering heart drugs to non-users.

Lead researcher Adam Briggs says it shows "both drugs and healthier living can make a real difference in preventing heart disease and stroke."