Authorities in Hebei have sealed off a local farm after an outbreak of the H5N2 bird flu in the poultry.

The outbreak comes on the heels of 6 new confirmed cases of the H7N9 strain of the virus this past week in Guangdong. 

The farm in question in Hebei has been sealed off within 3 kilometer radius of where the H5N2 outbreak is underway. 

Around 4-thousand of the chickens at the farm in the city of Baoding died after the virus was first detected last Tuesday. 

11 people, including staff of the farm, have been isolated for medical observation.

This is the first time the H5N2 bird flu strain has shown up here in China.

There is currently no vaccine for the strain.

 

China, Algeria agree to speed up preparation for promoting bilateral ties

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has met with his Algerian counterpart Ramtane Lamamra in Algiers.

The meeting comes as the two sides prepare breifs for pushing the bilateral ties to the level of comprehensive strategic partnership.

The Chinese and Algerian sides have also agreed on cooperation in areas including energy, high technology, defense and space flight.

Algeria established diplomatic ties with China 55 years ago.

 

Chinese businessman killed during robbery in Russia

A Chinese businessman has been killed in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg.

The Chinese Consulate General in the city says three unidentified attackers broke into their apartment and tied and beat up some of the Chinese nationals living there.

One of the 3 was left unharmed. 

The thieves stole cash, mobile phones and jewelry.

It's unclear if authorities have any suspects at this point.

 

State Post Bureau steps up checkups after deadly mail leakage

China's State Postal Bureau says its going to be upgrading its safety checks after a liquid chemical leak from a package killed one person in Shandong.

Several others were sickended by the chemical in the package.

However, the package itself made it through the system anyway.

The chemical is believed to be methyl fluoroacetate, a highly toxic chemical widely used in dye, medicine and pesticide.

The State Postal Bureau notes mail workers are allowed to reject mails if the senders refuse to open them for scrutiny or refuse to provide identification.

 

Quota details of Tianjin's car-buying restrictions released

Another Chinese city has capped the total number of car licence plates it will issue annually, following moves by Beijing and other metropolises to curb pollution and congestion.

Municipal authorities in Tianjin have announced they're going to enact licence-plate restrictions similar to Beijing's.

At the same time, authorities are going to cap the number of new licence plates to 100-thousand per year.

Tianjin already has some 2-million-360-thousand vehicles on the road.

The new restrictions are set to take effect March 1st.

 

Arrests made under Egypt's new protest law

Three Egyptian activists have been jailed for 3-years for organizing protests without government permission.

The activists are the founder of the April 6th Movement, a senior member of the movement, and prominent government critic Ahmed Douma. 

They have been convicted of violating Egypt's new protest law and assaulting policemen. 

The new provision requires protesters to obtain an approval from the government before staging their protests. 

The trio spearheaded the massive protests against ousted President Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

 

Israel's Mossad headhunters to attend college job fair

Israel's spy agency is looking for recruits.

In highly unusual move, Israel's Mossad intelligence agency is going to send recruiters to interview prospective candidates in a job fair at Ben-Gurion University later this Monday.

Mossad did begin approaching graduates 'in person' in recent years. 

Around 30 of Israel's leading hi-tech and defense companies will also be sending their own representatives to Monday's job fair to lure graduates.

 

Georgian court suspends Tbilisi mayor from office

The mayor of the country of Georgia's capital city has been released on bail after being arrested for embezzelment.

Gigi Ugulava is accsused of misappropriating and embezzeling over 27-million US dollars.

The money is said to have been funneled into the ruling United National Movement Party's funds.

Ugulava could face between 7 and 11-years in jail if convicted.

 

Japan Unveils Record 2014 Budget Draft as Debt Burden Mounts

Japan has unveiled a record budget for the next fiscal year.

Government ministers and the ruling coalition have adopted the 921-billion US dollars budget for the fiscal year, which starts April 1st.

Japan's government is also planning to issue 41-trillion yen of worth of new bonds.

This is down around 2-trillion yen from the initial budget. 

The goverment of Shinzo Abe is hoping to pull the country out of a 15-year deflationary malaise and cope with the rising welfare costs of its aging population.

At the same time, the authorities in Japan are hoping to contain public debt that's more than twice the size of the economy. 

Abe's goal is to achieve a fiscal surplus by 2020. 

Japan's growth slowed for a second straight quarter in July-September.