Chinese President Xi Jinping has issued a new call for "resolute opposition" to any action that might damage the country's ethnic unity.

Xi Jinping has made the comments while sitting-in on a panel discussion with members ethnic minority groups at the ongoing sessions of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference here in Beijing.

The comments come on the heels of Saturday's terrorist attack in Kunming which left 29 people dead and 143 others injured.

Xi Jinping is also urging the government to do "everything possible" to improve the livelihoods of China's ethnic minority groups and ethnic areas.

The Kunming municipal government also held a memorial service Tuesday evening for the victims.

Saturday's attack was carried out by a group of as many as 10 attackers armed with knives, randomly attacking passengers at Kunming's main train station.

 

Xi, Putin discuss Ukraine crisis on phone

Chinese President Xi Jinping has held a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin in connection with the situation in Ukraine.

Xi Jinping has reportedly told Putin the situation in Ukraine seems to be accidental, but has the elements of the inevitable.

He has also told Putin the situation in Ukraine is highly complicated, and has both a regional and global impact.

Xi Jinping has called on the Russian side to push for a political settlement in order to safeguard regional and world stability.

He says the Chinese government supports any international effort that can reduce the tension.

 

Tensions begin easing in Ukraine as talks begin

NATO has released a new statement, saying it will continue to support all constructive efforts for a "peaceful solution" to the current situation in Ukraine.

The statement follows an emergency meeting connected to the situation in Brussels on Tuesday.

NATO will continue to meet later on this Wednesday to continue to discussing the situation.

This comes as members of the Ukrainian cabinet begin talks with their Russian counterparts aimed at trying to de-escalate tensions.

 

Sisi hints to run for Egyptian president

The former head of the Egyptian armed forces has provided his clearest signal yet that he's going to run for president.

Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, speaking at a graduation ceremony at the Cairo war college, says he can not ignore calls by the majority for him to run for president.

Under Egyptian law, only civilians can run for elected office.

al-Sisi, who has already stepped down from the military, is widely expected to win the election if he runs.

It's expected al-Sisi will file his candidacy papers in the coming days after interim President Adly Mansour approves the new election laws by next week.

 

Syria ships out a third of chemcial weapons stockpile

The world's chemical weapons watchdog says the Syrian government has now shipped out about one-third of its chemical weapons stockpiles. 

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons says Damascus has so-far handed over six consignments of toxic agents. 

The OPCW also says two more shipments are currently headed for the northern Syrian port of Latakia. 

The chemicals are due to be transferred to a U.S. cargo ship and commercial destruction facilities in the UK and Germany.

At the same time, the Syrian government has also submitted a revised plan for the removal of all its chemical weapons by the end of April.

 

40 arrested in northern Italy over suspected mafia links

Italian authorities have arrested 40 people with suspected of links to the Calabrian mafia in the country's affluent northern region of Lombardy.

Italian police say those they've arrested are accused of mafia association, money laundering, loan-sharking, extortion, corruption, illegal credit operations and false claims of ownership over properties and companies. 

The authorities say the mafia clan is based in an area north of Milan, and often resorted to intimidation and violence. 

The so-called 'Ndrangheta is considered the richest and most impenetrable mafia in Italy.

The suspected mob boss is among those arrested. 

This comes amid a pledge by new Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi to stamp out organized crime in his country.

 

Obama plans 3.9-trillion-USD budget for 2015

The White House has unveiled its budget plans for the coming fiscal year.

As part of the fiscal 2015 plan, the Obama administration expects to spend 3.9-billion dollars on areas including infrastructure upgrades, education and social programs.

The White House plan would see the US government run a defecit of 564-billion US dollars through fiscal 2015.

This would account for 3.1-percent of the country's overall GDP.

 

PBOC to bulk up rules on online financial products

Financial regulators here in China are poised to reinforce the rules surrounding online financial products.

People's Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan has given an interview, saying regulations need to be more precise surrounding the financial products available via the internet.

This comes amid the dramatic rise in the purchase of financial instruments from new vendors such as Alibaba's Yu'e Bao.

Alibaba launched its Yu'e Bao online money-market fund in June. 

As of mid-February, Yu'e Bao has attracted some 400 billion yuan worth of investments, as its products are promising returns of more than double the savings rates at Chinese banks.