The Chinese government has blasted Japan's criticism of its increasing military spending, saying the moderate growth in China's defense budget is reasonable and in line with the country's economic conditions.

The Chinese government has unveiled plans to raise its defense budget by 12.2 percent to just over 808-billion yuan, or about 130 billion U.S. dollars this year. 

The Japanese government is accusing the Chinese side of lacking transparency on its defense spending.'

The Chinese government says its reasonable for a country of China's size to moderately increase its military spending in the face of a complicated international situation.

 

UN envoy "seriously threatened" in Crimea: deputy UN chief

The United Nations' special envoy to the Crimea is cutting short his mission to the region after he was "seriously threatened" bo a group of armed men.

Robert Serry's vehicle was surrounded by a group of 10 to 15-armed men.

Despite initial reports he had been kidnapped, it turns out Serry managed to flee the vehicle and escape on-foot.

He's since decided to cut short his time in Crimea, choosing instead to continue his work in the Ukranian capital, Kiev.

Serry was dispatched to the Crimea last week by UN chief Ban Ki-moon to take an assessment of the situation.

The United Nations says its been in contact with both Ukranian and Russian authorities in connection with the incident.

 

U.S. limits travel of Syria's UN envoy

The US State Department has slapped travel restrictions on Syria's UN ambassador.

Bashar Ja'afari is now not allowed to travel outside a 40-kilometer radius surrounding the UN headquarters in New York.

The US side hasn't given a reason for slapping the new restrictions on Ja'afari, but notes it has imposed similar restrictions on diplomats from other countries in the past.

Ja'afari, who took up the post as Syria's UN ambassador in 2006, is not allowed to travel outside the 40-kilometer radius, even if he asks permission from US authorities.

 

UN Security Council extends partial suspension of Somalia arms embargo

The UN Security Council has decided to continue is partial suspension of its Somali arms embargo for another eight months.

This should allow the authorities in Mogadishu to continue to buy more light weapons to help strengthen the country's security forces.

Last March, the Security Council partially lifted the 21-year-old arms embargo on Somalia for a year to allow the government to import small arms and light weapons to strengthen its forces against the al-Shabaab Islamic militants.

The original arms embargo on Somalia dates back to 1992 when the Security Council adopted a resolution to cut the flow of weapons to feuding warlords amid the civil conflict there which had left Somalia in one of the worst humanitarian situations in the world in decades.

 

Venezuela marks first anniversary of Chavez's death

Venezuela is marking the first anniversary of the death of the late-president Hugo Chavez.

Tens of thousands of Chavez supporters, dressed in red, have gathered for rallies in the capital Caracas on Wednesday to honor the socialist leader, who died of cancer last March after 14 years as president.

President Nicolas Maduro has organized 10 days of commemorative activities, including a military parade, to mark the anniversary of Chavez's passing.

Maduro has also announced the authorities have captured the leaders of violent groups the authorities say sparked the recent unrest in the country.

 

Hamas denies connection with arms ship seized by Israel

Hamas is denying any connection to a ship seized by Israeli forces said to be planning to deliver weapons to the Gaza Strip.

Hamas, which controls Gaza, contends the allegations by the Israeli military is meant to justify its continuing embargo of the region.

Israeli forces on Wednesday captured an Iranian ship loaded with weapons in the Red Sea.

The Israeli side contends the ship was headed to Gaza to supply militants there with mid-range missiles.

Israel has been imposing an embargo on the Gaza Strip ever since Hamas took control of the region in 2007.

There's been an escallation of attacks by both sides in recent weeks, which is raising doubts about the stability of a ceasefire agreement the two sides managed to broker in 2012 which ended an Israeli incursion into Gaza.

 

Police detain suspects in S China subway stampede

A pair of young suspects have been detained in connection with a stampede on a subway car in Guangdong's capital, Guangzhou, yesterday.

The two young men unleashed pepper spray inside a subway car.

This led to pushing and shoving as people tried to get away from the pepper spray, causing a stampede which left 4-people hurt.

One of the suspects was tracked down by police while the other turned himself over to the authorities.

It's unclear at this point what, if any, charges the young men will face.

 

Tencent WeChat opens up

Tencent is opening up its WeChat app to all business vendors.

A deposit of 20-thousand yuan will allow vendors to set up accounts with WeChat to establish online transactions.

Tencent will charge a service fee of 0.6 percent for each transaction.

At the same time, China Unicom has announced its 200 brick-and-mortar sales outlets will adopt WeChat's online payment services.