China and Kenya reach co-financing railway deal
The Chinese and Kenyan governments have signed a new deal to build a railway linking Nairobi to Mombasa.
The deal has been inked as part of the conclusion of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's 3-day visit to Kenya.
The two governments have also signed off on a number of agreements connected to economics, finance and agriculture.
The Chinese government is also putting forward 10-million US dollars to help with the protection of wildlife in Kenya.
Kenya is the last stop of the Li Keqiang's four nation African tour, which has also seen him make stops in Ethiopia, Nigeria and Angola.
Polling stations closed in eastern Ukraine
Vote counting is underway in the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk where polling is underway to determine whether or not to split from Kiev.
Around 75-percent of those eligable have voted.
In the Donetsk region, pro-Ukrainian government gunmen have stormed a polling station, killing one person.
Authorities in Kiev are blasting the referendum, saying the vote has no legal consequences.
The referendum by pro-Russian supporters comes despite a call by Russian President Vladimir Putin to hold off on the vote.
Protestors gathered in Bangkok despite overnight violence
The Thai government has issued a warning to people to stay away from protest sitse following an explosion which injured two people in Bangkok.
Attackers hurled a grenade at anti-government protesters outside Government House over the weekend.
Despite the attack, both anti and pro-government protestors continue to demonstrate in Bangkok.
The demonstrations follow the ouster of Yingluck Shinawatra as the Prime Minister by the country's Constitutional Court last week.
Yingluck's Puea Thai party still maintains a caretaker government.
Anti-government protesters are hoping to topple the interim administration ahead of the July 20th election.
Dozens dead as migrant boat capsizes off Libya coast
Dozens of bodies have been recovered after a boat carrying a group of migrants capsized off the Libyan coast.
The eight-meter-long boat carrying around 130 people capsized about 50-kilometers from the capital, Tripoli.
So far 51 people have been pulled from the water alive.
However, over 20 are still missing.
It's believed the boat was on its way to Italy.
7 police commandos killed by leftwing rebels in central India
Seven police officers have been killed in a bombing in central India.
The commandos were on patrol about 50-kilometers outside the city of Nagpur.
Naxalite rebels are being blamed for the attack.
This comes as India enters the final phase of its 9-phase elections.
ASEAN leaders pledge unity
ASEAN leaders are gathered in Myanmar for this year's annual ASEAN summit.
Representatives from the 10-member bloc are vowing to promote peace and reconciliation in the region.
Attendees have also agreed to strengthen cooperation for the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.
The declaration, which was signed to try to ensure stability in the region, calls for dealing with disputes in the South China Sea through bilateral negotiations.
This is the first time Myanmar has hosted the ASEAN annual summit since joining the grouping in 1997.
Jordan confirms new death of MERS virus infection
Jordanian authorities have confirmed a new death connected to the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS.
The victim is a nurse who works at a private hospital.
She tested positive for virus last week and died on Sunday.
Nine MERS cases have been detected in Jordan since 2012.
Five have died.
MERS broke out in Saudi Arabia two years ago.
The virus, much like SARS, has killed over 100 people since it was first detected.
Close to 400 people have been infected with the disease.
China's chain store giants see slow growth
New industry stats show sales among the top-100 chain stores are up just under 10-percent to around 2-trillion yuan this past year.
This marks the slowest growth in some 16 years.
The China Chain Store and Franchise Association says this is the first time the country's largest chain store operators have reported sales growth of under 10-percent since 1998.
Among the chain store giants, 21 retail outlets have shut down stores through last year.
15 of them have also posted sales declines.
E-commerce is being cited as one of the main factors, despite two-thirds of the firms on the list opening their own sites online.
Telecom carriers granted full pricing autonomy
Chinese authorities have granted telecom carriers full autonomy in making their own pricing decisions.
As of now, telecom operators are free to design their own service packages and price them based on consumer demand.
However, authorities are also warning the telecom providers they can't exaggerate their services or mislead consumers.
They're also being encouraged to provide special offers to low-income subscribers.
China's three main telecom carriers, China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom, have been frequently accused of poor service and high fees.
Ministry of Finance vows regulation of online lottery sales
The Ministry of Finance is cracking down on Internet lottery sales.
The ministry is warning that welfare or sports lottery sales will not be allowed to sell lottery tickets online without formal approvals.
A number of unlicensed agencies, using smartphone apps, have been selling tickets without approvals.
Online lottery sales here in China hit 42-billion yuan last year.
This is an increase of over 80-percent compared with last year. |