Talks betwwen China and Kuwait to strengthen friendship, cooperation
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has met with his Kuwaiti counterpart here in Beijng.
The two have pledged to cement their friendship and boost cooperation.
Among various fields, premier Li Keqiang especially notes that China is willing to participate in Kuwait's railway projects and voices support for closer cooperation in the energy sector.
Kuwait expressed a willingness to increase high-level visits between the two countries.
The two leaders also witnessed the signing of a series of cooperation deals.
The Kuwaiti Prime Minister is in Beijing for a 4-day visit.
He is also due to attend the opening ceremony of the ministerial meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum.
The meeting will kick off on Thursday in Beijing.
NATO enhances collective defense, reaffirms support for Ukraine
NATO is set to bolster its defence capabilities in central and eastern Europe.
The decision comes after the NATO defence minister had a meeting in Bruseel amid escalating tensions in the Ukraine.
It also comes hours after the US president pledged 1-billion dollars worth of military deployments in Europe.
Russia has earlier responsed to the NATO decision, saying it will reorganize its armed forces to strengthen military potential and troop mobility.
Kremlin also says it may withdraw from the 1997 Nato-Russia Founding Act if there are major NATO deployments in eastern and central Europe.
Syria wraps up presidential election
Voting in Syria's presidental election has wrapped up.
It ended at midnight local time, five hours later than originally planned because Tuesday's turnout was heavier than expected.
More than 15 million eligible and registered voters were expected to cast their ballots for the country's three presidential contenders, including incumbent President Bashar al-Assad.
Syrians living in Lebanon also stood in long lines at border crossings to cast their ballots.
The vote is taking place despite rejection by the opposition and their Western backers.
Rebels in Damascus suburbs have fired mortar shells, almost hitting security headquarters.
Egypt's Sisi officially declared president
Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has been declared the new president of Egypt.
The electoral commission made it official, announcing the results of last week's election by saying the former military chief won by a landslide. He took nearly 97 percent of the vote.
The result also gives a voter turnout of around 47 percent.
After the announcement, thousands of people have been gathering at public squares in the country, celebrating the new president's victory.
Sisi gained wide support from Egyptians after toppling President Mohamed Morsi last year.
Palestinian PM urges int'l community to support unity gov't
The Prime Minister of the newly formed Palestinian unity government is urging the international community to continue supporting the Palestinians and their legal rights.
Rami al-Hamdallah says the new consensus government adopts the political program of President Mahmoud Abbas, which renounces violence and respects the agreements signed with Israel.
The new cabinet was sworn in before Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Monday.
It has ended seven years of political division that started when Hamas took over Gaza in June 2007 after routing forces loyal to Abbas's Fatah party who now rules the West Bank.
Thai confidence jumps on hopes army will bring order after chaos
Consumer confidence in Thailand jumped in May on hopes a new military government would impose order after months of political chaos.
The University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce says its May consumer confidence index hit its highest level since January, just before protesters disrupted a Feb. 2 snap election.
The index rose to 70.7 in May from 67.8 in April, when it had fallen for the 13th month in a row and was at its lowest level in more than 12 years.
South Korean, 73, linked to ferry disaster fails in asylum bid
Prosecutors in South Korea say a businessman and Christian sect leader, who is wanted on charges tied to the ferry disaster in April, has sought asylum at a Seoul embassy but was rejected.
73-year-old Yoo Byung-un is wanted on charges of embezzlement, negligence and tax evasion. His son has an investment firm which owns the operator of the sunken ferry Sewol.
Prosecutors declined to disclose which embassy was contacted by Yoo's representative, or if there were others.
22 dead in China's Chongqing mine accident
Twenty two people are dead in a coal mine accident in Chongqing.
There were 28 miners working underground when the accident happened last night.
The other six had managed to escape.
Authorities describes the accident as a "gas incident".
MERS death toll surges to 282 in Saudi Arabia
The death toll linked to an outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in Saudi Arabia has surged.
The country's health minister says the agency has recalculated the number of coronovirus cases and has determined the disease is responsible for 282 deaths.
There have been 688 cases in Saudi Arabia since the first one was identified in 2012.
Before the review, the ministry had been stating 575 cases of MERS with 190 deaths. The review was done in order to attain a more accurate understanding of the virus outbreak.
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