Chinese premier arrives in Britain for official visit
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is now in Britain for an official visit.
Li Keqiang says he is looking forward to exchanging ideas with British leaders in a number of different fields.
He's scheduled to meet with Prime Minister David Cameron as part of the trip.
The premier is leading a delegation of some 200-plus business leaders who are expected to sign deals worth more than 30-billion US dollars in the UK.
Infrastructure, high-speed rail, nuclear energy and finance, as well as London's role as an offshore yuan trading hub, are expected to be the key areas under discussion.
Britain is the first leg of the premier's European tour, which will also take him to Greece.
China rejects Philippine suggestion of ban on South China Sea construction
The Chinese government is rejecting a suggestion by the Philippines for a region-wide ban on construction in the South China Sea.
The suggestion comes amid allegations by the Philippine side, which claims the Chinese side is trying to accelerate an "expansion agenda" in the South China Sea.
The Philippine government's accusations come following the announcement of the construction of a school in Sansha, a Chinese city incorporated in the Xisha Islands.
The Chinese government is calling on the Philippines to "refrain from any provocative actions," adding that the Philippines is also constructing its own facilities on the island chain.
13 executed for terror, violent crimes in Xinjiang
Thirteen people have been executed for terrorist attacks and violent crimes in Xinjiang.
The group had been convicted of participating in terrorist groups and committing illegal acts.
All the death penalties were approved by the Supreme People's Court.
The group was responsible for the death of some two-dozen people, including police officers and government officials.
At the same time, three others connected to October's terrorist attack at Tian'anmen Square in October have also been handed the death sentence.
The three are among a group of seven who have been convicted of assisting the attackers who launched the deadly assault on tourists in the heart of the capital last year which left two tourists dead.
UN confirms partial withdrawal of Baghdad-based staff due to growing fighting
The United Nations has decided to relocate its international staff out of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.
The move comes as the al-Qaeda-affiliated group, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, threatens to take its massive insurgency south into the heart of Iraq.
The group already controls Iraq's 2nd largest city of Mosul.
The Iraqi government has been calling for help from the United States in beating-back the insurgency.
However, the Obama administration has so far been unwilling to commit resources, though Washington does say its keeping all its options open.
Moscow urges Kiev to secure Russian diplomatic missions
Moscow is demanding Kiev to take steps to ensure security for its diplomatic missions in Ukraine.
The Russian Embassy in Kiev was damaged in a protest over the weekend, when around a hundred protesters blockaded the embassy on Saturday, throwing rocks and smoke grenades at the building.
The Russian side contends the Ukrainian authorities didn't do enough to stop the embassy from coming under attack.
The call for more security comes on the heels of a decision by Russian gas giant Gazprom to cut off natural gas supplies to Ukraine after the two sides failed to reach an agreement about payments.
Palestinian group close to Fatah claims kidnapping Israeli teenagers
A Palestinian group aligned with the Fatah movement has claimed responsiblity for the kidnapping of Israeli teenagers.
Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the armed wing of Fatah, says the three missing yesheva students are in safe hands in an area outside Hebron, where they were taken last Thursday.
The claim has not been confirmed yet.
The Israeli side is still pointing the finger at Hamas, which has denied its involvement.
Israeli forces have closed roads, searched homes and rounded up dozens of Palestinians since the kidnapping.
They've also been launching air strikes on suspected militant targets in the West Bank and have turned the Hebron region into a militarized zone.
Al-Shabaab claims deadly attack in Kenya coastal town
Radical Somali Islamist group al-Shabaab is claiming responsibility for a deadly attack on a coastal Kenyan town this week which left nearly 50-people dead.
Al-Shabaab says the attack on the coastal town of Mpeketoni was in retaliation for the killing of Muslims by Kenyan security forces in the city of Mombasa.
The radical Islamist group is also warning it will continue attacking targets in Kenya until the Kenyan government withdraws its troops from Somalia.
Kenya is one of a number of African Union countries which is operating in southern Somalia in an attempt to uproot al-Shabaab forces, which once controled much of Somalia.
IMF lowers U.S. growth forecast to 2.0 pct in 2014
The International Monetary Fund has sharply lowered its U.S. economic growth forecast for this year.
The IMF is projecting growth of just 2-percent for this year in the United States.
This is down significantly from the 2.8-percent the IMF previously forecast.
IMF managing director Christine Lagarde says the de-grading is based on the aging of population and productivity trends in the United States.
Despite the downward projection for this year, the IMF is maintaining its US growth projection of 3-percent for next year. |