介绍:
Gunmen hold hostages in Mali hotel attack
Gunmen are said to be holding around 170 people hostage at a luxury hotel in Mali's capital Bamako.
The Chinese embassy has confirmed around 10 Chinese nationals are among the hostages at the Radisson hotel, which is frequented by foreigners.
A spokeperson for the hotel chain says the gunmen have "locked in" 140 guests and 30 employees.
Malian police and soldiers are now on the scene.
Officials in Bamako say 10 gunmen stormed the hotel Friday morning shouting "Allahu Akbar" or "God is great" in Arabic before firing on the guards and taking hostages.
Mali has been dealing with an Islamic insurgency following a 2012 military coup which allowed militants, which had been operating in the country's northern regions, to seize control of large swaths of Mali's Sahel region.
Although a peace agreement was signed in June of this year, certain cities in the north are still controlled by insurgent forces.
So far no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The Chinese embassy is advising Chinese citizens in Bamako to stay indoors if they can.
Chinese premier's signed article published in newspapers of Malaysia
An article written by the Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has been published by the major Malaysian newspapers ahead of his trip to the Southeast Asian country.
In the article, Premier Li said China and Malaysia were standing at a new starting point for development in relations, and should continue to view and grow bilateral ties from a strategic perspective.
Last year marked the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Malaysia.
In the article, Premier Li says, over the past 40 years, cooperation between the two countries has set a good example of friendly exchanges between countries in the region.
Twenty-eight terrorists killed in 56-day hunt in Xinjiang
Police in Xinjiang are reporting they've broken up a terrorist cell, killing 28 of its members as part of a 56-day operation.
Authorities say only one of the suspects surrendered.
28 others were killed as part of fire-fights with police.
The massive operation was launched after a deadly terror attack on September 18th in the Aksu area of Xinjiang.
A group attacked a coal mine in the region, killing 11 civilians, 3 police officers and 2 para-military officers.
18 others were hurt in the attack.
Authorities say the group was guided by outside terrorist forces, but commanded by two locals from Xinjiang.
It's not been made clear which outside group is believed to have backed the assault.
Prison guards sentenced over inmate escape in NE China
Three prison officials in northeast China have been sentenced to prison terms themselves for a deadly jailbreak this past year.
The head of the prison in Heilongjiang where the inmates escaped has been sentenced to 6-years behind bars for his decision to reduce patrols at the prison on the outskirts of Harbin.
Two of his deputies have also been hit with jail terms of 3 and 5-years due to negligence of duty.
Three inmates killed a guard and escaped the prison in September of last year.
Their escape sparked a massive manhunt for several days before all three were eventually tracked down.
Two of the prisoners have since been sentenced to death for their role in the escape, while the other has been handed a life-sentence.
Islamic State threatens to blow up White House
Islamic State militants have issued a new online threat, saying they intend to bomb the White House and launch more attacks in Paris.
The 6-minute video, titled "Paris Before Rome," is believed to have been produced by the Islamic State in an area it controls in Iraq.
The video shows an Islamic State militant threatening to attack French monuments, while at the same time vowing to strike the White House.
It comes a day after another video surfaced threatening to attack New York City.
The FBI says its not aware of any credible threat of a "Paris-type attack" in the United States.
Bolivia to build S. America's largest nuclear research center
Bolivian President Evo Morales has announced plans for the creation of a Russian-backed nuclear research center in his country.
Once completed, Morales says the facility in Bolivia will be the largest of its kind in South America.
The Bolivian President is due to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to finalize the agreement at a summit of Gas Exporting Countries in the Iranian capital, Tehran, on Monday.
Russian state-run nuclear energy firm Rosatom is going to build the research center, which will require an investment of at least 300-million U.S. dollars.
The research facility's construction and operations will be monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
It's due to be operational by 2020.
[bjh/hourly] Britain sends large mission to China to promote tourism
More than 70 tourism and trade industry officials from the UK are set to travel to China next week to promote tourism.
The delegation will include hotel officials, retailers and tour operators.
British Tourism Authority VisitBritain is organizing the tour, which will attend the annual Destination Britain China event.
It's set to take place in Beijing from Monday to Wednesday.
More than 100 buyers from 15 different cities across China, including Hong Kong, will participate in the event.
The Destination Britain China event has been taking place since 2009.
大家还在听
