Headline News 2014 June 20

Chinese, Greek PMs meet to enhance ties, cooperation Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is now in Greece following a three-day visit to the UK. He has already met with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras to discuss bilateral ties. Li Keqiang has also suggested China and Greece can work together in exploring new economic growth points, particularly in maritime cooperation. "Certainly the global economic recovery still has many uncertainties and faces many challenges. I agree with Mr. Samaras that the two sides can make joint efforts to make the port of Piraeus a transportation hub. Such cooperation will be beneficial for Chinese-Greek relations and Chinese-European relations, and of course benefit the global economic recovery." Part of his schedule in Greece is to hold the first-ever maritime cooperation forum between the two countries. The Premier is expected to oversee the signing of more than 20 new deals, mostly covering investment, trade and finance. HK gov't stresses "civil referendum" has no legal effect The Hong Kong government says the so-called "civil referendum" organized by some groups has no legal effect as it does not exist in the Basic Law of the Special Administrative Region. The referendum seeks to propose a so-called "civil nomination" regarding the selection of the SAR's Chief Executive in 2017. But the SAR government stresses that according to Article 45 of the Basic Law, the power to nominate CE candidates is vested in the Nominating Committee only. A government spokesman is appealing to the community to forge consensus on the issue in a rational and pragmatic manner. China launches crackdown on online terrorist material China has launched a campaign to rid the Internet of audio and video materials that promote terrorism and violence. The move is aimed at safeguarding social stability in the western region of Xinjiang which has seen a number of terrorist attacks recently. An attack on an open market in the capital Urumqi on May 22 killed 39 people. Police say most of the suspects seized in those cases had learned how to make explosives through online tutorials. Fierce battles for Baiji and Tal Afar in Iraq Iraqi government forces and Islamist-led militants have been engaged in fierce battles for the Baiji oil refinery and Tal Afar airport in northern Iraq. Baiji, Iraq's biggest refinery, is surrounded by the rebels, who say they have seized most of Tal Afar airport. The fighting comes a day after the US said it would send some 300 military advisers to help the fight against the insurgents. President Barack Obama stressed that US troops would not fight in Iraq. He is also sending Secretary of State John Kerry to the region this weekend to consult with allies. Blast kills 34 in Syria's Hama A powerful car bombing in a government-held village in central Syria has killed at least 34 people and wounded more than 50 others. State media say the explosion went off in Horrah village near the city of Hama. Rebel forces have claimed responsibility, saying they were targeting local armed forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. On Thursday evening, a car bomb exploded near a school in the same region, killing three people and wounding nine. Global refugee figures highest since WW2: UN The United Nations' refugee agency says the number of people forced to flee their homes because of war or persecution exceeded 50 million in 2013, the first time since World War Two. The UNHCR says the overall figure of 51.2 million is six million higher than the year before, posing a huge challenge for aid organizations. It says conflicts in Syria, central Africa and South Sudan fuelled the sharp increase. An estimated 6.3 million people have been refugees for years, sometimes even decades. Japan, S. Korea at odds over military drill Japan has called a live fire military drill by South Korea near waters surrounding their disputed area "totally unacceptable." The drill was conducted near a pair of rocks that are called Dokdo in South Korea and Takashima in Japan. Tokyo says it urged Seoul to cancel the drill before it was staged. However, a South Korean military official says the exercise is regularly conducted in the area. Japan's relations with South Korea have frayed due to territorial dispute over the islands and Japan's denial of wartime history. Malaysia MH370 jet hunt will move south: Australia Australia says the next phase of the hunt for missing Malaysian jet MH370 will move hundreds of miles south. The search will focus on an area 1,800km off the city of Perth, according to Australian Transport Safety Bureau chief Martin Dolan. Nearby areas were previously surveyed from the air, but the undersea hunt was directed north after pings were detected. But after weeks of searching the ocean floor, it was concluded that the noises were unrelated to the plane. Search teams have now returned to the initial satellite data to frame the new search area.