介绍:
SW China quake toll rises sharply to 589
Another 179 people have been confirmed dead almost three days after a powerful earthquake devastated southwest China, bringing the overall toll to 589.
Nine people are still missing.
Officials attributed the sharp toll rise to delayed confirmation due to the inaccessibility and remoteness of many quake-hit villages in the mountainous region.
In addition to the deaths and missing, there are 2,400 people injured in the 6.5-magnitude quake on Sunday in Zhaotong City, Yunnan Province.
China criticizes Japan's defense white paper
Chinese authorities are criticizing a Japanese defense white paper, accusing Tokyo of using its claims of the so-called China Threat as an excuse to justify a military buildup.
Japanese leaders approved the white paper on Tuesday. It says Japan needs to improve its defense capacity to cope with an increasingly severe security environment, and points out threats from North Korea, China, and Russia.
The Chinese Ministry of National Defense has issued a statement saying Japan is ignoring facts, making groundless accusations, and deliberately playing up its perceived China Threat.
The white paper also proposes that Japan should play a dominant role in regional and international cooperation in the defense arena, which is regarded by analysts as an attempt to make Japan into a military power.
Hiroshima residents protest against Abe over collective defense
About 1,000 Hiroshima residents have protested against Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe over collective self-defense right on Wednesday.
The protest was carried out near the city's Peace Memorial Park, where a ceremony was held to commemorate the 69th anniversary of U.S. atomic bombing on Hiroshima in 1945.
Abe attended the ceremony and made an address before about 45,000 participants, saying Japan will uphold the three non-nuclear principles.
After the ceremony, a protesting group expressed to Abe their hope that the government could retract the cabinet decision on lifting the ban on exercising collective self-defense right.
However, Abe answered that the collective defense aims to protect Japanese people's peaceful life.
U.S. announces 30 bln USD to boost economic ties with Africa
The United States has pledged over 30-billion US dollars to boost economic ties with Africa during the first US-Africa summit.
President Barack Obama has announced 7-billion dollars to promote US exports to and investments in Africa, under the Doing Business in Africa Campaign.
Another 12 billion in federal commitments was announced last year.
14-billion will come from the private sector, with deals announced related to clean energy, aviation, banking, and construction.
There are about 50 African leaders participating at the three-day summit.
Gaza ceasefire talks in process following 72-hour truce
Israeli and Palestinian delegations have travelled to Cairo with the aim of securing a lasting ceasefire in Gaza as a 72-hour truce came into effect on Tuesday.
The three-day indirect talks are being held in Egypt between Israel and a senior Palestinian delegation, joined by Gaza-based Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders, in a bid to draft a permanent truce.
Palestinians say their demands include the lifting of an eight-year blockade of Gaza and opening of border crossings, while Israel wants Gaza fully demilitarized.
Over the past 29 days, fighting between the two sides have killed over 1,800 Palestinians and 64 Israelis.
Bulgarian president announces early elections on Oct. 5
Bulgarian President Rosen Plev-ne-liev has announced early parliamentary elections on Oct. 5.
The President also dissolved the National Assembly, and appointed a caretaker government.
Under the Bulgarian Constitution, the core task of the caretaker government is to organize the snap parliamentary polls.
The caretaker cabinet replaced the Bulgarian Socialist Party government which resigned last month.
Samsung, Apple agree to end patent disputes outside U.S.
Samsung Electronics says that it has agreed with Apple to end all patent lawsuits outside of the United States.
However, Samsung says the agreement is not related to a patent licensing deal between the two, and the patent lawsuit in the U.S. will continue.
The legal battle between the two began in April 2011 when Apple sued Samsung in the US for infringing on its patents.
The legal disputes have, since then, spread to nine countries, including South Korea, Germany, Japan, Italy, the Netherlands, Britain, France and Australia.
China to punish Chrysler, Audi for anti-trust violations: official
China's top economic regulator says two separate anti-trust probes into Chrysler and Audi have found that the two multinational carmakers have pursued monopo'listic practices and will be punished.
The National Development and Reform Commission adds that the Chrysler investigation was launched by the Shanghai Municipal Development and Reform Commission, and the Audi probe was conducted by the Hubei Province Price Bureau.
It says the two investigations are drawing to an end, without specifying details of the punishment.
It also confirms that the Jiangsu Province Price Bureau launched an anti-trust investigation last week into dealers of German auto giant Mercedes-Benz in five Jiangsu cities.
