介绍:
Death toll from Taiwan plane crash rise as rescue operations continue
The death toll from the crashed TransAsia Airways plane has risen to 32, with 11 passengers still missing.
Eighteen deceased passengers were from the Chinese Mainland.
The TransAsia plane with 58 passengers on board came down in Taipei's Keelung River on Wednesday morning.
Fourteen survivors were pulled from the wreckage, including a two-year-old boy.
Rescuers are still searching the river for the eleven missing passengers, all believed to be from the Chinese mainland.
Meanwhile, families of the mainland passengers have left Xiamen for Taipei.
TransAsia Airways has announced compensation worth 200,000 yuan to be given to families to cover funeral expenses.
China pledges to promote well-being of disabled people
The Chinese government has issued a new document aiming to promote the well-being of the country's disabled people.
The document states that China will take measures to better livelihoods and employment opportunities for disabled citizens, while ensuring access to public services for disabled people.
It further pledges to better social assistance, allowances, pensions and basic medicare insurance programs for the disabled.
The government also promises to further advance the construction of barrier-free facilities at public venues in both urban and rural areas.
China has about 85 million disabled people, with nearly 15 percent of them living below the poverty line in rural areas, while 3 percent of them are urbanites classified as having "life difficulties".
Iraqi authorities lift curfew in Baghdad
Iraqi authorities have decided to lift the daily night-time curfew in Baghdad starting from Saturday night.
The move is considered as a sign of the security improvement in the Iraqi capital, about six months after Haider al-Abadi's appointment as prime minister.
The decision was made after Abadi visited Baghdad Operations Command, which is responsible for the security of the capital.
Abadi also ordered the removal of many security checkpoints, with some remaining at the entrances to specific districts within the city.
Iran to have more centrifuges if new sanctions applied: nuclear negotiator
Iran says it will increase the number of its uranium enrichment centrifuges if Washington imposes new sanctions against the Islamic republic.
Iranian chief nuclear negotiator Hamid Baeedinejad made the comment in Moscow, where he's meeting his Russian counterpart on Iran's nuclear issue.
Baeedinejad also says talks between Iran and the P5 plus one group have entered a crucial stage and Tehran has decided to upgrade cooperation with Russia.
Western nations suspect Iran has been developing atomic weapons under the cover of its civilian nuclear plan, which Iran denies.
Under an interim deal reached in 2013, Iran suspended critical nuclear activities in return for the limited easing of sanctions, with all sides seeking a comprehensive deal by last July.
The deadline for the deal was extended again late last year to July of this year.
NATO to bolster Eastern Europe against Russia
NATO is set to announce details of a plan to bolster the alliance's military presence in Eastern Europe in response to continued fighting in Ukraine.
It's said to be the biggest reinforcement of NATO's collective defence since the end of the Cold War.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State John Kerry is set to hold talks in Kiev as the US considers whether to send weapons to help Kiev fight rebels in the east.
The US has been supplying non-lethal assistance already but has been re-evaluating its stance on the Ukraine crisis.
The US president's nominee for Defense Secretary, Ashton Carter, has been quoted as saying he is "inclined" to begin supplying arms to Ukraine's government.
S.Korean president orders stern readiness against DPRK provocations
South Korean President Park Geun-hye has told security officials to keep a stern military readiness against possible provocations from the North.
Her comments come ahead of joint annual military exercises between Seoul and Washington next month.
South Korea made an offer in December to hold high-level talks with the North in January to discuss all issues of mutual concern.
But Pyongyang has kept mum about the proposal and has said that Seoul should accept preconditions such as the suspension of joint annual war games with the United States, a proposal rejected by Seoul and Washington.
ECB toughens stance on Greece
The European Central Bank has toughened its stance with Greece by restricting financing to the country's banks.
In a statement, the central bank says starting next Wednesday it will no longer accept Greek government bonds as collateral for lending money to commercial banks.
This makes access to cash more expensive for Greece's banks.
The ECB says the suspension comes as it could not assume a successful deal on Greece's 240 billion euro bailout.
The newly-elected Greek government is in talks with international creditors over the terms of the bailout, which it thinks are too harsh.
World's oldest man celebrates 112 birthday
The world's oldest living man has turned 112. He's a Japanese man named Sakari Momoi and he lives in a care home near Tokyo.
He is recognized as the oldest man by the Guinness Book of World Records.
He was born on this day in 1903 in Fukushima prefecture and is said to be in good health.
The world's oldest living woman, as recognized by Guinness, is also Japanese. Misao Okawa of Osaka is 116 years old and has a birthday coming up next month. She was born in 1898.
大家还在听
