Chinese defense minister arrives in U.S. for official visit
Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie has arrived in SAN FRANCISCO for an official visit that will include meetings with government and military leaders of the United States.
In a written speech upon his arrival at the airport, Liang Guanglie said his visit aims to implement the consensus Chinese President Hu Jintao and U.S. President Barack Obama reached on building a cooperative partnership of mutual respect and benefit, and push forward the development of bilateral and military ties in a healthy and stable way.
During the visit, Liang Guanglie will meet U.S. state and military leaders, and hold a joint press conference with his U.S. counterpart Leon Panetta after talks.
China, Japan, ROK agree to enhance cultural cooperation
The cultural ministers of China, Japan and South Korea have signed a joint action plan in Shanghai to boost cultural cooperation between the three countries.
According to the Shanghai Action Plan, the three parties will step up cooperation in protecting cultural heritage and conduct more exchanges between their respective cultural industries.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the normalization of China-Japan diplomatic relations, as well as the 20th anniversary of the forging of China-South Korea diplomatic ties. China and Japan, and China and South Korea have planned a series of events to boost their ties.
Explosion hits suburb of Syrian capital overnight, casualties reported
A booby-trapped car went off in Syrian capital suburb of Daf al-Shouk on Saturday, leaving two unidentified corpses and five people injured, according to witnesses and local media.
The overnight blast is the latest in a string of explosions that rocked Damascus and northern Aleppo province on Saturday.
Pakistan condemns U.S. drone attack
Pakistan has condemned in the strongest terms the U.S. drone attacks in North Waziristan Saturday morning, which killed at least 10 people.
A foreign ministry statement says Pakistan has consistently maintained that these illegal attacks are a violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and are in contravention of international law.
Saturday's U.S. drone strike was 12th this year. Data shows that nearly 93 people have been killed in U.S strikes in 2012.
Marine authority issues red tide alert for north China seas
A red tide measuring 780 square km in size has been detected in waters near east China's city of Rizhao, according to a notice issued Saturday by the State Oceanic Administration (SOA).
The administration's North Sea branch says algae samples taken from the waters by a marine patrol vessel have tested negative for toxins.
The red tide is the first to be detected in the East China and Yellow seas this year.
The administration says it will use satellite remote-sensing technology, patrol vessels and helicopters to monitor any changes in the red tide.
12 dead, 19 injured in two expressway accidents in southwest China
Twelve people were dead and 19 others injured in two accidents on an expressway in southwest China's Yunnan province Saturday.
The causes of the accidents are being investigated.
Makeshift house collpase leaves 4 dead, 6 injured in Beijing
A two-story makeshift house, being built illegally, collapsed Saturday afternoon in Beijing, leaving four dead and six others injured.
Rescuers are still searching for others trapped in the debris.
Police say the house under construction was unauthorized, and the cause of the accident is under investigation.
Chinese health minister donates plasma
Chinese Health Minister Chen Zhu donated plasma on Saturday in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, and called on health workers to take the lead in blood donation to ease the country's blood supply shortage.
He said blood product is a vital necessity for the health services, and blood donation is a philanthropic act.
Chen Zhu also complimented the contribution of Sichuan Province in securing the blood supply.
China to train 8,000 diabetes doctors in rural areas
China will train 8,000 doctors in rural areas to prevent and treat diabetes, covering 279 counties in nine provinces.
The year-long program will allow doctors to receive both face-to-face and remote online training in the provinces of Jiangsu, Hebei, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Sichuan, Yunnan, Shandong and Henan.
A survey indicates China has more than 40 million diabetes patients in rural areas, similar to the number found in urban areas.
However, nearly 70 percent of rural patients are not even aware that they have the disease because of the poor quality of rural medical care according to the survey.
Canton fair closes with drop in export transactions
The spring session of the biannual Canton Fair, or the 111th China Import and Export Fair, closed on Saturday, with export transactions decreased for the first time since 2009.
A spokesman with the fair says the value of export deals dropped by 2.3 percent year-on-year to 36 billion U.S. dollars, or down 4.8 percent than the figure at the autumn session of the fair.
This is the first volume decrease since the spring of 2009 as economic crisis hit the world from 2008.
The spokesman says debt crisis from European Union countries and tough job market in the United States were among the factors that have caused the decrease.