China's inflation continues to cool
China's inflation cooled for the fifth straight month in December, which analysts say increases the odds the government will unveil more measures to shore up growth.
Consumer prices rose 4.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
The bureau says the December CPI was down 0.1 percentage point from November on falling non-food prices.
For the whole of 2011, consumer prices gained 5.4 percent, exceeding the government's target of 4 percent set at the beginning of the year.

China says Geithner's visit "significant"
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has described the two-day visit by U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner as "significant" for bilateral economic and trade ties.
"I always believe that when it comes to China and the United States, dialogue works better than confrontation and cooperation works better than containment."
Chinese and US officials have been trying to narrow differences over a number of issues, including the Renminbi's exchange rate, the bilateral trade imbalance, the U-S controls on high-tech exports to China.
Geithner, for his part, said the two sides have made a "substantial progress."

Clinton denies U.S. role in assassination of Iranian nuclear staff

克林顿否认参与暗杀伊朗核专家
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has issued a strong denial, following accusations by Iranian authorities that the US and Israel are behind the assassination of one of Iran's nuclear scientists.
Clinton said the US is categorically denying any involvement in the death of an Iranian nuclear scientist on Wednesday.
The deputy chief of Iran's nuclear enrichment site was killed in a bomb attack in Tehran.

Japanto reduce Iranian oil imports: finance minister

日本计划减少伊朗石油输出
Japan says it's planning to reduce its oil imports from Iran in line with U.S. sanctions on the Middle East country for its nuclear development program.
Finance Minister Jun Azumi says Japan has reduced the amount of oil imported from Iran in the past five years, and that further reductions are now being planned.
Azumi made the remarks during a meeting with visiting US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
Geithner said Japan is a "vital ally" for the United States, and that the two countries will work closely together on the issue of Iran.

Assad makes rare appearance in Damascus; French journalist killed in Syria

阿萨德在大马士革很少露面；法国记者在叙利亚被杀害
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has made a rare appearance in downtown Damascus, greeting thousands of his supporters.
The public appearance comes just a day after his first speech to the Syrian people in half a year.
While on the ground in other parts of Syria, the uprising against Assad's rule continues.
Unidentified gunmen fired rocket-propelled grenades into a crowd of people in the restive city of Homs yesterday, killing 7 people, including a French journalist.

Chinese naval escort squads to Somali waters escorted 4,411 vessels in three years
A top Chinese navy officer says the Chinese naval escort fleet in the Gulf of Aden has safely escorted over 44-hundred boats through the pirate-filled waters over the course of the last three years.
Speaking to a forum in Beijing, Chinese naval commander Wu Shengli also says the Chinese naval squadron in the Gulf of Aden has also help rescue around 40 ships that were being threatened by Somali pirates.
The Chinese navy has dispatched 10 escort fleets with close to 85-hundred officers and soldiers to the region since they began escorting ships through the treacherous waters.

Three killed, two trapped in E China gold mine accident
Three people have been killed and two others remain trapped after entering a gold mine in east China's Shandong province.
An initial probe indicates that all three choked to death. But an autopsy is still needed to determine whether they were poisoned or suffocated from lack of oxygen.
The accident occurred when five workers were lowered into the desolate gold mine in the city of Rushan, hoping to find more gold there.

Hundreds of villagers evacuated after gas leaks from smashed tanker truck
Nearly 1,000 people have been evacuated after a highway crash triggered a gas leak from a tanker truck in east China's Anhui province.
Firefighters say up to 24 tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas were leaking from the damaged vehicle, which collided with a car in Lixin county.
The car's driver, the only passenger, was killed in the crash.
Firefighters have been working to dilute the gas.

China resettles 550,000 demobilized soldiers: newspaper
China resettled 550,000 demobilized soldiers and helped them find jobs last year.
While visiting soldiers in the northwest Gansu province, Minister of Civil Affairs Li Liguo says the central government spent 1.9 billion yuan or about 300 million U.S.dollars on resettling retired servicemen last year.
More than 200,000 ex-servicemen attended free educational courses and technical training programs.