Syria's Assad says recent circumstances requires sense of responsibility
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad addressed the new parliament on Sunday, saying that the delicate circumstances the country is going through require more audacity, solidity and sense of responsibility.
He said REGIONAL ROLE PROVES FAILURE REGARDING SYRIAN CRISIS and HIS COUNTRY is FACING REAL WAR.
Iranian supreme leader says "sanctions have no impact"
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says Western sanctions have no impact on his country.
He says the unilateral sanctions of the West is not able to stop Iran's progress, adding the only impact the Western sanction can leave on Iran is the deepening of Iranians' hatred towards the West.
Khamenei said this at a ceremony commemorating the 23rd anniversary of the death of the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ayatollah Ruhollah Mousavi Khomeini.
Cargo plane crashes in Ghana's capital Accra, killing at least 10
A cargo plane has crashed in Ghana's capital Accra and slammed into a minivan loaded with passengers, killing at least 10 people.
Reports say the Boeing 727-200 aircraft hit a mini-bus outside the El Wak Stadium, less than 10 km from the Kotoka International Airport when it was trying to touch down at the airport Saturday.
Four member crew survived and are receiving treatment at airport clinic.
The Allied Air Cargo is believed to be owned by a Nigerian company. It has no dangerous goods.
The reason why the plane was crashed is not clear, but on Saturday it was raining in Accra, and the visibility was not good.
Yuan-yen direct trading is a win-win game for China, Japan
A senior economist of the Asian Development Bank Institute says the direct trading of the Chinese yuan and Japanese yen that began from June 1 in Tokyo and Shanghai is definitely a win-win game for both sides.
Xing Yuqing told reporters that the direct yuan-yen trading could reduce the transaction cost and exchange risk in bilateral trading and investment, and Japanese and Chinese companies involved will benefit from the new system.
He said the most important implication of the direct trading is that the Japanese yen and Chinese yuan will be utilized more in the future. This might signify a gradual departure of the two countries from the dollar.
The economist said the direct trading agreement is also a major step for the internationalization of the Chinese currency.
Boy confirmed with bird flu in Hong Kong
Hong Kong health authority says a two-year-old boy has been confirmed with H5N1 Influenza A and urged the public not to panic.
The Center for Health Protection says the boy's condition has changed from stable to serious after testing positive for the deadly avian influenza, while his parents' tests for influenza were negative.
A native of China's southern city of Guangzhou, the boy went to Hong Kong with his family a week ago to seek medical treatment after running a fever for weeks.
After reporting the influenza case, the city government raised its bird flu alert level to "serious" and tightened control on live chickens imports, and strengthened supervision of local farms and markets.
Over 4 tonnes of drugs destroyed in China
A total of 4.2 tonnes of drugs and precursor chemicals were destroyed by law enforcement officers in southeast China's Fujian Province today.
The drugs destroyed included heroin, opium, marijuana, cocaine and ephedrine, all of which are illegal or strictly controlled in China.
By cutting off underground circulation channels and drug sources, anti-drug authorities in Fujian have cracked more than 7,700 cases involving illegal drugs and captured more than 8 thousand people suspected of selling drugs since 2010.
China's manned deep-sea submersible to attempt 7,000-meter dive
An oceanographic ship carrying China's manned deep-sea submersible, the Jiaolong, left eastern port city of Jiangyin today for the Mariana Trench to attempt the world's deepest manned submersible dive.
The submersible, named after a mythical sea dragon, will go 7,000 meters under the surface of the Pacific Ocean between mid-June and early July, according to the voyage's plan.
Three oceanauts will pilot the Jiaolong and will be supported by nearly 100 scientists aboard who test the submersible's functionality, conduct scientific research and take seabed samples during the dive.
Heavy rains to hit south China
Heavy rains will sweep south China in the next four days, with rainstorms expected in some southwestern regions.
The China Meteorological Administration (CMA) forecast moderate to heavy rains will hit most of southwest China and southeastern parts of the Tibet Autonomous Region from Sunday to Wednesday .
Meanwhile, parts of southwest China's Sichuan and Guizhou provinces will see torrential rains and thunderstorms.
Heavy rains are also expected in certain areas of the northeastern part of north China and mid-southern part of northeast China, accompanied by thunderstorms, gale or hailstones.