China and Argentina to enrich strategic partnership

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao says that China is ready to further strengthen cooperation with Argentina to enrich their strategic partnership.
Premier Wen made the remarks in a meeting with the Argentine Vice President and other senior officials in Buenos Aires.
The Chinese Premier said that China would like to take the opportunity of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of Sino-Argentine diplomatic ties to strengthen exchanges with Argentina and promote pragmatic cooperation.
Earlier, China and Argentina signed a series of bilateral agreements on agriculture and energy during the meeting with Argentine President Cristina Fernandez.
China urges Philippines not to exacerbate South China Sea situation

The Chinese government has issued a formal response to word of a Philippine move to establish a kindergarten on one of the islands in the South China Sea.
The Foreign Ministry has issued a statement, calling on the Philippine government not to exacerbate the current situation in the South China Sea.
The call comes following news that a kindergarten has been established on Zhongye Island in the Nansha Island cluster in the South China Sea.
Landing zone gears up for Shenzhou-9 return

Chinese space authorities are prepping the landing site for the return of Shenzhou-9.
Personnel and equipment necessary for the retrieval are setting up in Inner Mongolia.
The impending return of the 3 astronauts follows their successful manual docking with the Tiangong-1 space lab Sunday.
Cyprus announces application for EU bailout

Cyprus has become the latest country to apply for a bank bailout from from the European Union.
The announcement comes on a day of extreme nervousness for the Euro. Shares in Italy, Spain and Greece fell sharply on concerns that the EU summit being held this week will again fail to find a solution to shore up the single currency.
The Cyprus government claimed on Monday that its financial sector's large exposure to Greek banks had necessitated the bailout request.
Cyprus needs around 2 billion Euros over the next few days to stabilize the country's second largest lender, Cyprus Popular Bank.
Moody's downgrades ratings at 28 Spanish banks

Rating agency Moody's has just downgraded by one to four notches the long-term debt and deposit ratings for 28 Spanish banks.
Moody's adds that the downgrades of the long-term debt and deposit ratings reflect the lowering of most of the banks' standalone credit assessments.
The action follows the weakening of the Spanish government's creditworthiness.
Turkey says Syria fired at a second plane

Turkey says that Syrian forces fired at a second Turkish plane which was searching for an F-4 jet shot down by Syria last week, although the second plane was not brought down.
The statement came on the eve of a NATO crisis meeting that Turkey called to address the shooting down of its F-4 jet.
Earlier, Turkey accused the Syrian government of shooting down one of its jets in international airspace.
The Syrian government describes the incident as an act of self-defence, saying the jet was inside Syrian airspace when it was shot down.
US Supreme Court gives mixing ruling to Arizona immigration law

The U.S. Supreme Court has handed down a split ruling on the state of Arizona's controversial immigration law, upholding one part of it while striking down three others.
President Barack Obama - who opposes Republican rival Mitt Romney over the issue - says he is pleased to see some parts of the law were thrown out by the court.
However, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer says the "heart" of the law will remain.
The part upheld by the Supreme Court requires police to check the immigration status of individuals stopped in suspicion of committing separate offenses.
The court ruled it is too early to tell whether the clause conflicts with federal laws.
China rainstorms leave 8 dead, affect millions

Rainstorms have caused havoc across China, leaving at least 10 people dead.
In southern China's Guangxi, landslides triggered by the heavy rain have destroyed over 2-thousand houses and forced some 20-thousand people to leave their homes.
A 12-year-old girl was buried in a landslide when torrential rain hit her home during the Dragon Boat Festival in Zhengjiang.
Weather forecasters are warning of more heavy rains in the south and southwest of the country over the next couple of days.
400-thousand Chinese registered as drug addict in half a year

Nearly 400-thousand Chinese people were registered as drug addicts during the course of the second half of last year.
The Ministry of Public Security says the country now has nearly 1.8 million registered drug addicts in total.
Over half of them are under the age of 35.
Drug control authorities have also revealed police in China seized over 150 tons of illegal narcotics in the past 7 years.
China's White Snake to show on Edinburgh arts festival

Artists from Shanghai will bring a classic opera drama, the White Snake, to the Edinburgh Festival this summer.
Other Chinese arts troupes expected to attend this year's festival include an amateur dancing group from Beijing's No4 middle school.
Established in 1947, the world's leading arts festival is set to attract over 20-thousand artists from nearly 50 countries and regions.
Last Pinta giant torrtoise dies

A giant Pinta tortoise believed to be the last of its species has died at a national park in Ecuador.
Lonesome George was found dead in his sanctuary at the Galapagos National Park by his keeper of 40 years. He was estimated to be 100 years old.
Lonesome George was famous as the rarest creature on Earth. Scientists conducted numerous attempts to have George mate with a female from close sub species, but no offspring ever resulted.
With George's passing, scientists believe that his subspecies has now become extinct.