Ban Ki-moon in China

UN chief Ban Ki-moon is now in Beijing on a three-day visit.
He is set to meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao this (Wednesday) morning.
The UN chief is also scheduled to attend a China-African conference in Beijing.
On the eve of his meetings with Chinese officials, Ban told Chinese microbloggers that the United Nations is ready to solve "complicated" global affairs through peaceful dialogue.
On the Syrian issue, Ban Ki-moon said last week that the United Nations attaches importance to China's "position and role".
Syrian crisis enters new phase with Damascus battles

Fighting appears to be intensifying in the Syrian capital Damascus with the military reportedly deploying tanks and helicopters.
Rebel fighters claim that they have launched an all-out attack on the Syrian capital, dubbing the offensive Operation Damascus Volcano.
The battle comes at time of intense diplomatic wrangling, with UN-Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan holding talks with the Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday.
Two Chinese fishing ships detained by Russia

It's been confirmed two Chinese fishing ships have been detained off Russia's Far-East region.
Chinese diplomats in Russia confirm one ship carried 17 fishermen while the other had 19 on board.
Both ships were from the city of Weihai in China's eastern Shandong province.
The coastal service of Russia's Far-East Primorsky region says the two ships were seized because they entered Russian waters.
A local news agency reports that a Russian coast guard vessel fired warning shots before opening fire to stop the Chinese ship.
No Chinese fisherman was killed or hurt in the incident.
Senior party official stresses stability

A senior CPC official is calling for more concrete efforts to ensure social stability for the upcoming 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.
Zhou Yongkang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, made the remarks at a government meeting on social stability.
Zhou Yongkang said maintaining stability was the highest priority for the Party and government departments at all levels.
Zhou also urged officials to pay special attention to conflict-prone areas including land appropriation, building demolition, labor contracts and environmental protection.
Lawmakers call for less intervention in market-oriented economic reform

China's national lawmakers have called for less government intervention in pushing forward the country's market-oriented economic reforms.
Members of the Financial and Economic Committee of the National People's Congress issued the call while discussing a report on the economic situation for the first half of the year.
The national lawmakers suggest the government should continue market-oriented economic reforms and transform its method of managing economic issues by reducing administrative intervention.
Beijing halts face-lift of ancient courtyard home

The Beijing municipal government has halted a project to give an ancient courtyard home in the centre a face-lift.
Beijing's cultural heritage bureau has also issued a hefty 200-thousand yuan fine to the construction firm and the courtyard's owner.
The century-old courtyard in Shijia Hutong is the former residence of Zhang Shizhao, a prominent scholar and polician who died in 1973.
Demolition of Beijing's ancient courtyard homes has become a sensitive issue. Many people fear that such cultural relics may be wiped out by over-development.
China's 2012 Trade Surplus Likely Above 2011

The Ministry of Commerce says it believes China's global trade surplus may rise this year for the first time since 2008.
Still, the Commerce Ministry says it expects the ratio of trade surplus to GDP to remain stable.
Commerce Ministry spokesperson Shen Danyang also admits the overall trade growth of 8-percent registered in the first-half has come in above expectations.
China has attracted $59 billion US dollars worth of foreign direct investment in the first half, down 3% year-on-year.
Libya's National Forces Alliance wins 39 party list seats

Final results of Libya's parliamentary elections put the National Forces Alliance in first place.
The main Islamist party came in second.
The election results only decide two fifths of the seats in parliament, the remaining 120 seats are reserved for independents.
The National Forces Alliance led by former interim-Prime Minister Mahmood Jabril is hoping to form a coalition with the help of its affiliated independents.
HSBC apologizes for rogue behavior

One of the world largest banks, HSBC, has admitted that it acted as "as conduit for drug kingpins and rogue nations".
The President and Chief Executive of the bank's American operations, Irene Dorner, apologized to a US Senate committee hearing Tuesday, saying she deeply regretted the behavior.
The committee had been hearing evidence of money laundering at HSBC. Its report claimed that illicit funds from Mexico, Iran and Syria had passed through the bank.
HSBC claimed that it was in the process of closing down some 20,000 suspicious accounts held in the Caymen Islands as a result of the investigation.