20 dead in expressway tunnel blast in central China
Twenty people have been killed in an explosion inside an under-construction expressway tunnel in central China's Hunan province.
Local authorities say a total of 24 people were working at the tunnel when the blast occurred Saturday morning. Four were pulled out, including one in critical conditions.
The blast happened in Yanling county, Zhuzhou city, on an expressway linking the counties of Yanling and Rucheng, when a vehicle carrying explosives was unloading in the tunnel.
An investigation into the cause of the explosion is under way.
China eyes closer cooperation with Croatia in infrastructure, tourism
Visiting China's top legislator Wu Bangguo says China hopes to play a bigger role in Croatia's infrastructure construction and will encourage more Chinese tourists to visit the South European country,
Wu Bangguo said this during a meeting with Croatian President Ivo Josipovic in Zagreb.
Wu Bangguo also expressed the hope that the two sides could further increase cultural exchanges.
G8 leaders express "grave concern" over Iran's nuclear program
The leaders of Group of Eight ( G8) major industrial nations say they remain united in their "grave concern" over Iran's disputed nuclear program, while urging Tehran to address such concern without delay.
The G8 leaders urge Iran "to continuously comply with its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, including its safeguards obligations," the declaration said.
They also demand Iran "address without delay" all outstanding issues related to its nuclear program, such as questions concerning possible military dimensions, while expressing the desire for "a peaceful and negotiated solution to concerns over Iran's nuclear program."
6.2-magnitude quake jolts northeast Japan
A 6.2-magnitude earthquake has hit seas off northeastern Japan .
The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) says the focus of the quake, which occurred Sunday afternoon, was located some 10 km under the sea off the northeastern Sanriku region on the Honshu Island.
The tremor was most felt in prefectures of Iwate and Miyagi, and parts of Yamagata.
There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage to properties, and no tsunami warning was issued.
Syria dismisses EU sanctions as "economic terrorism"
Syria says the EU sanctions imposed on Syria over the past year are "economic terrorism" against Syrian people.
In a report addressed to the UN Human Rights Council and the UN Secretary General, Syrian Foreign Ministry says the stances of countries that have imposed sanctions are characterized by " hypocrisy" as they use human rights as a cover to interfere in other countries' affairs and exert their control over them.
Syria has called on the international community to condemn these other sanctions against the developing countries, and called for complete and unconditional implementation of the UN General Assembly resolutions which consider sanctions imposed by countries without authorization from the UN as violations of human rights.
Premier Wen urges efforts to maintain growth
Premier Wen Jiabao has urged more efforts to maintain relatively fast economic growth as the world's second-largest economy has shown signs of further slowing.
During an inspection tour of central China's city of Wuhan, Wen Jiabao said the country should properly handle the relationship between maintaining growth, adjusting economic structures and managing inflationary expectations.
He said China should continue to implement a proactive fiscal policy and a prudent monetary policy, while giving more priority to maintaining growth.
Ensure cultural rights for disabled: vice premier
Vice Premier Hui Liangyu has called for more efforts to ensure the basic cultural rights of the country's disabled people.
During an occasion to mark the 22nd national day for helping the disabled in Beijing today, Hui Liangyu said promoting cultural services for the disabled can help them to better develop and participate in social life,He called on government departments and officials to improve the construction of the public cultural service system and cultural facilities for the disabled.
China currently has 85 million people with some form of disability.
Shanghai car plate auction hits new high
Prices of new license plates in Shanghai hit a record high in May as demand for private cars in the city has been growing despite local government controls on vehicle registration.
In the monthly auction ending yesterday, the average bid for a plate was 64,367 yuan (more than 10,000 U.S. dollars), about 2,700 yuan higher than the April average, according to official data.
Shanghai is the only Chinese city to use an auction to control plate supply. Beijing has imposed a cap on the number of plates issued each month and introduced a lottery system to distribute them among aspirant buyers.
Liu Xiang sets season best time at Diamond League Shanghai
Chinese star hurdler Liu Xiang clocked a world leading time of 12.97 seconds to claim title of men's 110m hurdle event in the 2012 Diamond League Shanghai leg on Saturday.
In spite of running on a wet track, Liu Xiang bettered the previous season best of 13.03s set by America's Aries Merritt two weeks ago.