SCO explores new pattern of regional cooperation: Hu Jintao

Chinese President Hu Jintao says the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is a new approach for regional cooperation.
President Hu made the comments ahead of the SCO summit in Beijing, starting Wednesday
The Chinese president said the regional bloc allows member countries to maintain their own interests and fight against "interventionism."
Hu Jintao added that the SCO is a non-confrontational organization aimed at promoting common prosperity and maintaining regional peace and stability.
Hu, Putin stress strong ties

Chinese President Hu Jintao and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin have held talks in Beijing.
The two leaders have agreed to take it as a diplomatic priority to further develop ties between the two nations.
They have also witnessed the signing of 11 cooperation agreements in various fields, including energy, tourism and investments.
Putin is on a three-day state visit to China, as part of his first international trip since returning to the Kremlin.
Foreign embassies monitor air quality against int'l conventions: Chinese official

The Chinese government is taking issue with the air-quality monitoring by embassies and consulates here in China.
Vice minister of environmental protection Wu Xiaoqing says air-quality monitoring by the embassies and consulates violates both international conventions and Chinese regulations.
Wu demands that foreign embassies stop issuing air pollution readings in Beijing.
He argues it's the Chinese government's duty to monitor air quality and release the results.
Syria declares some foreign diplomats "persona non grata"

The Syrian government is expelling the ambassadors of several countries.
The ambassadors from the United States, Britian, Germany, France and Italy have all been declared "persona non grata."
The move by the Syria government is a counter-response to the decision by those countries to expel Syrian ambassadors in the wake of the massacre in the village of Houla last month.
The Syrian government has denied any responsibility for that massacre, though a United Nations investigation believes there was at least some government involvment in the systematic murders of over 100 villagers.
US believes al-Qaeda No2 killed in drone strike

A senior al-Qaeda leader has been killed on Monday by a drone strike in Pakistan's North Waziristan region, according to a senior United States official.
Abu Yanya was described by White House spokesman Jay Carney as having played a crucial role in al-Qaeda's planning against Western powers. Following the death of Osama Bin Laden in 2011, Yanya is believed to have risen to number two in the al-Qaeda network, after Egytian born Ayman al-Zawahiri.
He was reportedly in charge of day-to-day operations in Pakistan's tribal areas.
A Libyan national, Yanya was captured in 2002 and held in the Bagram detention facility in Afghanistan. He escaped in 2005 after which the US placed a one-million dollar bounty on his head.
Sudan, South Sudan agree to establish demilitarized zone on border

Sudan and South Sudan have agreed to establish a demilitarized zone along their shared border.
The two have agreed to unconditionally withdraw their forces 10 kilometers from either side of the border.
The agreement comes amid the resumption of direct negotiations between the two countries in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa.
This is the first time Sudan and South Sudan have met face-to-face since the recent fighting between the two countries' over an oil-rich border area.
Five Azeri soldiers killed in clash with Armenians

Five soldiers from Azerbaijan have been killed in fighting along the country's border with Armenia.
The Azeri side says its soldiers were killed in fighting with Armenian "saboteurs."
Azerbaijan and Armenia were embroiled in fighting with one-another for 6-years from 1988 to 1994, until a ceasefire was signed between the two countries, which are located in the southern Caucuses.
However, sporadic clashes between the two do flare up from time to time.
Venus begins rare Sun transit

Amateur astronomers across the world are observing the Planet Venus moving across the face of the Sun.
The whole co-called "transit" process is expected to last for about 6 hours.
The rare event will not be seen again for another 105 years, that is 2117.
China intercepts tons of radioactive waste from Japan

Chinese customs officials have intercepted over a thousand tons of waste metals with high level of radiation.
Inspectors in eastern China's Ningbo say the waste metals imported by a local recycling company could pose threat to human health and the environment.
A cargo ship containing the metals has been ordered to turn back to Japan.
Over 8-thousand tons of Japanese waste metals recording higher levels of radiation have been intercepted in the port city since the at Fukoshima nuclear disaster last March.