President Hu attends China-Africa meeting

Chinese President Hu Jintao has attended the opening ceremony of the Fifth Ministerial Meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.
The opening session was also attended by several African leaders and dozens of senior officials from African countries.
The main agenda of the two-day conference is to define new cooperative programs to be undertaken over the next three years.
President Hu Jintao."It is important that China and Africa make persistent and joint efforts to map out a blueprint for our cooperation in the next few years, so as to lay a solid foundation for the further advancement of China-Arica relations."
The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation was launched in October 2000 as a platform for boosting bilateral cooperation.
UN chief condemns Damascus bombing

UN Secretary-general Ban Ki- moon is strongly condemning a bomb attack in the Syrian capital Damascus, in which several top security officials were killed.
The UN chief says the deteriorating situation in the country shows it is "extremely urgent" for all sides in Syria to stop violence.
Syrian state TV has confirmed the deaths of the Defense Minister General Daoud Rajiha and his deputy General Assef Shawkat. The latter was the brother-in-law of President Assad.
Former defense minister General Hassan Turkmani is also reported to have been killed in the attack.
Sources say that the suicide bomber worked as a bodyguard for members of President Basher al-Assad's inner circle.
Bus blast in Bulgaria kills 6 and injures 30

A bomb explosion has killed at least 6 people and injured 30 on a bus carrying Israeli tourists in the eastern Bulgarian city of Burgas.
The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused Iran of being behind the attack and has stated that his country will react forcibly.
Witnesses are reported to have said that someone boarded the bus before the explosion occurred.
Wednesday's blast occurred on the 18th anniversary of a deadly attack on a Jewish community centre in Argentina.
Tanzania ferry sinking kill dozens

A Tanzanian ferry with over 280 on board has capsized near the island of Zanzibar in the Indian Ocean, killing at least 27 people.
Nearly 150 passengers have been saved, but dozens are still missing.
Rescuers say strong winds are hindering the rescue efforts.
Nearly 200 people died when an overcrowded boat sank in the same waters last September.
Suspects plead not guilty to killings of Chinese students

Two US men alleged of killing two Chinese students at the University of Southern California have pleaded not guilty to murder charges.
20-year-old Bryan Barnes and 19-year-old Javier Bolden, both from Los Angeles, are facing charges of capital murder related to the deaths of 23-year-old Qu Ming and Wu Ying, near the university campus in April.
The two could face death penalty if convicted.
The two suspects have been denied bail and will return to court in September for another hearing.
Rainstorms displace thousands in C China

Heavy rains battering central China's Hunan have forced over 40-thousand people from their homes over the course of the past week.
Over 2 million people in the province have been affected by what the local authorities describe as the most severe rainstorm of the rainy season.
Authorities say that flood waters have killed nearly 240 people so far this year in China and left at least another 100 missing.
China calls for tightened information security measures

The central government is calling on Chinese agencies and companies to improve their ability to ward off computer hackers and data thieves.
The new guidelines advise government agencies to reduce the number of channels through which hackers might be able to attack.
A report from the country's computer security monitoring network says China is facing increasing cyberattacks and threats from overseas.
It states that around 47-thousand overseas-based IP addresses have been involved in attacks against nearly 9-million Chinese computers last year.
That's up from the estimated 5-million Chinese computers targeted in 2010.
HIV infections, mortalities drop steadily in past decade: UN

The United Nations says the number of people infected with HIV and HIV/AIDS related deaths has been declining steadily over the past decade.
The number of new HIV infections worldwide dropped from 3.2 million in 2001 to 2.5 million last year, a 20 percent fall.
AIDS-related deaths also saw a moderate decrease from 1.9 million to 1.7 million during the same period.
China launches film-narration project for the blind

A Beijing library has introduced a project to produce oral descriptions of movies the visually-impaired.
Four film organizations sponsoring the project have donated 100 films to the China Braille Library.
Nearly 100 volunteers, most of whom are filmmakers or film studies researchers, will carry out the work.