Chinese president stands firm on reform, opening-up

Chinese President Hu Jintao is issuing a new call to carry forward the reform and opening-up policy.
President Hu made the comments at a meeting attended by ministerial officials and provincial heads on Monday.
He said that China is faced with both "unprecedented" opportunities and challenges.
Hu Jintao went on that only through reform and opening-up could China be developed, and government officials should never be "rigid and stagnate".
Chinese vice premier calls for strengthened flood control efforts

Chinese vice Premier Hui Liangyu is calling for the tighter monitoring of severe weather and disaster relief.
Hui Liangyu made the call following the heaviest rains to hit Beijing in some 60 years.
The death toll of the Beijing downpour now stands at 37.
Hui Liangyu is responsible for the country's flood and drought control administration.
Rainstorms kill 95 in China

China's Ministry of Civil Affairs says that the torrential rain battering across China since last Friday has left 95 people dead.
Another 45 people are still listed as missing.
The downpours have affected over 6 million people and forced nearly 570-thousand people to leave their homes.
China's flood control authorities have issued an emergency call nationwide.
The Three Gorges Dam is expected to reach is highest level this year on Tuesday.
At the same time, Typhoon Vicente is set to make a landfall Tuesday morning in the southern Guangdong province.
Mayor of Sansha city elected

Leaders of China's newly established Sansha city in the South China Sea have been elected.
52-year-old Xiao Jie, head of the Hainan Provincial Agriculture Department, has become the first mayor of city, which is located in the Xisha islands.
Forty-five deputies to the Sansha Municipal People's Congress, the city's top legislature, attended Monday's first session of the congress and elected leaders of the city.
This follows the approval to turning the city of Sansha into a prefecture-level city to act as the seat of government for the Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha island clusters.
WTO backs China over shrimp dispute with U.S.

The World Trade Organization, WTO, has shown its support to China's claim against the anti-dumping measures taken by the United States on shrimp and diamond sawblades exports from China.
The report has been adopted without a U.S. appeal, meaning the rulings are final.
China requested consultations with the United States regarding US anti-dumping measures on frozen warm-water shrimps from China in February last year.
Syria says it will not use chemical weapons against its people

The Syrian government has declared that it will not use chemical weapons against its own people.
However, a government spokesman announced on Monday the caveat that chemical weapons could be used to repel an attack by external forces.
Syria had not previously officially acknowledged that it even held chemical weapons. Damascus is not a signatory to the International Chemical Weapons Convention, which outlaws their use.
107 dead in Iraq violence

A new round of bloody violence in Iraq has left at least 107 people dead and over 200 injured in a series of gun and bomb attacks across the country.
19 towns were hit in what appeared to be a string of coordinated attacks. Many of the victims were security personnel.
The worst affected town was Taji, some 20 km to the north of Baghdad, where 41 people were killed. Fatal bombing were also reported in Shia districts of the capital and in a government building in Sadr City, where 16 people were killed.
The bloodshed comes days after the supposed leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq declared a new offensive to take large areas the country. Analysts suggest that the new wave of violence threatens to pit Sunni Arabs and Kurds against their Shia Muslims in the country.
Cinema killer appears in court for first time

The man accused of the killing of 12 people in a Colorado cinema has appeared in court for the first time in the United States.
James Holmes was dressed in a red jail suit and with his hair dyed orange. He appeared tired and groggy as the judge led the proceedings.
The 24 year old is accused of ambushing a cinema in the town of Aurora with gas canisters before opening fire at random on the audience watching the new Batman film.
58 people were also injured in the attack. Nine of them remain in critical condition.
Prosecutors have still not decided whether to pursue the death penalty in the case.
EU to lift sanctions against Zimbabwe

The European Union says it will lift sanctions against Zimbabwe after it holds a referendum on its constitution.
The decision was made following a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.
The EU has imposed sanctions against Zimbabwe since the political violence over the country's disputed elections in 2002 escalated.
At the same time, Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is urging western countries to lift the sanctions on President Robert Mugabe and his inner circle.
The call was issued following the meeting between Tsvangirai and his Australian counterpart Julia Gillard in Canberra.
Moody's cuts outlook on major European economies

Moody's Investors Service has lowered its outlook on top-rated Germany, the Netherlands and Luxembourg to negative from stable.
The rating agency says it made the decision based on the growing risk of a Greek exit from the euro and uncertainties faced by those economies.
At the same time, Moody's has affirmed Finland's triple A rating and stable outlook, citing its solid banking system and limited trade links with the rest of the eurozone economies.