Syrian forces kill "terrorists" in hotspot town
敘利亞軍隊在熱點地區殺死“恐怖分子”
The Syrian government forces killed two "terrorists" in the flashpoint town of Homs on Saturday, a day after the capital of Damascus was rocked by two powerful suicide bombings that killed at least 44 people.
The official SANA news agency reports the "terrorists" were killed after they clashed with the authorities' forces in the Teldo area in suburban Homs, a hotspot city in the ongoing Syrian crisis, which has seen continuous violence between the government forces and defected soldiers.
Another six terrorists were wounded, while "a cache of diverse firearms" were seized.
On the same day, an armed terrorist group killed an ambulance driver near a hospital in Homs after firing at the vehicle.
13 killed in clashes between Yemeni gov't forces, protesters
也門政府和抗議者沖突致使13人喪生
The death toll from clashes between forces loyal to Yemeni outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh and tens of thousands of southern protesters rose to 13 while 200 others were injured.
Organizers say the four-day march aims to send a message to the UN Security Council and the Arab League about their demand to prosecute Saleh.
Meanwhile, Saleh held a press conference in Sanaa on Saturday evening, saying that he is planning a trip to the United States for medical check.
Saleh also denounced the opposition rally, considering it a " clear violation of a Gulf-brokered initiative that granted him immunity from prosecution."
Thousands of Russians rally in Moscow to protest election
數以千計的俄羅斯民眾在莫斯科集會抗議選舉
Thousands of Russians gathered in Moscow Saturday to protest against alleged vote fraud in the State Duma elections.
According to the rally organizers, up to 50,000 people are expected to attend the protest on Sakharov Avenue in downtown Moscow, which has been specially cut off to traffic for the gathering.
This is the second mass protest this month.
Bethlehem receives around 1.5 million tourists so far this year
伯利恒今年到目前為止接待約150萬名游客
Around one and a half million tourists have visited the West Bank city of Bethlehem so far, with thousands more expected to arrive in the coming days for Christmas celebrations.
Hundreds of thousands of tourists, including Palestinian Christians, began to arrive in the city early Saturday and gathered around the historic Church of Nativity to join the midnight mass.
Under the Western calendar, Christmas celebrations in the city would continue until Jan. 7, 2012.
6 dead after van overloaded with students plunges into SW China valley
小貨車超載致使6人死亡
An overloaded van taking 12 students home has plunged into a 60-meter deep valley in rural southwest China, killing six people and injuring eight others.
Local officials say the eight-seater, loaded with 14 people, rolled into the valley from a mountainous road in the county of Guangnan, Wenshan Zhuang and Miao prefecture of Yunnan province Saturday morning.The fatality includes the driver, four students, and an elderly man.
Police have launched an investigation into the accident.
It is the second traffic accident involving student fatalities in Yunnan in the past week.
Chinese vice premier stresses railway safety, service
我國國務院副總理強調鐵路安全及服務
Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang says the country's railways should prioritize safety while seeking to constantly improve services and push forward reforms in the sector.
He's told a national railway conference Beijing that despite achievements in the sector in recent years, the nation's railway transportation capacity still falls short of meeting actual demand from a fast growing economy.
The vice premier says the sector will face "very arduous" tasks in terms of construction, reform and development next year, but did not elaborate.
China to further develop continuing education
我國進一步發展繼續教育
A senior Chinese official says the country will further develop continuing education in a bid to strengthen the country's human resources.
At a meeting on continuing education in Beijing, Liu Yandong, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, called for further development of the continuing education system as the country is still facing the shortage of education resources.
She urged the government to improve related policies in finance and taxation, in a bid to guarantee the sustainable development of the continuing education system.
600,000 Chinese businesses to directly report data next year: NBS
600000家企業明年將直接報告數據
The National Bureau of Statistics says more than 600,000 Chinese enterprises will directly report data to state-level or state-approved provincial-level data centers through the Internet.
The move, part of the NBS efforts to refine its data generation system, will enable the bureau to skip intermediate links to directly access raw data.
National system on marriage registration set up in China
全國婚姻信息登記系統在我國設立
A national database on marriage registration has been established in 21 provinces to help prevent fraudulent multiple marriages.
The Ministry of Civil Affairs says 25 provinces have set up provincial databases, among which 21 provinces have connected their provincial ones with the ministry's national system.
According to the authorities, the creation of the database will prevent people who attempt to marry multiple times by tracking their real identities and marital status.
數以千計的俄羅斯民眾在莫斯科集會抗議選舉
周六數以千計的俄羅斯民眾齊聚莫斯科反對國家杜馬選舉投票舞弊 。
根據集會組織者,多達50000人參加了這次抗議在莫斯科市中心薩哈羅夫大街,這次集會致使交通堵塞 。
這是本月第二次大規模的抗議示威游行 。