China urges the Philippines to cease all provocations

The war of words between China and the Philippines is heating up again over Huangyan Island.
The Chinese foreign ministry has issued a new statement, saying it is now starting to question the sincerity of the Philippine government when it comes to solving the dispute through diplomacy.
These comments have been made in response to accusations by the Philippine side that China is beefing up its presence around Huangyan Island.
The Chinese foreign ministry says continued provocative action by the Philippines has forced China to "beef up vigilance" in the area.
China "in consultation" with U.S. on Confucius Institutes

The central government here in China is "in consultation" with the United States on a visa issue affecting the Mandarin-teaching Confucius Institutes.
Media reports say that many Chinese teachers at the Confucius Institutes in the U.S. are being forced to leave the country because of a policy directive.
According to a U.S. memorandum, any academics at university-based institutes who are teaching at the elementary-and secondary-school levels are in violation of the terms of their visas.
Those in that position will have to leave the US in June.
Foreign Ministry spokesman says Nigeria releases around 70 Chinese

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has confirmed around 70 Chinese citizens who were arrested by Nigeria's immigration authorities have been released.
Media reports say that around 100 Chinese citizens have been arrested in Nigeria for allegedly living and working illegally in the country.
The Chinese side is calling on Nigeria to handle the case carefully.
China, Spain vow to step up parliamentary exchanges

China and Spain have pledged to step up parliamentary exchanges during talks between visting top legislator Wu Bangguo and President of the Spanish Congress Jesus Posada.
Wu is in Madrid on a six-day official goodwill visit to Spain.
Wu said that China encourages Chinese enterprises to exploit the Spanish market while at the same time welcoming Spanish exports of competitive and high-tech products into China.
Spain is the final stop of Wu's four-nation European tour, which has already taken him to the Netherlands, Croatia and Luxembourg.
China's Party publicity organ opens to foreign diplomats

The Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee has opened its doors to foreign

diplomats for the first time in its history.
More than 50 foreign diplomats from 49 countries and the European Union were invited to visit the Party's

Publicity Department Thursday.
Several diplomats said that the event displayed the Party's openness and willingness to work with the rest of the world in a friendly way.
The CPC is set to hold its 18th National Congress later this year.
Selling European bonds not a good idea for China: think tank

A think tank with China's macro-economic watchdog is suggesting the country should be very careful when it comes to selling bonds bought from eurozone countries.
It is estimated China now owns over 600 billion US dollars worth of European assets, including Greek bonds.
An offician with the National Development and Reform Commission contends selling European bonds now could cause huge losses.
It is reported that China's sovereign wealth fund, China Investment Corporation, has stopped buying European government bonds.
Sudan agrees to resume negotiations with South Sudan on May 29

The government of Sudan has agreed to resume negotiations with South Sudan in the Ethiopian capital Addis Adaba next week.
Sudan's Foreign Ministry says that the country fully accepted the invitation of Ethiopian mediation in the dispute and that Sudan was seeking peaceful solutions to its outstanding issues with the South.
Sudan and South Sudan partitioned in July 2011. negotiations between the two countries stalled earlier this year when fighting broke out on the border for control of the oil-rich region of Heglig.
The talks are set to start on Monday.
Egypt election closes

Egypt's first free presidential election has ended after two days of voting.
Some polling stations extended their opening hours after high turnout caused long queues.
Counting started after polls closed with no reliable exit polls available.
The Muslim Brotherhood claimed that their candidate had an early lead over fellow Islamists and rivals who served the ousted President Hosni Mubarak.
Official results are set to be announced on the 29th May.
If no candidate wins more than half the votes needed for outright victory in the first round, the top two candidates will contest in a run-off in mid June.
U.S. hacks al-Qaida websites to disrupt propaganda: Clinton

The United States is employing computer hackers to counter anti-US information on al-Qaeda related websites.
US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, has revealed that a team of State Department hackers - all fluent in Urdu,Arabic and Somali - were targeting al-Qaeda sites based in Yemen.
According to Clinton, the team replaced recruitment ads on the sites - that boasted of killing Americans citizens- with information and photos of al-Qaeda attacks in Yemen, including Tuesday's suicide bombing which killed 96 soldiers and injured over 200.
Clinton stated that the cyber offensive was part of a "longer, multi-pronged attack" on terrorism.
U.S. nuclear submarine catches fire, injuring 7

At least seven people have been injured in a fire aboard a US nuclear submarine.
The fire broke out Wednesday on the 600 million dollar USS Miami, an attack submarine docked at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Maine.
The fire was extinguished Thursday morning.
The ship's nuclear reactor - which had been inactive for two months prior to the fire - was reportedly undamaged and no live weapons, including missiles, were onboard at the time.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.