U.S. Pacific Commander visits China

The Commander of the United States Pacific forces is in China.
Samuel Montreal has met with Chinese Defence Minister Liang Guanglie.
The two sides have touched on a range of issues, including US engagement in the Asia Pacific region and the US weapon sales to Taiwan.
Montreal is set to visit the Academy of Military Sciences and the PLA's Military Command in Guangzhou.
Chinese manned submersible refreshes national dive record

China's manned submersible, the Jiaolong, has set another record.
The submersable has reached 7-thousand-62 meters below sea level during its fifth dive into the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific.
The Jiaolong has also taken 3 water samples, 2 sediment samples and an organic sample as well.
Tang Jialing, one of those on the Jiaolong, says they used bait this time to try to attract the deep-sea sealife.
The Jiaolong also placed a marker on the sea floor and conducted several other experiments on the sea floor as well.
Assad tells cabinet: "we are in a state of war"

Syrian president Bashar al-Assad says his country is in "a state of war."
The admission comes more than a year after the uprising against his rule began.
Assad says he's ordering his newly appointed government to direct all its attention toward winning the war.
"As I said in my speech in parliament, we are living in a state of real war from all angles. When we live in such a situation, all policies and all sides and all sectors need to be directed at winning this war."
Assad has previously described the uprising against him as "terrorists" carrying out a foreign agenda.
Assad ordered a major cabinet shake-up over the weekend, bringing in 20 new ministers.
The new cabinet includes two opposition figures taking up positions connected to trade and the Syrian economy.
British Queen shakes hands of former IRA commander

History was made in Northern Ireland on Wednesday when the British Queen shook hands with a former Irish Republican Army commander.
In a massively symbolic and controversial gesture, Queen Elizabeth II extended the hand of friendship to Martin McGuiness, now Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minister, at a charity event in the provincial capital Belfast.
During the 1970s and 80s, McGuiness was a powerful figure within the now disbanded IRA.
With their goal of a united Ireland, the IRA was responsible for many terrorist attacks - in the province and in the mainland UK - in which hundreds of people lost their lives.
Hollande, Merkel meet to solve eurozone crisis ahead of crucial EU summit

French President Francois Hollande has met visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Paris on the eve of an EU summit.
During the talks, Hollande called for greater emphasis on growth and the issuing of mutualized debt to accompany the fiscal pact.
Merkel stressed the obligation to build "a strong and stable Europe", while citing significant efforts to outline a growth pact.
It is hoped that the two-day EU summit opening Thursday will decide the future of the single-currency.
10 killed, 30 injured in railway blast in Pakistan

At least 10 people have been killed and 30 injured in an explosion at a railway station in the southwestern Pakistani city of Sibi.
The bomb is reported to have exploded on a platform on Wednesday night just as people were disembarking from a train.
Emergency procedures have been enacted in all local hospitals.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.
125 people saved after boat capsizes off Christmas Island

At least 125 people have been saved after a boat sank north of Australia's Christmas Island. At least one body has been recovered although an estimated 10-20 people are still missing.
The rescue comes just one week after another boat carrying asylum seekers sank in the same area, leading to the estimated death of some 80-90 people.
Christmas Island lies to the northwest of Australia. It is much closer to Indonesia and is targeted by many people seeking asylum in Australia.
The latest incidents have restoked the political debate in Australia over how to deal with the large number of people seeking asylum in the country.
32,000 evacuated in US due to massive wildfire

More than 32,000 people have been forced to abandon their homes due to raging wildfires threatening the US city of Colorado Springs.
Some 800 firefighters were drafted to battle the blaze as authorities began evacuating the city as well as the President Barrack Obama is due to visit the area on Friday.
Hot and dry weather right across the US has led to a higher than usual number of wildfires breaking out this summer.