Hourly News updated 10:00 2011/10/18

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China says multi-national talks will not help resolve disputes in the South China Sea, but may make the issue even more complicated.

The comments come after Japan proposed a multi-lateral framework to settle maritime² disputes in the South China Sea last week.

China's Foreign Ministry³ spokesman Liu Wei-min says the South China Sea disputes should be addressed through negotiations⁴.

It is reported that the Philippines opposed the China-Vietnam joint⁵ statement signed two days ago and called for a multi-lateral approach to resolve the South China Sea disputes.

China and Vietnam have reaffirmed their political will and determination to settle maritime issues through negotiations and friendly consultations⁶.

 

 

Prison swap⁷ begins today

Israel's Supreme⁸ Court has now backed a prisoner swap with Hamas, rejecting petitions against freeing more than a thousand Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the captured soldier Gilad Shalit.

The victims of militant⁹ attacks had requested a 48-hour delay of the swap, which is due to begin in just a few hours.

Israelis and Palestinians are making final arrangements ahead of the swap.

Today's swap is scheduled to take place at the gate of the Rafah crossing, which is the gateway¹⁰ between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.

 

 

Jordan names new prime minister

Jordan's King Abdullah has named a renowned¹¹ international judge as the country's new prime minister. The appointment follows the resignation of Marouf al-Bakhit earlier on Tuesday.

The new prime minister has been instructed to open talks with opposition¹² figures in order to push forward political reforms in the country.

Marouf al-Bakhit resigned amid criticism of his government's performance.

Jordan is so far one of the few countries in the Arab world that has not seen any major unrest in the wake of the middle-eastern protests.

 

 

NTC forces control over 90% of Bani Walid

Libya's interim¹³ government says its forces are close to winning full control of Bani Walid.

The suggestion contradicts earlier reports that National Transitional Council Forces had taken full control of the pro-Gaddafi stronghold.

NTC military spokesperson Ahmed Bani.

"We are controlling more than 90 per cent of Bani Walid city. Our forces now are in the centre of Bani Walid. In a couple of days we will liberate¹⁴ it completely. There is a difference between Bani Walid and Sirte."

Bani Walid has been under siege for weeks, with hundreds of pro-Gaddafi forces hiding in its valleys and hills.

The interim government is on record as saying it will declare national liberation once Sirte falls, even if Gaddafi himself remains¹⁵ at large.

 

 

Syrians taking shelter in Turkey reaches 7,660

The authorities in Turkey now say that over 75-hundred people are still taking shelter in the southern part of the country to avoid the violence in Syria.

Turkish authorities say over 19-thousand people, at one point or another, crossed over their southern border to escape the fighting.

Of them, 76-hundred-60 are still taking refuge in southern Turkey.

 

 

U.S., DPRK to hold talks on resuming recovery of soldiers' remains

The US and North Korean sides are now meeting to discuss the possible resumption of recovering the remains of soldiers killed during the Korean War.

The two sides are meeting in Bangkok this Tuesday.

The US Defense¹⁶ Department says the talks are only connected with the potential repatriation¹⁷ of American remains, and has nothing to do with issues connected to nuclear talks or other disputes between the two sides.

There are close to 8-thousand US soldiers unaccounted for from the 1950 to 1953 war in Korea.

Around 55-hundred of those bodies are believed to be buried on the North Korean side of the border.

 

 

Hong Kong rolls out world's first offshore¹⁸ RMB-denominated gold product

The Hong Kong-based Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange has now started trading the Renminbi Kilobar Gold.

It is being touted¹⁹ as the world's first offshore Renminbi-denominated spot gold contract.

Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange president Haywood Cheung says the roll-out of Renminbi Kilobar Gold marks a big step forward by the exchange on the road to internationalization.

The exchange has appointed Wing Hang Bank and Bank of China's Hong Kong division as the settlement banks.

 

 

Muslims in NW China region begin annual pilgrimage to Mecca

Over 300 Chinese Muslims have become the first from Ningxia to begin a trip to Mecca, Saudi Arabia for an annual pilgrimage.

Around 26-hundred Chinese Muslims from Ningxia are expected to fly to Saudi Arabia via eight Air China charter flights.

This would be an increase of roughly 200 over last year.

The pilgrimage to Mecca, also known as the Hajj, is a Muslim tradition that specifies²⁰ that all able-bodied Muslims who can afford to travel to Saudi Arabia must visit Mecca at least once in their lives.

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