China urges U.S. to respect its core interests
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman has urged the United States to respect its core interests while commenting on a trip to China by two senior U.S. diplomats.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg and National Security Council Senior Director for Asian Affairs, Jeffrey Bader, started a three-day visit to China Tuesday.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said China is not to blame for the current difficult situation in China-US relations, urging the U.S. to take China's interests and concerns seriously.
Meantime, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson says China still sees room for negotiation when it comes to the Iranian nuclear issue.
The comments come after Russia's President says his country might be willing to vote in favor of sanctions against Iran if negotiations fail.

Chile Death Toll Rises, Looting Worsens
The death toll in Chile continues to rise and looting has worsened in Concepcion, the city worst hit by the weekend's earthquake. President Michelle Bachelet says 14,000 troops are now in the region. Dozens of people have been arrested.

Assassinated Rawandan President's widow arrested, Accused of Masterminding Genocide
The widow of assassinated Rawandan President Jevenal Habyarimana, whose death sparked the 1994 genocide, has been arrested in France.
She is accused of masterminding the genocide and now faces extradition.

Dubai seeks Israeli PM's arrest over hotel murder
Dubai police says they are seeking the arrest of Israel's prime minister and the head of its spy agency over the murder of a top Hamas militant in January.
Police chief Dahi Khalfan said he had issued the demand for the arrest warrants as he was now certain they ordered the Cold War-style hit on Mahmud al-Mabhuh.
He also said that travellers suspected of being Israeli would not be allowed into the Gulf country even if they arrived on another passport.
Dubai police have identified 26 suspects from the hit squad murder they say bore the hallmarks of the Mossad.

100 dead; 250 missing in Ugandan Mudslide
Uganda's Minister for Disaster Preparedness has told the BBC that more than 100 people have been killed in a landslide in the country's mountainous eastern region. Rivers of mud created by heavy rainfall swamped houses and at least one school. Some 250 people are still missing.

Ukraine's 'Orange Coalition' collapses
Ukraine's pro-western 'Orange Coalition' has collapsed, in what some are saying is the first stage in an effort to unseat Prime Minister Yulia. V. Tymoshenko.
The breakdown comes after her defeat in last month's bitterly contested presidential elections.

A/H1N1 passes peak in China's flu season: health ministry
China says the A/H1N1 influenza outbreak has passed its peak in the autumn-winter flu season.
The virus has killed nearly 800 people on the Chinese mainland.
The Ministry of Health says the mainland saw a sharp drop in the proportion of A/H1N1 in all flu cases, down from 36.6 percent in January to 11 percent last month.
By the end of February, more than 82 million Chinese had been inoculated with the A/H1N1 flu vaccine.

Police name former convict as bomb suspect in SW China bus blast
Police in southwest China's Yunnan Province say last weekend's bus explosion that left one dead and 11 injured was caused by a bomb.
It is believed that a passenger named Yang Yongshou, who was once a professional explosives operator, triggered a detonator under his seat on the mini-bus carrying 18 people.
The 42-year-old man died at the scene.
Police say Yang was unable to pay 100,000 yuan or nearly 15000 U.S. dollars in gambling debts and appeared emotionally abnormal.
Yang was imprisoned for drug trafficking and theft in March 2000.

Lawmakers gather in Beijing for China's annual parliament session
Chinese lawmakers from across the country have gathered in Beijing for the annual session of the National People's Congress, which is scheduled to begin Friday.
The lawmakers will review the government's work report for last year, vote on the central and local governments' draft budgets for 2010, discussing an amendment to the Electoral Law and mapping out this year's development blueprint.
They will also take part in three rounds of online dialogues with the public.

Toyota February sales down 8.7 percent in U.S.
Toyota has reported that its February sales dropped 8.7 percent in the U.S. market.
The drop is linked to accelerator problems which could cause cars to speed out of control. A series models of Toyota's products, like Lexus, Camry and Prius are all affected.
Toyota has recalled more than eight million faulty models for repairing and examination and is trying to fix its reputation.