Death toll from SW China mudslides rises to 12;80 still missing
The death toll from the mudslides in a remote mountain town in Yunnan has now risen to 12, with 80 others still missing.
Searchers have recovered six more bodies on Friday.
Meantime, in Gansu, the death toll from the massive mudslides in Zhouqu County now stands at 1,407. 358 others there are still listed as missing.
So far this year across China, some 2,300 people have been killed in flooding-related disasters.

Chinese leaders donate to mudslide-stricken Zhouqu
Chinese President Hu Jintao and other state leaders have made donations to help the relief and reconstruction work in Zhouqu County, which was devastated by a massive mudslide .
Former President Jiang Zemin donated as well.
So far, over 200 million yuan (29 million U.S. dollars) have been raised among Party members and staff of the central state organs.

China offers additional aid to flood-hit Pakistan
China has announced its decision to provide an additional 50 million RMB yuan (about 7. 3 million U.S. dollars) worth of humanitarian supplies to the Pakistani government as "the latest developments suggest that the flooding in Pakistan may pose an unprecedented humanitarian challenge."
The announcement came Friday as Li Baodong, the Chinese permanent representative to the United Nations, was speaking at a plenary General Assembly session on flood-devastated Pakistan.
He said the first batch of relief supplies has arrived at the affected areas which included food, tents, power generators, blankets as well as medicine, mineral water and water purification equipment.
Li Baodong said the Chinese government will continue to do what it can to provide assistance to Pakistan in the light of the developments of the disaster.

China sends 20 mln yuan in fire relief assistance to Russia
China has begun delivering equipment worth 20 million yuan (2.9 million U.S.dollars) to Russia to help fight a series of menacing fires.
The equipment included 2,000 gas masks, 4,000 gas mask canisters, 1,400 fire-fighting uniforms, and 900 breathing apparatuses.
It also comprised 200 air tanks, 52 extinguishers, 40 sets of fire extinguishing systems and 10 field service compressors.
The raging peat-bog fires are reported to have killed 53 people and left 3,500 people homeless in Russia.

Two abducted Chinese rescued in southwest Nigeria
Two Chinese workers abducted in southwest Nigeria have now been successfully rescued by police.
An official with the Chinese Consulate says that three kidnappers have also arrested by Nigerian police after a serious gun battle. The kidnappers were demanding a ransom from the Chinese worker's company.

U.S. invites Israel, Palestinians to direct peace talks in Washington
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has announced the United States has invited Israel and the Palestinians to launch Middle East peace direct talks on Sept. 2 in Washington D.C..
Clinton said that the peace negotiations can be completed within one year, adding the peace talks should start without precondition.
She also said U.S. President Barack Obama has invited Jordanian King Abdullah and Egyptian President Mubarak to attend, "in view of their critical role in this effort."
Meanwhile, the Middle East Quartet (the United Nations, Russia, the U.S., and the European Union) has issued a statement, saying all the direct negotiations should lead to a settlement that ends the occupation began in 1967 and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

Iran, Russia say Bushehr nuclear power plant no threat
Iran says its first nuclear power plant is highly safe.
Chief of Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant Mahmoud Jafari says the power plant has been built based on the latest safety standards and is self-controlled in nature.
He says the method used in the power plant's construction will minimize the chance of any incident there.
Meanwhile, Russia's Foreign Ministry says strict controls on the operation of Iran's new Bushehr nuclear plant would ensure that no fuel was siphoned off for other uses.

13 killed in fresh riots in Karachi, Pakistan
At least 13 people have been killed and 16 others hurt in a fresh wave of violence triggered by the killing of a local party official in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi.
According to the report, the riots broke out after an Awami National Party office holder was gunned down along with a colleague near Karachi's main airport.
In the subsequent violence, 11 people were shot dead and 16 others were injured.

McDonald's Sets Benchmark for China in Yuan Bond Sale
McDonald's new yuan bond sale, the first by a foreign company in Hong Kong, may well pave the way for a new global debt market in China.
McDonald's has sold $29 million US dollars worth of 3 percent notes, which come due in September 2013. And now the world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart, says it too is now considering issuing such notes.