HK lowers flag at half-mast to mourn victims of abduction tragedy
All government offices in Hong Kong have lowered flags at half- mast to mourn the Hong Kong tourists killed in the abduction tragedy in the Philippines.
The death toll has now climbed to 9, with another hostage dying from injuries in hospital.
Six people are still being treated in other hospitals in the Philippine capital.
A special plane carrying officials from Hong Kong government departments and family members of those died have arrived in Manila.
The crisis ended after Philippine police stormed the hijacked bus and shot dead the gunman, a former police officer who had been sacked and was demanding his job back. He earlier released nine people.
The Chinese government has strongly condemned the hostage-taking and killing of Chinese tourists. Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi telephoned his Philippine counterpart Alberto Romulo and demanded the Philippine government thoroughly investigate the incident.

Jimmy Carter headed to North Korea on rescue mission: U.S. Magazine
Former U.S. Presdient Jimmy Carter is set to travel to North Korea in the next few days, in what U.S. officials characterized as a private mission to free a U.S. citizen.
The American magazine Foreign Policy reported the planned trip, citing two sources familiar with the former president's plans.
Carter's goal is to bring back Aijalon Mahli Gomes, a 30-year-old man from Boston who was sentenced to 8 years in prison in April, about three months after he was arrested crossing into North Korea via China.
The report said there will be no U.S. government officials on the trip and Carter is traveling in his capacity as a private citizen.

Death toll from SW China mudslides rises to 32; 60 still missing
The death toll from mudslides in a remote mountain township in Yunnan Province has risen to 32, while 60 others are still missing.
The mudslides struck Puladi Township in Gongshan County last week. Rescue and relief efforts have been hampered by continuous rain.
A newly build bridge in the disaster area is now allowing people to leave the township by foot, but access for cars is still blocked.

Pakistanis Choose to Remain in Flooded Villages to Protect Property
More than three weeks after devastating floods hit Pakistan's Indus river basin, water is still spreading through the rice-growing belt in southern Sindh province.
About 80 percent of the 3.9 million people in Sindh affected by the floods are now homeless.
Supplies of food are pouring in with many choosing to remain in their flooded villages to protect what remains of their homes and possessions from looters.
The worst floods in decades has killed nearly 1,600 people and made millions homeless.
Weather forecasters predict that floods will continue through August with floodwater taking months to recede.

Two Spanish aid workers kidnapped in Africa freed
Two Spanish aid workers kidnapped by al Qaeda's North African wing and held for nearly nine months have been released.
They will arrive in Barcelona later.
Albert Vilalta and Roque Pascual were kidnapped while traveling through Mauritania with a relief aid convoy last November.
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero spoke to the media in Madrid.
"Albert Vilalta and Roque Pascual are free. The two aid workers kidnapped by Al Qaeda in Maghreb have been freed after spending 268 days in the hands of their kidnappers. ."
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb has said that Spain is one of its targets because it is an ally of the United States and part of NATO.

Russia puts out wildfires, offers help to Turkey
Wildfires in Russia are now coming under control, as the state of emergency in the Ryazan region bordering Moscow has now been lifted.
Ryazan is the last region to lift its state of emergency.
Meanwhile, in the Nizhny Novgorod region, 400 kilometers east of Moscow, 98 percent of wildfires have been put out.
In the Moscow region, only three peat bog fires are left, while all forest fires have been extinguished.

South African President starts China visit
South African President Jacob Zuma has arrived in Beijing for a four day state visit to China—his first trip since becoming President last year.
Chinese President Hu Jintao and vice president Xi Jinping are scheduled to meet with Zuma this week.
His next stop is Shanghai, where Zuma is set to visit the World Expo.

China mulls law on foreign-related civil, commercial conflicts
Chinese lawmakers are considering new rules for dealing with cases involving Chinese nationals married to foreigners: under the proposed new law, such couples would be required to settle disputes according to the law of the country where they spent most of their married life.
That applies to conflicts regarding divorce and inheritance.
Each year, courts across China receive more than 10,000 foreign-related civil and commercial cases.