NATO probes raids near Afghan-Pakistan border
NATO-led International Security Assistance Force says it has initiated an investigation into an incident near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border earlier on Saturday that resulted in the killing and injuring of a number of Pakistani security forces.
A statement issued by ISAF says the leadership there remains committed to improving security relations with Pakistan, including coordination of operations along border regions in their united fight against terrorism.
According to local media reports, 24 Pakistan security forces were killed and 13 were injured when NATO helicopters carried out an airstrike on a Pakistani army check post in northwest Mohmmand Agency, a tribal area in northwest Pakistan, in the wee hours Saturday.

Pakistan asks U.S. to vacate key air base in 15 days
Pakistan's top civilian and military leadership has decided to ask the United States to vacate a key air base in the country's southwest Balochistan province in 15 days after the incident.
Condemning the attack by the NATO's and the ISAF's aircrafts, an official statement says the the incident is tally unacceptable and warrants an effective national response.
It says Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani will take the Parliament into confidence on the whole range of measures regarding matters relating to Pakistan 's future cooperation with the United States, the NATO and the ISAF in the near future.

Arab League formulates proposed sanctions against Syria
The Arab League has formulated proposed economic sanctions against Syria at a meeting of finance ministers in Cairo.
The proposals include freezing the Syrian government's funds, halting the commercial business with the Syrian government except strategic commodities that affect the people's life, suspending flights and financial exchanges with the Syrian government.
The sanction recommendations came after Syria failed to sign an Arab League observation mission agreement within the deadline set by the pan-Arab body.

Giving more powers to EU requires referendum: Slovak PM
Giving up certain national powers in the economic and monetary fields to the European Union should be decided by Slovak citizens in a referendum, said Prime Minister Iveta Radicova on Friday.
Radicova's statement came in response to possible future changes to the EU's founding documents, which aim to stave off another eurozone debt crisis by ensuring compliance with budgetary regulations and improving governace of the single currency bloc.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who view changes to the Lisbon Treaty as a solution to the eurozone debt crisis, are expected to announce the proposed alterations in the coming few days
According to Radicova, Slovakia will back EU proposals leading to the strengthening of budgetary discipline as well as the introduction of sanctions for countries that attempt to dodge regulations.

China penalizes 113 over chemical tainted pork
113 people, including 77 government employees, have been penalized over a chemical tainted pork scandal reported in central China's Henan Province.
A local court press release said the main culprit, Liu Xiang, was sentenced to death with two years' reprieve on conviction of harming public safety.
Liu's clandestine workshop producing clenbuterol, a carcinogenic chemical added to pig feed to produce leaner pork, was seized in March. Liu's collaborator, Xi Zhongjie, was sentenced to life.
Punishments for the 36 pig farmers involved were more lenient, ranging from probation to jail terms under 12 months.
Clenbutoral is banned as a livestock feed additive as it can cause nausea, dizziness, headaches and heart palpitations in humans.

China to start patrols along Mekong River with neighboring countries
Chinese police will start patrols along the Mekong River with Laos, Myanmar and Thailand by the middle of next month following a deadly attack on Chinese ships in October.
A statement from China's Ministry of Public Security says police from the four nations will work together to restore shipping and guarantee security along the river.
Shipping on the Mekong River has been suspended since two cargo ships were attacked early last month, resulting in the murder of 13 Chinese sailors.
Police departments of the four countries will also set up a coordination team to work out more security measures along the Mekong River.

China's road passenger, cargo traffic continues to expand
China's road passenger and freight transport extended growth in the first 10 months of this year.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Transport, said from January to October, the country's road transportation served 27 billion passengers, up 7.7 percent from a year earlier, while overall ship passengers climbed 8.4 percent to 200 million.
The amount of cargo carried on roads increased 15 percent to 23 billion tonnes.
Meanwhile, freight volume at China's ports witnessed strong growth, with domestic trade cargo throughput outperforming that of foreign trade.

Dense fog lingers, cold snap to drag down temperature
China's meteorological authority says heavy fog will continue to blanket parts of the country for a couple of days.
The National Meteorological Center issued on its website a third blue alert, the lowest level in the country's four-scale fog alert system.
Fog and haze will decrease visibility to within 1,000 meters in a number of provinces including Gansu, Shandong, and Sichuan, and as low as 200 meters in some areas.
Meanwhile, a cold front will sweep from west to east to affect most parts of China starting today, dragging temperatures down by six to eight degrees in the central and eastern regions.
Temperatures in some parts will dip further by 10 to 14 degrees.