Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkish-Speaking Countries (TurkPA), Ramil Hasanov has met here speaker of Kazakh Parliament`s Assembly Nurlan Nigmatulin.

The discussions at the meeting focused on TurkPA`s role in deepening relations among legislative bodies of Turkish-speaking countries.

The sides expressed hope that political dialogue among Turkish-speaking countries would continue to develop through parliamentary diplomacy.

According to Nigmatulin, TurkPA is a center of dialogue of legislative bodies of Turkish-speaking countries with international parliamentary structures.

The speaker also noted a delegation led by him would participate in the fourth session of TurkPA in June in Ankara.

Flooding and landslides across nine southern Chinese provinces have killed more than 50 people and left 14 missing, officials say.

Guangdong was hardest hit, reporting 36 deaths after days of heavy rain, said the Ministry of Civil Affairs, BBC reported.

Six people had died in Jiangxi, added the ministry.

And further bad weather is forecast for Guangdong later on Saturday, with warnings of heavy wind and rain causing more flooding in the next few days.

Teams of relief workers have been sent to oversee the recovery efforts in the hardest hit areas, officials said.

Heavy rainstorms in Guangdong reportedly caused widespread flooding in the province's mountainous areas and affected nine cities including the provincial capital, Guangzhou.

Nearly 900,000 people had been affected across the state, with floods destroying 2,675 houses, China's Xinhua News Agency reported.

A street in the city of Derbent in Dagestan has been named after national leader of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev on the occasion of his 90th anniversary.

The decision was passed at a meeting of deputies of the city of Derbent on May 8.

Mayor of the city of Derbent Imam Yaraliev and chairman of Derbent City Deputies Meeting Movsum Rahimov sent a letter to the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan on this decision.

According to the letter, this decision is vivid example of a deep respect to national leader Heydar Aliyev, who played an exceptional role in strengthening and developing friendly relations between Russia and Azerbaijan and Dagestan and Azerbaijan.

The letter says today President Ilham Aliyev successfully continues the national leader`s political course.

"We are confident that Azerbaijan-Dagestan friendship, laid by national leader Heydar Aliyev will strengthen even more."

France's president has signed into law a controversial bill making the country the ninth in Europe, and 14th globally, to legalise gay marriage.

According to BBC, on Friday, the Constitutional Council rejected a challenge by the right-wing opposition, clearing the way for Francois Hollande to sign the bill.

He said: "I have taken [the decision]; now it is time to respect the law of the Republic."

The first gay wedding could be held 10 days after the bill's signing.

But Parliamentary Relations Minister Alain Vidalies told French TV he expected the first ceremonies to take place "before 1 July".

Constitutional challenge

Mr Hollande and his ruling Socialist Party have made the legislation their flagship social reform since being elected a year ago.

After a tortured debate, the same-sex marriage and adoption bill was adopted by France's Senate and National Assembly last month.

The bill was quickly challenged on constitutional grounds by the main right-wing opposition UMP party of former president Nicolas Sarkozy.

But the Constitutional Council ruled on Friday that same-sex marriage "did not run contrary to any constitutional principles," and that it did not infringe on "basic rights or liberties or national sovereignty".

It said the interest of the child would be paramount in adoption cases, cautioning that legalising same-sex adoption would not automatically mean the "right to a child".

Comedian Frigide Barjot, who has become a leading mouthpiece for the anti-gay marriage movement, denounced the ruling as "a provocation" and called for the campaign to continue.

Catholic concerns

Scores of protesters took to the streets of Paris to voice their opposition to the ruling on Friday: previous, occasionally violent, demonstrations against the bill have drawn hundreds of thousands onto the streets.

UMP President Jean-Francois Cope said he regretted the Constitutional Council's decision but would respect it. Another senior UMP figure, Herve Mariton, said the party would come up with alternative proposals in 2017 that were "more respectful of the rights of children".

The anti-gay marriage lobby, backed by the Catholic Church and conservative opposition, argues the bill will undermine an essential building block of society.

Opinion polls have suggested that around 55-60% of French people support gay marriage, but only about 50% approve of gay adoption.

France is now the 14th country to legalise gay marriage after New Zealand last month.

It is also the ninth country in Europe to allow same-sex marriage after legalisation in the traditionally liberal Netherlands and Scandinavia, but also in strongly Catholic Portugal and Spain. Legislation is also moving through the UK Parliament.

But the measure has aroused stronger than expected opposition in France - a country where the Catholic Church was thought to have lost much of its influence over the public.

In January, a protest in Paris against the bill attracted some 340,000 people according to police - one of the biggest public demonstrations in France in decades. Organisers put the figure at 800,000.

Since then, both sides have held regular street protests.

Mr Hollande has been struggling with the lowest popularity ratings of any recent French president, with his promises of economic growth so far failing to bear fruit and unemployment now above 10%.

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov will attend and address the meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna on May 14.

APA reports quoting the diplomatic sources that Mammadyarov will touch on the bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and the OSCE and resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Azerbaijan and the OSCE have been discussing the mandate of the OSCE Office in Baku since March. The Azerbaijani side has sent a request to OSCE for diminishing the mandate of OSCE Office in Baku.

Boston bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev already held extreme views when he visited Russia, Islamists in Dagestan have told US media.

Tsarnaev's cousin Magomed Kartashov, a local Islamist leader, reportedly spent hours trying to dissuade him from becoming a militant, BBC reported.

Russian anti-terrorist police have interrogated Mr Kartashov, who is in custody over an unrelated offense.

Tsarnaev, killed during the Boston manhunt, was buried on Thursday.

He was interred secretly after protests outside funeral homes where his body had been kept in Massachusetts.

Tsaranev and his younger brother Dzhokhar are suspected of bombing the Boston Marathon finishing-line on 15 April, when three people were killed and more than 260 injured, in an attack which shocked America.

One policeman was shot dead and another wounded during the search for the bombers.

'He was surprised'

The Tsarnaevs come from a family of ethnic Chechens and had been living in the US for about a decade before the attacks.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev returned from the US last year for a long visit to Dagestan, a Russian republic bordering Chechnya. Islamist insurgents are active in the region.

Members of an Islamist political organisation in Dagestan, the Union of the Just, spoke to US reporters in the Dagestani town of Kizlyar about their dealings with him.

In an interview for the New York Times, Zaur M Zakaryayev said: "He already had jihad views when he came.

"I think because he was Chechen, he was rooting for his homeland. When he got here he was surprised at the conditions. I think he expected to find a full-fledged war, that one people was fighting with another."

Mr Zakaryayev said that Magomed Kartashov, who reportedly founded the Union of the Just, had spent hours trying to stop Tsarnaev from joining one of the militant cells scattered through the region.

"Magomed explained to him at length that violent methods are not right," he said, adding that his organisation did not support the bombing.

In words relayed to Time magazine through his lawyer, Mr Kartashov said from custody that Tsarnaev had been the one trying to "pull him in to extremism".

"Kartashov tried to talk [Tsarnaev] out of his interest in extremism," the lawyer said.

However, a member of the Union of the Just, Bilyal Magomedov, appeared to welcome the Boston bombing.

"In principle, it's good that this happened, even though the [Tsarnaev] brothers suffered," he told a Time reporter.

"Don't understand me wrong, but Sept. 11 led many Americans to convert to Islam. It's another question that people died there, sure. But people also started to wonder why this act was committed..."

Tsarnaev's brother Dzhokhar, who was wounded during the manhunt, is in US custody on federal terrorism charges.

"From now on, Armenia will be responsible for the payment of compensation for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages inflicted on citizen of any country in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan,'ќ says newly-developed draft law "On the occupied territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan'ќ, the Azerbaijani Parliament told APA.

According to the third part of article 8, "The Republic of Armenia, which committed military aggression, bear the responsibility for the payment of compensation for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages inflicted on the citizens of Azerbaijan, who lived in the occupied territories and were displaced, stateless persons, as well as foreign nationals travelling to the occupied territories in accordance with the law.'ќ

The Azerbaijani Parliament is expected to discuss the draft law in the near future.

The State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) may not be able to open this year the financing for project Fiber to Home, aimed at developing broadband services, abc.az reported.

SOFAZ executive director Shakhmar Movsumov says that project financing is envisaged by Fundв's budget for 2013 will be opened only after preparation of full package of project documentation.

"The project implies certain reforms that are being discussed. We expect that funding will be opened until the end of 2013,'ќ Movsumov said.

SOFAZ budget allows the Fund to spend this year up to AZN 103.6 million to finance this program. Its realization is planned for 3 years.

Britain has withdrawn some staff from its embassy in Libya in response to the "ongoing political uncertainty" in the country, the Foreign Office says, BBC reported.

It said: "The British Embassy is temporarily withdrawing a small number of staff, mainly those who work in support of government ministries which have been affected by recent developments."

However, it added that the mission in the Libyan capital of Tripoli remained "open as usual", including for consular and visa services.

Heavily armed militias have been besieging government buildings in Tripoli over the past month, blocking access to ministries to push their political demands.

Last month a car bomb exploded outside the French embassy in Tripoli, wounding two French guards and several residents.

It was the first major attack on a foreign embassy in the Libyan capital.

The Foreign Office currently advises against all but essential travel to Tripoli and against all travel to other parts of Libya, such as the eastern city of Benghazi.

The US consulate in Benghazi was attacked by armed men in September 2012, leading to the killing of ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other American officials.

Excavations are being carried out in Zurnabad, the ancient territory of Ganja

Archeological excavations have been started to determine the exact age of Ganja, the second largest city of Azerbaijan, deputy director for scientific affairs at the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences Ganja Scientific Center Samir Pishnamazzadeh told APA.

According to him, the archeological excavations have been started in Zurnabad, the ancient territory of Ganja: "Historically, Ganja city was relocated 5 times. The current Ganja is the fifth and was laid down in 1606 by Shah Abbas. One of them is located around "Imamzadeh'ќ religious complex and the other in the current territory of Goranboy region. At present, the excavations are being carried out in the forest area in Zurnabad and Gadarmish villages.'ќ

Samir Pishnamazzadeh said that the excavations were organized by the US Smithsonian Institution, Ganja Mayorв's Office and ANAS Ganja Scientific Center. Samples were taken and resent to the US for chemical analysis.

Tax avoidance, secret mining deals and financial transfers are depriving Africa of the benefits of its resources boom, ex-UN chief Kofi Annan has said, BBC reported.

Firms that shift profits to lower tax jurisdictions cost Africa $38bn (pound;25bn) a year, says a report produced by a panel he heads.

"Africa loses twice as much money through these loopholes as it gets from donors," Mr Annan told the BBC.

It was like taking food off the tables of the poor, he said.

The Africa Progress Report is released every May - produced by a panel of 10 prominent figures, including former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and Graca Machel, the wife of South African ex-President Nelson Mandela.

'Highly opaque'

African countries needed to improve governance and the world's richest nations should help introduce global rules on transparency and taxation, Mr Annan said.

The report gave the Democratic Republic of Congo as an example, where between 2010 and 2012 five under-priced mining concessions were sold in "highly opaque and secretive deals".

This cost the country, which the charity Save the Children said earlier this week was the world's worst place to be a mother, $1.3bn in revenues.

This figure was equivalent to double DR Congo's health and education budgets combined, the report said.

DR Congo's mining minister disputed the findings, saying the country had "lost nothing".

"These assets were ceded in total transparency," Martin Kabwelulu told Reuters news agency.

The report added that many mineral-rich countries needed "urgently to review the design of their tax regimes", which were designed to attract foreign investment when commodity prices were low.

It quotes a review in Zambia which found that between 2005 and 2009, 500,000 copper mine workers were paying a higher rate of tax than major multinational mining firms.

Africa loses more through what it calls "illicit outflows" than it gets in aid and foreign direct investment, it explains.

"We are not getting the revenues we deserve often because of either corrupt practices, transfer pricing, tax evasion and all sorts of activities that deprive us of our due," Mr Annan told the BBC's Newsday programme.

"Transparency is a powerful tool," he said, adding that the report was urging African leaders to put "accountability centre stage".

Mr Annan said African governments needed to insist that local companies became involved in mining deals and manage them in "such a way that it also creates employment".

"This Africa cannot do alone. The tax evasion, avoidance, secret bank accounts are problems for the world'¦ so we all need to work together particularly the G8, as they meet next month, to work to ensure we have a multilateral solution to this crisis," he said.

For richer nations "if a company avoids tax or transfers the money to offshore account what they lose is revenues", Mr Annan said.

"Here on our continent, it affects the life of women and children - in effect in some situations it is like taking food off the table for the poor."

Taiwan has demanded an explanation and apology from the Philippines after a fisherman was shot and killed in disputed waters.

The Philippine coastguard acknowledged that it had fired at the boat to "disable" its machinery.

"If somebody died, they deserve our sympathy but not an apology," AFP quoted a spokesman as saying.

The incident occurred early on Thursday 170 miles (315 km) south of Taiwan, killing 65-year-old Hung Shih-cheng.

Taiwan's coast guard sent vessels to the area - in waters both sides say lie within their 200-nautical-mile from shore exclusive economic zone - to aid the fishing crew.

Taiwan's Foreign Minister David Lin urged the Philippine government to "open a full investigation" into the shooting, which he condemned "strongly".

Philippine coastguard spokesman Commander Armand Balilo said that the incident occurred within Philippine territory and that the officers had a duty to stop illegal fishing.

Taiwanese fishermen have been arrested in the area and detained by the Philippine authorities in the past, but there have not been incidents of shootings before, the BBC's Cindy Sui reports from Taipei.

Competing territorial claims in the South China Sea have raised regional tensions in recent months. China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei all have overlapping claims.

These disputes have existed for years but in recent months China has been taking a more assertive stance, leading to tensions with neighbours.

Last year, the Philippines and China became embroiled in a lengthy stand-off at the Scarborough shoal, which both claim. The stand-off ended after several weeks but ties between the two sides chilled significantly over the incident.

A Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman also condemned the shooting and called for an investigation, a Xinhua news agency report said.

BBC

The next public hearing on the Plan of Greater Baku Regional Development will be held in June and July, abc.az reported.

Chairman of the State Committee for Urban Planning amp; Architecture of Azerbaijan Abbas Aleskerov has stated that the Plan is now under consideration of the Committee.

"After the last hearing the Draft Plan was made minor amendments. In particular, landscaping work will be conducted in the lowland of settlement Bibiheybat, which is flooded," he said.

According to Aleskerov, the World Bank has already submitted the positive conclusion on the Draft Plan of Greater Baku Regional Development.

A gang of cybercriminals stole $45m (pound;29m) by hacking into a database of prepaid debit cards and draining cash machines around the world, US prosecutors say.

Seven people have been charged in New York over the heist, which allegedly stretched across 26 countries.

An eighth suspect is thought to have been murdered in April.

The network used fake cards to target banks in the United Arab Emirates and Oman, court documents said.

Prosecutors said law enforcement agencies in Japan, Canada, the UK, Romania and 12 other countries were involved in the investigation.

Arrests had been made in other countries, they said, although details were not released.

'Laptops not guns'

"The defendants and their co-conspirators participated in a massive 21st Century bank heist that reached across the internet and stretched around the globe," Loretta Lynch, US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement.

"In the place of guns and masks, this cybercrime organisation used laptops and the internet."

Members of the scheme allegedly hacked computer systems to steal data on prepaid debit cards. The cards are pre-loaded with funds rather than being linked to a bank account or a line of credit.

They cancelled withdrawal limits and distributed information to accomplices referred to as "cashers" around the world.

The cashers then loaded other magnetic stripe cards, such as gift cards or old hotel keys, with the stolen data and used them to withdraw huge sums.

The first alleged raid took place at the Rakbank in the UAE in December. Criminals were able to conduct 4,500 transactions worth $5m across about 20 countries.

Prosecutors believe the group broke into the Bank of Muscat based in Oman in February. In the space of 10 hours, casher cells withdrew $40m from ATMs.

According to the indictment of the New York defendants, they quickly moved to launder their cash, opening a Miami bank account and pouring money into cars, including a Porsche and a Mercedes, and Rolex watches.

Seven people have been arrested and face charges of conspiracy to commit access device fraud and money laundering.

The accused ringleader of the cell was reportedly murdered in the Dominican Republic just weeks earlier, prosecutors said.

"Our message is clear. Law enforcement should not stand by as cybercriminals target our global financial system for their own ends," Ms Lynch told reporters.

She added that the attack was the "largest theft of this type that we have yet seen".

Nakhchivan is a shockingly well-to-do, progressive corner of the nation, Mark Hay says in his article 'Welcome to Nakhchivan, the San Francisco of the Caucasus Mountains' published in the U.S. edition Vice.

According to Hay, upon stepping in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan, he felt himself traveling through San Francisco or other similar place.

Following the start of the Nagorny-Karabakh conflict, Nakhchivan fell under a blockade. Their gas, rail lines, electricity, and radio were cut off, and Soviet policies of economic interdependence left them with weak agriculture and little to no self-sufficient industry, the article says.

Every year, tens of thousands fled the region. Almost every tree was chopped down for fuel in the harsh winters, and the only things that kept the nation alive were two small bridges, built by Heydar Aliev, a Nakhchivani and former Soviet strongman who led the region until he became the leader of all Azerbaijan in 1993, linking Nakhchivan to Turkey and Iran, Hay writes.

Since then, Nakhchivan has undergone massive redevelopment-between 1995 and 2012 the region's GDP rose by a multiple of 48, the author says.

According to Hay, the Nakhchivanis are promoting these sites as a potential source of ecological tourism.

The Nakhchivanis stringently refuse to use GMOs, despite the boost they'd give to agricultural production. They use automated and large-scale farming, but refuse to step over the edge to factory farms and insist on making all animal feed out of locally produced organic foodstuffs.

According to the author, another thing about Nakhchivan reminding him of San Francisco is the massive tech focus.

"They are currently developing local cell phone and internet companies, and aiming to modernize and repair all the region's roads by 2015. Internet access covers 72 percent of the population. They've brought Wi-Fi to eight districts and 200 villages-it even runs along the Armenian border," Hay says.

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Rail services between New York and New England face days of disruption after two trains carrying hundreds of passengers collided in Connecticut on Friday after one of them left the rails. Sixty people were injured, five of them critically.

A Metro-North train with about 300 people on board was travelling from Grand Central in New York City to New Haven when it derailed near Bridgeport, about 60 miles from Manhattan. A train carrying up to 400 people heading to Grand Central on an adjacent track struck the derailed train.

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Connecticut governor Dannel Malloy told reporters at the scene that one of those hurt was in a "very critical condition". Sixty people had been taken to local hospitals.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority police and FBI officials are among those involved in the investigation, according to the MTA. The US`s National Transportation Safety Board said it was sending a team to investigate what had happened.

Mr Malloy said he had no reason to believe the crash was anything other than an accident.

He said the route along the Northeast Corridor was likely to remain shut at least until Monday, as investigators tried to establish what had caused the crash, removed the damaged carriages and repaired the track.

The route is used by Amtrak long-distance passenger trains as well as Metro-North services, which carry commuters to and from New York City. Metro-North, operated by New York State`s MTA, suspended services on its New Haven line at South Norwalk, near Bridgeport, after the incident. Amtrak said all services between New York and Boston were suspended "indefinitely".

Acela Express and Northeast Regional trains between New York`s Penn Station and Boston were disrupted. Information about restoring services would be published when available, officials said.

It is the most significant incident in the US involving passenger trains since two trains on the Washington DC metro collided in June 2009, killing the train operator and eight passengers.

There are four tracks in the area but two of those are out of service while overhead wires are replaced. The other two tracks and overhead wires suffered extensive damage.

Mr Malloy said it would normally have been possible to divert trains to the other tracks through the area.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo sent MTA chairman Tom Prendergast to the scene as well as additional emergency MTA personnel and resources. The governor spoke with Mr Malloy to co-ordinate the two states` responses.

France attaches great importance to cooperation with Azerbaijan, Thierry Pinot, mayor of the town of L`Aigle said at his meeting with governor of the city of Ganja Elmar Valiyev.

During the meeting, they exchanged views on how to develop relationship between Azerbaijan and regions of France.

Pinot briefed the Ganja governor on the history of L`Aigle. He stressed the importance of signing of a sister city document between L`Aigle and Azerbaijan`s Naftalan town.

The mayor noted French sportsmen participated in contests in Ganja and the beauty of this city made deep impressions on them.

He also recalled his visit to Baku, saying the city`s rich culture and rapid development impressed him very much.

Elmar Valiyev, in turn, said Ganja was a cradle of Azerbaijan`s ancient culture. He spoke of UNESCO`s celebrating the 900th anniversary of the first female poet of Azerbaijan Mahsati Ganjavi who lived in Ganja. The governor also added last year solemn events were held on the 870th anniversary of genius poet of Azerbaijan Nizami Ganjavi.

They agreed at the meeting to hold negotiations on signing of a sister city document between the city of Caen of Basse Normandie and Ganja, as well as establishment of relations with L`Aigle.

Azerbaijan`s ambassador to France Elchin Amirbayov was present at the meeting.

Deputy head of the Committee on Culture of Azerbaijan`s Parliament Rafael Huseynov will leave on Sunday for the United Kingdom to participate in a meeting of the PACE committee on culture, science, education and media.

The meeting will focus on a wide range of issues, including protection of media freedom in Europe, impact of media violence on children, responsibility and ethics to the effect, the role of new information and communication technologies in democratic society.

The health benefits of exposing skin to sunlight may far outweigh the risk of developing skin cancer, according to scientists.

According to BBC, Edinburgh University research suggests sunlight helps reduce blood pressure, cutting heart attack and stroke risks and even prolonging life.

UV rays were found to release a compound which lowers blood pressure.

Researchers said more studies would be carried out to determine if it is time to reconsider advice on skin exposure.

Heart disease and stroke linked to high blood pressure are estimated to lead to about 80-times more deaths than those from skin cancer in the UK.

Production of the pressure reducing compound, called nitric oxide, is separate from the body's manufacture of vitamin D, which rises after exposure to sunshine.

Researchers said that until now vitamin D had been thought to solely explain the sun's benefit to human health.

During the research, dermatologists studied the blood pressure of 24 volunteers under UV and heat lamps.

In one session, the volunteers were exposed to both the UV rays and the heat of the lamps.

In the other, the UV rays were blocked so that only the heat of the lamps affected the skin.

The results showed that blood pressure dropped significantly for one hour following exposure to UV rays, but not after the heat-only sessions.

Scientists said that this suggested it was the sun's UV rays that lead to health benefits.

The volunteers' vitamin D levels remained unaffected in both sessions.

'Reconsider our advice'

Dr Richard Weller, a senior lecturer in dermatology at Edinburgh University, said: "We suspect that the benefits to heart health of sunlight will outweigh the risk of skin cancer.

"The work we have done provides a mechanism that might account for this, and also explains why dietary vitamin D supplements alone will not be able to compensate for lack of sunlight.

"We now plan to look at the relative risks of heart disease and skin cancer in people who have received different amounts of sun exposure.

"If this confirms that sunlight reduces the death rate from all causes, we will need to reconsider our advice on sun exposure."

The study will be presented on Friday in Edinburgh at the world's largest gathering of skin experts. The International Investigative Dermatology conference starts on Wednesday and runs until Saturday.

Unidentified gunmen have killed a Pakistani peacekeeper in an ambush on a United Nations convoy in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a spokesman for the U.N. mission said on Wednesday.

According to Reuters, the attack took place on Tuesday evening in the province of South Kivu and comes as the U.N. reinforces its mission with an aggressive force tasked with defeating rebels at the heart of two decades of conflict.

"We're trying to piece it together, it happened between Walungu and Bukavu," said Madnodje Mounoubai, spokesman for the U.N.'s 17,000-strong mission, referring to towns south of Bukavu, the province capital on Congo's border with Rwanda.

Years of war have seen politicians, rebels and neighbouring countries battle to protect territory and control resources across mineral-rich Eastern Congo. Millions have been killed as a result of the fighting.

The U.N. is preparing to deploy its first "intervention brigade" - 3,000 soldiers charged with carrying out targeted offensive action rather than just protecting civilians or themselves.

Chinese leaders welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Beijing on Wednesday as China tries to bring its growing international influence to an area where it has had little impact '" the Middle East peace process.

Greeting the Israeli leader at the Great Hall of the People, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang made no direct mention of his meeting two days earlier with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who leads his peopleв's efforts to achieve statehood. Talks between Israel and the Palestinians on the statehood issue have been deadlocked for four years, despite pressure on Jerusalem from the United States, Russia and the European Union, long the major players in Middle East diplomacy, The Washington Post reported referring to AP.

"Iв'm ready to exchange views with you today on how to strengthen our bilateral relationship, how to enhance our bilateral cooperation and also on regional issues such as the question of Palestine and the Middle East process," Li told Netanyahu before the two sat down to talks on the peace process and other regional issues.

The near simultaneous visits to China by Abbas and Netanyahu underscore Chinaв's desire to play a greater role in the Middle East, a region Beijing has long seen as a key source of energy.

"The Middle East confuses the Chinese," said China expert Yoram Evron of Israelв's University of Haifa. "But in the past two years, there are people in China who think it needs to expand its activities in the region in order to safeguard its interests."

Evronв's view was echoed by Middle East expert Li Weijian of the Shanghai Institute of Foreign Studies, who said the region was far too important for China to ignore, particularly in light of Beijingв's increased economic and political clout elsewhere in the world.

"China needs to play a role in major international affairs, including the affairs of the Middle East, and China has been stepping up efforts in this respect," he said.

Last week, Chinaв's Foreign Ministry said it would be willing to arrange a meeting between Abbas and Netanyahu, but with the Israeli side casting Netanyahuв's visit in largely commercial terms, the meeting didnв't take place. Instead, Netanyahu devoted much of his time on his trip to pressing for an expansion of his countryв's $8 billion annual trade with China, and encouraging Chinese investment in Israeli industry.

"There is a perfect marriage between our mutual capabilities," Netanyahu said Wednesday at a ceremony marking the signing of business agreements between Israeli and Chinese companies. "The Israeli government stands firmly behind cooperation between Israeli and Chinese companies, (and) between Israeli research institutes and Chinese research institutes."

Netanyahuв's emphasis will likely win only partial approval from Beijing, which for decades has taken a strong position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with very little to show for it.

Adopting a strongly pro-Palestinian stand in the mid-1950s, Beijing recognized Palestinian statehood in 1988, four years before establishing diplomatic relations with Israel.

While ties between Jerusalem and Beijing have expanded rapidly over the past 15 years '" China is now a major purchaser of Israeli know-how, from high-technology to agriculture, engineering and military-related services '" it maintains its Palestinian sympathies, amid a general critique of what it sometimes sees as Israeli belligerence in the area.

After last weekendв's Israeli airstrike on a Syrian military complex, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying avoided criticizing Israel by name, but left little doubt that Beijing saw it as an unwelcome curtain raiser to Netanyahuв's visit.

"We oppose the use of force and believe any countryв's sovereignty should be respected," she said.

If detected, planters of such products will face large fines

Large-scale monitoring of the products containing Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) will be conducted in Azerbaijan this month, director of Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS) Institute of Genetic Resources, Zeynal Akberov told APA. He said monitoring to be jointly conducted in 5 directions by the ANAS, Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Health, State Committee on Standardization, Metrology and Patents will cover two stages.

During the initial monitoring, sown areas will be inspected and samples of some products will be analyzed in the laboratory at the second stage.

The results of the research will be submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers. Phytosanitary Service will destroy these products with the participation of relevant ministries after it is approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.

Akberov said that the law prohibits import, planting and cultivation of products containing GMO: "There is genetically modified grain, cotton, vegetables, fruits and forage crops in Azerbaijan, like all over the world. It is necessary to determine their places and destroy them and if they donв't exist, it needs to specify them. Monitoring will be conducted only in cultivated areas, but not in markets.'ќ

According to Akberov, if monitoring detects the products containing GMO, their cultivators will face large fines.

A national information system of terminology will be created in Azerbaijan.

The State Committee on Standardization, Metrology amp; Patents of Azerbaijan (State Standard) reports that the system will be established in accordance with international standards within the State Program on bringing the use of Azerbaijani language in compliance with the requirements of time in the context of globalization and the development of linguistics, abc.az reported.

"As part of the action plan of program implementation, the structure of the committeeв's relevant structure is tasked to strengthen the control over the presence of information for consumers in Azerbaijani language on a product imported in the country. In this regard, the State Committee jointly with the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan (AMEA) has begun work to develop a national information system of terminology," the Committee informed.

In general, the program activities are aimed to form a mechanism of the Azerbaijani language use in line with the time requirements and under conditions of globalization and development of linguistics, and are designed for 2013-15 and 2013-20. As a whole, the program aims to protect the standards of the Azerbaijani language when it is used in all spheres of public life, including commercial sites and advertising.

For this already in 2013 it should be improved the structure and strengthened the material and technical base of the Institute of Linguistics of the National Academy of Sciences (AMEA), while TV and radio companies will be created arts council to preserve the language and culture of speech.

The regulatory framework of the official language in education and research should be improved in 2013-15, national standards of transliteration must be prepared in 2013-14, national terminology information system on international standards in 2013-15, and a system of "anti-plagiarism" in Azerbaijani language in 2013-16.

The Club of Madrid and the International Centre of Nizami Ganjavi signed a protocol on cooperation following the First South Caucasus Forum, Chairman of Azerbaijan's State Committee for Work with Diaspora Nazim Ibrahimov said at a news conference on Wednesday.

"The Azerbaijani government will provide support for such events. The first South Caucasus Forum has successfully completed its work," Ibrahimov said.

According to him, the forum was of great importance in terms of Azerbaijan's worldwide recognition. The event showed that rapid development is being observed in all spheres of life in Azerbaijan.

Ibrahimov said the forum discussed the dialogue of civilisations, intercultural dialogue and tolerance issues. "Azerbaijan is demonstrating tolerance to the world and for this reason Baku was not chosen by chance. Activities to be undertaken in the future will contribute to the transformation of Baku into a centre of culture and dialogue.

In response, the former Dutch prime minister and the President of the Club of Madrid Wim Kok said the First South Caucasus Forum discussed issues related to religious and cultural differences. He also mentioned the large scale conference held earlier in Ganja, and noted its role in terms of increasing the position of women in social and economic life of the society.

The report of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom published last week, has been analysed by the Azerbaijani State Committee for Work with Religious Organisations, the committee's head Elshad Iskandarov told Trend, commenting on the provisions of this document concerning Azerbaijan.

According to the chairman of the State Committee, the named organisation is not a public entity, but a non-governmental body that prepares recommendatory documents for U.S. government agencies.

"The leaders of the organisation are lobbyists for various religious communities. Therefore, these reports do not reflect the interests of the American state, but the interests of persons supporting various religious structures," Iskanderov said.

The State Committee head believes mistakes in the report are traced in three directions.

"In the first place, double standards are clearly visible. On the other hand, a number of facts related to Azerbaijan are either distorted, or do not take into account the reality of the country. A subjective assessment is very obvious in this regard. Finally, the report itself is biased. It can therefore be seen as a document prepared in accordance with double standards and on the basis of incorrect facts and bias," Iskanderov said.

Hungarian Magyarpost together with Azerbaijani embassy in Budapest have issued a postage stamp to mark the 90th anniversary of national leader Heydar Aliyev.

The stamp, featuring different stages of the national leader#96;s life and career, is designed to increase the Hungarian society#96;s awareness of Heydar Aliyev#96;s role in ensuring Azerbaijan#96;s development, AzerTAc reports.

The embassy said it plans to launch the memorial stamp in a special ceremony.

The report of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is based on double standards, head of the State Committee for Work with Religious Organisations of Azerbaijan Elshad Isgandarov believes.

"If we look at the geography covered in the report, we see double standards. For example, none of the European countries in which there are numerous problems with the construction of minarets, sounding the azan, where there are facts showing the killing of Muslims by neo-Nazis and numerous protests related to hijab, was included in the report," Elshad Isgandarov told Trend on Monday commenting on some of the complaints against Azerbaijan reflected in the above mentioned commission's report.

According to him, the report does not contain a single word about the problems faced by Muslim communities in these countries.

"The report mainly contains information about the Islamic and Eastern countries which are in the sphere of interests of international missionary organisations which turned into transnational corporations. And that is another manifestation of double standards, the head of the State Committee said.

Moreover, a special section of the report notes that Azerbaijan exerts pressure on those who do not do military service on religious grounds. Of course, the authors of the report do not care how dangerous these evasions are for the National Security of Azerbaijan, 20 per cent of whose territory is occupied. But there is not a word about the occupying country, Armenia, Isgandarov said.

"For example, in Armenia a lot of members of the religious sect Jehovah's Witnesses were arrested for refusing to serve in the Armenian occupation army, but Armenia is not the object of this report at all.

On the contrary, the decision of the European Court related to Armenia was placed in the part of the report concerning Azerbaijan. It is called laying the blame on someone else's doorstep," Isgandarov said.

The United Arab Emirates says three of its citizens are in custody in Tanzania in connection with a church bombing that killed two people and injured more than 50 others.

The UAE Foreign Ministry did not make clear whether the three were additional suspects in Sundayв's attack in the northern city of Arusha, but it suggests they are among four alleged attackers originally identified as Saudis, The washington Post reported referring to AP.

Wednesdayв's statement said the three men were being held in Dar es Salaam.

A total of six people have been arrested in the bombing, which occurred just before the Roman Catholic churchв's inaugural Mass.

The reason for the attack is still unclear, but Tanzania has been hit by sectarian violence between Christians and Muslims.

Former NBA star Dennis Rodman is tapping his friendship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to ask for the release of a Korean-American man sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in the North.

"Iв'm calling on the Supreme Leader of North Korea or as I call him 'Kimв', to do me a solid and cut Kenneth Bae loose," Rodman said on Twitter. He later called the tweet a direct response to a Seattle Times editorial that dared him to ask Kim for the release if the two are really buddies, The Washington Post reported referring to AP.

Rodman visited North Korea in February and sat next to Kim as they watched an exhibition basketball game. His trip came at a time of high tension between Pyongyang and Washington and was not endorsed by the U.S. State Department.

Bae is a tour operator who was arrested in North Korea in November. The Northв's Supreme Court sentenced him last week for unspecified "hostile acts'ќ against the state. In a Foreign Ministry statement on Sunday, North Korea said the 44-year-old Washington state man entered the country with a disguised identity.

Bae is at least the sixth American detained in North Korea since 2009. The others eventually were deported or released, some after trips to Pyongyang by prominent Americans, including former U.S. presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter.

North Koreaв's Foreign Ministry rejected speculation that it was seeking a U.S. envoy to negotiate Baeв's release, saying he is not a political bargaining chip.

Analysts have said North Korea may be using Bae as bait to open direct negotiations with the United States over its nuclear arms programs. Baeв's sentencing came during a lull after weeks of threats of war from Pyongyang against the U.S. and South Korea.

The U.S. has called for the North to immediately release Bae. It relies on Swedish diplomats in Pyongyang to deal with Baeв's case because the North and the U.S. have no formal diplomatic relations after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce instead of a peace treaty.

North Korea has not described the exact nature of Baeв's alleged crimes. Friends say Bae is a devout Christian and tour operator based in China who traveled frequently to North Korea to feed orphans.

Rodman said after his trip to North Korea that he planned to return in August to vacation with Kim, a diehard basketball fan.