Vietnam and Philippines agree to oppose China

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Vietnam and the Philippines will jointly oppose "illegal" Chinese actions in the South China Sea, Vietnam's prime minster said Wednesday in a rare show of public solidarity between two Southeast Asian nations wrestling with Beijing's determination to assert its sovereignty claims in the disputed waters.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, standing beside President Benigno Aquino III after they held talks in Manila, called on the world to condemn China for causing what he called an "extremely dangerous" situation in the South China Sea by deploying an oil rig near an island that both Vietnam and China claim.

China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, putting it into conflict with Vietnam and the Philippines, which have rival claims.

As Putin looks east, China and Russia sign $400-billion gas deal

By Alexei Anishchuk

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China and Russia signed a $400-billion gas supply deal on Wednesday, securing the world's top energy user a major source of cleaner fuel and opening up a new market for Moscow as it risks losing European customers over the Ukraine crisis.

The long-awaited agreement is a political triumph for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is courting partners in Asia as those in Europe and the United States seek to isolate him over Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula.

                                        Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R) and China's President Xi Jinping review an honour guard …

Commercially, much depends on the price and other terms of the contract, which has been more than a decade in the making.

China had the upper hand as talks entered the home stretch, aware of Putin's face-off with the West.

But both sides could take positives from a deal that will directly link Russia's huge gas fields to Asia's booming market for the first time - via thousands of miles of new pipeline across Siberia that form part of the package.

Heavy gunfire at Libyan parliament

Smoke was seen rising from the parliament building in Tripoli

There has been heavy fighting outside the Libyan interim parliament in the capital Tripoli.

Syria war: Air defence chief Gen Hussein Ishaq killed

The head of Syria's air defences has died amid fighting near Damascus.

Gen Hussein Ishaq was said to have been wounded as rebels attacked an air defence base near the town of Mleiha on Saturday and later died.
He is one of a handful of high-ranking military officers to be killed in the country's civil war.
Rebels are fighting to depose President Bashar al-Assad's regime in a bloody conflict that began three years ago.
Despite the war, the government plans to hold a presidential election next month in the areas under its control.