Four dead, two remain missing in central China bridge collapse

Four of the nine people who fell into a river following a bridge collapse in central China have been found dead.
The collapse happened Sunday morning after being hit by three sand dredges flushed downstream.
Three others have been rescued.
Rescue teams are still trying to locate the remaining two missing people.
Local authorities said some villagers had forced their way onto the bridge in spite of it being closed following the devastating rainstorms in the area.
China issues draft proposal on implementation of State Secrets Law regulation

China has issued a draft proposal on the implementation of regulations under the State Secrets Law.
The proposal specifies that those who have been discharged from office, subjected to criminal punishment or acquired addictions to gambling or drugs may not be employed in any position where they may have access to state secrets.
According to the proposal, government employees who handle confidential information should have Chinese nationality, be loyal to the country and professionally qualified.
Foreign staff employed in confidential areas should also be reported to relevant departments at the central or provincial level.
One dead in attack on Mombasa nightclub

One person has died in a blast at a nightclub in the Kenyan city of Mombasa.
Five people were injured in the attack at a popular club in the port city.
Police say armed men fired gunshots and threw at least one grenade into the club after being refused entry. A gun has been recovered from the scene.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.
Greek party leaders divided over coalition gov't talks failure, bailout deals

Greece faces a fresh general elections after party leaders failed to reach an agreement to form a coalition government on Tuesday.
President Karolos Papoulias will meet party leaders again on Wednesday to put in place an interim government until the new vote, expected to in June.
Party leaders were quick to blame each other after the break up of Tuesday's talks, with Socialist PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos claiming that some parties were putting party above national interest. Alexis Tsipras, leader of the anti-austerity Syriza accused the mainstream parties of advocating a pro-bailout policy that "would leave Greece hopeless."
Polls show that Syriza are favorites to win a second vote – this in spite of EU leaders warning that funds for Greece would be cut if the country reneged on the bailout terms agreed in March.
Black box of crashed plane in Indonesia found

Rescuers have found the black box of a plane that crashed in Western Java.
The plane was carrying 45 passengers and 8 Russian crew when it crashed into mountains last week.
The box - badly charred in the crash - will be delivered to the Indonesian Transport Safety Committee for investigation.
Rescuers are still searching for survivors.
Romania's education minister resigns over plagiarism allegations

Romania's Education Minister Ioan Mang has resigned over allegations of plagiarism.
The media widely reported that Mang has copied published articles by experts from Japan, Israel and China's Taiwan.
The 53-year-old was sworn in as education minister just about 10 days ago.
Mang has denied the accusations, saying they are politically motivated and aimed to create chaos in the education system.
Former chief executive of News International charged with perverting course of justice

The former Chief Executive of News International, Rebekah Brooks, has been charged in the UK with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
Five others, including Brooks' husband - the writer Charlie Brooks - her personal assistant and chauffeur have also been charged.
The offences are reported to include the removal of computers, documents, and other equipment from News International premises during July last year.
The publishing giant – part of Rupert Murdoch's global media empire – was at the time embroiled in a scandal involving the hacking of hundreds of personal phone conversations.
China launches electronic passports

China has begun issuing a new type of passport featuring an electronic chip that contains the holder's personal information, including the name, date of birth, photo and fingerprints.
According to the ministry of public security, the passport also features anti-counterfeiting technology and "intelligent chips" that will bring greater convenience to passport holders.
The passports are also expected to simplify border control procedures by allowing for easier identification.
China currently issues 10 million passports every year, an annual average growth of 20 percent compared with the 1990s.
China's search giant Baidu releases low-cost smartphone

China's search giant Baidu has announced the launch of its first smartphone.
It is the firm's first move into the mass smartphone market.
The less than one thousand yuan low-cost phone is powered by Baidu's own mobile operating system, Cloud.
China's booming mobile industry has the largest number of smartphone users in the world.
The phone will be the first mobile device to run on Baidu's Cloud Smart terminal platform and will come with 100GB of cloud storage on Wangpan, the local equivalent of Dropbox and Google Drive.
Competition line-up at 65th Cannes film festival

The 65th Cannes film festival is set to kick off today in France.
22 films from 15 countries are in compeitition for the coveted Palme d'Or.
Asian films screening at this year's festival include Zhang Ziyi starring in another retelling of "Dangerous Liaisons".
The world's major film festival will run until May 27.