China

President meets heads of state

President Xi Jinping praised the state of China-Africa cooperation on Wednesday, calling on both sides to remain sincere partners. "China and Africa share a common destiny and bilateral cooperation has huge potential for growth," he said while meeting Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma. Xi also met with Surinamese President Desi Bouterse, who is in Beijing to attend the second annual World Peace Forum.

Japan's white paper slammed

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying slammed an overview of Japan's Defense Ministry's white paper for 2013, urging Tokyo to do more to facilitate regional peace and stability. "China adheres to a road of peaceful development and pursues a national defense policy with a defensive nature," she said.

United States

Obama arrives for African tour

US President Barack Obama arrived in Africa on a long awaited tour on Wednesday at a poignant moment, just as the world prepares to bid a reluctant farewell to Nelson Mandela. The possibility that the critically ill anti-apartheid icon could fade away within days has sparked uncertainty about Obama's itinerary, which is due to take him Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania.

Marriage act struck down

The US Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down a federal law that restricts the definition of marriage to opposite-sex couples in a major victory for the gay rights movement. The ruling, on a 5-4 vote, means that legally married gay men and women are entitled to claim the same federal benefits that are available to opposite-sex married couples.

Xinhua-Reuters-AFP

(China Daily 06/27/2013 page9)