A British man of 53 years of age has been executed by lethal injection in the PR China. The British authorities have expressed their outrage. However, he was carrying eighty times the minimum amount of heroin which carries the death penalty. Where is the line to be drawn between respect for international law and human rights?

The death of any human being is a tragedy and nobody can condone the execution of a fellow human being under any circumstances. However, individual sovereign states have their laws and claiming ignorance of them, or in this case "bipolar personality" is not an excuse any more that it is an excuse when a soldier goes to another country to kill, and gets killed himself, however much of a tragedy that is for his family.

However it is also a tragedy when a soldier kills a civilian, bombs a wedding party or strafes a school by mistake...or shoots a 14-year-old boy who has joined the Taliban to defend his country against what he perceives (and understandably) as an invader, as indeed it is a tragedy when someone dies of a drugs overdose because someone like 53-year-old British drug smuggler Akmal Shaikh has decided to carry over eighty times the minimum amount of heroin which carries the death penalty, enough heroin to kill over 26,000 people.

Last week an Unidentified Flying Object disrupted traffic at Xiaoshan Airport in the PR China. The incident happened late last Wednesday night, July 14. 18 flights, involving 2,000 passengers were affected by the apparition, which was seen by several eye-witnesses (see photo) but which did not show up on the airport's radar system.

China Daily reports that the UFO incident which occurred last week over Xiaoshan Airport, Hangzhou, the provincial capital of Zhejiang Province, more specifically at around 20.30 on Wednesday July 14, has still not been solved. The airport was closed after an airport official saw "a shimmering object" over the airport at 20.30. The alert was given and the airport was closed fifteen minutes later.

The Russian state oil pipeline Transneft will finish the laying of the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean (ESPO) oil pipeline to the Chinese border within weeks, said Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin Monday when presenting to the State Duma, lower house of parliament, a government report. "In just a few weeks, the phase during which the pipeline will reach the Chinese border will be over and we will go further to the Pacific Ocean," the Interfax news agency quoted Putin as saying.

Russia and China signed an intergovernmental agreement on the construction of an ESPO branch toward China and long-term Russian oil supplies in February. Transneft's shares surged more than 12 percent immediately following Putin's statement, according to Interfax. Putin also said that excluding Russia from world's energy decision making is "counterproductive," apparently referring to the Ukraine-EU declaration on pipeline modernization.  

Beijing is holding its largest ever military parade to mark sixty years since the People's Republic of China was founded. Hundreds of thousands of marchers are joined by tanks, missile launchers and fighter jets. In addition, 850,000 volunteers are helping maintain security during the event.

About 56 regiments are taking part in the parade to be held on Tiananmen Square. Downtown Beijing has been practically closed-off by the police for the last several weeks, preparing for the big day. Despite the disruption, Chinese view the occasion with pride.   

Chinese President Hu Jintao met Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Wednesday amid a push by the two countries to increase their influence around the world, Reuters reports.  Hu came to Russia for a state visit which included two summits of developing world countries covering global trade, security and greater representation for emerging market powers on the world stage.    

Russia and China will hold their joint military exercise on July 22-27 on the territories of the two countries. About 3,000 military men, 300 units of military hardware, over 40 planes and helicopters will take part in Peace Mission-2009 drills. About 1,500 servicemen, T-80 tanks, BMP-1 and BTR-70 armored vehicles, 22 aircraft, including two Il-76 cargo planes, five Su-24, five Su-25, five Su-27 fighters and five Mi-8 helicopters will represent Russia in the drills.   

China officials commented the espionage case, concerning Chinese-born engineer Dongfan "Greg" Chung. The court found him guilty of economic espionage for the People's Republic of China. The Chinese government claims that it was not involved in the man's criminal activities.

The Chinese Ministry for Foreign Affairs said in a brief statement that the allegations about a Chinese national stealing commercial secrets in the U.S. for China had been entirely fabricated. Spokespeople for the ministry also claimed that China would give no other comments to the spy case. Meanwhile, the U.S. secret service insists that Chung was cooperating with the Chinese Intelligence, AFP reports.   

China will be the first permanent member of the UN Security Council to present its arguments over the legitimacy of Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia at the International Court of Justice on Monday. The Hague Court opened hearings on the legitimacy of Kosovo independence on December 1. They are to run until December 11, but the court decision is expected in April at the earliest.