A Chinese minister said today the situation in Syria should not be on the agenda at the upcoming G20 summit in Mexico because the meeting needs to stay focused on global economic issues, including the European debt crisis.

The Rolling Stones opened their first ever concert in mainland China on Saturday with the classic hit, “Start Me Up.”

Public schools in Beijing are to close for two weeks, affecting 1.7 million pupils, the city’s school board said today, amid mounting Chinese efforts to stem the spread of the deadly Sars virus.