The blast ripped through the mine around 2.30 on Saturday morning, when there were 528 people at work, but 419 got out safely, the official Xinhua news agency said.

The Xinxing mine is in Heilongjiang province, which borders Russia. It is owned by the Heilongjiang Longmei Mining Holding Group, and produces 12 million tons of coal a year, Xinhua said.

Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang is heading to the site of the accident, and Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao have given instructions about the rescue work, a sign of official concern about the latest in a long string of disasters in the world's deadliest mining industry.

Rescue teams are already on site, with 60 people hunting for the missing miners, Xinhua said.

Lax safety standards and strong demand for resources have made China's mines the deadliest in the world, despite a government drive to clamp down on the tiny, unsafe operations where most accidents occu...]]> China Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:03:44 +0800 /articles/09/1122/197977/MTk3OTc3OtuhLFMT.html

* Prosecutors ask court not to release him, bail denied

* Suspect worked at Ford from 1997 through early 2007

By Jeremy Pelofsky

WASHINGTON, Nov 21 (Reuters) - A Chinese engineer arrestedon suspicion of stealing Ford Motor Co. (F.N) trade secretswill likely face additional charges after more secret data wasfound on his computer, U.S. prosecutors said this week.

Xiang Dong Yu was arrested last month when he arrived atChicago's O'Hare International Airport from China on chargesthat he stole thousands of secret documents detailing Forddesigns that prosecutors say were worth millions of dollars.

In court papers filed in Michigan this week, prosecutorssaid that FBI agents seized a laptop Yu had when he arrived anddiscovered more Ford trade secret design documents as well asconfidential documents from a company they did not identify.

"Based on what was recovered from the defendant's la...]]> China Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:03:22 +0800 /articles/09/1122/197972/MTk3OTcyQNX88ZUi.html

China's mines are the world's deadliest, and the blast shows the difficulties the government faces in trying to boost safety in an industry where large state-owned coal mines are considered safer than smaller, private ones.

China Central Television reported that 42 were dead, 31 rescued and the others trapped about a third of a mile (500 meters) underground. The report said the explosion was caused by a gas buildup.

Television footage showed smoke billowing out of the mine, with a collapsed building nearby.

The report said power, ventilation and commun...]]> China Sat, 21 Nov 2009 18:12:30 +0800 /articles/09/1122/197971/MTk3OTcxveClMHcR.html Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang (1st R) visits an injured miner at a hospital in Hegang City, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, on Nov. 21, 2009. The death toll of a gas outburst accident in a coal mine in Hegang City has risen to 42 while 66 other miners were still missing.
Photo Gallery>>>

He said the gas outburst in Xinxing Coal Mine, owned by the Heilongjiang Longmei Mining Holding Group, in Hegang City, happened 400 meters underground. Rescuers were still searching for the missing.

Pan Xiaowen, deputy director of the Hegang Mining Bureau Hospital, said that the hospital has taken in 29 injured miners from the accident.

"Six of them were seriously injured," he said, add...]]> China Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:11:33 +0800 /articles/09/1121/197970/MTk3OTcw2WQj8Eou.html A gas explosion tore through a state-run coal mine in northern China on Saturday, killing 42 people and leaving 66 others trapped underground as rescuers worked hastily to save them.

China's mines are the world's deadliest, and the blast shows the difficulties the government faces in trying to boost safety in an industry where large state-owned coal mines are considered safer than smaller, private ones.

A total of 528 people were working in the Xinxing mine in Heilongjiang province at the time of the 2:30 a.m. explosion, the State Administration of Work Safety said in a statement. It said 389 escaped after the blast.

China Central Television reported that 42 were dead, 31 rescued and the others trapped about a third of a mile (500 meters) underground. The report said the explosion was caused by a gas buildup.

Television footage showed smoke billowing out of the mine, with a collapsed building nearby.

The report said power, v...]]> China Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:48:04 +0800 /articles/09/1121/197969/MTk3OTY5rlCBm3VC.html Beijing residents are taking a collective deep breath and enjoying the best air the city has had for 11 years.

Three women seem to dwarf the Bird]]> China Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:16:47 +0800 /articles/09/1121/197967/MTk3OTY3gdhrlQeo.html Death toll of a gas outburst accident in a coal mine in Hegang City, in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, has risen to 37, while 71 other miners were still missing.

The rescue headquarters said that gas outburst caused the explosion in the Xinxing Coal Mine owned by the Heilongjiang Longmei Mining Holding Group.

The company has updated the number of miners who escaped the accident to415 from the previously reported 389.

It said that 528 miners were working under the mine, when the explosion occurred at around 2:30 a.m. Saturday.

Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao have made instructions on the rescue work. Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang is on way to the site.

The mine is located over 400 km east of the provincial capital of Harbin. Xinhua's reporters are on the way to the accident site.

The Hegang subsidiary of Longmei is a state-owned mining company with an annual coal output ...]]> China Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:15:26 +0800 /articles/09/1121/197966/MTk3OTY2Zz6XJ020.html The apparent suicide of an education bureau director who had been struggling to find heating fuel has highlighted the shortage of coal at schools in Yuxian county, Hebei province.

Ge Xiang, 40, is understood to have slashed his wrist at his home on Wednesday afternoon after an attempt to buy coal at a nearby coalmine failed, the Hebei Youth Daily reported on Friday.

A teacher surnamed Lian at Xiheying Middle School said the mine has not provided schools with reduced-price coal.

"Our coal will be used up next Tuesday or Wednesday and we still have to find more to keep the classrooms warm," he told China Daily on Friday.

Previously, schools in Yuxian got approval from the county government to buy low-cost coal from nearby mines. But after a blast last year at a coalmine killed 35, mines in the county have undergone an overhaul that left the county government with a deficit. Since then, schools have had to find their ...]]> China Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:15:05 +0800 /articles/09/1121/197965/MTk3OTY1xzZ81YCy.html Three sailors died and two are missing after a North Korean cargo ship, the Jisong 5 , was wrecked Tuesday due to strong winds near northeast China's Dalian port, xinhuanet.com reported.

The ship sank about 90 sea miles east of Dalian, with 20 seamen on board. The sea border force of Dalian dispatched emergency rescue helicopters to the scene and retrieved one sailor. Another 13 seamen were saved from life rafts Wednesday.

The rescued sailors were resting in a local hotel and doctors were sent to check them. Dalian's frontier inspection department has contacted the North Korean consulate in Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning, to make arrangements for the sailors to return home, according to reports.

Sudden temperature drops in the city on November 17 led to a surge in power demand for heating that resulted in the failure of five power generator sets Tuesday, which reduced power-generating capacity by around 1.5 million kilowatts, the official said.

Later, SGCC's power company in Shanghai, the Shanghai Municipal Electric Power Company, restricted power supplies.

Since November, China's power demand has been increasing as rain and snow affects most parts of the country.

The northeastern and northwestern regions, and some provinces in the north, usually the coldest areas in China, all reported record highs for power demand, according to Wang.

On Wednesday, the State Grid said coal stocks for power plants were ...]]> China Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:14:03 +0800 /articles/09/1121/197963/MTk3OTYzw5sCz2qQ.html Hundreds of taxi drivers have been in strike since Wednesday to protest against government plans to regulate the industry in Putian City, east China's Fujian Province.

More than 200 of the city's 622 taxis were parked near Putian New Bus Station on Friday. Few were seen in the street.

Protestors stopped taxis that were still in business and demanded the drivers join them. If refused, they would throw stones at the vehicles.

Some even sat in the doorway of the city hall for two hours to protest.

The city government has released a plan to give out 411 taxi licenses to replace the current ones that are about to expire.

It also planned to revoke the license of a taxi if the driver breaches service or traffic regulations for three times or above within a year.

Director of the municipal transport bureau Huang Hua said the moves were aimed to regulate the industry and improve taxi services.

Huang said...]]> China Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:13:17 +0800 /articles/09/1121/197962/MTk3OTYyVsCA9rLu.html Death toll of a gas outburst accident in a coal mine in Hegang City, in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, has risen to 23, while 90 other miners were still missing.

The rescue headquarters said that gas outburst caused the explosion in the Xinxing Coal Mine owned by the Heilongjiang Longmei Mining Holding Group.

The company has updated the number of miners who escaped the accident to415 from the previously reported 389.

It said that 528 miners were working under the mine, when the explosion occurred at around 2:30 a.m. Saturday.

Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao have made instructions on the rescue work. Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang is on way to the site.

The mine is located over 400 km east of the provincial capital of Harbin. Xinhua's reporters are on the way to the accident site.

The Hegang subsidiary of Longmei is a state-owned mining company with an annual coal output ...]]> China Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:12:28 +0800 /articles/09/1121/197961/MTk3OTYxUSplxmTl.html

Putin, speaking at a congress of his United Russia party inRussia's northern city of St Petersburg, said gross domesticproduct would decline by 8.0 to 8.5 percent in 2009.

But the former Kremlin chief said Russia must fully restorepre-crisis levels of growth in two to three years and added thathe saw cargo turnover and electricity demand rising in 2010.

Putin said Russia would widen its anti-crisis programme forcarmakers and that he was sure ailing carmaker AvtoVAZ (AVAZ.MM)had a future. He added Russia would help firms buyhigh-technology assets abroad.

But the premier said AvtoVAZ, which makes Lada cars, wouldhave to modernise and that he hoped shareholders -- whichinclude France's Renault (RENA.PA) -- would conduct themselvesresponsibly.

He said Russia would pay 50,000 roubles to those car ownerswho agreed to trade in vehicles over 10 years old for newdomestically made cars.

Speakin...]]> China Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:11:04 +0800 /articles/09/1121/197960/MTk3OTYwf8W94WQy.html

With unemployment at a generation high of 10.2 percent and once-lofty popularity ratings down, Obama said a December White House forum will leave no stone unturned in the hunt for jobs.

"Even though it will take time, I can promise you this: we are moving in the right direction; that the steps we are taking are helping," Obama said in his weekly address, amid signs that the public is getting impatient for results.

A Gallup poll on Friday showed Obama's job approval rating had dropped to 49 percent, the first time he has fallen below 50 percent in this survey, as Americans express dissatisfaction with his handling of the economy and other issues.

Obama's remarks on the economy were his first in public since returning to Washington after an 8-day Asian tour where critics said he had failed to win significant concessions on trade or currency manipulation from partners like China.

But Obama said that progress had been made w...]]> China Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:10:27 +0800 /articles/09/1121/197959/MTk3OTU5gfIZRgHl.html

The U.S. consortium, called Crown, is led by former FordMotor Co director Michael Dingman, but has backing from Swedishinvestors, Dagens Industri wrote.

Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, the parent of GeelyAutomobile, was named by Ford as a preferred bidder for itsloss-making Swedish car unit last month. [ID:nHKG181412]

Media reports put the bid at between $2 billion and $2.5billion.

"There is no point in bidding low. You are not going to winanything that way," the paper quoted a Crown consortium sourceas saying.

With unemployment at a generation high of 10.2 percent andonce-lofty popularity ratings down, Obama said a December WhiteHouse forum will leave no stone unturned in the hunt for jobs.

"Even though it will take time, I can promise you this: weare moving in the right direction; that the steps we are takingare helping," Obama said in his weekly address, amid signs thatthe public is getting impatient for results.

A Gallup poll on Friday showed Obama's job approval ratinghad dropped to 49 percent, the first time he has fallen below50 percent in this survey, as Americans express dissatisfactionwith his handling of the economy and other issues.

Obama's remarks on the economy were his first in publicsince returning to Washington after an 8-day Asian tour wherecritics said he had failed to win significant concessions ontrade or currency manipulation from partners like China.

But Obama said that progress had b...]]> China Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:09:32 +0800     BEIJING, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake measuring 4.3 on the Richter Scale hit a border area between northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and the northern Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Saturday afternoon, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center.

    The epicenter was at 38.2 degrees north latitude and 106.6 degrees east longitude.

    Xinhua reporters in Yinchuan, capital of Ningxia, said tremor was felt in the downtown area.

    No casualties have been reported.

Jia Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), meets with Amelita Villarosa, acting speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives, in Manila, the Philippines, on Nov. 20, 2009. (Xinhua/Fan Rujun)Photo Gallery>>>

    Jia, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), hailed the traditional friendship and growing bilateral ties between China and the Philippines during the meeting, which was held hours before he wrapped up his official goodwill visit to the Southeast Asian country Friday night.

    "The year 2010 marks the 35th a...]]> China Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:05:58 +0800 /articles/09/1121/197953/MTk3OTUzka060Uza.html     LOME, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Togolese artists staged an open concert on Friday evening in the capital Lome to mark Universal Children's Day and the 20th anniversary of the UN convention on the rights of children.

    The celebrations were sponsored by the Togolese Ministry for Social action, Promotion of Women, Children and the Elderly in collaboration with Togo's Plan NGO and African rap musicians.

    It was held under the theme " learn without fear" and "violence is evil, denounce it". It brought together thousands of children, mostly students, in a euphoric ambiance. Questions and answers, as well as awards also featured the celebrations.

    "The Seeds", a musician group, staged their hit songs including "a better world" and "the street child" to drum hopes of one with a distorted childhood.

    Minister for Social Action, Promotion of ...]]> China Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:05:36 +0800 /articles/09/1121/197952/MTk3OTUymqsEoLFo.html     By Ren Yaqiu

    LIBREVILLE, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Whereas the entire humanity was on Friday marking the 20th anniversary of the convention on children's rights, in Gabon, a number of children, illegally brought into the country from West Africa, continue to be exploited by the West African nationals living in Gabon.

    Child trafficking and exploitation dates back to the 1970s. Because of its small population, Gabon was in need of workers from abroad for construction and other projects. Massive entry to Gabon was reported during the period from Togo, Benin and Nigeria in search for employment.

    The years that followed saw a lot of prosperity for these immigrants who discovered a country where some sectors were abandoned by the local population who had been changed by the easy gains from the enormous oil revenues.

    Very quickly, thes...]]> China Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:05:15 +0800 /articles/09/1121/197951/MTk3OTUxHJ2vQ4Op.html     ABIDJAN, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- The global media campaign that was launched by China's Xinhua News Agency and UNICEF received applause in Cote d'Ivoire, where children are the most vulnerable in the West African country yet to step out of the protracted political crisis.

    Newspapers published stories, Xinhua photos, as well as the logos for the day, to make the children's world the center of attention.

    "In many cases, the rights of children are never respected. It is children who are always vulnerable to abuses from the adults," said the editor-in-chief for Le Jour Plus, Frederic Koffi.

    "Come to think of it, children do not have better channels to defend their rights and the media have made a good contribution by carrying out this campaign," he said, adding in his country "the campaign is good and satisfactory." "This initiative should be carried out ever...]]> China Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:04:54 +0800 /articles/09/1121/197950/MTk3OTUwhcecNcV0.html Philippine Vice President Noli del Castro addresses the closing ceremony of the 10th World Chinese Entrepreneurs Convention (WCEC) in Manila, capital of the Philippines, on Nov. 21, 2009.  Singapore will host the World Chinese Entrepreneurs Convention (WCEC), the biennial gathering of the Chinese businessmen around the globe, in October 2011. (Xinhua/Chen Duo)Photo Gallery>>>

    Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry will be the organizing agency for the 11th WCEC, Ian. C.W. Fok, chairman of Hong Kong Chinese General Chamber of Commerce said at the closing ceremony of this year's WCEC convention in Manila.

Ian. C.W. Fok, chairman of Hong ...]]> China Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:04:31 +0800 /articles/09/1121/197949/MTk3OTQ5NlGhVPKY.html     VICTORIA, Seychelles, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Zhou Yongkang, a senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC), has met leaders of the Seychelles on bilateral relations.

Zhou Yongkang, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, meets with Seychellois Vice President Joseph Belmont in Victoria, capital of Seychelles, Nov. 20, 2009. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing)Photo Gallery>>>

    Zhou, a member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau, was welcomed Thursday evening at the airport by the general secretary of the People's Party of the Seychelles, Danny Faure, who is also finance minister.

    During their meeting, Zhou said the CPC and the People's Party have maintained close and friendly cooperation since the two parties forged ties in 1979 and played positive roles...]]> China Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:04:09 +0800 /articles/09/1121/197948/MTk3OTQ4pAkBPUBC.html     by Mohammad Ghazal

    AMMAN, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Energy-poor Jordan sees great potential for nuclear energy cooperation with China, Jordan's Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) Chairman Khaled Toukan said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

    "In Jordan, we see that China will be a major strategic partner with us in developing our nuclear energy program," Toukan said.

    Currently, the Arab kingdom generates 2,200 megawatt of electricity annually and imports 95 percent of the energy it needs. It is planning to build four nuclear reactors by 2040 with the potential to provide 60 percent of the country's power needs.

    As Jordan abounds in uranium reserves, estimated at some 140,000 tons, and other nuclear materials such as zirconium, the country is expected to produce annually 2,000 tons of yellowcake and about 300 tons of phosphate as of...]]> China Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:03:48 +0800 /articles/09/1121/197947/MTk3OTQ3HxCOulwt.html     ABIDJAN, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Cote d'Ivoire is intensifying its cooperation with China in fighting malaria, "the silent killer" of children, health officials say with a joint venture underway in the West African country.

    Officials vowed to escalate their joint fight at the ground breaking ceremony on Friday for an anti-malaria center at the National Institute for Public Health (INSP) in the city of Adjame.

    "This action is within the framework of Sino-Ivorian cooperation. This center is expected to help reduce malaria in Cote d'lvoire," declared Chinese ambassador Wei Wenhua at the ceremony. The Chinese diplomat pointed out that the research center would serve as the platform of exchanges in the health domain between the two countries.

    Cote d'Ivoire's Health Minister Remi Allah Kouadio said he was pleased with this initiative. Cote d'lvoire, just li...]]> China Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:03:26 +0800 /articles/09/1121/197945/MTk3OTQ1H2eNVnw5.html China Sat, 21 Nov 2009 09:50:56 +0800 /articles/09/1121/197944/MTk3OTQ0d8sUVuUj.html

The blast ripped through the mine around 2:30am (local time) when there were 528 people at work, but 419 got out safely, the official Xinhua news agency said.

The Xinxing mine is in Heilongjiang province, which borders Russia. It is owned by the Heilongjiang Longmei Mining Holding Group and produces 12 million tonnes of coal a year, Xinhua said.

Vice premier Zhang Dejiang is heading to the site of the accident while Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao have given instructions about the rescue work, a sign of official concern about the latest in a long string of disasters in the world's deadliest mining industry.

Rescue teams are on site, with 60 people hunting for the missing miners, Xinhua said.

Lax safety standards and strong demand for resources have made China's mines the deadliest in the w...]]> China Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:17:34 +0800 /articles/09/1121/197943/MTk3OTQzMfczx8hy.html The British edition of “Typhoon” came out one year ago. I was living in China then and ordered a copy from London. It never arrived, though the Royal Mail’s tracking system showed that it had made its way as far as a Beijing shipping depot. Did it disappear into the routine chaos of Chinese life? Was this a purposeful, pinpoint strike by Chinese censors who figured out that it raises touchy political questions about their country?

In Shanghai, he saw how China had modernized. At an interactive session with youths, he saw the vitality of Chinese society and the diversity of viewpoints. In Beijing, he strengthened bilateral trust and working relationship with Chinese leaders. From his visits to the Forbidden City and the Great Wall, he got a firsthand feel of China's rich history. Therefore, he is expected to return home with a better understanding of China.

The focus of his four-day visit, however, was the Sino-US joint statement, which highlighted the areas in which the two countries have made huge progress. First, the statement redefines Sino-US strategic positioning. At a press conference after his meeting with Obama, President Hu Jintao reiterated the importance of building positive, cooperative and compre...]]> China Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:15:30 +0800 /articles/09/1121/197941/MTk3OTQxaCVxNk2V.html China and the European Union held the 28th round of human rights dialogue in Beijing.

Senior Chinese Foreign Ministry official Wu Hailong and Jan Nordlander, the ambassador at large for human rights of Sweden, co-chaired the dialogue.

Wu, director-general of the Department of International Organizations and Conferences of Foreign Ministry, expounded China's measures to deepen reform on judicial system, to ensure judicial impartiality and to conduct international cooperation in human rights affairs.

Nordlander also briefed the Chinese side on the EU nations' new legislation and new measures to improve human rights.

The two sides agreed to maintain the positive momentum of the human rights dialogue and exchanges, to promote the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership.

During the dialogue, the two sides also introduced each side's recent progress in human rights protection, and exchanged views on the rule ...]]> China Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:15:05 +0800 /articles/09/1121/197938/MTk3OTM4Hhun9FSN.html

* Sands China EV/EBITDA valuation, 13.5 times '10 earnings (Adds quote, details, background)

By Kennix Chim

HONG KONG, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Sands China Ltd, the Macauoperation of Las Vegas Sands (LVS.N), raised $2.5 billionthrough its initial public offering in Hong Kong, a sourcefamiliar with the deal said on Saturday, hitting the bottom ofan indicated range.

While lower than the company hoped for, the IPO allows LasVegas Sands to cash in on the gambling industry boom in Macau,a former Portuguese colony an hour's ferry ride from Hong Kongthat is now the world's largest gaming hub.

The offering, together with a $1.75 billion in bankfinancing, would help Sands China to restart its Macau's Cotaistrip project, which was suspended in November 2008 due to theglobal economic downturn.

The Las Vegas-based gaming and casino company, strugglingunder a heavy debt load, is looking to raise cash and boos...]]> China Sat, 21 Nov 2009 07:02:15 +0800 /articles/09/1121/197937/MTk3OTM3VEtWowIp.html

BLACKSTONE MOVES TO TAKE OVER GALA CORAL

Blackstone (BX.N) has been allowed to conduct due diligenceat Gala Coral after making an audacious late intervention in thebingo group's 2.5 billion debt restructuring. Blackstone couldmake a 250 to 300 million pound cash injection in Gala, whichwas valued at five billion at its peak, in return for a majoritystake. Gala's private equity owners -- Cinven, Candover andPermira -- have already agreed a deal with junior lendersdesigned to keep the business' bingo and gaming divisionstogether. However, this would be usurped should Blackstone'soffer be accepted.

TESCO MOVES CLOSER TO FULL BANKING WITH IT SYSTEM

Fiserv has been appointed by Tesco (TSCO.L) to provide thesoftware to enable it to become a full-service bank. Fiserv'sinvolvement, as one of the world leaders in providing retailbanking software, will turn the supermarket from a provider of acollection of financial products i...]]> China Sat, 21 Nov 2009 07:01:52 +0800 /articles/09/1121/197935/MTk3OTM14Dk0xhaQ.html Five people were killed in an explosion in an apartment building in central China's Henan Province Friday, local authorities said.

The blast happened at around 5:30 am in Hualong District, Puyang City, damaging walls of several homes and smashing dozens of window.

Firefighters recovered five bodies and saved 16 trapped in the damaged building.

Initial investigation showed the explosion was caused by natural gas leak from a gas heater.

General Chen Bingde, chief of the General Staff of Chinese Armed Forces, said UN peacekeeping operations face difficulties in policymaking, financial guarantees and planning and management when he met with Alain Le Roy, UN under-secretary-general for peacekeeping operations.

Chen said during their meeting in Beijing reforms of peacekeeping operations must be not only "active and creative", but "stick to basic principles". He did not elaborate.

"Meanwhile, (reform) should also attach importance to cooperation with (local) regional organizations," he said. "The ultimate goal should be to improve management and efficiency of peacekeeping operations."

Chen stressed China would do as it "had always been doing" and actively ...]]> China Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:51:06 +0800 /articles/09/1121/197933/MTk3OTMz8FRSeovo.html The US ambassador to China on Friday hit out at the American media for their negative coverage of US President Barack Obama's visit to China, saying they had failed to take into account important progress on many issues.

The trip was the top news story in China, drawing strong interest from the Chinese public who, surveys suggested, were largely positive in their view of the US president.

But much of the American media coverage was strongly negative, accusing Obama of failing to gain concessions on crucial issues such as Iran's nuclear program and climate change, as well as being weak on human rights.

US ambassador Jon Huntsman said the reports missed the fact that the visit resulted in important progress on cooperation in areas such as clean energy, military-to-military exchanges and stopping the spread of nuclear weapons.

"I attended all those meetings that President Obama had with (Chinese President) Hu Jintao a...]]> China Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:50:44 +0800 /articles/09/1121/197932/MTk3OTMyI20gZIjh.html

The appointment of Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy as European Union (EU) president will help its member nations agree on a unified China policy and reduce the risk of estrangement in relations, diplomats and experts said on Friday.

EU leaders handed the block's new top job to Van Rompuy on Thursday (Friday, Beijing time). They also appointed trade commissioner Catherine Ashton, of Britain, as the EU's new foreign policy chief.

The two top jobs were created on the basis of EU reform document, the Lisbon Treaty, that takes effect from Dec 1.

Francois Godement, director and professor of Asia Center, affiliated to Paris-based Sciences Po, said a stable EU presidency would help Europe stabilize its ever-fluctuating relations with China.

Ties between China and some European countries were estranged last year after some leaders' supported separatist elements in the Tibet autonomous region and called for boy...]]> China Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:50:20 +0800     BEIJING, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- China on Friday urged Japan to be responsible for history in handling issues concerning former Chinese nationals who were forced to work as laborers in Japan during World War II.

    Japan's Sendai High Court on Friday rejected an appeal for damages filed by former Chinese laborers, saying that individual rights of Chinese nationals for war reparations were discarded under the 1972 Japan-China joint statement.

    Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said the Chinese government's declaration in the Sino-Japanese Joint Statement on waiving the right for war compensations from Japan was a political decision made to help the two peoples live in amity.

    Qing said China strongly opposed the "arbitrary" interpretation by the Japanese court on Chinese government's waiving its right to war reparations.

    "...]]> China Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:03:32 +0800 /articles/09/1121/197929/MTk3OTI5RcLvD6GM.html     HARARE, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- China and African countries should pay more attention to African regional integration in a bid to have the two partners benefit more from their cooperation, participants to a symposium here were told on Friday.

    China will phase in zero-tariff treatment to 95 percent of the products from least developed African countries, starting with 60 percent of the products in 2010. So, there is need for China to engage Africa through regional economic communities so that the two partners benefit more from their cooperation, officials and scholars said at the 3rd Symposium on China-Africa and China-Zimbabwe relations.

    Addressing the symposium, deputy secretary for foreign affairs in the Zimbabwe government Godfrey Magwenzi said it was important to place China's cooperation with Africa within the context of regional integration.

    "It is i...]]> China Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:03:05 +0800 /articles/09/1121/197928/MTk3OTI4RkWXATvX.html China Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:17:58 +0800 /articles/09/1121/197927/MTk3OTI3erHyXnNj.html

WASHINGTON, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Nominees for key U.S.Treasury international posts said on Friday they must work topersuade China to change its currency practices or there cannotbe critical adjustments to global trade and economic balances.

Lael Brainard, nominated to be the Treasury'sundersecretary for international affairs, told a Senate FinanceCommittee confirmation hearing that she expected to spend "alarge part" of her time working to address imbalancesassociated with China's exchange rate.

"Chinese exchange rate policy ... is something that was astabilizing force at the time of the crisis, at a time whensome of the other surrounding currencies were weakening, it wasa stabilizing force," said Brainard, who was a White Houseeconomic adviser in the Clinton administration and a BrookingsInstitution senior fellow.

"The concern now is that it is getting in the way of globalrecovery, that it is no longer is a positive c...]]> China Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:05:05 +0800 /articles/09/1121/197926/MTk3OTI2KQIiOvqD.html

BEIJING (Reuters) - Two Chinese rights activists who sought a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama hours before he left Beijing said on Friday they were briefly detained by police, and one said Washington's sway over rights in China had eroded.

Jiang Tianyong and Fan Yafeng said they were among several critics of China's restrictions on human rights who gathered near the U.S. Embassy in the Chinese capital on Wednesday, hoping to meet Obama before he left that night for Seoul.

Most of the group left as it became clear there be no chance of such a meeting, but Jiang and Fan said they stayed until plain clothes security police took them away for a few hours of "chats" late into the night.

"We had wanted to discuss (with Obama) the deterioration of religious freedom in China, as well as deteriorating treatment of other rights defenders," said Fan, a legal scholar who recently lost his job at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. China Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:04:42 +0800 /articles/09/1121/197925/MTk3OTI1nBR6mmyB.html

If a "bi-partisan anti-China currency bill" being plannedby both Republican and Democrats is passed and signed into lawby President Barack Obama, China could retaliate, MorganStanley (MS.N) Asia chairman Stephen Roach told an AmericanChamber of Commerce session in Singapore.

"I worry that next year,... if President Obama would allowthat bill to go through, then the Chinese will not show up atthe Treasury auctions and we will be back in the soup again,"Roach said.

China has amassed $2.27 trillion of foreign exchangereserves, the world's largest stockpile, and analysts thinkabout two-thirds of this is invested in dollar-denominatedassets. China has a huge trade surplus with the United States,and is the largest foreign holder of U.S. government bonds.

South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham and DemocratSenator Charles Schumer asked the Commerce Department onThursday to investigate alleged Chinese currency "manipulatio...]]> China Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:04:19 +0800 /articles/09/1121/197924/MTk3OTI04rQNTgBR.html

Alibaba, which in 2005 traded a 40 percent stake in its group for control of the Yahoo brand in China, also owns China's top e-commerce Web sites, including business-to-business platform Alibaba.com and Taobao, a retail and auction platform. Yahoo and industry analysts expected that handing to Alibaba control of Yahoo China would boost its growth, but instead the brand has struggled in a local search market dominated by rivals Baidu and Google.

Now Alibaba is in the process of restructuring Yahoo China to focus on entertainment features, a turnaround from efforts to make the portal a user-generated content base. Meanwhile the company has launched new efforts in online search and user-generated content for Taobao, which is booming as more Chinese get online and turn to the site to buy everything from toasters and jackets to laptops and mobile phones.

Taobao, often seen as China's version of eBay and Amazon.com combined, earlier this year launched ...]]> China Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:03:57 +0800 /articles/09/1121/197917/MTk3OTE3UloecHTf.html China Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:35:54 +0800 /articles/09/1121/197916/MTk3OTE2LDGI1CLJ.html Jia Qinglin (R), chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, shakes hands with Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ahead of the opening of the 10th World Chinese Entrepreneurs Convention (WCEC) in Manila, capital of the Philippines, on Nov. 20, 2009. (Xinhua/Fan Rujun)
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MANILA, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- China's top political adviser Jia Qinglin met Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo here on Friday, pledging further efforts to bolster bilateral ties.

Jia, chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee, said developing relations with the Philippines as friendly neighbors was an important part of China's foreign policy and was in the interests of the peoples from both countries.

Jia said China attached great importance to participating in major projects that would benefit the Filipino people and ...]]> China Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:16:51 +0800 /articles/09/1121/197915/MTk3OTE1SFsKFisU.html

ICBC owns ten-year receivable bonds with a face value of 313billion yuan ($45.85 billion), issued by Huarong AssetManagement Co. in exchange for ICBC's debt at face value as partof a government restructuring of China's banking system.

"For the interest, we have no problem," Lai Xiaomin,president of Huarong Asset Management Corp, told Reuters on thesidelines of a conference.

"But we are now studying how to pay the principal."

ICBC (1398.HK)(601398.SS) Chairman Jiang Jianqing said in aninterview last week that the bank was "still discussing" what todo with the bond, which has not yet expired.

In late September, another asset management company, Cinda,extended by 10 years the maturity of a $36 billion bond due toChina Construction Bank (0939.HK)(601939.SS).

The banks believe that the AMC bonds are backed by stateguarantees, but some analysts question whether banks might haveto bear some of the ...]]> China Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:03:14 +0800 /articles/09/1121/197914/MTk3OTE0Z0qhrrtr.html

* IPO had priced above estimates, raised $111.1 mln

NEW YORK, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Shares of Chinese discounthotel chain 7 Days Group Holdings Ltd (SVN.N) jumped as much as28.6 percent in their New York Stock Exchange debut on Friday.

The American depositary shares stood at $13.70, up 24.6percent, in morning trading after rising as high as $14.15earlier.

The ADSs priced at $11, the top of the estimated range of$9 to $11, in the chain's initial public offering on Thursday.Guangzhou-based 7 Days raised $111.1 million in the IPO.

The underwriters of the IPO, which was managed by J.P.Morgan and Citi, have an option to buy 1.5 million additionalADSs.

7 Days reported revenue of $121.7 million for the firstnine months of 2009, and an operating profit of $6.9 million. A$9.3 million interest expense during the period caused it topost a net loss of $1.4 million.

The company has posted net ...]]> China Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:02:51 +0800 /articles/09/1121/197913/MTk3OTEzXpiEXypG.html

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Investors who missed out on Wynn Macau's recent IPO will have another chance with Sands China's initial public offering, but the stock could be a riskier bet given Sands' uncertain outlook and rich valuations.

Las Vegas Sands (LVS.N), the world's most valuable casino firm, may have to price the IPO for its Macau assets below the top of its range to win over investors, analysts said.

The Sands China (1928.HK) IPO, Asia's fourth-largest this year if it raises the intended $3.35 billion, comes amid a deluge of equity offerings in Hong Kong, and elsewhere in Asia, including rival Wynn Resorts' (WYNN.O) offering of its Macau assets last month.

Shares of Chinese real estate group Longfor Properties Co (0960.HK) rose 14 percent on their debut on Thursday, after the company raised $912 million in an IPO.

With Las Vegas struggling, institutional investors willing to hold on to the stock may find Sands China ...]]> China Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:02:29 +0800