Chinese Vice Premier Urges to Protect the Rights of Disabled
Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu has called for effective measures to protect the legal rights of the disabled.
Speaking to a group of disabled people and legal workers in the city of Kunming on Saturday, Hui Liangyu, said this group needed special help from society. He urged authorities and governments at all levels to make efforts to improve the lives, employment and medical situation of the disabled.
May 20th marks China's National Day of Disabled Persons. There are estimated to be 82 million disabled people in China, accounting for 6 percent of the total population.
China to Raise Benchmark Interest Rates, Bank Reserve Requirement
The People's Bank of China announced on Friday that it is to raise one-year deposit and loan interest rates by 0.27 and 0.18 percentage points respectively, to 3.06 percent and 6.57 percent.
The central bank will also raise the reserve requirement ratio for commercial banks by 0.5 percentage point to 11.5 percent as of June 5. This is the first time in 10 years that the central bank has simultaneously raised the benchmark interest rates and the bank reserve ratio. It said the rise aims to "strengthen liquidity management in the banking system, rationalize the growth of lending and investment and maintain price stability".
Sino-US Strategic Economic Dialogue Key to Both
The top US negotiator to the 2nd China-US Strategic Economic Dialogue, Alan Holmer, has said that bilateral relations are equally important to both countries.
Speaking on Friday, Holmer said that the question of how to deal successfully with the issue of economic ties between the two is likely to play an important part in the development of the world economy.
The two day meeting starts on Tuesday in Washington. Senior US officials, including Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez and the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board Ben Bernanke, will attend.
Bird Flu Outbreaks in Central China Village
China's Ministry of Agriculture confirmed Saturday that an outbreak of H5N1 bird flu at a village in Hunan Province has killed more than 11,000 head of poultry.
The Ministry of Agriculture and the Hunan provincial government immediately implemented an emergency plan to deal with the outbreak, culling a further 50,000 birds to prevent any spread of the disease.
Agriculture officials say that the outbreak has now been brought under control.
Britain's Blair Discusses Challenges with Iraqi Leaders in Baghdad
British Prime Minister Tony Blair met Iraqi Prime Minister counterpart Nuri al-Maliki and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani on Saturday, in an unannounced visit to Iraq.
Blair said they discussed both the progress and the challenges in Iraq, and that it was clear the security situation remained very difficult. Blair told the Iraqi leaders that he would continue support them after he left office in June, but he urged them to speed up national reconciliation efforts.
Gunmen Kill 15 People Northeast of Baghdad
Gunmen wearing military uniforms stormed an Iraqi village near the Iranian border and killed 15 people on Saturday. Residents of the village said that the gunmen claimed they were on a legitimate mission and searched the houses for weapons and wanted insurgents. But they then ordered people to leave their houses and separated men from the women and childrenbefore shooting them.
A local official said most of those killed people were from families of Iranian origin. He blamed the attack on militants from al-Qaida in Iraq who have a strong presence in Diyala province.
Iranian FM Urges U.S. to Withdraw Troops from Iraq
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has urged the United States to withdraw its troops from Iraq.
Mottaki was speaking during the World Economic Forum on the Middle East, which opened on Friday in Egypt. He said instability and the occupation are the two fundamental problems facing Iraq and called for a comprehensive solution to be adopted to address these two issues. Mottaki also said that if United States admitted to "the failure of its policies in Iraq." and had a serious will to correct the current situation, then the talks could progress and create hope.
AU and Sudanese Rebel Force Reach Darfur Agreement
The African Union and the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) have reached an agreement to ease tensions in the Darfur region.
The AU, the Sudan Liberation Movement and local trib esmen from the village of Um Barro in northern Darfur signed the deal, which prioritizes the welfare and security of local inhabitants. At the same time, the three parties established an independent investigation committee to look into a clash on April 1 when armed men attacked AU troops on guard in the village, killing five of them.
The AU will resume daily peacekeeping patrols of Um Barro starting tomorrow.
Debate Rises on World Bank Chief Succession: Report
The departure of Paul Wolfowitz as World Bank president is prompting calls around the world to revoke the traditional right of the United States to select the institution's leader,
The Washington Post reports that as the White House asserts its claims on picking Wolfowitz's successor, aid groups and former bank officials are demanding that the next president be selected on professional merit. For sxty years an unwritten rule has decreed that the U.S. president picks the World Bank chief, and Europe selects the head of its affiliate institution, the International Monetary Fund.
China-made Cars Dominate Market in 1stQ About 450 thousand Chinese made cars have been sold in the first quarter of 2007, accounting for 30 percent of the total domestic market - the highest of any single country's brands.
Meanwhile industry experts say that the Chinese auto industry has the capacity for further price-cuts, with the continuation of reductions in management cost and the realisation of economies of scale. With personal incomes rising its expected that sales of cars will continue to rise in the coming years.
China Has 480 Mln Cell Phone Users
China currently has a total of 480 million cell phone users, according to the Ministry of the Information Industry.
An official said that reprsents 35 per cent of the population, five per cent more than the same period of last year.
And he said there are now 100 million more mobile phone users than registered fixed line telephones. China has almost 80 mobile phone manufacturers with a combined annual outpu of 500 million units.
2007 National Science Week Opens
China's 2007 National Science Week kicked off on Saturday morning, with the opening of scientific exhibition at the National Olympic Sports Center in Beijing. One eye-catching exhibit consisted of bricks that can apparently “drink” water. The rigid bricks, which come in various different colors, are made of windborne sand from the desert and a special additive enables them to rapidly absorb large amounts of water.
The theme of the National Science Week for 2007 is "building a country of scientific innovations".
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