China has given final approval for the much-anticipated high-speed rail link between Beijing and Shanghai, welcoming foreign investment in the hugely expensive project. The National Development and Reform Commission said on its Web site that the State Council has given the green light to a high-speed maglev line between the eastern cities of Shanghai and Hangzhou.
Former Serb leader Slobodan Milosevic was found dead in his prison cell Saturday, abruptly ending his four-year U.N. war crimes trial for orchestrating a decade of conflict that ended with 250,000 dead and the Yugoslav federation torn asunder. He was 64.
The UN Staff Union overwhelmingly approved a resolution Thursday expressing no confidence in Secretary-General Kofi Annan and his top management team over a new proposal to radically overhaul UN operations.
The racial drama "Crash" pulled off a stunning upset at Sunday's 78th annual Academy Awards by swooping in to steal the best picture Oscar from the firm favourite "Brokeback Mountain."
Student loan defaulters are facing blacklist and credit loss. Debtors who fail to repay their interest-free college loans are in big blacklist trouble. Their names will be publicized in various media and on Websites, the Ministry of Education said yesterday.
The pencils, for the first time in the history of the CPPCC as well as the National People's Congress (NPC), were made of scrap-newspaper pulp rather than wood. They are but one of the environmentally-friendly moves by the NPC and the CPPCC to set an example in building a "saving society," where energy conservation, waste reduction and respect for nature are integral to the concept.
The proposed amendment to the Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Women has recently been the subject of intensive media attention. The amendment states unequivocally that it is illegal to subject women to sexual harassment, and also urges enterprises and government institutions to take steps to prevent the occurrence of sexual harassment.
Three Thai opposition parties met separately on Sunday to debate whether to boycott a snap general election as Buddhist monks and nuns led members of the "Dharma Army" to a rally against Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
However, the officials refused to specify the exact whereabouts of Mladic's hideout, but the private Beta news agency said the former commander was found on Cer Mountain, some 60 miles west of Belgrade on the border with Bosnia.
Heavy fines. Jail terms. They're what spammers could face if a legislative proposal becomes law. As junk e-mail and unsolicited text messages bombard users in the country, the Chinese Government is increasing efforts to crack down on spam.
US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, China the first gold medal in Turin, barraged with lawmakers' questions on Thursday over rising foreign ownership of U.S. assets, played down fears that China held enough dollars to endanger the U.S. economy.
Overwhelming favorite Wang Meng won China the first gold medal in Turin, holding off Bulgaria's Evgenia Radanova by the length of a skate in the women's 500-meter short track final Wednesday night.
Examples of intangible cultural heritage such as craftsmanship, festival rituals and languages，are to be showcased together for the first time at the National Museum to celebrate efforts to protect the country's cultural legacy.
"The Party and the nation as a whole must take a down-to-earth approach in the building of a new socialist countryside that will truly benefit farmers," said Hu, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China.
The discipline watchdog of the Communist Party of China (CPC) pledged heavier crackdown on corruption and other acts violating the CPC's disciplines, according to its work report released Monday.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who has beencomatose since suffering a massive stroke more than five weeks ago, was in critical but stable condition Sunday following emergency abdominal surgery, the hospital treating him said.
Beijing slammed Wednesday Taiwan "president" Chen Shui-bian as a "troublemaker" and "peace saboteur" while condemning his plan to scrap the island's guidelines on unification with the mainland.
The poll by the Beijing-based polling agency Horizon Group indicated that 67 per cent of people questioned believed some departments remained overstaffed despite previous cutbacks.
Rumours of an impending agreement reached fever pitch on Tuesday after Robert Iger, Disney's president and CEO, was quoted on Hong Kong Cable TV as saying talks with the Chinese Government were "ongoing."
For about 120 dollars, visitors to China's Great Wall can now leave their mark on a fake wall built recently in the name of preventing graffiti on the genuine structure.
South Korean Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) on Monday said disgraced stem cell researcher Hwang Woo-suk mismanaged a huge amount of state funds and public donations for his research in the past years.
After an infamous tiff between Elton John and Madonna over lip-synching, Britain's Musicians' Union has called on performers to come clean -- audiences should be told if they are miming rather than singing.
The government will continue to regulate land supply for real estate development this year but promised to transfer more to construct economical housing for low-income families, said a cabinet official.
Police Commissioner for the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti, Graham Muir, says Chinese peacekeeping riot police will be assigned the task of guarding Haiti's national ballot counting center when the country's presidential, parliamentary and local elections begin Tuesday.
Later in August of 2005, US President George W. Bush became a podcaster of sorts, when the White House website added an RSS 2.0 feed to the previously downloadable files of the president's weekly radio addresses.
China and Italy signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on intellectual property" in 2004, aiming to boost a better understanding of Italy and its people.
The Spring Festival travel peak started last Saturday. During the 40-day peak season, from Jan. 14 to Feb. 22, a record over 2 billion migrant workers, students and tourists will travel to and fro to hometowns and holiday destinations.
The Spring Festival travel peak started last Saturday. During the 40-day peak season, from Jan. 14 to Feb. 22, a record over 2 billion migrant workers, students and tourists will travel to and fro to hometowns and holiday destinations.
Taiwan's China Airlines charter flight 585 touched down at Shanghai's Pudong Airport at 10:34 am on Friday, signalling the first charter flight across the Taiwan Straits for this year's Spring Festival.
As Abramoff pleaded guilty to a second set of felony charges in as many days, this time in Florida, officials said Bush's 2004 re-election campaign intended to give up $6,000 in donations from the lobbyist, his wife and a client.
Jewel in the Palace, starred by Lee Young-ae, aired on Hong Kong's TVB from January 24th to May 1st, hitting an all-time high in viewership rates (average rate of 47 percent and a high of 50 percent) in the history of Hong Kong TV broadcasting.
Patients will benefit from reduced medical bills after the government banned hospitals from making profits on check-ups using CT scanners, X-ray ray machines and other equipment.
Tian Fengshan, former minister of land and resources, was sentenced to life imprisonment yesterday for accepting bribes worth 4.36 million yuan (US$538,000).
In Sri Lanka, President Mahinda Rajapakse will hold a memorial at a site near Galle where more than 1,000 passengers are thought to have died when the waves engulfed their train. Later, women survivors will form a candle-light chain along the coast.
Rock star Elton John is tying the knot with longtime partner David Furnish Wednesday, in a civil union ceremony seen as a watershed in the struggle for gay rights - and as the party of the season by celebrity-spotters.
Hong Kong opposition legislators Wednesday voted down the government's constitutional reform package on the electoral methods for the 2007 chief executive and the 2008 Legislative Council (LegCo) elections.
The popular Badaling section of China's Great Wall, which has suffered more at the hands of modern visitors than the barbarian invaders it was meant to keep out, may soon get a face lift .
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Monday vowed to boost its defence capability --including a nuclear deterrent -- to cope with Washington's criticism of its human rights record.
"The series' addictive blend of black comedy and gripping drama is sure to thrill audiences on the Chinese mainland the same way it does in 202 other areas around the world," said Laurie Younger, president of Buena Vista Worldwide Television, the show's distributor.
The US National Security Agency(NSA) first began to conduct warrantless eavesdropping on telephone calls and e-mail messages between the United States and Afghanistan in the immediate aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, The New York Times reported Sunday.
Voting also appeared heavy among Iraqis in mainly Shiite Iran, a close ally of the Shiite parties that control the current government in Baghdad. Hundreds lined up at a polling station in southern Tehran to cast ballots.
In the wake of a series of recent fatal colliery accidents, China's work safety authorities vowed yesterday to adopt a package of "iron-handed" measures to improve the problematic workplace safety situation.
The maestro decided to make his farewell tour performance at the beginning of this year. At each station of his tour, Pavarotti will perform 34 repertoire marking the peak of his 44-year singing career.
Gay couples began registering for civil partnerships at town halls across Britain on Monday as a law took effect giving them many of the same legal rights as married heterosexuals.
Saddam sat stone-faced as the woman, identified only as "Witness A," told the court from behind a light blue curtain that she was taken into custody after the 1982 assassination attempt against the former Iraqi president in the town of Dujail.
Under a reported deal worked out with the prime minister, Peres will support Kadima, the centrist party Sharon formed last week after leaving the hard-line Likud, but he will not officially join the party and he will not run for a seat in parliament, where he has served since 1959.
A combative Saddam Hussein lashed out Monday at his treatment by American "occupiers and invaders" and lectured the chief judge about leadership as his trial resumed in a rambling and unfocused session.
As China reported its third case of human bird flu yesterday, the only company in the nation approved to test a vaccine for humans said that clinical trials on volunteers would start in days.
Lawmakers voted 397 to 202 with 12 abstentions to make Merkel Germany's eighth leader since World War II, succeeding Gerhard Schroeder, whose seven-year government of Social Democrats and Greens was ousted by voters Sept. 18.
An Iraqi woman confessed on Jordanian state television Sunday that she tried to blow herself up along with her husband during a hotel wedding reception last week, saying that the explosives concealed under her denim dress failed to detonate.
After years of fierce lobbying and months of secrecy, Beijing unveiled five mascots for the 2008 Olympics on Friday, opening a marketing blitz that is expected to reap record profits.
The UN health agency and Chinese officials were discussing what role the WHO should play, said Roy Wadia, a spokesman in Beijing for the agency. He said it could offer help in field work, lab testing and other areas.
The 10 consecutive nights of riots have shaken the government to its core and opened a new front in the increasingly violent rupture between Muslims and non-Muslims in Western Europe.
At least 102 people died and 92 others were injured when a passenger train derailed in southern India Saturday as it attempted to cross tracks washed away by a flood, police said.
Cries of "ghost" spooked 12 students to their death in a primary school stampede on Tuesday. The tragedy occurred in Tongjiang County in Southwest China's Sichuan Province, about 600 kilometres from the capital Chengdu.
The epidemic has been stamped out, and no new outbreak spots have been found," the ministry said in a statement. "Anhui implemented a chain of emergency control measures."
Warsaw's conservative Mayor Lech Kaczynski won Poland's presidential runoff vote Sunday, sealing the rise of a party headed by his twin brother that pledges to uphold Roman Catholic values and strong welfare state protections.
Saddam's lawyer said Tuesday he would ask for a three-month adjournment at his client's trial for a 1982 massacre, and challenge the court's competence to hear the case. The trial was to begin on Wednesday.
His literary body of work amounts to 13 million Chinese characters. He was best known for his trilogy "Jiliu" (torrent), which was written between 1931 and 1940, and included three semi-autobiographical novels.
The return module of Shenzhou VI and astronauts Fei Junlong, Nie Haisheng touched down in the main landing field in Central Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at 4:33 A.M. Monday after a five-day flight.
The Shenzhou VI manned spacecraft blasted off with a loud launch noise for a multi-day orbital stay from its satellite launch center in Jiuquan in northwest China.
The six astronauts shortlisted for the two-member mission have arrived at the launch pad in Inner Mongolia, the China News Service said, citing engineers at the launch center.
For hours, aftershocks rattled an area stretching from Afghanistan across northern Pakistan into India's portion of the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.
The president's job approval is mired at the lowest level of his presidency - 39 percent. While four of five Republicans say they approve of Bush's job performance - enthusiasm in that support has dipped over the last year.
Two al-Qaida-linked fugitives suspected of masterminding the 2002 nightclub bombings on the same Indonesian island may have been involved, a top anti-terrorism official said.
The legislative hearing is on the adjustment of personal income tax deduction criterion and is held by the Law Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), the Commission of Legislative Affairs of the NPC Standing Committee and the NPC Financial and Economic Committee.
Thousands of Mexicans live and work in Texas, but still have family - or even second homes - in Mexico. With Rita bearing down on the Gulf coast, many felt it was time to go home, at least for a week or so.
The rich population consists of private business owners that got rich due to their talent and diligence as well as people who gained wealth through collusion with officials in power-for-money deals or because they happen to work in monopoly companies or because they stole state assets.
Both German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Angela Merkel claimed victory in the election though exit polls show neither Merkel's alliance nor Schroeder's coalition won a majority to form a new government.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas vowed to hunt down the killers of a powerful former security chief whose gangland-style slaying Wednesday laid bare Gaza's raging power struggles just days before Israel hands over control of the coastal territory.
Seconds after takeoff, an Indonesian airliner shook violently, veered to the left and slammed into a bustling neighborhood Monday, bursting into flames and killing at least 147 people - many on the ground.
While their appearance together in an edited tape appeared to show some level of coordination, it would have been more significant had they appeared together in one portion - indicating that al-Zawahri was a hands-on commander who met directly with attackers.
Several U.S. weather and news Web sites were deluged by heavy traffic as hordes of people went online seeking emergency information and news on Hurricane Katrina, which battered the U.S. Gulf Coast.
The death toll from an encephalitis outbreak in northern India passed 250 over the weekend, and the mosquito-borne disease showed little sign of abating, a government official said Monday.
China's legislature Sunday passed amendments to the law on women's rights protection, which "prohibits sexual harassment of women" and empowers women to "lodge complaints" to relevant organizations.
The speaker of Iraq's parliament announced a one-day extension early Friday in talks on the new constitution - a fourth attempt to win Sunni Arab approval.
China's top legislature on Tuesday started to deliberate on the draft amendment to the personal income tax law, a major move that experts see is meant to narrow the widening gap between the country's rich and poor.
Facing trial and possible execution for the massacre of his fellow Muslims, ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein sought in a letter published Sunday to cast himself as a martyr, writing that his "soul and existence is to be sacrificed" for the Arab cause.
Russia and China launched their first-ever joint military exercises Thursday on a Chinese peninsula jutting into the Yellow Sea - an-eight day event that symbolizes the two countries' bolstered ties.
Afghan villagers said Thursday that Sri Lankans cremated their assassinated foreign minister Monday as the government urged the international community to clamp down on overseas supporters of Tamil rebels amid fears the killing could scuttle a three-year-old cease-fire.
Afghan villagers said Thursday that U.S. warplanes had bombed houses, killing several civilians and wounding others, including an infant. U.S. forces suffered their sixth fatality in a week amid rising violence.
