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/ 18 December 2006
North Korea said on Monday it wanted all sanctions lifted before it would discuss implementing a nuclear disarmament deal. North Korea made the demand at the opening day of six-party talks in Beijing aimed at dismantling North Korea’s nuclear weapons, according to a source close to the talks.
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/ 14 December 2006
The long arms of the world’s tallest man saved two dolphins in north-east China by reaching inside them to remove plastic they had swallowed, state media reported on Thursday. The dolphins at an aquarium in Fushun, Liaoning province, had fallen sick after swallowing the plastic from the edge of their pool.
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/ 5 December 2006
A Chinese province has banned its tourists from wearing counterfeit clothes overseas to avoid flagrant abuse of intellectual property rights and to protect its image, local media said on Tuesday. The government in the north-eastern province of Jilin had also banned carrying or sending pirated goods, including CDs and DVDs, overseas.
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/ 4 December 2006
A Chinese coal mine has made the news for a reason other than the grim series of accidents nationwide — it is claiming a world record for the the highest number of simultaneous weddings held underground. The Datong Coal Group in Shanxi province held weddings for 10 miners on Saturday 300m down the pitshaft, the People’s Daily said on Monday.
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/ 29 November 2006
Beijing Olympics organisers are selling over half the tickets for the 2008 Games at less than each to allow as many people as possible a chance to attend the event. Tickets to competition events would be priced from 30 to 1 000 yuan (,85 to ), with preliminary sessions starting from 30 yuan and finals tickets costing 60 yuan.
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/ 29 November 2006
North Korea wants sanctions dropped and the United States to free its overseas bank accounts as preconditions for dismantling its nuclear programme, Yonhap news agency said on Wednesday, terms likely to become a sticking point in negotiations.
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/ 29 November 2006
A Chinese court jailed two managers of a state-owned coal mine on Wednesday for negligence two years after a gas explosion killed 166 miners, Xinhua news agency said. The blast, one of the worst in China in decades, hit the Chenjiashan coal mine in Tongchuan in the north-western province of Shaanxi just days after the pit had caught fire.
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/ 28 November 2006
Researchers have found that artemisinin, the main drug used in fighting malaria, is well absorbed rectally, giving a promising treatment to people suffering severe forms of the disease. Malaria can cause vomiting, which makes oral administration of the drug difficult.
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/ 28 November 2006
China’s top safety official shouted and pounded his desk in anger at mine owners and local officials for ”utter disregard for workers’ lives” after a string of deadly mining accidents, state media reported on Tuesday. Li Yizhong, director of the State Administration of Work Safety, became incensed during a teleconference with officials on Monday, the China Daily said.
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/ 20 November 2006
Beijing is planning to build the world’s biggest subway and dramatically expand its bus network as part of efforts to combat the city’s fast-increasing traffic grid-lock, state press said on Monday. The Chinese capital will expand its subway system to 273km by 2010 and to 561km by 2020.
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/ 19 November 2006
World number one Roger Federer underlined his absolute dominance of men’s tennis when he routed American James Blake 6-0 6-3 6-4 on Sunday to win the Masters Cup for the third time in four years. The Swiss was beaten by David Nalbandian in last year’s final but there was no upset this time.
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/ 17 November 2006
Multinational corporations should help redress imbalances in the world economy by putting a higher priority on investing in developing countries, Chinese President Hu Jintao said on Friday. Hu said China will accelerate reforms of its economy to counter its growing and politically contentious trade imbalances.
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/ 16 November 2006
Online enyclopedia Wikipedia was accessible again in China on Thursday after being blocked for more than a year, a move hailed by free media advocacy group Reporters Sans Frontières. China routinely blocks access to websites it deems subversive and filters internet pages for sensitive words.
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/ 15 November 2006
A chubby faced Shanghai gas station intern known as "Little Fatty" has vaulted to the top of internet fame in China thanks to cheeky PhotoShop artists who are turning the plump youth into a pop icon. It all started three years ago when Qian Zhijun, then a 16-year-old high school student, was attending a traffic safety class and someone snapped a picture of his rotund, rosy cheeked face.
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/ 14 November 2006
Shanghai, China’s wealthiest and most dazzling city, plans to add to its reputation this weekend with a millionaire party aimed at hooking up rich men with beautiful women, state press said on Tuesday. Men wishing to participate must have assets worth at least two million yuan ($250 000).
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/ 13 November 2006
Rafael Nadal’s Masters Cup hopes took a blow on Monday when he was handed a shock straight-sets defeat by American eighth seed James Blake. The world number two was broken twice in the first set and lost a second-set tie-break to love as Blake won 6-4, 7-6 (7/0).
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/ 12 November 2006
Accidents at two Chinese coal mines have killed at least seven workers as the death toll from a gas explosion at a third mine a week ago rose to 23. In the latest disaster to hit the coal-dependent nation, two miners were killed on Friday after the wagon in which they were travelling broke free from a steel cord.
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/ 12 November 2006
A relatively unknown South Korean golfer ended Tiger Woods’ streak in stroke events, winning the HSBC Champions tournament on Sunday. Yang Yong-eun, a regular on the Japanese tour who has played infrequently outside Asia, closed with a three-under 69 on Sunday at the Sheshan International Golf Club for a two-stroke win at 14-under 274.
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/ 11 November 2006
One of China’s wealthiest tycoons has bought an -million stake in Anglo American, a landmark deal in China’s pursuit of African resources, the Financial Times said on Saturday. Citic Pacific chairperson Larry Yung, China’s third richest man, also known as Rong Zhijian, bought 17-million shares from the Oppenheimer dynasty.
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/ 9 November 2006
About half of the people in developing countries in Asia who kill themselves do it using pesticides, prompting the World Health Organisation to urge governments to ban or regulate their use. The WHO cited studies showing nearly everyone who committed suicide acted on impulse and their deaths could have been prevented if lethal chemicals had not been available.
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/ 9 November 2006
A group of wildlife experts weighed into the acrimonious battle over shark fishing on Thursday, saying very few species were threatened with extinction as some activists charge. They said that there was no targeted killing of sharks just for their fins — a Chinese delicacy — as most sharks are caught mainly for their meat.
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/ 8 November 2006
Tennis great Roger Federer said he hoped to find time for a beer with Tiger Woods while both are in Shanghai this weekend. Federer is playing in the season-ending Masters Cup while Woods is here for Asia’s richest golf event, the five-million-dollar HSBC Champions tournament.
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/ 6 November 2006
China’s foreign exchange reserves officially hit a record-shattering -trillion on Monday, and they could top -trillion sooner rather than later, economists said. Even if Chinese officials have vowed to slow the growth in this huge stash of cash, they are up against vast and inexorable economic forces and, just as important, a national policy of keeping the currency stable.
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/ 6 November 2006
Chinese sociologists said that the country should promote bolder attitudes towards sex, but that wife-swapping was off the agenda, state media reported on Monday. Chinese attitudes towards sex have relaxed in recent decades, triggering a boom in extramarital relationships.
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/ 6 November 2006
Chinese President Hu Jintao was to meet on Monday with Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe amid accusations that Beijing’s ties help to shore up a pariah regime other governments avoid. China has faced criticism for not toeing the world diplomatic line in isolating Mugabe’s regime, which is accused by opponents and rights groups of using torture and arbitrary arrest to quell dissent.
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/ 5 November 2006
China on Sunday signed trade deals with 10 African nations worth ,9-billion, with the biggest contract involving aluminium production in Egypt, a Chinese official said as the China-Africa summit ended in Beijing. The contracts and agreements cover cooperation in natural resources, infrastructure, finance, technology and communications.
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/ 5 November 2006
As Beijing hosted 48 African leaders for a summit this weekend aimed at deepening trade and political ties, both the best and worst of its engagement were on display: investment that is fuelling the highest growth in decades in parts of Africa, but also its friendship with countries such as Zimbabwe and Sudan.
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/ 4 November 2006
China celebrated its friendly relations with Africa on Saturday by pledging to double aid to the continent over the next three years in a summit aimed at deepening political and trade ties with nearly 50 African nations. Chinese President Hu Jintao touted ”the common pursuit of friendship, peace, cooperation and development” with Africa”.
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/ 3 November 2006
China will announce a package of measures covering aid, investment, trade and social development for Africa, state media reported on Friday, as Beijing opened a ministerial summit hosting about 48 leaders from the continent. ”We take great pride in China’s strong and warm friendship with Africa,” Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi said at the opening of the conference.
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/ 1 November 2006
Accused of supporting corrupt African regimes to facilitate its imports of oil and raw materials from the resource-rich continent, China is staging a grand diplomatic forum to defend its dealings with Africa. Leaders and officials from 48 African countries will attend the two-day Beijing summit this week.
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/ 31 October 2006
North Korea has agreed to return to talks on its nuclear programme and they could start within one month, the United States announced on Tuesday, just weeks after the regime stunned the world with an atomic test. Christopher Hill, Washington’s chief negotiator on North Korea, announced the sudden breakthrough after secret talks Tuesday in Beijing.
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/ 31 October 2006
China has not only rolled out the red carpet, it has also redecorated its capital in red as it prepares to host more than 40 African heads of state for a summit billed as a warm-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. About 1Â 700 delegates and hundreds of journalists are expected for the November 1 to 6 China-Africa forum.