AFP_ENG_19970422.0382

NEW DELHI, April 22 , 1997 (AFP)

Four die as Indian police fire on mob following suicide row

Four people were killed and three others injured when Indian police fired on a rampaging mob, the United News of India reported Tuesday.

At least five policemen were also hurt in the fighting on Monday in Lingotam village, in the southeastern state of Andhra Pradesh.

Reports say the mob gathered to attack the house of a man whose wife committed suicide after a domestic quarrel.

When police went to the man's rescue, the mob turned on them.

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XIN_ENG_20061107.0228

BEIJING, Nov. 7 , 2006 (Xinhua)

official

China is negotiating free trade area (FTA) agreements with a number of countries, said Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai here on Tuesday.

Cui made the remarks in response to a questioner who asked if Chinese President Hu Jintao was planning to discuss an FTA agreement between China and India during his visit to India this month.

"China is in negotiations with some countries on the arrangements of FTA, which will meet the needs of economic and trade relations between China and related countries," said Cui.

Cui did not elaborate on which countries China is negotiating with.

He said China hopes the negotiations will make progress and reach arrangements that are beneficial to both sides as soon as possible.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu announced on Tuesday, President Hu will pay state visits to Vietnam, Laos, India and Pakistan from Nov. 15 to 26, during which Hu will also attend the 14th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting to be held in Hanoi, Vietnam from Nov. 17 to 19.

Chinese Assistant Minister of Commerce Fu Ziying has said China is considering the possibility of establishing a free trade area with India.

"Following the reopening of the trade post on the Indian-Chinese border, our government is considering FTA talks with India," Fu said last weekend at the 2007 China Industrial Development Forum in Beijing.

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XIN_ENG_20061110.0083

BEIJING, Nov. 10 , 2006 (Xinhua)

meeting

Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan left here on Friday for Vietnam to attend the first meeting under a China-Vietnam steering committee on cooperation.

The meeting will be held in Vietnam's capital city of Hanoi on Nov. 11.

Tang and Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem will co-chair the meeting.

Chinese President Hu Jintao held talks with Vietnamese Communist Party leader Nong Duc Manh in Beijing on Aug. 22. They agreed to further boost trade, properly handle border issues and enhance security cooperation.

The meeting is to carry out the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, according to Chinese Foreign Ministry.

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AFP_ENG_20061204.0314

DAMASCUS, Dec 4 , 2006, 2006

URGENT  German FM urges Syria to help stabilise Lebanon

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier called Monday for Damascus to do everything it can to prevent the destabilisation of Lebanon.

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XIN_ENG_20051119.0113

BANGKOK, Nov. 19 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Three more bird flu suspected cases reported in eastern Thailand

Three more suspected bird flu patients have been reported in Thailand's eastern Chacherngsao Province, all are children aged between three to 11 years old, reported the Thai News Agency Saturday.

The three patients, two girls aged 11 and three and one four- year-old boy, whose families raise chickens, were admitted to a hospital in the province's municipal area earlier this week.

They all showed bird flu-like symptoms after chickens in their families died suspiciously.

Provincial public health officials have reported the three new avian flu suspected cases to the Ministry of Public Health.

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XIN_ENG_20051102.0223

BEIJING, Nov. 2 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Chinese top advisor meets Japanese guests

Chinese top advisor Jia Qinglin met with a Japanese delegation here on Wednesday, encouraging Chinese and Japanese non-governmental groups to enhance communication in a bid to improve the troubled relations between the two countries.

Jia, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), made the appeal while meeting the Japan-China Friendship Association delegation headed by its chairman Ikuo Hirayama.

The friendly exchange and cooperation between China and Japan witnessed sound progress since the two countries normalized diplomatic relations 33 years ago, Jia said, noting it is worthy to be cherished and preserved by the two sides.

However, Sino-Japanese relations have encountered severe problems in recent years, he said.

"The main point is that the Japanese leaders violated their commitments to reviewing the history and continuously visited the Yasukuni Shrine, where some top Japanese World War II criminals are honored," Jia said, noting it hurts the feelings and dignity of the Chinese people.

Jia said that China attaches importance to relations with Japan and is willing to develop long-term, steady and good-neighborly cooperative ties with Japan in the spirit of "learning from history and facing the future" and on the basis of diplomatic documents signed by the two countries.

Ikuo Hirayama said that some Japanese people are also worried about the worsening Japan-China relations.

The Japan-China Friendship Association will try to overcome the difficulties and promote exchanges and cooperation between Japan and China in politics, economics and culture in a bid to improve bilateral relations, he said.

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XIN_ENG_20051125.0313

LIMA, Nov. 25 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Peru reports 70,000 cases of HIV virus

Some 70,000 Peruvians, including unregistered cases, have been affected with the virus that causes the Acquired Immunity Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), a senior official from Peru's Health Ministry said Friday.

Jose Sebastian, coordinator of the Peruvian Health Ministry's efforts to fight sexual diseases, told reporters that health services in Lima, Peru's capital, have reported 257 of full-blown AIDS, and 97 of them have died.

The number of people suffering from AIDS has risen in the departments and municipalities of Arequipa, Ica, Tacna, Moquegua, Ancash and Loreto, Sebastian said.

"Poverty and dereliction of duty which street children are experiencing ..." have aggravated the problem, said Ruben Mayorga, who is responsible for Peru at the United Nation's anti-AIDS body.

"Many street children are victims of rape and sexual exploitation," he said.

Mayorga said that of the 17,000 Peruvians who have AIDS virus, 396 are children under 14 and 430 are adolescents between 15 and 19 years old.

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AFP_ENG_20061214.0040

DOHA, Dec 14 , 2006, 2006

=(PICTURE)=

When Sebastian Soria moved to Qatar from his native Uruguay, he had no idea where the tiny desert country was in the world.

Two years on, the striker has not only made Doha his home but has taken Qatari citizenship and the national team into the Asian Games final.

"I was brought to Qatar in September, 2004 by French coach Bruno Metsu (the man who led Senegal at the 2002 World Cup finals) who was at Al Gharrafa at the time," recalled Soria.

"When I received the offer I jumped at the opportunity. But I had to look it up on the map because I didn't know where Qatar was."

Soria was granted citizenship on the eve of the Games.

He made his debut for the senior side in an Asian Cup qualifier against Uzbekistan in November and has since played a starring role, scoring four goals as Qatar reached their first ever Asian Games gold medal match.

Iraq await them in Friday's final.

Soria made an immediate impact in his first league season at Al Gharrafa scoring 14 goals as his new club won the domestic Q-League.

The following season, he moved to Qatar Sports Club, hit 19 goals and was named player of the year.

"We want to win a medal here," said Soria who has former Nigerian star Jay Jay Okacha as a teammate at Qatar Sports Club.

"Then we have the Gulf Cup in the UAE in January. But my ultimate dream is to make the World Cup finals with Qatar.

"This is a young and talented group. We have a good infrastructure, an ever-growing league and I think we can do well against the best teams in Asia like Saudi Arabia and Japan."

Soria, who hit the first goal in the 2-0 semi-final win against defending champions Iran, could become the tournament's top scorer in the final. At the moment, he is one behind Uzbekistan's Alexandr Geynrikh.

"When I play I try to help the team to win," he said.

"If I have the chance to become the top scorer then I will try and score as many goals as possible. If I score two more it will mean that Qatar will have more chances to win the gold medal."

Despite being a foreign import, Soria has not faced the kind of angry backlash which has engulfed the country's legion of Kenyan track stars winning gold in the athletics.

Unlike the runners, Soria actually spends all of his time in Doha and for that, Qatar's Bosnian coach Dzelamudin Musovic is eternally grateful.

"A player like him can do a world of good to any side," said Musovic.

"But what I like and I am happy about is to see him jell well with the other players. More than anything, I feel that's the quality I like in him.

"He can also resolve many problems up front -- he can score and can deliver those crucial passes."

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XIN_ENG_20051107.0028

BEIJING, Nov. 7 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Chinese senior legislator meets Latvian guests

Chinese senior legislator Lu Yongxiang met a Latvian delegation here on Monday headed by Erika Zommere, head of the Latvia-China Interparliamentary Cooperation Group.

They exchanged views on bilateral relations and other questions of common concern in a warm and friendly atmosphere, according to sources with the Chinese Association for International Understanding (CAIU), which invited the Latvian delegation.

Lu is vice chairman of the National People's Congress, China's top legislative body. He is also President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and vice president of the CAIU.

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XIN_ENG_20051117.0286

BRUSSELS, Nov. 17 , 2005 (Xinhua)

European Parliament backs controversial rules on chemicals

The European Parliament gave the green light on Thursday to a controversial proposal which seeks to radically review the European Union's chemicals policy and improve its chemical safety standards.

Companies will have to prove that the chemicals they use in their products are safe, under the amended bill on registration, evaluation and authorization of chemicals (REACH) passed by the parliament in Strasbourg.

A new European Chemical Agency will be set up to ensure a consistent and uniform evaluation and registration of chemical substances within the EU, according to the bill.

Firms are required to register with the chemical agency any of about 30,000 substances contained within products such as cars, computers and paint, according to the bill.

The most hazardous of these substances, which are to be decided by the new chemical agency, would have to undergo testing before being passed for use.

Companies are also required to replace hazardous chemicals with safe alternatives where possible.

The proposal still needs to be approved by the EU Council to become EU-wide law.

The law would affect firms producing or importing more than one ton of a chemical per year, and put on them a duty to prove that their products are safe.

The law also seeks to improve the labeling of products which contain potentially dangerous substances.

Thursday's vote came after years of fierce battle between health campaigners and businesses, who are concerned about the costs of such regulation, estimated at billions of euros.

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XIN_ENG_20061114.0059

GUIYANG, Nov. 14 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Power station plan at SW China scenic spot sparks controversy

Plans to build a hydropower station in a national scenic spot in southwest China have fired a debate on the precedence of economic development over natural conservation.

A foundation-laying ceremony was held last month for the Zhaojiadu Hydropower Station near the Malinghe river canyon scenic site, at Xingyi City in Bouyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture in the rather underdeveloped province of Guizhou.

The facility would produce 355 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, bringing revenues of more than 81 million yuan (10 million U.S. dollars), the prefecture government has predicted.

But some local residents and officials have expressed deep concern over the project, fearing the dam would split the famous canyon into three parts and flood the most beautiful areas.

"The canyon is a gift of nature and belongs to the world. It is not worth destroying a scenic spot for temporary profit," said Peng Dianji, a political advisor to the prefecture government.

The station would seriously damage local tourism, he warned.

The provincial government has invested 56 million yuan (seven million U.S. dollars) in tourism facilities in the 450-sq-km Malinghe River Canyon Scenic Area.

The area received 800,000 visitors so far this year and is expected to bring a total revenue of 300 million yuan (38 million U.S. dollars) for the year, said an official with the scenic area.

"In the long run, tourism will bring far more benefits than a power plant," the worker said, calling the power station plan "shortsighted".

Despite the controversy, the local government seems determined to build the station.

The hydropower station has passed assessments in geological damage, water and soil conservation and environmental effects.

"A comprehensive use plan for the Malinghe River was drawn up a long time ago," said Chen Xianglin, an official with the autonomous prefecture.

"A power station would bring direct economic benefit," he said. "Tax revenue alone would be 14 million yuan (1.7 million U.S dollars) a year."

An artificial lake would form after the power station was completed, which would also be a visitor attraction, Chen argued.

"Protection is important for a state-level scenic site, but the law does not preclude the comprehensive use of water resources," said Zhang Dingshu, deputy head of the prefecture.

Zhang admitted the project was yet to be officially approved by the Ministry of Construction, but preparatory work was underway.

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