Hourly News updated 08:00 2011/10/01

 China to give top priority to improving people's livelihood 1: Premier 2 Wen 

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has pledged to make every effort to improve people's livelihood and uphold social equality and justice.
Addressing a reception marking the 62nd anniversary of the founding of new China in Beijing, Wen Jiabao said the government will continue to give top priority to improving people's livelihood in all its endeavors and address pressing issues directly affecting people's interests.
The premier vowed 3 to address unfair income distribution and the income gap to ensure prosperity for all. He also pledged to protect people's democratic rights, uphold judicial 4 justice, resolutely 5 fight corruption 6 and properly address societal problems.
 
Premier meets foreign experts awarded for excellence 7 by Chinese government 
Premier Wen Jiabao had a meeting in Beijing with 50 foreigners from 21 nations who received the annual government "Friendship Award" for their excellent work performances in China.
The premier thanked these award-winning foreign experts in the presence of their families and praised them for their outstanding contributions to China's reform, opening-up and modernization 8 drive. 
The premier urged government departments in charge of foreign experts' affairs to create sound conditions for excellent foreign talents to display their wisdom and abilities in China.
 
Nesat batters 9 S China, causes severe damage
Tropical Storm Nesat continued to wreak 10 havoc 11 in south China and battered 12 Guangxi Province after making landfall on Hainan Province earlier this week.
Nesat was the strongest typhoon to hit Hainan province since 2005. It forced the evacuations of more than 450,000 people and toppled over 1,300 houses.
Nesat dwindled 13 to a tropical storm and moved in to Guangxi Province, where 20,000 people were evacuated 14 and more than 500 houses collapsed 15.
The storm also caused rivers in Hainan coastal 16 Zhejiang province to reach flood alert levels.
 
Chinese gov't spokesperson calls for boycott 17 on online falsehoods 
A government spokesperson has called for a boycott on online falsehoods and Internet-based rumors 18, which he referred to as "malignant 19 tumors" that are detrimental 20 to social stability.
The spokesperson from the State Internet Information Office under the State Council, or China's Cabinet, called for China's 500 million Internet users to "abide 21 by the law, show self-discipline and refrain from spreading rumors." 
The spokesperson urged Internet enterprises and websites to "strengthen the management of information publication" and invited the public to give tip-offs on online rumors.
 
Yemen says al Qaeda cleric Awlaki killed
Yemen's Defense 22 Ministry 23 said Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S.-born cleric linked to al Qaeda's Yemen-based wing, has been killed.
A Yemeni security official said Awlaki, who is of Yemeni descent, was hit in an air raid and said those killed with him were suspected al Qaeda members.
Awlaki had been implicated 24 in a botched attempt by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to bomb a U.S.-bound plane in 2009. 
U.S. President Barack Obama says the killing 25 of Awlaki is a major blow to al-Qaeda's most active operational affiliate 26, al- Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
 
China halts raw oyster 27 imports from U.S. after illness reports 
China says it has halted the import of raw oysters 28 from the U.S. State of Washington after reports of an illness outbreak.
The General Administration of Quality Supervision 29, Inspection 30 and Quarantine (AQSIQ) has also recalled raw oysters already imported from the state by Chinese companies. 
The administration advised consumers to cook seafood 31 thoroughly 32 before eating. 
In response to a listeria outbreak involving tainted 33 cantaloupes in the U.S., the administration says China has not imported U.S. cantaloupes.
It says China has demanded all airlines operating flights between China and the U.S. stop serving raw or cold foods, like cantaloupes, on planes flying from the U.S. to China.
 
China bans production, sale of clenbuterol to improve food safety
China has banned the production, sale and use of clenbuterol tablets, a medicine used to treat bronchial asthma 34 that has also been illegally used by farmers to make their pigs leaner.
Food safety and public security authorities have stepped up their efforts to crack down on the illegal use of clenbuterol this year, following a string of cases in which farmers were found to be illegally using the drug as a fat-burning additive 35 in pig feed. 
Existing clenbuterol tablets will be destroyed under the supervision of local food and drug authorities.
 
Shanghai police crack down on fake iPhones
Authorities say police in Shanghai are fighting to keep counterfeit 36 iPhones off the streets just days before the upcoming release of the iPhone 5.
Five suspects were apprehended 37 for using recycled accessories to manufacture fake iPhones earlier this week. The suspects sorted through e-waste transported from south China's Guangdong Province, scavenged genuine components 38 from discarded iPhones and combined them with the fake components before selling them. 
Over 200 fake iPhones and 5,000 accessories at a value of over $780,000 U.S. dollars were confiscated 39 from a rented apartment in downtown Shanghai during a July busts 40.