Hourly News updated 17:00 2011/10/22

 One Chinese tourist killed, over 20 injured in Thai bus accident 

One Chinese tourist has been killed and more than 20 others injured in a bus accident in Phuket in southern Thailand.
A diplomat 1 with the Chinese consulate 2 in Phuket told Xinhua that the bus carrying 26 Chinese tourists from Chongqing in southwest China lost control and veered 3 off the road on Saturday morning.
The injured people were sent to hospital, two of them were seriously injured.
 
NATO chief sets preliminary end of Libya mission on Oct. 31 
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says the military alliance's Libya mission is very close to completion, and that it has taken a preliminary decision to end it on October 31.
He's told reporters that Nato will take a formal decision next week. 
Rasmussen said NATO would continue to monitor the situation in Libya and retain capability 4 to respond to threats against Libyan civilians 5 if needed, during the phasing out period of its mission.
 
Obama announces U.S. to pull out all troops from Iraq by end of year
U.S. President Barack Obama has announced all U.S. troops stationed in Iraq will pull out of that country by the end of this year, and the Iraq War will be over. 
Obama made the statement after speaking with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki via video conference, and he reaffirmed U. S. commitment of drawdown to the Iraqi leader. He said both leaders agreed to the decision.
 
UN demands all Yemeni sides "immediately reject use of violence"
The UN Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution to voice "grave concern at the situation in Yemen", demanding "all sides immediately reject the use of violence to achieve political goals." 
The resolution says the Security Council "expresses profound regret at the hundreds of deaths, mainly of civilians, including women and children," 
The Council calls upon all concerned parties to ensure the protection of women and children to improve women's participation 6 in conflict resolution and encourages all parties to facilitate the equal and full participation of women at decision-making levels.
 
China urges EU to recognize full-market economy status 
China has urged the European Union (EU) to recognize its full-market economy status at an early date and properly settle trade disputes amid the tumbling world economy.
Vice 7 premer Wang Qishan told visiting Crown Prince Philippe of Belgium in Bejing that China hopes Belgium will exert its influence to push for an early recognizing of China's full-market economy status and remind the EU to be cautious on and restrain from using trade remedy measures.
He urged the 27-member bloc 8, also China's largest trade partner, to properly settle trade disputes with China during the talks in Beijing.
 
Work underway on China-ASEAN yuan trade settlement agreement: central bank official 
An official with China's central bank says China is working on an agreement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to settle trade in yuan.
The framework agreement between China and ASEAN, which is likely to be signed late this year or early next year, will pave the way for banks in China and ASEAN countries to start exchanging yuan for ASEAN currencies.
Analysts 9 say a China-ASEAN agreement on settling trade in yuan would benefit the region, largely due to the stability of the yuan, or Renminbi.
 
Chinese vice premier 10 urges improved welfare for elderly 
Vice Premier Hui Liangyu has called on different levels of government to focus on increasing the material and cultural needs of the country's huge elderly population.
He's told a national conference on aging that government policies should be adjusted and improved to cope with various problems of the aging population such as regional imbalance and high proportion of elderly people in rural areas.
He said the country will expand the pension program to cover more senior citizens and improve welfare services for elderly people who cannot take care of themselves.
 
China reports improved safety at coal mines in first nine months 
Chief of China's top coal mine safety watchdog says the nation has seen improved coal mine safety in the first nine months as casualties had dropped.
The State Administration of Coal Mine Safety says the number of workers who were killed during work at coal mines in the first nine months stood at 1,419 -- down over 27 percent year-on-year. 
Meanwhile, the number of deadly accidents also dropped.
It says the country has not had a severely 11 major accident causing heavy casualties for more than one year.
 
China to increase natural gas supply this winter 
China's top energy official says the country will increase natural gas supply by 20 percent this winter to meet rising demand.
Liu Tienan, head of the National Energy Administration, said that natural gas supply would meet demand this winter even though demand was expected to rise.
 
Horticultural expo to close in home city of terracotta army 
178-day Xi'an International Horticultural Exposition in northwest China's Shaanxi Province concludes tonight night with a televised closing ceremony.
Since its opening on April 28, the expo has received more than 15 million visitors, far exceeding the organizer's expectation of 12 million. 
The expo features flowers, plants and a wide variety of gardening styles from 32 countries and three international organizations.