News & Reports 2010-08-01

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In This Edition

China and Cuba sign economic, technical and business cooperation agreements.

Recovery workers have found the "black box" flight data recorder in the wreckage 1 of Pakistan's worst-ever plane crash.

Forest fires sweep across central Russia, killing 2 at least 25 people and forcing the evacuation of thousands amid the hottest summer since records began 130 years ago.

Jilin becomes the latest province to be stricken by fatal floods across China, which has left nearly 1,000 dead.

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China, Cuba Sign Cooperation Deal

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi has met his Cuban counterpart Bruno Rodriguez in Havana to sign economic, technical and business cooperation agreements.

After the signing of the agreement Yang Jiechi said that his visit was aimed at strengthening bilateral 3 economic cooperation and trade.

Yang Jiechi said he talked with Rodriguez for almost an hour, discussing regional and international issues of great importance in order to better defend together the common interests of developing countries.

"We have held ample and deep conversations with the Foreign minister and we both agreed to reinforce and intensify 4 the exchange between both countries."

He said China will continue offering aid to Cuba for its economic and social development.

China is Cuba's second largest trading partner after Venezuela. It is looking to develop tourism and oil exploration with Cuba.

Memorial Held for Victims of Love Parade Victims

A memorial service was held in the western German city of Duisburg on Saturday for the victims of the Love Parade stampede.

The tragedy which happened one week ago killed 21 people and injured more than 500. Foreigners from China, Australia, Italy, Bosnia, Spain and Holland were among the dead.

The memorial at Salvator Church was shown on screens in a football stadium and a dozen other churches in Duisburg. Several TV stations carried the service live, and flags across the country flew at half-mast.

Police spokesman Achim Blaettermann said several tens of thousands of visitors are expected for the memorial activities.

"This is going to be a very emotional deployment 5 for the police, too, I think. We do not expect trouble for the time being because this is a memorial service."

Chancellor 6 Angela Merkel, President Christian 7 Wulff and Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle also attended the church ceremony.

Mayor Adolf Sauerland, whom many people blame for failing to adequately plan for the event, did not attend.

Sauerland has said he would not attend Saturday's memorial out of respect for the feelings for the victims and their loved ones.

A preliminary report by police investigators 8 earlier accused the organiser of the festival of major security breaches 9 that may have led to the crush.

But it left many unanswered questions regarding the responsibility of the Duisburg municipality, which was responsible for overseeing the event.

Black Box Found in the Wreckage of Pakistan's Worst-ever Plane Crash

Recovery workers have found the "black box" flight data recorder in the wreckage of Pakistan's worst-ever plane crash.

Officials said the black box appeared to be in good condition.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik said both the black box and the voice recorder were found from the tail of the plane.

"These have been recovered from the scene, from the tail of the plane in the presence of witnesses, which had been handed over right in front of view to the team. And I hope that the real facts will now come to light."

An analysis of the data on the recorder could provide clues as to why the Airblue flight crashed into the hills overlooking the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, killing all 152 people onboard.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority, Pakistan does not have the proper expertise 10 to decode 11 information stored on the recorder, so it plans to send it to another country that does. And the decoding 12 process could take a month.

The plane, an Airbus A321 model, was ordered to take an alternative approach to the runway at Islamabad airport but apparently 13 veered 14 off course.

Officials said the plane, which was flying to Islamabad from the southern Pakistani city of Karachi, lost contact with the control tower before the crash, which occurred during stormy weather.

Italian PM Splits with His Powerful Ally

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has dramatically split with House Speaker Gianfranco Fini, his one-time most powerful ally, putting the country into political turmoil 15.

The governing People of Freedom party, co-founded by Berlusconi and Fini, issued a tough document urging Fini to step down from his office.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi:

"This party regards the honorable Fini as incompatible 16 with the inspiring principles of the Freedom Party, with the commitments taken on with the electorate 17, and with the political activities of the Freedom Party. Because of this, the Freedom Party no longer supports his position as the speaker of the lower house of parliament, a position that is in line with the majority party who won the elections."

Berlusconi said the move would have no effect on the stability of his two-year-old government, even though Fini is believed to control the votes of about 50 members of parliament.

A defiant 18 Fini said he will not step down as lower house speaker and his followers 19 will form their own faction 20.

"Obviously I'm not going to resign, because it's clear to everyone the speaker of the house has to guarantee the impartiality 21 of the working practices of the house, not to guarantee the majority that elected him."

Fini announced the creation of a new political group called Future and Freedom for Italy, which will have some 34 MPs in the 630-seat House and 10 in the 315-seat Senate.

Berlusconi could risk either losing his majority in at least one house of parliament or seeing it chopped down to a dangerous sliver 22 of votes depending on the number of legislators loyal to Fini.

The opposition 23 has exploited the rift 24 to urge new elections. Opposition Democratic Party leader Pier 25 Luigi Bersani said "the government has too many leaks in its boat and can no longer stay afloat."

Russia Battles Wildfires that Have Killed at Least 28

Russia has sent the army to battle wildfires that have killed at least 28 people and were threatening dozens of towns and villages.

All 300 of the army's fire trucks have been dispatched to help fight blazes across at least 14 of the country's 83 regions, mainly in western Russia.

More than 10-thousand firefighters were among the almost 250-thousand people involved in tackling the fires in all.

One firefighter at the village of Moklok, 30 kilometres from Voronezh, said thick smoke and ash slowed firefighting efforts.

"One could describe the situation as catastrophic. A lot of forest has been burnt and there are fires both on the ground and on higher places. It's practically impossible but we're still trying to do what we can."

Many regions of the country are suffering through their hottest summer since record-keeping began 130 years ago.

Officials said on Friday that over 87-thousand hectares of parched 26 woodland and peat bog 27 were burning.

State television reported that in some regions up to 20 new fires were being registered every day.

Nationwide, fire has destroyed 1,200 homes, according to the Emergencies Ministry 28.

Thousands of people have been forced to flee as blazes left their houses in ruins and filled the air with smog and ash.

Foxconn India Temporarily Shuts Down after Workers Fall Ill

A workers' union leader at a Foxconn factory in southern India says the company must assure employees of their guaranteed safety before the plant is re-opened.

Foxconn, a Taiwan-based electronics component 29 manufacturer, temporarily shut down the factory on the outskirts 30 of southern Chennai, in Tamil Nadu, after about 250 workers became ill.

Soundarajan, the Labour Union leader at the factory, said until the company gave written notice "to alleviate 31 the fears of the workers" they would not be returning to work.

"So even now the management is not giving the undertaking 32 or not coming forward to alleviate the fear. If it is nothing, why is the management afraid to give a written undertaking, if there is nothing? The management should come forward to give a written undertaking, and the management should take steps to alleviate the fears of the workers, only then the industrial peace would be there."

The workers are allegedly getting sick by inhaling 33 toxic 34 gas emitted through the air-conditioning system.

A company statement, however, put the possible cause as a pesticide 35 sprayed at the facility. The statement said many of the workers reported giddiness and nausea 36, and most had recovered after being treated at a hospital.

The company's working environment has come under criticism recently following 10 worker suicides at a factory in the Chinese mainland.

Foxconn makes iPhones, iPads and other brand-name electronics for corporations including Apple Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co.

Foxconn India employs around 7,000 workers, the third largest industrial employer in Tamil Nadu after Hyundai Motors and Nokia India.

Cleanup Efforts Underway in Flood-hit County in Jilin Province

Residents and authorities are continuing clean up efforts in Yongji County in China's north-eastern Jilin province following floods triggered by unprecedented 37 heavy rain.

Torrential rainfall from Tuesday night through Wednesday afternoon submerged buildings as high as three stories.

The overnight rainfall reached 200 mm in the county by early Wednesday, making it the heaviest torrential rain on record in the county.

Thousands of soldiers have been deployed 38 onto the streets to clean up the debris 39 once the rainstorm receded 40.

Officials say floods in Yongji County have affected 41 150-thousand residents, killing at least 27 people.

Zong Jiang, one of the affected residents, said they were unprepared when the flooding hit.

"A large amount of water started flooding from that direction and this direction the day before yesterday. Two waves of water met here in front of my store and totally destroyed everything here. There is nothing left. Nobody warned us before the floods came. Nobody."

At least 29 people were killed and 7 missing in a flood that hit the northeastern Jilin Province from Sunday to Wednesday.

Jilin is the latest province to be stricken by fatal floods across China, which has left nearly 1,000 dead.

China to Enhance Military Capabilities 42 for Diverse Tasks

Sunday marks the 83rd anniversary of the funding of the People's Liberation Army.

On the occasion, a Defense 43 Ministry official reiterates 44 China will continue to uphold its defensive 45 policy while enhancing its capabilities of non-combat military operations.

Chen Zhe has more.

Reporter: China will continue to enhance military capabilities of responding to multiple security threats and accomplishing diverse tasks.

Defense Ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng says the major military threat for China is those challenges hindering the country's economic development.

"China is on route of development. So the first priority for us is to ensure a good and peaceful external environment for the economic development. The army will continue to safeguard the sovereignty and territorial 46 integrity to ensure the country's security."

The official emphasizes China will continue to uphold its defense policy of a defensive nature.

In response to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's talks of U.S. "national interests" in the South China Sea area, the spokesman says China will push for the resolution of differences regarding the area.

"China has indisputable sovereignty over islands in the South China Sea and the surrounding waters. China would like to solve disputes over the issue through dialogue with relevant countries and objects to having the issue internationalized."

Geng Yansheng adds China will respect the liberty of ships and aircraft from "relevant countries" traversing the South China Sea in accordance with international laws.

Meanwhile, non-combat military operations have become an increasingly important way of using military force.

The PLA has been actively 47 involved in such operations as counter terrorism, peacekeeping, and domestic and international disaster reduction and humanitarian 48 relief.

Huang Jianfa, leader of the China International Search and Rescue Team says China will invest more to strengthen the capabilities of the team.

"We'll recruit more members of the team which basically double its original size. Now we've already had the work done. The central budget will earmark 100 million yuan to purchase advanced equipments. The team will also step up training programs."

Upon the agreement made by member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in 2008, China will take part in the joint 49 military exercise of SCO members this autumn in Kazkhastan.

By then, China will send over 1,000 of its army and air force personnel to join the anti-terrorism exercise.

For CRI, I'm Chen Zhe.

Personal Mailing with Imported Items Imposed With Stricter Taxes

Personal mailing from abroad will see higher import taxes starting in September, according to The General Administration of Customs. Customers who buy foreign products using a mailing service may see a price jump from the relevant agencies.

Let's take a closer look with reporter Liu Min.

Report: If you buy a newly released LV purse, it could save you 4000 yuan through online agencies who buy products from overseas and save money on customs by mailing, but the recent regulation has raised the tax threshold on imported products. Products mailed into China are usually imposed with an import tax that represents 10 percent of their original value. The tax threshold has changed to 50 yuan from 500 yuan. An online shop owner says online foreign cosmetics 50 merchandising usually brings high profit for them, but may not any more.

"For example, a bottle of La Mer is priced at 1500 in the domestic market. The 10 percent tax is 150 yuan. Our buy-in price is 850 yuan, which means we will have to increase the final price by 20 percent to maintain the same amount of profit."

With the increased cost, online shop owners will have to charge customers more. Since it is still a month to go before the new regulation, many sellers and buyers are storing up a great amount of products. A Taobao.com shop owner surnamed Liu sells foreign brand baby formula and milk powders online.

"Of course the current price is lower. We've put up a notice on our store page to inform customers. That's why lots of people are buying multiple packs to stock up."

Buying foreign brand products through online agencies is quite popular among online shoppers. But this market is creating a dangerous trend towards smuggling 51. Last August, Suzhou Postal 52 Service's Customs Office found more than 60 batches 53 of imported products including cosmetics and food mailed to two receivers with a total value of more than 850 thousand yuan. It turned out that these two mail receivers are online agencies selling foreign brands to domestic customers. According to the law, if these products are for sale and not for individual use, then the mailing should be considered as foreign trading activity. The two receivers needed to pay as high as 230 thousand yuan in import taxes. They were sentenced to 6 months in jail with 80 thousand yuan in fines for smuggling. Officer Li Wei from Su Zhou Customs says such events are happening at many customs offices across the country.

"The regulation is to curb 54 such violations 55 in this industry to protect the rules of China's import and export market."

According to statistics, Su Zhou Customs usually deals with more than 90 thousand packages every month. Import taxes at Su Zhou Customs alone reach 20 million yuan every year on average, but only 800 thousand yuan is imposed on personal mail.

For CRI, I'm Liu Min.

China Daily: It Is Time to Rethink New CBDs

Beijing suffered some 12 days of scorching 56 heat in July, making it the hottest July in a decade.

What's more alarming is the average temperature in Beijing's urban center is about 5 to 7 degrees Celsius 57 higher than in the suburbs. The dark orange on the weather map, indicative of extreme heat, is centered on urban areas with a high concentration of skyscrapers 58.

An editorial in the China Daily indicates that in our drive towards urbanization and modernization 59, we have not considered the effect of central business districts, or CBDs, in creating urban heat islands.

It says we are caught in a sort of vicious circle.

Beijing has less green space and fewer waterways than many major metropolises 60. People drive high-emission cars that are seldom seen in European cities. As the heat rises, they use more air conditioning. And as they consume more energy, more heat and pollutants 61 are added to the urban environment.

Moreover, the article notes while Beijing may have an ambitious plan to increase its natural areas; other blueprints 62 continue to give priority to clusters of high rise buildings without a corresponding increase in green space.

The editorial says it hopes this summer's sweltering heat will serve as a wake-up call for decision makers 63. They need to rethink their building projects, taking into consideration the effect of urban heat islands. If they go ahead with their planned building spree, we are likely to suffer heat waves and smog for many years to come.

Southcn.com: Film Rating System Needed in Mainland

The film "Aftershock" has set new records at the Chinese box office, but some parents are voicing concerns the film may be unsuitable for children.

In some cinemas, children reportedly started to cry when they saw the earthquake on the screen and the many corpses 64 lying around in its aftermath.

In Hong Kong, "Aftershock" is classified as Category II, meaning the government suggests parental 65 guidance to watch the film.

The controversy 66 over the film sees renewed calls for a film rating system in the mainland.

An opinion piece on news portal southcn.com says because China has no film classification system, as films can be seen by all ages.

The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, which censors 67 and supervises filmmaking, prefers banning some films with adult content from theaters or simply cutting out entire scenes, rather than restricting them to adult viewings.

Calls for such a rating system have been repeated for almost a decade, but little progress has been made.

The article says the current regulatory system in the film industry is ambiguous and lacks well-defined criteria 68, which doesn't adapt to market situations and hinders the development of the industry.

It says the administration has been regulating the industry by administrative 69 orders.

The article notes the orders turn out to be a mere 70 formality, because they lack legal basis and don't conform to market laws.

In conclusion, the article suggests the film rating system should be set up at an early date.