News & Reports 2010-06-19

Broadcasting Time: 07:00-08:00, GMT+08:00, 2010-06-19

Hello and Welcome to News and Reports on China Radio International.

In This Edition

China says it hopes the upcoming G20 summit in Toronto will improve the international financial system and deepen the reform of the international supervision 1 system.

Kyrgyz interim 2 leader Roza Otunbayeva visits Osh in the south of the country, the scene of the country's worst ethnic 3 violence in decades.

BP chief executive Tony Hayward grilled 4 by an angry US Congressional panel, who has accused his firm of ignoring dangers when drilling in the Gulf 5 of Mexico.

Australia sets up a new centre to lead national research and education on China.

Hot Issue Reports

Hu's upcoming Visit to G20 Summit

Chinese President Hu Jintao is set to pay a state visit to Canada next week and attend the fourth Group of 20 summit to be held in Toronto.

Deputy Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai has talked about China's major expectations for the upcoming G20 summit.

"Firstly, China hopes the member countries will enhance communication and coordination 6 on the macro-economic policies in light of the current European sovereign debt crises; Secondly 7, China expects the G20 summit to push the International Monetary 8 Fund to finish its quota 9 reform that would give more representation and voice to emerging markets and developing countries."

Cui says that China also hopes the Toronto summit will improve the international financial system and deepen the reform of the international supervision system.

Speaking at the same Beijing briefing, Vice 10 finance minister Zhu Guangyao says that the forum 11 is not the right place to discuss China's exchange rate policy, stating that it's a domestic issue. He points out China is trying to balance its trade by increasing domestic consumption.

"China is not chasing after a large trade deficit 12. The goal we are striving for is to see more balance within the global economy. This equilibrium 13 is something we can really only achieve with earnest efforts."

Zhu also says China's current policy toward the Renminbi poses no obstacle to global economic growth.

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping Holds Talks with Prime Minister of New Zealand

Chinese vice president Xi Jinping has held talks with New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key in Auckland.

The vice-president is on an official 3-day visit to New Zealand.

"First of all, I'd like to convey the best wishes and greetings of Premier 14 Wen to you. Premier Wen looks forward to meeting you in Beijing soon. We highly applaud what you've done to boost bilateral 15 development since you took office."

Xi Jinping also says the countries' bilateral ties are in the best shape ever.

Prime Minister John Key echos that sentiment.

"We are excited about the successful implementation 16 of the bilateral free trade agreement which is a roadmap for further economic prosperity for both countries."

After the talks, both sides attended a signing ceremony to expand their cooperation in trade, finance and cultural exchanges.

Next week, Xi Jinping will head to Australia, the last stop in his four-country tour of the Asia-Pacific region, which has also seen him make stops in Bangladesh and Laos.

Kyrgyzstan leader visits Osh after violence

Kyrgyz interim leader Roza Otunbayeva is now visiting Osh in the south of the country, the scene of the country's worst ethnic violence in decades.

Otunbayeva has admitted to a Russian newspaper that the final death toll 17 is likely to be "ten times" what is now being reported, saying many deaths have likely gone unreported in the rural areas of Kyrgyzstan.

The official death toll stands at 191, with close to 2,000 others injured in violence between the Kyrgyz majority and the Uzbek minority.

Speaking in Osh's main square, Otunbayeva says her interim government will do everything it can to rebuild the city.

"We have to give hope that we shall restore the city, return all the refugees and create all the conditions for that."

The United Nations now estimates around 400-thousand people have fled the country's south, with many ethnic Uzbeks fleeing into neighboring Uzbekistan.

Uzbeks are accusing roving mobs of young Kyrgyz men of burning down Uzbek homes and attacking Uzbek-owned businesses, looting them and then setting them on fire.

"What about the others [I don't know] The house was burnt down, nobody is here, the home is lost, we need help. We don't have enough food and there are a lot of people here."

"I am a single mother, and I was living with my old mother. Kyrgyz armed with machine guns entered our house. There were fifty to sixty men, only at one house, and totally there were about five hundred. Mother was killed, she was killed at once."

Members of the Kyrgyz community have denied accusations 18 of brutality 19, and have accused Uzbek men of raping 20 Kyrgyz women.

The Red Cross is describing the situation as an "immense crisis", with shortages of basic necessities.

Congress tells Hayward BP ignored oil well dangers

BP chief executive Tony Hayward has faced an angry US Congressional panel, who has accused his firm of ignoring dangers when drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

House committee on energy and commerce chair Henry Waxman says BP's "complacency" before the April 20th rig explosion is "astonishing".

"We could find no evidence that you paid any attention to the tremendous risks BP was taking. We've reviewed 30,000 pages of documents from BP, including your emails. There is not a single email or document that shows you paid even the slightest attention to the dangers at this well."

In his first appearance before Congress since the start of the crisis, BP chief executive Tony Hayward says he is "deeply sorry".

"The explosion and fire aboard the Deepwater Horizon and the resulting oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico never should have happened, and I am deeply sorry that they did. When I learned that eleven men had lost their lives, I was personally devastated 21."

Meanwhile, a Republican U.S. representative has apologized to to Hayward, saying BP is the victim of a White House "shakedown" by having to set up a 20 billion dollar Gulf oil spill fund.

Joe Barton from Texas later retracted 22 his unusual apology after he was lambasted by his fellow Republicans and Democrats 23 for the remark.

BP is to put 20 billion US dollars into a compensation fund for victims of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and will not pay shareholders 24 a dividend 25 this year.

Meantime, at the spill site, BP is now boosting its oil-containment efforts after activating 26 a new oil-burning system.

Egypt PM in Beirut to discuss gas supply and Mideast peace

Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif is now in Beirut to head a delegation 27 for a two-day visit to sign bilateral agreements and discuss the Mideast peace process.

Nazif has met his counterpart Saad Hariri and has already signed several agreements in economic cooperation.

Nazif says Lebanon and Egypt are beef up their bilateral trade to some 2 billion US dollars.

''We discussed increasing trade exchange which has reached half a billion dollars but of course we have higher expectations. We also met with business leaders and discussed the needs for removing trade obstacles between Lebanon and Egypt.''

Lebanese newspapers are also reporting that the two countries will also discuss a possible plan for Egypt to supply Lebanon with natural gas and electricity.

Lebanon has a shortage of electricity, with its state-owned electricity supplier only able to meet two-thirds of peak demand.

A natural gas pipeline 28, an idea that has been discussed for a long time, would most likely pass through Egypt, Jordan, Syrian and Lebanon.

Karzai says rivalry 29 over Afghan resources is a concern

Afghan President Hamid Karzai says he is concerned about potential rivalries 30 over Afghan's newly discovered mineral resources.

He made the comments at a forum held in Tokyo, Japan.

"There will be rivalry over the resources especially now that the world knows the significance of Afghan resources, there will be rivalries over the resources. They are very rare and extremely important for industrial growth, but there will be rivalry."

The New York Times has reported that Afghanistan could be holding around 1 trillion U.S. dollars worth of untapped mineral deposits, including critical industrial metals such as lithium.

The report also says the previously 31 unknown deposits of iron, copper 32, cobalt and gold are so large that it could transform the impoverished 33 nation into one of the world's important mining centres.

Karzai says he hopes to manage it properly to prevent corruption 34.

"We in Afghanistan and the international community I hope we will be able to manage it properly both in terms of rivalry of the international bidders 35 in Afghanistan and also within Afghanistan. We should be able to manage the returns of those mineral extraction properly for Afghanistan so it's spent well and so corruption is prevented because those areas are very prone 36 to corruption."

Karzai adds that Afghanistan is ready to give back to the nations which have helped the country grow.

Blast at Colombia coalmine kills 16 and traps dozens

The death toll from a coal mine explosion in Columbia now stands at 30.

And at least 50 others are believe to still be trapped in the mine in a town about 340 kilometers northwest of the capital Bogota.

Mines and Energy Minister Hernan Martinez says the blast happened as the miners were changing shift.

"There was a very large explosion in a mine called San Fernando in the municipality of Amaga. We know there were between 80 and 90 people working inside the tunnel."

The miners are believed to be trapped some 2 kilometers below the surface.

Officials conceedd there is little likelihood of finding survivors 37, but rescuers are still trying to reach the area the men are thought to be.

President Alvaro Uribe describes the accident as a "big tragedy."

"They are looking to funnel 38 in oxygen, they are working to rescue them and they are putting forth 39 all of their efforts. This is a very big tragedy.　So far, 16 bodies have been recovered.　Initially 40, the information we had was that there were 72 people trapped in the mine."

San Fernando mine produces 240,000 tones of coal a year for local consumption.

Blind Children "See" at World Expo Pavilions

Accompanied by about 50 volunteers, 30 blind kids from the Shanghai Blind Children School have now paid a special visit to the Shanghai World Expo. Through touching 41, smelling, hearing and tasting at the different pavilions, they are able get their own, unique experience of the event.

Australian Centre on China in the World, a bridge for Sino-Australia academic and cultural exchanges

The Australian National University, or ANU, has now signed an agreement with the Australian government to set up a new centre to lead national research and education on China. The center is set to open early next year. Our Australia correspondent Chen Feng has more from Sydney.

From the Shanghai Daily: According to new research, Chinese couples have delayed having children by an average 2.1 years, citing economic and housing conditions.

In big cities like Shanghai and Beijing, couples generally say they delayed pregnancy 42 plans until their combined monthly income reached more than 8,000 yuan.

The figures come from a nationwide survey by Beijing-based Horizon Research Consultancy Group.

More than half of respondents say they would opt 43 to have only one child despite being allowed another under the country's population policy.

Up to 85 percent of respondents in rural areas put economic status as the top priority when it came decision time for a child.

Also from the Shanghai Daily: A big sinkhole has opened up on a busy street in Nanjing, the latest in a series of mysterious pits appearing around China this year.

A bus narrowly escaped being trapped by the pit, and no one was injured.

Last week, a hole measuring 80 meters across opened up in a school playground in Ningxiang County in Hunan. The pit began to appear in January and widened during the rainy season.

Several pits have appeared across China since June 13, with four houses cracked and damaged in Guangxi, forcing 300 villagers to leave their homes.

A total of 43 holes have appeared in Sichuan, with the largest hole measuring 40 meters across.

Sinkholes are mainly caused by deeper karst caves, or dissolution of layers of bedrocks underneath 44.

Market Update

Stocks rose for a fourth straight day Friday, led by shares of minerals companies after gold prices settled at another record high.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.2 percent, to close at 10,451. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 0.1 percent, to 1,118. The Nasdaq composite index edged up 0.1 percent, to 2,310.

All three indicators 45 posted solid gains for the week. The Dow is up 2.3 percent, the S&P 500 2.4 percent and the Nasdaq 3 percent.

In Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 and Germany's DAX index each slipped about 0.1 percent to 5251 and 6217 respectively, while France's CAC-40 rose 0.1 percent to 3687.