Facebook does major overhaul of privacy settings

BEIJING, Aug. 24 (Xinhuanet) -- Facebook said it is overhauling its privacy settings to give members easier, more precise control over who sees posts, photos and other content over the vast social network. Starting Thursday, Facebook is rolling out n

US Debt Drama Engulfs Both Houses of Congress

The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote Thursday on a Republican plan to trim government spending and raise the federal borrowing limit. The vote comes days before a deadline to avert a possible default on U.S. debt obligations that Pre

China launches emergency response in face of typhoon

BEIJING, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- China has initiated an emergency response and early-warning plan for disaster relief in order to cope with the severity of typhoon Haikui, according to a circular issued by the National Commission for Disaster Reduction on

Barca renew contract of youngster Dos Santos

MADRID, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- FC Barcelona this Thursday announced that they have reached an agreement with Mexican midfielder, Jonathan Dos Santos to extend his contract with the club until the end of 2015. The contract extension is another show of fa

Van Gaal to coach Dutch national team

THE HAGUE, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Louis van Gaal will be the new coach of the Dutch national team, the Dutch football association KNVB announced on Friday. Van Gaal succeeds Bert van Marwijk, who quit after a disappointing early exit at Euro 2012. He sig

Chelsea beat FC Nordsjaelland 4-0 in Champions League

Chelsea beat FC Nordsjaelland 4-0 in Champions League COPENHAGEN, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- Top English football club Chelsea beat Danish side FC Nordsjaelland 4-0 to win their first Champions League group stage match at the Parken Stadium here on Tuesday e

Apple releases iTunes Match

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Apple on Monday released a new version of its media player program iTunes, adding the much- anticipated scan-and-match service for music iTunes Match. The feature, included in iTunes 10.5.1, can scan a user's librar

Mario Monti to Lead Italy's New Government

Italian Prime Minister-designate Mario Monti, a former top EU commissioner, has been asked by the country's president to form a new government. The move comes a day after Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's resignation, following international financi

U.S. Republican senators visit Afghanistan, Pakistan

WASHINGTON, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Republican leader Mitch McConnell announced Monday he had led six other Republican senators（参议员） to visit Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Senate minority leader（少数派领导人） announced in his web

BP Reaches Deal for Gulf Oil Spill Lawsuits

British Petroleum has announced it has reached a multi-billion-dollar agreement with fishermen and other plaintiffs who sued over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill off the U.S. coast. BP says the $7.8 billion deal represents a partial settlement in t

Foreign realtors eye Chinese buyers

DALIAN, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Foreign realtors have gathered in Dalian,northeast China's Liaoning Province, to attend a summer housing sales fair, looking to potential Chinese buyers for overseas properties. The sales fair, which will last from Thursda

Easy win for FC Barcelona

MADRID, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- League Champions FC Barcelona returned to BBVA Primera Liga action following a two-week break with a comfortable 4-0 win over Zaragoza in the Camp Nou stadium on Saturday night. Gerard Pique, Leo Messi, Carles Puyol and Da

Obama To Push G20 To Tackle Long Term Debt Issue

President Barack Obama goes to the G20 economic summit in France this week with hopes of helping Europe move toward a long-term solution for its debt crisis. The president is also trying to convince the other G20 countries that Americas economic and

9 dead, millions affected in China's rainstorms

NANNING, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Nine people are dead and one missing in south China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region after rainstorms that have affected millions of people over the last few days, local authorities said on Tuesday. As of Tuesday evenin

Government Workers Strike in Britain

Hundreds of thousands of medical workers, teachers, border guards and other public sector employees went on strike Wednesday in Britain to protest government plans to reduce their pension benefits. Most public schools and other services were closed W

国会批准国家安全局间谍程序

The US House of Representatives narrowly approved continuing the National Security Agency's secret collection of hundreds of millions of citizens' phone records after a fierce debate pitting privacy rights against the government's efforts to thwart t

潘基文呼吁消除非法烟草贸易

UNITED NATIONS, May 31 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon on Sunday called for more efforts to put an end to the illicit trade in cheaper tobacco products in order to advance public health and sustainable development. The secretary-general

潘基文担心宗教冲突

UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Friday that he was profoundly troubled by what he witnessed on his just-completed visit to the violence-wracked Middle East, voicing fear that the tensions have the potentia

Mexico holds on to No. 20 spot in FIFA rankings

MEXICO CITY, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Mexico's national team holds on to its 20th spot as soccer's world governing body FIFA released the latest world rankings on Wednesday. Mexico, known as the Tricolor for its red, white and green flag-colored uniforms, c

US Faces Possible Credit Rating Downgrade

U.S. President Barack Obama and Congress are engaged in an intense rush to settle on a plan to raise the countrys borrowing limit beyond the current total of more than $14 trillion. It is an effort aimed at averting a possible default on the countrys