BEIJING, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) — Some parts of central and south China are facing power cuts and electricity rationing as soaring coal prices discourage power plants from producing at full capacity, heightening concerns that the country has to live with power shortages over the next few months.

The country’s power shortage may peak at 40 million kilowatts in the winter and spring as demand growth outpaces supply, the China Electricity Council said in a report.

The industry group said coal inventories in some power plants in the provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan and Hunan are only able to hold up for seven days, while 17 provinces and cities, including Hunan, Hubei and Guizhou, may ration electricity to industrial users. Continue Reading

BEIJING, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) — China on Wednesday again voiced its opposition to the development of nuclear weapons in any Middle East country.

“China opposes nuclear proliferation and doesn’t approve of any Middle East country developing nuclear weapons,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at the daily press briefing.

Hong’s comments came one day after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in its latest report that credible evidence showed Iran has engaged in projects and experiments relevant to the development of nuclear weapons.
Continue Reading

DAMASCUS, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) — Syria announced earlier it had agreed on a “final plan” initiated by the Arab League (AL) ministerial committee to help defuse tension in Syria, and had already executed some of the terms.

However, as anti-government protests have not stopped and violence has caused the death toll to rise, Syria still faces various tests. Continue Reading

BEIJING, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) — Although the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for China’s non-manufacturing sector dropped slightly in October, analyst said Thursday that the sector is still expanding steadily.

The non-manufacturing sector’s PMI, a key economic indicator, fell to 57.7 percent in October from 59.3 percent a month earlier, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) said Thursday. Continue Reading

By Maria Spiliopoulou

ATHENS, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) — Prime Minister George Papandreou’s surprise call for a parliamentary vote of confidence this week and a referendum in January on the fresh European Union (EU) aid package for the debt-laden country turned into a high risk gamble, analysts said Tuesday.

The analysts pointed to mounting fierce reactions inside the assembly and out on the streets of Athens on Tuesday. Continue Reading

By Xinhua writer Shi Shouhe

JIUQUAN, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) — Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang, who supervised the Shenzhou-8 blastoff on site, said here Tuesday morning the successful launch signals one key step closer to a victory of China’s first space docking.

A modified Long March-2F rocket carried, starting from 5:58 a.m. Tuesday at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, the unmanned spacecraft into the orbit, which was live broadcast nationwide.

Shenzhou-8 is expected to dock, after a two-day flight, with Tiangong-1 or “the Heavenly Palace,” the Continue Reading

BISHKEK, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) — Outgoing Kyrgyz Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev had won a landslide victory in the country’s presidential election, the Central Election Committee said Monday.

Local analysts said Atambayev’s victory was mainly due to the accumulation of prestige in his political career, but also warned he faced many challenges after taking office. Continue Reading

by Xinhua writers Zhang Xin, Li Ming

PARIS, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) — Leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) will gather in southern France on Nov. 3-4.

Global imbalance, international organization’s reform and development are initially decided topics on the agenda, but since this summer the eurozone debt crisis increasingly weighs down prospects of European economies and adds to global uncertainties, the Europe’s headache is predicted to dominate the summit. Continue Reading

By Christian Edwards

PERTH, Oct.30 (Xinhua) — The timing could hardly have been worse for the Australian Government after a snap Qantas decision on Saturday to ground its entire fleet in response to months of industrial agitation has left world leaders stranded in the West Australian city of Perth.

According to Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) host and Prime Minister Julia Gillard, 17 Continue Reading

by Muhammad Tahir

ISLAMABAD, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) — Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari will meet with his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai at a trilateral summit along with their Turkish host President Abdullah Gul to push the peace and reconciliation process in the war- ravaged Afghanistan. Continue Reading

By Chrispinus Omar

NAIROBI, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) — Tanzanian has voiced support to Kenya’s decision to send its military into Somalia to pursue militants who have abducted foreigners in the East African nation.

A statement received in Nairobi on Saturday said Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete has expressed support to Kenya’s action, invoking Article 51 of the United Nations Charter to defend its economic and security interests threatened by Al-Shaabab insurgents.

President Kikwete said Kenya is justified in taking action against the Islamic militants who have blatantly violated its territorial integrity through escalated cross-border raids. Continue Reading

By Chrispinus Omar and Njoroge Kaburo

NAIROBI, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) — Kenyan authorities on Wednesday launched investigations to establish if a man who was arrested in Nairobi on Tuesday night with live grenades and assorted firearms has any links with Monday’s grenade attacks which killed one person and injured over 20 others.

Police Commissioner Mathew Iteere did not immediately link the middle-aged man who converted to radical Islam with the two grenade attacks which have caused fear in the capital Continue Reading