Hello and welcome to this edition of CRI Roundup on Saturday, March 22nd. I'm Wen Jie in Beijing.
　
Let's take a look at some of the major events that have happened in China and around the globe during the past week.

China's top legislature concluded its annual session after electing the nation's senior leaders.

Chinese Premier Wen Jibao highlighted curbing inflation as the top priority for his new government.

And anti-war protests in the United States marked the fifth anniversary of the Iraq War.

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China's top legislature, the National People's Congress, concluded its annual session Tuesday after electing the country's senior leaders and approving changes to the State Council, or the cabinet. Nearly 3000 NPC deputies also signed off on plans for the country's future development.

At the closing ceremony, Hu Jintao, who was re-elected to another five-year term as China's president, stressed that the government must unswervingly work for clean governance in the interests of the people.

"We'll strictly exercise self-discipline, devote ourselves to the public, and serve the country and the people in a cautious, conscientious and clean-fingered way. We will keep to the principle of 'putting people first', respect the people's status, exert their pioneering spirit and safeguard their rights and interests."

The restructuring of the State Council signals the country's fresh effort to drive economic and political reform.

Five "super ministries" concerning transport, information, housing, human resources and environmental protection, as well as changes in other government departments were fixtures of the reshuffle plan.

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Chinese Premier Wen Jibao has highlighted curbing inflation as the top priority for his new government.

During a press conference held after the conclusion of the annual NPC session, the premier said this year might be the most difficult year for the Chinese economy, and the key is to strike a balance between economic development and curbing inflation.

"We need to take prompt and flexible steps to better cope with the situation, and we need to maintain the focus, the pace and intensity of our macro economic measures. In so doing, we will be able to ensure that our economy can grow in a fast yet steady manner, and we will be able to resolve the pressure of creating 10 million jobs a year for the newly increased population at working age, and at the same time effectively contain inflation."

He admitted that this is not an easy task given the fact that China was hit by the unusual snow storms in the first two months of this year, but the government is determined to achieve the goal.

"At present, the grain reserve are at a level between 150 million and 200 million tons. And there is an over supply of major industrial products. So we believe as long as we take the right policies and measures, we have full confidence that we can control the trend of excessive growth of the price level."

China's consumer price index jumped to a 12 year high of more than 8 percent in February, far above the goal set by the government.

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Anti-war protests spread across the United States as Thursday marked the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war.

Some of the protests in California, New York, Ohio and Washington DC lasted throughout the day.

In New York, about 50 senior citizens gathered on Times Square to express their anti-war views. One of the protesters Kauthar Muhammad said they are expecting peace.

''It really breaks my heart to see young people to come back who have lost their limbs, they have lost so much. I just want to see peace. It's not being unpatriotic. It's just that we need peace in the world."

Before Thursday's anniversary, President George W. Bush defended the Iraq war as a "right decision" despite a high cost.

He also reiterated his opposition to fast withdrawal of the current 155,000 U.S. troops from Iraq.

"We have learned through hard experience what happens when we pull our forces back too fast. The terrorists and extremists step in; they fill vacuums, establish safe havens and use them to spread chaos and carnage."

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And that concludes this edition of CRI Roundup. If you have any comments or suggestions, or would like to listen to any of our programs online, you can visit our website at: www.crienglish.com. I'm Wen Jie in Beijing. Thanks for listening. Stay tuned for more on China Radio International.