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Hu Jintao calls to accelerate construction on western side of Taiwan-Straits

Chinese President Hu Jintao has called for efforts to accelerate the construction of the economic zone on the western side of the Taiwan Straits.
Hu Jintao made the remarks during a four-day inspection tour to Fujian, where he celebrated the Spring Festival with local residents and Taiwan compatriots.
He stressed the role of tourism in the transformation of the economic growth mode, urging local authorities to make Fujian a tourist resort with international fame.

European Council President expressed shock at train accident in Belgium

The president of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy has expressed his "shock and sorrow" at the worst train accident in Belgium for decades.
Two passenger trains collided head-on Monday morning in the Belgian town of Halle, some 15 km southwest of Brussels.
According to the latest official count, 18 people died in the collision, including 15 men and three women.

Iran receives new nuclear fuel proposal from U.S., Russia, France

Iran's English-language satellite channel Press TV reported on Monday that the country has received a new proposal from the United States, Russia and France on a possible nuclear fuel deal.
Under a draft deal brokered by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in October, most of Iran's existing low-grade enriched uranium should be shipped to Russia and France, where it would be processed into fuel rods with the purity of 20 percent.
Iran has not accepted the draft proposal and called for more talks over a possible deal.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced on Thursday that the country had produced the first batch of 20 percent enriched uranium.

27 Arab lawmakers on historic visit to Gaza

A delegation of 27 Arab lawmakers arrived in the Gaza Strip on Monday, marking the first visit by a high-ranking Arab parliamentarian delegation to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.
Ahmed Bahar, deputy speaker of the Hamas-dominated Palestinian parliament, says the visit is a beginning to break the political and economical siege that the Israel has been imposing in the Gaza Strip for more than three years.

Medvedev Says Ukraine Election Results Shows Desire to Improve Relations

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said the results of Ukraine's presidential election reflected the country's desire to improve ties with Russia.
Medvedev expressed the hope that Russia-Ukraine relations would return to a partnership approach under the new president elect Viktor Yanukovych.
Ukraine's Central Election Commission confirmed on Sunday that opposition leader Yanukovych defeated Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in a bitterly fought runoff.

Ma Ying-jeou says ECFA is to help boost Taiwan competitiveness

Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou says that the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) with the mainland is aimed to help boost the island's competitiveness.
Ma Ying-jeou made the remarks in Taoyuan, a northwestern county of the island, at a gathering to mark the Chinese Spring Festival.
The ECFA is a wide-ranging economic pact for further normalizing trade and investment ties across the Taiwan Straits, which Ma hopes to sign with the mainland this year to help fuel Taiwan's economic revival.

Chinese Figure Skaters Set Record in Short Program

The married Chinese couple figure skaters Shen Xueand Zhao Hongbo broke their own world record with a mesmerizing performance to open the pairs short program competition at the 2010 Winter Games.
It took until the very last pair, about three hours later, for any team to come close to topping the Chinese duo with a score of 76.66.
Shen and Zhao retired after winning their third world title in 2007 but the couple couldn't resist one last run at that all-elusive Olympic gold.

China's Bao takes gold at fencing Grand Prix Moscow leg

China's Bao Yingying grabbed the gold medal in the women's saber individual event on Monday at the Moscow leg of the International Fencing Federation Grand Prix.
Bao Yingying played against two-time Olympic Champion Mariel Zagunis of the United States in Monday's final.
The Moscow leg of the Grand Prix kicked off on Friday and will last through Tuesday. It has drawn more than 200 fencers from 25 countries and regions. China sent seven male fencers and eight female fencers to the tournament.

China's New Soccer Chief Cautiously Optimistic after East Asian Title

China's newly appointed soccer chief praised its East Asian championship triumph but underlined the need to build on the achievement.
Wei Di, who took over at the helm at the Chinese Football Association last month when his predecessor was fired amid a match-fixing probe, said China had made great strides.
Wei adds that Japan and South Korea has "stability" on its side, which the Chinese national soccer team lack. Moreover, he said China is "still not patient and mature enough" for long term success.

China Ends Real Name Train Ticket Experiment, Fails to Stop Scalpers

The real-name train ticket selling experiment was put an end to in southern China's Guangdong province after the Chinese New Year holiday which turned out to be helpful in allaying travelers' concern for ticket shortages during a travel peak season, but failed to uproot scalpers.
In 15 days, the trial operation initiated by China's Ministry of Railways among dozens of stations has benefited 600,000 travellers who went on their journeys home from Guangdong since January 30th to other inland provinces of Hunan, Sichuan and Guizhou, and Chongqing Municipality.

Myanmar-Chinese hold lion dance competitions in celebration of Spring Festival

Myanmar-Chinese in Myanmar's biggest city of Yangon began holding traditional lion dance competitions Monday evening in celebration of the lunar new year.
The four-day competition features 12 amateur lion dancing teams.
Such competitions have been held annually in Yangon since 2006.

Cruise liner Queen Mary 2 makes first China call

The luxury ocean liner Queen Mary 2 arrived at the Port of Shanghai Monday afternoon, making its first port call in China since its maiden voyage in 2004.
Queen Mary 2 was the largest luxury liner which ever made calls at the Port of Shanghai, marking the beginning of a peak of cruise arrivals at the host city of the 2010 World Expo.
One of the world's largest, longest and most expensive luxury liners, it carries about 2,500 passengers and 1,200 crew.