51,000 Chinese qualified to be country’s ‘new aristocrats’

October 1st, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistani intelligence authorities have warned that extremists may try to hijack Chinese airplanes and kidnap Chinese nationals working in the country. Intelligence agencies have issued notice to the Law Enforcement Agencies (LEA) asking them to strengthen security measures in and around Chinese establishments inside Pakistan.

September 18th, 2009 HONG KONG - A single Chinese stamp with a face value of 3 cents has sold for a world record $332,000 at a Hong Kong auction, a news report said Saturday. The 1897 Qing dynasty stamp was bought by a Beijing collector at an auction Friday and set a new world record for a single Chinese stamp, the South China Morning Post reported.

August 23rd, 2009 HANGZHOU - Visiting Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has urged Chinese entrepreneurs to set up business ventures in that country in a bid to boost foreign investment. Zardari made the call during his visit to Hangzhou, capital of China's Zhejiang Province, Saturday.

July 31st, 2009 WASHINGTON - Every fourth new car buyer in the US is now ready to buy the next vehicle from India or China, threatening to challenge the dominance of Japanese and Koreans in the American auto market, according to a new survey. The "Opportunity for Chinese and Indian Brands in the USA" survey by AutoPacific shows that 15 percent of the new buyers would look at buying a car from China, while 11 percent would go for a car from India.

July 30th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The first of four Chinese F-22P frigates constructed for the Pakistan Navy was formally handed over Thursday at a ceremony at the Hudong Zhonghua Shipyard in Shanghai. The delivery ceremony was followed by the commissioning of the ship, during which the Pakistani flag was hoisted on the ship with a band playing the Pakistani national anthem, APP news agency reported.

July 22nd, 2009 Some IMF members say China's currency undervaluedWASHINGTON — The International Monetary Fund is welcoming China's progress in letting the market determine the value of its currency, the yuan, but says some countries believe it remains "substantially undervalued." The IMF says many members believe further strengthening the yuan should be part of a comprehensive Chinese strategy to rebalance the economy, but others say it would play only a supporting role toward promoting changes. In its annual report on the Chinese economy, the IMF did not name individual countries' positions on the yuan.

July 22nd, 2009 LONDON - Multi-billion dollar fraudster Bernard Madoff has reportedly been carving desk and door nameplates during his 150-year jail sentence. The 71-year-old Ponzi king, who was found guilty of running the biggest fraud in the Wall Street history, was said to be working in the engraving section from 7am every day.

July 12th, 2009 DHAKA - Bangladeshs trade deficit with its principal partners India and China will cross $5.5 billion this fiscal, keeping up the pattern of higher imports and lower exports. The economy would, however, be helped by remittances from its large manpower working abroad and the government is trying hard to sustain in the face of the global downturn, officials of Bangladesh Bank predict.

July 9th, 2009 BEIJING - China's first astronaut, Yang Liwei, has revealed that Chinese women would soon be seen in space. During a web chat with the official Xinhua news agency, Liwei said: "The selection (of China's first woman astronaut) is underway I believe Chinese women will be seen in space in the near future." Yang, now 44, made history when he voyaged beyond the planet's atmosphere for 21 hours aboard the Shenzhou V spaceship in 2003.

July 9th, 2009 PETALING JAYA - Both Tamil and Chinese educationists have welcomed the Cabinet's decision to revert the teaching of science and mathematics to one's mother tongue in vernacular schools. Dong Zong (United Chinese School Committees Association of Malaysia) president Dr Yap Sin Tian said the use of English had brought about negative effects on students.

July 4th, 2009 LAHORE - Pakistan intelligence agencies have warned that the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud may target Chinese nationals in the country, as he has dispatched disabled teenage suicide bombers for the purpose. The Interior Ministry has issued a circular warning to all the concerned authorities about the threat.

July 2nd, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The Taliban is loosing support among the people of Pakistan, as about 80 percent of them are against the banned outfit and have termed it a threat for the country, a survey has revealed. According to a World Public Opinion (WPO) report, about 80 percent of the Pakistanis are against the Taliban.

June 3rd, 2009 LONDON - Martin Jahnke the student who threw a shoe at Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao has been cleared of any offence, after the Cambridge Magistrates' Court found him not guilty in a two-day trial. The district judge said that there was insufficient evidence to prove Jahnke guilty of causing harassment or distress to the Chinese Prime Minister.

April 20th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The growth of the Chinese Navy is in line with its economy and "it's no surprise to see it develop the way that it has," a top US naval officer has said. "The advancement and growth of the PLA navy is consistent with China's economic advancement and its role in a globalised world," said Admiral Gary Roughead, US Chief of Naval Operations.

April 18th, 2009 Brawn dominance eroded in ChinaSHANGHAI — Fears some rivals had of Brawn GP running away with the 2009 Formula One championships were eased Saturday as the title-leading team qualified only fourth and fifth for Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix. The significant edge the team enjoyed in Australia and Malaysia had been eroded, putting them behind the two Red Bulls and Renault's Fernando Alonso on the starting grid.