World Media Summit begins in Beijing

October 10th, 2009 BEIJING - Representatives of media organisations from several countries ended their three-day summit here Saturday, with a call for "accurate, objective and impartial" news coverage. A total of 170 organisations participated in the conference.

October 9th, 2009 BEIJING - The media should promote world peace and development, Chinese President Hu Jintao said Friday at the opening ceremony of the World Media Summit, attended by about 300 representatives from over 170 media outlets from all over the globe. Hu said: "The media should use their distinctive assets and advantages to convey the messages of peace, development, cooperation, mutual benefit and tolerance." "All media organisations should be dedicated to the lofty cause of pushing forward peace and development." In the backdrop of global financial crisis, Hu said, the world's media should comprehensively cover the measures taken and the achievements of all countries to overcome difficulties.

October 9th, 2009 BEIJING - The Chinese government will safeguard the rights and interests of foreign news media, President Hu Jintao said Friday at the opening ceremony of the World Media Summit, attended by about 300 representatives from over 170 media outlets from all over the globe. Hu said: "We will continue to make government affairs public, enhance information distribution, safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of foreign news organisations and reporters, and facilitate foreign media coverage of China in accordance with China's laws and regulations." Foreign media coverage of China is growing in terms of its scale, scope and range, which "has played an important role in helping people around the world understand the development and changes in China", he said.

October 8th, 2009 China pledges to protect foreign mediaBEIJING — President Hu Jintao pledged Friday that Beijing would protect the rights of international news organizations reporting in China. Hu also said in an opening speech to a meeting of global media leaders that news organizations had an obligation to help keep peace in the world.

October 6th, 2009 BEIJING - Heads of media organisations worldwide will gather in the Chinese capital for a unique summit Oct 8-10. The World Media Summit, with the theme "Cooperation, Action, Win-Win and Development", will be attended by officials from major media organisations including news agencies, newspapers, magazines, radio, television broadcasters and online sites.

September 29th, 2009 BEIJING - The annual prime ministers' meet of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will be held in Beijing Oct 14, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu announced here Tuesday. The leaders from Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, the SCO observer countries and other relevant countries would be attending the meet.

July 8th, 2009 ROME - Unscathed by a reported hate campaign launched by Chinese intellectuals and civil society on a internet blogs and opinion columns on websites and other media outlets, Indian Government sources have played down the Chinese diatribe. "There are elements in China who have their own view on India's growth which is not necessarily the view of Beijing top government," said one source.

July 8th, 2009 L'AQUILA, Italy — President Barack Obama has arrived in the quake-ravaged Italian town of L'Aquila as the first Group of Eight summit of his presidency opened. Obama was greeted by host Silvio Berlusconi at the summit at a walled-off police academy where leaders of eight industrialized nations will hold their three-day meeting.

July 8th, 2009 Top media execs wonder how Twitter will make moneySUN VALLEY, Idaho — Major media executives are impressed with Twitter's growing popularity as a communications tool. They just can't figure out how the online messaging service is going to make money.

July 5th, 2009 LONDON - The reputation of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is set to receive a further blow after the release of new photographs showing the Italian Prime Minister grinning while two young women kiss in front of him. After two months of battling the allegations about his private life, the new photographs clicked at his Sardinian estate threaten to defame Berlusconi ahead of G8 summit of leading industrialised nations this week, reports Times Online.

July 4th, 2009 BEIJING - Asia should have its own monetary fund to better ensure financial stability of the region, a senior UN official has said. "Ultimately Asia should have its own monetary fund," Supachai Panitchpakdi, secretary-general of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), was quoted as saying by the China Daily Saturday.

April 29th, 2009 Roberston advances at table tennis worldsYOKOHAMA, Japan — Welshman Adam Robertson defeated Dino Suarez of Ecuador on Wednesday to qualify for the table tennis world championships. Robertson coasted to an 11-2, 11-2, 12-10, 11-6 win over Suarez to reach the first round of the tournament, which begins Thursday.

March 30th, 2009 BEIJING - China and the European Union plan to patch up recent turbulence over Tibet and deepen their cooperation this year to tackle global problems, a top EU diplomat said Monday. 'The moment has come to look forward,' EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said after talks with Chinese officials in Beijing.

February 16th, 2009 BEIJING - About 1,500 cars join the already clogged roads in this Chinese capital city daily, increasing traffic pressure and safety risks, officials said Tuesday. A total of 65,970 new vehicles have been registered in Beijing in the first 45 days of this year, with a daily increase of 1,466 vehicles, the Beijing Traffic Management Bureau said.

January 7th, 2009 BEIJING - A giant panda at Beijing Zoo mauled an intruder who climbed into its enclosure, state media said Thursday. The 110-kg panda, Gugu, bit the legs of the man who climbed into its pen to retrieve a toy dropped by his young son Wednesday, the Beijing Morning Post said.