Steamboat line adds boat for Pacific Northwest Cruises

Miami Herald - Saturday 25th May, 2013

The American Queen Steamboat Co., which launched steamboat cruises on the Mississippi River last spring, has bought a second riverboat that will sail the rivers of the Pacific Northwest starting in April 2014. The company, named for its Mississippi River paddle wheeler, announced last week that it had purchased the former Empress of the North and will rename it the American Empress.The 360-foot ...

Gas cylinder blast on Pakistan school bus kills 17

Lexington Herald-Leader - Saturday 25th May, 2013

PESHAWAR, Pakistan - A pair of suspected militant attacks killed nine people in two different areas of northwest Pakistan on Friday, police said.In the deadlier of the two attacks, suspected militants armed with heavy weapons attacked a police convoy in Mattani, 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of the main northwest city of Peshawar, killing six policemen and wounding seven others, said senior ...

Suicidal man kills girl in fall from South Korea building

Independent.ie - Saturday 25th May, 2013

25 May 2013 A suicidal man jumping to his death killed a five-year-old girl by falling on her as she walked with her parents outside an apartment building, South Korean police ...

Beautiful sea of clouds scenery in Chinas Guizhou

Global Times - Saturday 25th May, 2013

Photo taken on May 22, 2013 shows the scenery of the sea of clouds and the terraced fields at the Pingzhai Township of Liping County, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (Xinhua/Yang ...

Germany tour to enhance bilateral ties China-EU ties

China Daily - Saturday 25th May, 2013

/enpproperty--> BERLIN -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is slated to start an official visit to Germany late Saturday, the last leg of his first overseas trip since taking office in March. Li will meet with German President Joachim Gauck and hold talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel on further cementing China's relationship with Germany and Europe at large. The premier will also deliver a ...

China to give U.S. access to audit records

Tribune Review - Saturday 25th May, 2013

China has agreed to give U.S. regulators access to audit records for Chinese companies whose shares trade on U.S. stock exchanges, a step forward in a long-running ...

Swiss free trade deal underscores China’s globalisation Li

bruvoice - Saturday 25th May, 2013

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Friday hailed a free trade deal with Switzerland as a landmark achievement, saying it had ';huge meaning'; for global trade and underscored Beijing’s growing openness to the ...

Japan fleets to visit Myanmar in October

SINA - Friday 24th May, 2013

A fleet of three training ships carrying young officers of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force will visit Myanmar in early October, Japan's Jiji press quoted informed sources as saying Monday. They will be the first MSDF ships to make a port visit in the Southeast Asian country, according to the sources. Myanmar is located in a strategically important area near a key sea lane leading ...

Abe vows to seek talks with DPRK over abduction issue

SINA - Friday 24th May, 2013

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe(Photo:Agencies) Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed Sunday to seek talks with Pyongyang in a bid to settle the issue of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s abductions of Japanese. Abe made the comment after a surprise visit to DPRK by one of his advisers last week. "I want to pursue negotiations or dialogue" with DPRK, ...

Taiwanese fishing boat seized by Japan

SINA - Friday 24th May, 2013

Japan on Tuesday seized a Taiwanese fishing boat inside its exclusive economic zone, the first incident since Tokyo and Taipei signed a fishing rights accord for disputed waters, Japanese Fisheries Agency said. The Taiwanese fishing boat was spotted in waters near Taketomi island, part of Okinawa chain, the agency said. One of the agency's patrol ships seized the boat and arrested the ...

Abe warns of possible military response to intruder subs

SINA - Friday 24th May, 2013

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Tuesday Tokyo could mount a military response if foreign submarines enter its territorial waters while underwater, as Japan and China continue to squabble over islands. Abe's comment came after Japan's Defense Ministry said a submerged vessel was spotted in waters near one of Japan's Okinawa islands, from late Sunday to early Monday. The ...

3 Chinese ships seen in Diaoyu waters Japan

SINA - Friday 24th May, 2013

Three Chinese government ships entered the waters of disputed Diaoyu Islands on Monday, Japan's coast guard said. Maritime surveillance vessels were spotted in the 12-nautical-mile zone off the Diaoyu islands in the East China Sea shortly after 9 a.m., Japanese coast guard said. It is the latest episode in a fraught few months that has seen repeated stand-offs between official ships from ...

Japanese PMs adviser visits DPRK

SINA - Friday 24th May, 2013

An adviser to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe arrived in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Tuesday in a rare surprise visit to a country with which Japan has no diplomatic ties, but the purpose of the visit was not immediately known. The DPRK's state television showed the aide, Isao Iijima, arriving in Pyongyang. Japan's Kyodo news agency said he was met by ...

Biden Phones Iraqi PM Concerned About Sectarian Violence

VOA - Friday 24th May, 2013

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden telephoned Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Friday to express concern over the recent rise in violence, including bombings. The White House says Biden pledged continued U.S. support for Iraq in its fight against terrorism. A statement says Biden and Maliki agreed on the importance of reaching out to all political leaders in Iraq and the need for a ...

China sees wider role for private business

Star Tribune - Friday 24th May, 2013

Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang reacts at the end of a press conference after the signing ceremony of several agreements between Switzerland and China, in Kehrsatz near Bern, Switzerland, Friday, May 24, 2013. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is in Switzerland to seal a free trade pact with the Alpine nation ? the first comprehensive agreement his country has reached with a major western economy. Li ...

NKorean envoy delivers letter to China’s president

Inquirer - Friday 24th May, 2013

In this photo released by China’s Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, greets North Korean Vice Marshal Choe Ryong Hae in Beijing Friday, May 24, 2013. The top North Korean envoy delivered a letter from leader Kim Jong Un to Xi on Friday and told him Pyongyang would take steps to rejoin stalled six-nation nuclear disarmament talks, in an apparent victory for ...

EP vice presidents accusations against Chinas human rights

Global Times - Friday 24th May, 2013

Vice President of the European Parliament (EP) McMillan-Scott's recent accusations against China's human rights are irresponsible, said the spokesperson of the Chinese mission to the European Union (EU) on Friday."In his recent article released on-line by a British newspaper, Mr. McMillan-Scott, Vice President of the European Parliament made biased and irresponsible accusations ...

9 dead 1 missing in E China colliery flood

Global Times - Friday 24th May, 2013

Nine people were killed and one person remain missing after a coal mine was flooded Thursday in Zhangqiu in east China's Shandong Province, local authorities confirmed Saturday. According to reports from locals on Friday, a coal mine flood occurred around 9 a.m. Thursday at a mining site allegedly under illegal operation in the city of Zhangqiu, said the press office with the Jinan ...

Uruguayan president arrives in China

Global Times - Friday 24th May, 2013

Uruguayan President Jose Mujica arrived in Beijing Saturday morning, kicking off his visit of China.Mujica is visiting China from May 25 to 28 at the invitation of Chinese President Xi ...

UN chief lauds Chinas efforts to promote denuclearization on Korean Peninsula

Global Times - Friday 24th May, 2013

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon on Friday voiced his appreciation of China's efforts to promote the denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, saying that Chinese President Xi Jinping's meeting in the day in Beijing with a special envoy of the leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) generated "positive momentum" in this direction.The secretary-general ...

Chinas satellite data network reaches South China Sea

Global Times - Friday 24th May, 2013

A satellite data receiving station was launched on Friday enabling China to now obtain observation information about the South China Sea. The station, in Sanya in south China's island province of Hainan, was launched by the Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. China will now be able to obtain satellite remote sensing data of the ...

Chinas bank card transactions exceed 100t yuan

China Daily - Friday 24th May, 2013

BEIJING - China's bank card transactions in the first quarter totaled 100.27 trillion yuan ($16.21 trillion), up 19.34 percent from the same period last year, the country's central bank said on Friday. A total of 10.63 billion transactions were made during the January-March period and the value for the first time exceeded 100 trillion yuan in one quarter, the ...