China – News Stories About China - Page 181

Dec 24, 2007 4:25 PM CST

Nokia Wins Big on Luxe Phones

Decked-out cell phones seen as status symbol for mega-rich

(Newser) - Nokia is enjoying increasing success with its Vertu subsidiary, a maker of luxury cellphones, as a super expensive phone becomes a status symbol for the mega-rich. Der Spiegel reports that Vertu phones, which come diamond- or gold-encrusted, make the iPhone look absolutely pedestrian with a price range from $6,500...

South Korea Bounces Reign of Baby Boys

Dec 23, 2007 10:10 AM CST

South Korea Bounces Reign of Baby Boys

Girls find new favor as sex imbalance begins to reverse

(Newser) - Shedding an age-old preference for sons, South Korea has in the last two decades become the first Asian country to reverse a large sex imbalance at birth. A radical shift in Koreans' attitude toward female babies—and toward working women—has brought down the rate of sex-selection abortion, the New ...

Thugs Skin Tiger in China Zoo

Dec 23, 2007 7:45 AM CST

Thugs Skin Tiger in China Zoo

Carcass of beheaded female discovered outside cage

(Newser) - Officials are searching for the thugs who skinned and beheaded a rare Siberian tiger at a zoo in central China. The female carcass—missing its head, legs and skin—was found outside its pen in Yichang City in Hubei province. Four homemade anesthetic rifles lay nearby. "It is highly...

Yahoo China Loses Piracy Case

Dec 21, 2007 3:21 PM CST

Yahoo China Loses Piracy Case

Beijing court cracks down on users downloading music

(Newser) - Yahoo China—40% owned by the US Internet giant—can no longer allow users to download unlicensed music on its Web site. A Chinese court yesterday upheld a decision that the company violated copyright laws in effect since last year. The US has long complained about rampant music and movie...

China Unveils 1st Passenger Jet

Dec 21, 2007 12:43 PM CST

China Unveils 1st Passenger Jet

Beijing hopes to compete with Boeing and Airbus

(Newser) - China unveiled its first passenger jet today, the first step in its goal to become a major player in the global aviation industry, Bloomberg reports. The ARJ21, which seats up to 90, will make its maiden voyage in March, and the first planes will be ready for customers in 2009....

World Bank Cuts China's Economy Down to Size

Dec 18, 2007 7:44 AM CST

World Bank Cuts China's Economy Down to Size

World Bank says the world's second-largest economy is poorer than thought

(Newser) - China's economy, predicted to become the world’s largest by 2012, actually is 40% smaller than previously estimated, the World Bank concludes, after updating the way it calculates GDP. Although China’s $5.33-trillion economy is still the second largest in the world behind the $12-trillion US, the new appraisal...

Japan Shoots Down Dummy US Missile

Dec 18, 2007 5:45 AM CST

Japan Shoots Down Dummy US Missile

Japanese expanding missile defense systems with Yank help

(Newser) - A Japanese warship off Hawaii has shot down a US-made mock ballistic missile in flight over the Pacific Ocean, the BBC reports. The test, using a US-developed intercept missile, was the first of its kind by an American ally. Japan and the US stepped up their missile defense cooperation after...

Sex Slaves Win Cash Damages

Dec 16, 2007 12:46 PM CST

Sex Slaves Win Cash Damages

Ruling could open floodgates of compensation for thousands of others

(Newser) - In a groundbreaking decision, Britain has awarded four women smuggled from eastern Europe to the UK and subjected by their captors to "forced prostitution, multiple rapes and beatings" more than £140,000. The decision, the first to consider false imprisonment and forced prostitution as categories for awarding damages,...

Bali: What Was Accomplished?

Dec 16, 2007 11:00 AM CST

Bali: What Was Accomplished?

Developed and developing nations agree to work to end global warming

(Newser) - Dismantling the “Berlin Wall of climate change”—the idea that rich nations alone should lead the fight against global warming—was the big breakthrough at the UN climate change conference in Bali, reports Time. It made it possible for the US, after a bruising confrontation and near-collapse of...

Pandas Prepare for Risky Duty

Dec 16, 2007 6:45 AM CST

Pandas Prepare for Risky Duty

Chinese scientists will set 4 free, but they must learn to defend themselves

(Newser) - Four panda bears bred in captivity in China will soon be set free in a bid to save their species from extinction. But first, they've got to toughen up. Scientists at the nation's biggest panda breeding center are preparing to release two males and two females into the wild, and...

'Rape of Nanking' Fresh, 70 Years Later

Dec 15, 2007 5:19 AM CST

'Rape of Nanking' Fresh, 70 Years Later

Massacre still colors Sino-Japan relations, informs China's identity

(Newser) - Seventy years have passed since the "Rape of Nanking," when Japanese soldiers brutally massacred as many as 300,000 Chinese civilians, but the effects of the trauma are still very much present in China and its relations with Japan. Memorializing the event plays a major role in cementing...

China Faces Baby Boomlet

Dec 14, 2007 4:31 PM CST

China Faces Baby Boomlet

Echoes of relaxed one-child rule, healthy economy will manifest soon

(Newser) - China is bracing for a bumper crop of babies as kids born after the relaxation of the strict one-child policy in 1984 start their own families, the London Times reports. Strict penalties still apply to couples with more than one child, but tradition-bound and wealthy Chinese can afford to pay...

Chinese Translation Ours, Company Tells Google

Dec 14, 2007 3:24 PM CST

Chinese Translation Ours, Company Tells Google

Beijing outfit wants search engine to pick new Far East moniker, pay damages

(Newser) - A Beijing company has sued Google over the search engine’s Chinese name, insisting it registered “Guge” first—and that the Californians should pick a new Far East handle. Beijing Guge Sci-Tech says it claimed the name in April 2006, while its nominal American competition didn’t make its...

Britain Tops US in Funding for World Bank

Dec 14, 2007 3:15 PM CST

Britain Tops US in Funding for World Bank

Institution raises record $25.1B for globe's poorest countries

(Newser) - Great Britain has supplanted the United States as the largest contributor to the World Bank, pledging $4.2 billion of the total $25.1 billion raised for the world's poorest nations, a record high. The shift in power reflects both the dollar's waning dominance as well as an end to...

They Won't Be Kung Fu Fighting

Dec 14, 2007 2:06 PM CST

They Won't Be Kung Fu Fighting

Shaolin monks will skip Beijingmartial arts fest in '08

(Newser) - Monks of central China's Shaolin Temple, renowned for their kung fu abilities, will not attend a major martial arts competition to be held alongside next year's Beijing Olympics, citing the discipline's emphasis on qi, or spirit. Their withdrawal prompted jeers from secular fighters: “We are the best wushu competitors....

China, India
Are Rich in 'Crystal Gas'

Dec 13, 2007 3:41 PM CST

China, India Are Rich in 'Crystal Gas'

Frozen methane stash could feed growing energy appetites

(Newser) - The discovery of a massive store of frozen methane on the seabed off the coast of China may help the world's fastest growing nation keep up with its accelerating energy needs. Methane hydrate, also known as crystal gas, is frozen and yet flammable, and it could mean a breakthrough for...

Quite Literally, Chinese Aren't Saying 'Google'

Dec 12, 2007 2:43 PM CST

Quite Literally, Chinese Aren't Saying 'Google'

Language barrier keeps search engine a bit player in big market

(Newser) - "Google" is a verb in many dictionaries, but the challenge of pronouncing it in Chinese has spelled trouble for the planet’s biggest search engine. "G-O-O-G-L-E is not a normal Chinese spelling and people don't pronounce it right," one Google exec tells Bloomberg of China, where the...

India and China Drive Mobile Growth

Dec 12, 2007 12:20 PM CST

India and China Drive Mobile Growth

Big developing markets adopt most phones, text the most

(Newser) - Telecom companies must be brushing up on their Hindi. India doubled its cell phone user population in 2006, adding more subscribers than Britain had total, according to a new international communications report. The 150 million Indian phone-toters represent just 14% of the population. China meanwhile sent 429 billion text messages,...

China OKs
US Health Inspections

Dec 11, 2007 10:08 AM CST

China OKs US Health Inspections

Beijing renews objections to 'hyped' product safety concerns

(Newser) - China will allow US health inspectors to monitor the country’s food and drug exports, the Washington Post reports, a big concession in heated high-level trade talks. China accuses the US media of tarnishing its reputation by overblowing safety concerns, and has in turn questioned US exports. China is the...

China Looks
to Buy American

Dec 10, 2007 7:27 PM CST

China Looks to Buy American

Seeks investments to adjust yuan growth; US official set for talks

(Newser) - China, increasingly being called upon to more rapidly adjust the growth of the yuan against the dollar, is looking to expand its investment in US assets as a way to funnel its powerhouse currency out of the country, Bloomberg reports today. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson visits Beijing Wednesday for a...