Chinese vice president, Thai house speaker discuss bilateral relations
中泰商討雙邊關系
Visiting Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping has met in Bankok with Speaker of Thailand's House of Representatives Somsak Kiatsuranont, expressing willingness to step up bilateral ties to maintain regional stability.
Xi Jinpng said China is willing to work together with Thailand to further strengthen communication and coordination...,to jointly deepen the China-Thailand strategic partnership and make greater contribution to regional stability and prosperity.
The Chinese vice president is on a three-day official visit to Thailand, the second and last stop of an Asia tour that also took him to Vietnam.

Death toll of twin attacks in Syrian capital rises to 44
敘利亞首都連環襲擊事件致使死亡人數升至44人
The death toll of the twin attacks on intelligence centers in the Syrian capital of Damascus on Friday has risen to 44, while 166 others were injured, most of them civilians.
Syria's interior ministry says the attacks reflect a new escalation of terrorist acts in Syria, adding "the style of the attacks refers to al-Qaida."
Earlier on Friday, two suicide bombs rocked two security centers in central Damascus, the worst violence since protests against President Bashar al-Assad erupted in mid-March. The bombing came only a day after the Arab League (AL) observers arrived in the capital to monitor the situation on the ground.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he is "gravely concerned with the escalating violence in Syria," and stressed that "all violence is unacceptable and must stop immediately."

Obama urges lawmakers to pass full-year tax cut, jobless benefits
奧巴馬敦促立法者通過全年減稅,失業補貼
U.S. President Barack Obama has signed the bipartisan short-term compromise stopgap measure to extend the payroll tax cut and federal jobless benefits into law, and urged lawmakers to negotiate next year and extend the tax cut and benefits for a full year.
The two chambers of U.S. Congress on Friday passed a two-month payroll tax and jobless benefits bill, after the compromise finally took shape on Thursday.

China targets 7 million low-income houses in 2012
我國2012年保障房開工目標下調至700萬套
The Chinese government plans to begin construction or renovation work on at least 7 million housing units for low-income groups next year.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development says the target covers both newly-built subsidized housing units and houses in rundown areas that require renovation.
Builders are expected to complete construction work on 5 million of those housing units next year.

China to speed up development of next-generation Internet industry: Cabinet
中國加快發展下一代互聯網行業
The State Council, or China's Cabinet, says the government will accelerate the development of the next-generation Internet industry in the next few years and boost the sector's role in stimulating the economy.
China aims to put the Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6)-based network into small-scale commercial pilot use and form a mature business model by the end of 2013, according to a statement released after an executive meeting of the State Council presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao.

Red Cross China vows further transparency in a move to reassure public
我國紅十字將加強工作 增加透明度
The Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) says it will further efforts to increase transparency in its charity operations by forming a committee of supervisors from the public.
An official with RCSC says a special committee consisting of people with known social responsibility, credibility and good judgement will be formed to supervise the fund-raising and charity operations of the society and its branches.
The official says it is necessary for the society to form an effective system to disclose information concerning the sources and utilization of donations.

Beijing to continue counterfeit crackdown in "notorious" market
北京繼續鎮壓假冒偽劣市場
Beijing's industry and commerce authority says it will continue its crackdown on counterfeit goods in a market labeled by Washington as "notorious" for intellectual property rights (IPR) infringement.
The Silk Street Market, known in the past as a downtown Beijing hotspot for knock-off designer goods, is among the physical markets listed by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) for the rampant dealing of counterfeit goods this year.
An official with the Beijing industry and commerce bureau says the problem of piracy exists in the Silk Street Market, but the cases have been remarkably reduced after a five-year crackdown on IPR violations.

Senior Chinese official calls for production of more dramas to meet people's spiritual needs
高級官員呼吁戲劇多產來滿足人們的精神需求
A senior Chinese official has called for the production of more dramas to meet the people's spiritual needs and prosper the country's cultural market.
Li Changchun made the remarks after watching a Chinese drama performance at National Center for the Performing Arts.
The drama play tells a story of how businessmen in Beijing's Wangfujing Street build up their reputation and brands in their rise and decline, and Li Changchun said it was an excellent example to promote the spirit of the city and educate young people.

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