China and South Korea pledge to speed up free-trade negotiations

Chinese and South Korean leaders have issued a new promise to speed up negotiations on a bilateral free-trade agreement.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has told visiting South Korean President Lee Myung-bak that the two sides should start the negotiations as soon as possible.

Lee Myung-bak, for his part, says it is in the interests of both sides to sign a free-trade pact, saying his government wants to work with China to promote east Asian cooperation.

At the same time, the two sides have also renewed a pledge to work together to secure peace and stability on the Korean peninsula.

China, US pledge closer cooperation to advance global economic recovery

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is now here in China.

Geithner has already met with Chinese vice Premier Wang Qishan.

Wang Qishan has renewed Beijing's call to have the US loosen its export controls of high-tech products to China whilst adding that the world economic situation is still "very complex and grim".

"Apart from the bilateral aspect, we are also having important cooperation in the multilateral and global arena in the areas of economy, finance, trade policies and also G-20 related affairs."

For his part, Geithner says the healthy development of ties between China and the United States is vital to the world economy.

Geithner is set to meet with other top Chinese officials later today.

Syria's Assad Vows not to Step Down

敘利亞總統阿薩德揚言不下臺

Embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has delivered his first public speech to the Syrian people in several months.

Speaking to a gathering at Damascus University, Assad reiterated to the crowd, during a 2 hour speech, that a foreign conspiracy and terrorists are behind the unrest in Syria.

"There is no order at any level within the levels of our country to shoot at any civilian."

Some 160 Arab League observers are now monitoring the situation in Syria as part of a peace deal to end the unrest in the country.

The United Nations puts the death toll in months of uprisings in Syria at over 5-thousand.

Bar Shooting kills 8 in Northeastern Nigeria

尼日利亞東北部酒吧槍戰致使8人死亡

At least 8 people are dead, after gunmen opened fire at a beer parlor in northeastern Nigeria.

It's believed these are the latest victims of Boko Haram, the extremist Islamic group in northern Nigeria that has been launching attacks on anything not considered conforming to their view of Islam.

The attack comes on the heels of a killing spree at a mosque in the Christian-dominated southern part of Nigeria that has left 5 Muslim worshipers dead.

The sectarian violence comes at a time of wide-spread protest in Nigeria connected to the government's elimination of a fuel subsidy which has, in some cases, more than doubled the price at the pumps.

Kodak stock rises 45% on new business plan

柯達股價上漲45%,開始商業新計劃

Eastman Kodak has unveiled a new plan to transform the company into a digital player.

The announcement has sent its shares soaring in Tuesday trading, with Kodak shares on the Dow raising a whopping 45-percent.

The 132-year-old firm has simplified its business structure in an effort to cut costs, including the creation of a new unit with a focus on consumer digital products.

There has been wide-spread speculation that Kodak has been preparing to file for bankruptcy.

Kodak -- a mainstay in the world of photography for decades -- has been overtaken in recent years by rivals who reacted more quickly to the arrival of digital techniques.

China Moves to Protect Investor Interests

China's securities regulator has established a new investor protection bureau.

The bureau is responsible for drafting and reviewing laws that protect investors, on top of establishing an education system for investors.

Despite a rising number of institutional investors here in China, this country's capital market is still dominated by individual investors.

72 million people have individual holdings in the Chinese stock market.

80 percent of them have less than 100-thousand yuan in the market.

However, their contributions have also constituted 80-percent of the turnover over the course of this past year.

China Faces Greater Pressure to Ensure Energy Supply in 2012: Energy Chief

China's energy chief is warning that this country is under greater pressure to ensure its energy supplies this year.

Liu Tienan, head of the National Energy Administration, is cautioning that increased competition is going to exist on the international market this year.

As such, he says the plan is to boost China's reserves of oil, natural gas and coal this year.

At the same time, Liu says the NEA plans to extend electricity supplies to an additional 5-million people who currently don't have access to power supplies over the course of the coming 4-years.

Beijing Aims to Become Major International Financial Hub

Municipal authorities here in Beijing are now trying to work more closely with this country's state financial institutes to try to boost the city's image as an international financial hub.

City authorities are now planning to roll out more favorable policies to lure more financial institutes, including multi-nationals.

At the same time, the new plans include creating more favorable conditions for existing firms.

Last year, a global assessment ranked Beijing 14th among 45 international financial centers around the globe.