China regrets WTO appeal ruling on cultural imports

China regrets WTO appeal ruling on cultural imports


China regrets WTO appeal ruling on cultural imports

Posted: 21 Dec 2009 11:04 PM PST

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Ministry of Commerce on Tuesday said it regretted the loss of Beijing's appeal against a World Trade Organisation ruling that its import monopolies violated trade commitments.


Missing Dutch sailor back home in the Netherlands

Posted: 21 Dec 2009 11:04 PM PST

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch Teenager Laura Dekker, who went missing last week after child welfare authorities thwarted her attempt to become the youngest person to sail single-handed around the world, has returned to the Netherlands.


U.N. chief: Nations not 'united in action' at Copenhagen

Posted: 21 Dec 2009 07:29 PM PST

The U.N. secretary-general called upon the international community Monday to stand together by signing the Copenhagen Accord to fight climate change, after big power recriminations erupted soon after the Denmark conference wrapped up.


WTO blocks Beijing's curbs on film and music

Posted: 21 Dec 2009 06:59 PM PST

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Honduran election numbers may reflect trust during crisis

Posted: 21 Dec 2009 05:42 PM PST

The official tally of last month's presidential election is almost complete, and one pivotal piece of electoral data -- voter turnout -- will be lower than officials have previously claimed.


Mexico City legalizes same-sex marriage, adoptions

Posted: 21 Dec 2009 05:41 PM PST

Mexico City, one of Latin America's largest metropolises, on Monday legalized same-sex marriage and adoption by same-sex couples.


Deported Uighurs told UN of fears of China return (AP)

Posted: 21 Dec 2009 10:51 PM PST

In this Wednesday, July 15, 2009  photo, a Uighur ethnic minority man looks at a poster that reads 'Don't forget the party's kindness. Don't forget the warmth of the motherland. Don't forget the struggles of each minority group' in the town's market Bazaar in the city of Hotan, China, . A propaganda campaign to promote ethnic unity by the Han Chinese is in full throttle . The message  'We all belong to the same family' is falling flat among Uighurs in this former caravan stop on the edge of the Taklamakan desert, far from last week's ethnic rioting. (AP Photo/Elizabeth Dalziel)AP - Ethnic Uighur asylum-seekers forcibly repatriated over the weekend had warned the U.N. refugee agency they feared long jail terms or even the death penalty if they were sent back to China, according to statements seen by The Associated Press.



2 New Zealand farmers guilty on cow cruelty charge (AP)

Posted: 21 Dec 2009 10:39 PM PST

AP - A New Zealand court convicted two farmers on an animal cruelty charge Tuesday for impaling a live cow with a tractor's fork.


Vietnam Mulls Foreign Price Controls

Posted: 21 Dec 2009 10:32 PM PST

Vietnamese officials are drafting proposals to impose price controls on foreign-owned and private companies doing business in Vietnam, a move that could discourage further investment in one of Asia's brightest economic prospects.


Ahmadinejad denies trigger claim

Posted: 21 Dec 2009 08:51 PM PST

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says a document apparently showing that Tehran plans to test a trigger for a nuclear bomb is a US forgery.


Ahmadinejad denies trigger claim

Posted: 21 Dec 2009 08:51 PM PST

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says a document apparently showing that Tehran plans to test a trigger for a nuclear bomb is a US forgery.


Iran nuclear trigger report fabricated - Ahmadinejad

Posted: 21 Dec 2009 10:35 PM PST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A reported confidential Iranian technical document describing Tehran's efforts to design an atomic bomb trigger was forged by Washington, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told a U.S. news program on Monday.


ANALYSIS - Testing times ahead for Thai PM Abhisit

Posted: 21 Dec 2009 10:35 PM PST

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva may have survived longer than expected, but a year after taking office, with a political crisis still unresolved, the future of his fractious government remains uncertain.


Q+A - What lies ahead for turbulent Thailand?

Posted: 21 Dec 2009 10:35 PM PST

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Protesters and parliamentarians allied with exiled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra are planning a big push to bring down Thailand's government next month as the ousted billionaire seeks to wrestle back power.


Brown says relishes chance at televised debates (AFP)

Posted: 21 Dec 2009 10:13 PM PST

Prime Minister Gordon Brown (R) with Conservative Party Leader David Cameron in November. The leaders of the three main political parties will take part in a series of televised debates before next year's general election(AFP/POOL/File/Peter Macdiarmid)AFP - Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Tuesday he was relishing the chance of taking part in historic televised debates with the opposition parties in the run up to next year's election.



Bangladeshi twins celebrate first birthday apart (AFP)

Posted: 21 Dec 2009 10:17 PM PST

A handout photo released on November 26, 2009 from the Royal Children's Hospital shows former conjoined twins Krishna (front) and Trishna (back) with guardian Moira Kelly (centre) in Melbourne on November 26. Formerly conjoined Bangladeshi twins Trishna and Krishna celebrated a special first birthday apart Tuesday, their Australian guardian said, describing it as a AFP - Formerly conjoined Bangladeshi twins Trishna and Krishna celebrated a special first birthday apart Tuesday, their Australian guardian said, describing it as a "miracle".



Cyclone Laurence lashes western Australia (AFP)

Posted: 21 Dec 2009 09:58 PM PST

Graphic showing the path of Cyclone Laurence in Australia, packing winds up to 215 km per hour.(AFP Graphic)AFP - Tropical Cyclone Laurence ripped up trees and damaged buildings as winds of up to 215 kilometres (133 miles) an hour tore into the Western Australian coast, according to officials.



British army accused of 'waterboarding' in 1970s

Posted: 21 Dec 2009 05:53 PM PST

LONDON - Evidence is emerging that the British army used waterboarding during interrogations on prisoners in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, according to a report Tuesday.

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China set to execute British man for drug smuggling

Posted: 21 Dec 2009 03:40 PM PST

LONDON - Britain will intensify pressure on China to show clemency for a British man set to he executed this month for drug smuggling, voicing alarm over his case, officials said.

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Iran nuclear trigger report fabricated: Ahmadinejad

Posted: 21 Dec 2009 09:32 PM PST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A reported confidential Iranian technical document describing Tehran's efforts to design an atomic bomb trigger was forged by Washington, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told a U.S. news program on Monday.