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Posts published in May 2010

Terror revists Lahore, 70 killed, 90 injured

Taliban gun men on Friday May 28, targeted two mosques of minority Ahmadis in Lahore and killed seventy people. At least 90 people were injured. The last major attack on Pakistan’s cultural capital took place in March when a double suicide bombing killed dozens. This was for the first time Ahmadis were attacked. Hitherto, militants were targeting Shia Muslims. Ahmadis consider themselves Muslim and follow all Islamic rituals. But they were declared non-Muslims in Pakistan…

Beijing tries to push beyond ‘Made in China’ status to find name-brand innovation

By John Pomfret in The Washington Post Quick: Think of a Chinese brand name. Japan has Sony. Mexico has Corona. Germany has BMW. South Korea? Samsung. And China has . . . ? If you’re stumped, you’re not alone. And for China, that is an enormous problem. Last year, China overtook Germany to become the world’s largest exporter, and this year it could surpass Japan as the world’s No. 2 economy. But as China gains…

Clinton and Geithner Face Hurdles in China Talks

BEIJING — China and the United States opened three days of high-level meetings here on Monday meant to broaden and deepen the ties between the world’s largest developed and developing economies. But the opening session instead laid bare a recurring theme between Beijing and Washington: the United States came with a long wish list for China on both economic and security issues, while China mostly wants to be left alone to pursue policies that are…

China billionnaire jailed for fraud

The founder of China’s largest home appliance chain, who was once the country’s richest man, has been jailed for 14 years for bribery, insider trading and illegal business dealings. Huang Guangyu was also fined 600 million yuan (£60.4 million) and he had another 200 million yuan (£20 million) worth of property confiscated, the official Xinhua News Agency said. There was no information about the fate of Mr Huang’s wife, Du Juan, or the former chairman…

Questionable China-Pakistan deal draws little comment from U.S.

By Glenn Kessler in Washington Post, May 20 Diplomacy sometimes consists of winks and nods, not outright trades. That might explain why the Obama administration has been quiet about a recent Chinese commercial transaction that nuclear specialists say marks a blatant disregard of international guidelines. In the midst of intense negotiations on new sanctions for Iran, which China was reluctant to embrace, Beijing confirmed that one of its state companies had signed an agreement to…

China organ trafficking trial exposes grisly trade

A Beijing court is prosecuting a man for illegal organ trafficking, local media reported, putting the spotlight on a grisly black market in body parts in a country where demand for transplants far outstrips supply. Half a liver can be bought for 45,000 yuan ($6,590), while an entire transplant including operation and recovery costs, can be completed for 150,000 yuan, according to a defendant from another organ trafficking trial prosecuted at the same court last…

China restores full internet access to Xinjiang region after 10 months

China has restored full internet access in its far western Xinjiang region on Friday, the local government said, ending 10 months of blocked or limited access following deadly ethnic rioting there last July. The curbs had been widely criticised by Western human rights advocates. Besides restricting communication, the curbs had also hurt commerce in the region, home to about 20 million people, mainly Uighurs – a Muslim people native to Xinjiang and culturally tied to…

BOOK REVIEW: ‘Peddling Peril’ by David Albright

(An authoritative account of how Pakistan’s A.Q. Khan helped spread nuclear terrorism unhindered for decades)  Review by Bob Drogin in The Los Angeles Times, May 11 Nuclear weapons, which largely faded from front pages after the Cold War, are back in the news. President Obama endorsed a new national security strategy, and earlier this year he signed an ambitious arms control treaty with Russia, further easing fears of global Armageddon. But Obama also led an…

After Long Ban, Western China Is Back Online: The Independent, May 14

BEIJING — Full Internet service was restored to the vast western Chinese region of Xinjiang on Friday, 10 months after it was blocked following deadly ethnic rioting that convulsed the regional capital, Urumqi. The blockage was the longest and most widespread in China since the Internet became readily available throughout the country a decade ago. The announcement was made in the morning, and many residents in cities across Xinjiang took the day off from school…

Pakistan kills suspect in Iran consulate official’s murder: the Dawn, May12

PESHAWAR: Pakistani police on Tuesday killed a an alleged militant wanted over terror attacks including the murder last year of an official with the Iranian consulate, officials said. Police acting on a tip-off surrounded a house in the northwestern city of Peshawar where the man, named Amanullah, had been hiding, local police chief Liaquat Ali said. A gun battle broke out and Amanullah was killed, he said, adding that two police officials were wounded in…

Seven children hacked to death at nursery school in China

By Malcolm Moore in the Daily Telegraph, May 12 Shanghai: Seven children at a nursery school in north western China have been hacked to death and at least 20 more injured in the ninth attack involving children in just over a month. The attack took place at eight o’clock in the morning in a kindergarten in Nanzheng county, near Hanzhong city, in Shaanxi province, according to Xinhua, the government news agency.  “The injured have been…