Xinhua News Agency back issues from Wednesday, December 16:
Xinjiang to Close 154 Illegal Coal Mines
Dec 16, 1998 ... Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has decided toclose 154 illegal small coal mines in the coming year. The mines are run without licenses and cause heavy pollution andserious waste of resources. The massive shutdown will reduce Xinjiang's coal output by ...
Small UNDP Loans Prove Effective in Poverty Relief in Sichuan
Dec 16, 1998 ... An increasing number of impoverished people living in YilongCounty, southwest China's Sichuan Province, have used small loans toescape poverty. The relief project, funded by the United Nations DevelopmentProgram, provides installment loans ranging between 1,000-3,000 yuanto ...
Market Exchange Rates
Dec 16, 1998 ... The People's Bank of China today issued the market exchange ratesin RMB yuan against three major currencies. The middle price of RMByuan against convertible currencies is mainly based on the closingprice of the preceding interbank trading. The designated foreign exchange trading ...
Major News Items in Leading Australian Newspapers
Dec 16, 1998 ... The following are major news items in leading Australiannewspapers Wednesday. The Australian: All Australians would get the chance to have their say on whoshould be president under a proposal to Australian FederalAttorney-General Daryl Williams by prominent republicans as ...
Major News Items in Leading Philippine Newspapers
Dec 16, 1998 ... The following are major news items in leading Philippinenewspapers Wednesday. Manila Bulletin: The Philippine central bank approved an array of graduatedpenalties on banks for failure to comply with the new minimumcapitalization base set to expire at the end of this ...
Largest Enterprise Merger Yields Profits
Dec 16, 1998 ... China's Qilu Petrochemical Co. said today it has turned thelossesof the two companies it merged last year into to profits. The former Zibo Chemical Fiber Works and Zibo Petrochemical Planthad suffered years of losses and lacked sufficient assets to retiredebts before they were ...
Indonesia Has Difficulties to Save Wild Animals
Dec 16, 1998 ... The current protracted economic crisis has caused difficultiesforIndonesia to save its endangered wild species, Dr. Hadi Ati Kodra,assistant to the environment minister, said on Tuesday. Speaking on a workshop in Cisarua, West Java province, theassistant said that conservation ...
HK Buddhist Temple Helps Hope Project
Dec 16, 1998 ... Baolian Temple, the most famous in the Hong Kong SpecialAdministrative Region, today donated 1.35 million HK dollars to theHope Project in south China's Guangdong Province. The donation will be used to build three primary schools inWuchuan and Leizhou cities and Dongyuan County in ...
Highlights of Beijing-based Newspapers
Dec 16, 1998 ... Highlights of today's major Beijing-based newspapers: "People's Daily" Along with 5.67 million ordinary Beijing residents, ChinesePresident Jiang Zemin yesterday took part in the voting to choosedeputies to district people's congress.At nine o'clock in the morning, President ...
Exports Bring Wealth to Eastern Chinese Farmers
Dec 16, 1998 ... Farmers in Anqiu city, in east China's Shandong Province, havebecome well-off thanks to increasing exports of farm produce. In the first nine months of this year,the city exported a totalof475,000 tons of farm produce valued at 2.1 billion yuan, and theincome accounted for more ...
Dai People Drop Traditional Contempt for Business
Dec 16, 1998 ... Zhang Ming, a 28-year-old farmer of the Dai ethnic group, canearnover 100,000 yuan (about 12,048 U.S. dollars) a year by sellinglocally produced fruits and vegetables to other provinces. This young man of Changning County, Yunnan Province, has a car,uses a mobile phone, and is ...
China's Largest Solar Power Station Built in Tibet
Dec 16, 1998 ... The largest solar power station in China became operationalrecently in Amdo County in the Tibet Autonomous Region. The station, constructed at a cost of 17 million yuan (twomillionUS dollars), has an installed capacity of 100 kilowatts. Thefacility will supply power five hours ...
China's Chongqing Completes Land Contract Work
Dec 16, 1998 ... Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality has completed its secondround of land contract work with farmers to continue with theagricultural responsibility system. Over 80 percent of Chongqing's total population is made up ofrural people and so far 94 per cent of farmers have been ...
Yuichiro Kamiyama Wins Men's Sprint Final
Dec 16, 1998 ... Yuichiro of Japan won the men's sprint title after beatingcompatriot Noriaki Mabuchi in the final ...
Wardlaw Named as Australian Athletics Head Coach
Dec 16, 1998 ... Chris Wardlaw was named on Wednesday as head coach of Australianathletics team, according to reports from Sydney. Wardlaw, 48, was appointed to the full-time position afterleadingAustralia to the top of the medals table in the athletics at ...
Wang Yan Wins Women's Sprint Title
Dec 16, 1998 ... Wang Yan of China won the women's sprint title after beatingteammate Jiang Cuihui in ...
URGENT U.N. Arms Inspector Ordered to Withdraw From Iraq
Dec 16, 1998 ... All U.N. arms inspectors are packing up their luggages to leaveIraq, said reliable U.N. sources Wednesday. The U.N. sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said thatU.N. arms inspectors have received notice from New ...
U.N. Inspectors Ordered to Leave Baghdad
Dec 16, 1998 ... All U.N. arms inspectors in Iraq have been ordered to leaveBaghdad at 9:30 local time (0630 GMT) Wedensday, said reliable U.N.sources. "We are gathering luggages and are ready to withdraw from Iraq,"the sources told Xinhua Wednesday morning on condition of anonymity. The ...
U.N. Arms Inspector Ordered to Withdraw From Iraq
Dec 16, 1998 ... All U.N. arms inspectors are packing up their luggages to leaveIraq, said reliable U.N. sources Wednesday. The U.N. sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said thatU.N. arms inspectors have received notice from New York asking themto get ready to evacuate from Iraq. The ...
U.N. Arms Inspector Ordered to Withdraw From Iraq
Dec 16, 1998 ... All U.N. arms inspectors in Iraq have been ordered to leaveBaghdad at 9:30 local time (0630 GMT) Wedensday, said reliable U.N.sources. "We are gathering luggages and are ready to withdraw from Iraq,"the sources told Xinhua Wednesday morning on condition of anonymity. The ...
Thai Opposition Lacks Support to Oust Govt Leaders
Dec 16, 1998 ... Thai opposition has suffered another setback after an opinionpollshowed little public support for its bid to impeach two keygovernment leaders. The poll available on Wednesday showed 72.4 percent of 1,254respondents disapproved of the opposition's impeachment move againstPrime ...
Thai Official Likely to Become WTO New Chief
Dec 16, 1998 ... Thai Deputy Prime Minister Supachai Panitchpakdi has emerged asthe front-runner to become the next director-general of the WorldTrade Organization (WTO). A preliminary count of support issued by two ambassadorsconducting consultations among the WTO's 132 members put NewZealand's ...
Survey Finds Chinese Consumer Income Expection Down
Dec 16, 1998 ... Chinese consumers are lowering their expectations for the futuregrowth of family income amid a slowing economy, says a recentnational survey. According to the Economic Forecast Department of the StateInformation Center, the just-completed survey indicates that theconsumer income ...
Strong Quake Hits Southwestern Japan
Dec 16, 1998 ... A strong earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale joltedareas in southern Kyushu, southwestern Japan, on Wednesday morning,the Meteorological Agency said. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage from thequake, and no tsunami or tidal wave warning was ...
Sri Lankan to Invistigate Jayasinghe withdrawal
Dec 16, 1998 ... Sports authority of Sri Lanka will probably investigate SusantikaJayasinghe's withdrawal from the Asian Games which they said spoiledthe country's hope for women's relay medals, according to Sri Lankanofficials. The Sri Lankan sports officials, said a decision on whether ...
Sri Lanka to Seek Assurance from India
Dec 16, 1998 ... Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga, due to visit Indialater this month, will seek a reassurance from India that it willnotinterfere in the internal affairs of the island, newspapers herereported Wednesday. The official Daily News said Sri Lanka wants to know ...
Sri Lanka to Initiate School Library Project
Dec 16, 1998 ... The Sri Lankan government will launch a 1.2 billion rupees (18million U.S. dollars) project next year to establish new schoollibraries and to upgrade existing ones, the Ministry of EducationandHigher Education said Wednesday. Under the project, 2,000 new school libraries will be ...
Semifinal Results of Men's Team Pursuit
Dec 16, 1998 ... Following are the semifinal results of Asian Games men's 4-kmteampursuit cycling event here on ...
Scholars Propose to Rewrite History of Ancient China
Dec 16, 1998 ... Chinese historians now believe that China's high level ofcivilization may well be twice as old as previously thought, takingit back some 10,000 years. A group of scholars from China's mainland provinces and TaiwanProvince have now called for the history books to be rewritten ...
Results of Asiad Cycling Sprint Events
Dec 16, 1998 ... Following are the results of men's and women's sprint events inAsian Games cycling on Wednesday: Men's final: Yuichiro Kamiyama, Japan, bt Noriaki Mabuchi, 2-0 (winner's firstride 11.346 seconds/second ride 11.447)Men's bronze medal decider:Hyun ...
Quarterfinal Results of Men's Team Pursuit
Dec 16, 1998 ... Following are the quarterfinal results of men's 4-km team pursuitcycling at the Asian Games here on Wednesday: China beat Hong Kong, ...
Production Line for Radial Truck Tires in Place
Dec 16, 1998 ... Installation of a radial truck tire production line based inChaoyang in northeast China's Liaoning Province was completedrecently, and the line will begin operations early next year. By then, the Liaoning Tires Group Co., Ltd. will become the thirdfirm producing tubeless tires in ...
New Zealand Stocks Close Higher
Dec 16, 1998 ... The New Zealand sharemarket closed higher here Wednesday. The NZSE40 Index ended 13 points higher at 1,953 with a turnoverof 167 million NZ dollars (87.3 million U.S. dollars). Among the 10 leading stocks, Fletcher Energy put on 13 cents to343 cents, Auckland Airport 7 to 227 ...
New Zealand Bank Puts Accounts Online for Customers
Dec 16, 1998 ... BankDirect, an Auckland-based bank, is acclaiming a New Zealandfirst for a new service that allows customers to use their personalcomputers to see where their money is going. The latest issue of New Zealand Infotech Weekly quotes GeneralManager Jane Freeman of the bank as ...
New Zealand Bank Aims at Paperless billing
Dec 16, 1998 ... The Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) has agreed to jointly pilot NZPost's online bill payment system, becoming the first bank in thecountry to sign up to NZ Post's ambitious vision for paperlessbilling, according to the latest issue of NZ Infotech Weekly. Three hundred BNZ and NZ Post ...
New Expressways Under Construction in Chengdu
Dec 16, 1998 ... Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province in southwest China, startedconstruction of two new expressways recently as part of its effortsto form a comprehensive expressway network in early next century. One project, the 42.04-kilometer-long west section of the city'sring-road expressway, ...
Myanmar Hosts National AIDS Program Managers'
Dec 16, 1998 ... A three-day meeting of National AIDS Program Managers forSoutheast Asia Region is being held here to seek ways to tackle theproblem of HIV/AIDS. The 13th meeting of its kind, which began Tuesday, is jointlysponsored by the Myanmar Health Ministry and the World HealthOrganization ...
Myanmar Establishes Diplomatic Ties With Kuwait
Dec 16, 1998 ... Myanmar established diplomatic relations with Kuwait on Wednesdayat ambassadorial level, a press release of the Myanmar ForeignMinistry said. Kuwait is the 73rd country in the world with which Myanmar hasestablished diplomatic ties since its independence in 1948. Guided by ...
Most Icelanders Favor EU Entry
Dec 16, 1998 ... The proportion of Icelanders in favor of their country's entry tothe European Union (EU) has exceeded half for the first time,according to the latest poll released by Icelandic newspapers onTuesday. Of the 1,135 people surveyed, 52 percent believed that Icelandshould apply for EU ...
Major News Items in Leading Indian Newspapers
Dec 16, 1998 ... The following are major news items in leading Indian newspapersWednesday. The Hindustan Times: India has rejected a U.S. suggestion that it consider amoratoriumon fissile material production.The Times of India:Insurance Regulatory Authority Bill, seeking to open the ...
Major News Items in Leading Pakistani Newspapers
Dec 16, 1998 ... The following are major news items in leading Pakistani Englishnewspapers on Wednesday. The News: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Tuesday expressed his dissatisfactionover the pace of trial hearing in military courts and directed theconcerned authorities to take decisions well ...
Major News Items in Leading Kenyan Newspapers
Dec 16, 1998 ... The following are major news items in leading Kenyan newspapersWednesday: Kenya Times: Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi arrived in Tehran, Iran Tuesdayafternoon, to a red carpet welcome by his host President SyedMohammad Khatami.Daily Nation:Congolese rebels and their ...
Indonesia Expects Debt Service Ratio Up
Dec 16, 1998 ... The Indonesian government expects the ratio of serviced foreigndebt to exports to reach an alarming level of 49.3 percent in thecurrent fiscal year that ends in March, Minister of Finance BambangSubianto said. "Our debt service ratio in the 1998/99 fiscal year is ...
Indian Financial Institutions Asked to Buy Public
Dec 16, 1998 ... The Indian government has asked the country's leading financialinstitutions and banks to buy shares worth 50 billion rupees (1.20billion U.S. dollars) in four public sector units (PSUs) to helpreduce the nation's fiscal deficit, official sources said hereWednesday. The four units ...
Indian Expert Panel for Curbs on Govt Expenditure
Dec 16, 1998 ... An Indian expert panel on trade and industry in its reportsubmitted to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee recently suggestedstrict control on the government expenditure and borrowing fromfinancial institutions, a government official said here Wednesday. The recommendation to cap ...
Hong Kong Stocks Open Higher
Dec 16, 1998 ... Hong Kong stocks rose 62.25 points, or 0.63 percent, to open at10,015.09 on ...
Hong Kong Stocks Slightly Higher at Midday
Dec 16, 1998 ... Hong Kong stocks rose for a mere figure of 0.54 point, or 0.05percent, to finish the morning session at 9,953.38 on ...
Guangxi Collects VATs from Oil-refilling Vessels
Dec 16, 1998 ... - Taxation officials in the port city of Beihai in south China'sGuangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region recently strengthened efforts tocollect value-added taxes (VAT) from oil-refilling tankers, whichwere at one time tax evaders. The rapid development of the fishery and ...
Germany to Help Liaoning with Afforestation Program
Dec 16, 1998 ... Germany will provide 12 million deustche marks in free aid tohelpthe city of Chaoyang in northeast China's Liaoning Province developan afforestation program over the next five years to curb theexpansion of the desert. Scientists have completed their examination of the sandy ...
Foreign Exchange Rates in Pakistan
Dec 16, 1998 ... The following are major foreign exchange rates against thePakistani rupee released Wednesday by the Overseas Banking Divisionof National Bank of Pakistan: Wednesday Tuesday U.S. dollar 45.9500/46.280045.9500/46.2800British pound77.1884/78.1007...
Foreign Exchange Rates in New Zealand
Dec 16, 1998 ... The following are the foreign exchange rates against the NewZealand dollar here on Wednesday: Wednesday Tuesday Australian dollar ...
Foreign Exchange Rates in Indonesia
Dec 16, 1998 ... The following are foreign exchange rates against the Indonesianrupiah here on Wednesday: WednesdayTuesday U.S. dollar 7,600/8,000 7,300/7,650Australian dollar 4,700/5,100 4,550/4,850Singapore dollar4,450/4,850 ...
Dhaka Takes Steps to Raise Sports Standard
Dec 16, 1998 ... The Bangladesh government is taking steps to raise the standardofsports, which is very important for a health mental growth, PrimeMinister Sheikh Hasina said. "We're taking long- and short-term plans for solving problems andachieving an all-round success in the sports arena," ...
Corrupt Practices Cause Indonesia Big Losses: Minister
Dec 16, 1998 ... Finance Minister Bambang Subianto Tuesday said the Indonesiangovernment has suffered heavy losses due to the bad habits ofofficials including mark-up. "Mark-up that took place in 1997, inflated costs by about 50percent, and caused a loss of over 5 trillion rupiah (675 millionU.S ....
Construction of Gateways to Macao Goes Smoothly
Dec 16, 1998 ... Construction of three major infrastructure projects connectingMacao with neighboring Zhuhai, a booming special economic zone insouth China's Guangdong Province, is going well. These projects include the port of Gongbei, the Lianhua (Lotus)Bridge linking Zhuhai and Macao, and the ...
Chinese Wang Fights Fatal Disease to Win Gold
Dec 16, 1998 ... Chinese cyclist Wang Yan battled against a mysterious fataldisease and her rival to win the Asian Games women's sprint here onWednesday. Wang, 26, defeated compatriot Jiang Cuihua 2-0 in the final,clocking 14.463 and 13.450 seconds in her two rides. "It was really painful to ...
Chinese Vice President Arrives in Hanoi for Summit
Dec 16, 1998 ... Chinese Vice President Hu Jintao arrived here Wednesday morningtoattend the second informal summits between the Association ofSoutheast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China, Japan and the Republic ofKorea (ROK), and between ASEAN and China to be held in Hanoi laterWednesday. After ...
Chinese Vice President Arrives in Hanoi for Summit
Dec 16, 1998 ... Chinese Vice President Hu Jintao arrived here Wednesday morningtoattend the second informal summits between the Association ofSoutheast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China, Japan and the Republic ofKorea (ROK), and between ASEAN and China, both to be held here onWednesday. After ...
Chinese President Accepts Credentials from Two Ambassadors
Dec 16, 1998 ... Chinese President Jiang Zemin here this morning acceptedcredentials from Daryal Batibay, Turkish ambassador to China, ...
Chinese President
Dec 16, 1998 ... Chinese President Jiang Zemin met with Papua New Guinean PrimeMinister Bill Skate at the Great Hall of the People this morning. Jiang expressed his welcome for Skate's visit and recalled themeeting between the two leaders in Asian-Pacific Cooperation (APEC)summit late this ...
Chinese Farmers Bid Adieu to Arranged Marriages
Dec 16, 1998 ... Arranged marriage is now basically extinct, and Chinese farmersare more open to formerly taboo subjects such as their sex lives,according to a recent report in the China Women's News. The marriage and family research society in east China's AnhuiProvince recently conducted a survey ...
BULLETIN U.N. Arms Inspector Ready to Withdraw From Iraq
Dec 16, 1998 ... All U.N. arms inspectors are gathering luggages and are ready ...
Bangladesh Scores Highest Export Growth in Sub-
Dec 16, 1998 ... Bangladesh scored a 17-percent export growth during the past1997-98 fiscal year, the highest in the South Asia sub-continent,Commerce and Industries Minister Tofail Ahmed said. "The export growth of Bangladesh is the highest in thesub-continent," while both India and Pakistan ...
Banana Returns Home to Face Justice
Dec 16, 1998 ... Zimbabwe's convicted former president Canaan Banana who has beenon the run for three weeks has returned home through Beitbridgeborder post in south Zimbabwe to face justice. His return is suspected to be linked to political intervention atthe highest level, the Daily Herald ...
Asian Games Schedule for December 17
Dec 16, 1998 ... Following is the Asian Games finals schedule for December 17: Archery Women's team: 11:40-12:00Men's team: 16:40-17:00AthleticsWomen's long jump: 16:00Women's 400m hurdles: 15:20-15:40Men's 400m hurdles: 15:40-16:00Men's 800m: 16:00-16:20Woomen's 800m: ...