Broadcasting Time: 08:00 AM, GMT:+8:00, 2010-01-27

China Opposes Arms Sales to Taiwan as U.S. Moves to Approve Package

China has again urged the United States to end arms sales to Taiwan after the U.S. administration was reported to have agreed to the sale of another package of arms.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu stressed the arms sales would jeopardize the overall China-U.S. cooperation, but he did not say what actions China would take in response to the U.S. move.
In 2008, China curtailed military exchanges with the United States after the Bush administration approved a 6.5-billion-U.S.-dollar Taiwan arms deal, including 30 Apache attack helicopters and 330 Patriot missiles.

4 More Sentenced to Death over Xinjiang Riots

A court in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has sentenced four people to death over deadly riots in July.
The verdicts were handed down on Monday by a court in the regional capital Urumqi, scene of the violence that has left 197 dead and over 1,700 injured.
Another one was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve and eight others got prison terms of up to life.
The verdicts came in five separate cases with the 13 defendants charged with "attacking, smashing, looting and burning".

Cat and Dog Meat Eaters to be Fined and Detained

Eating cats and dogs might result in a 15-day detention, according to a draft of China's new anti-animal abuse law.
This has rekindled an old controversy and heated debate on the Internet. While animal lovers hailed the proposal, opponents argue the law is designed only to pander to Western values and is not practical.
The draft also stipulates that people who eat cats and dogs should be fined as much as 5,000 yuan or about 730 U.S. dollars. Restaurants found offering cats and dogs on menus could be fined half a million yuan.

China's Baidu wins court case against music groups

China's most popular search engine Baidu has been cleared of piracy in a dispute with the music industry.
The IFPI trade body for the music sector said on Tuesday said it was very disappointed with the ruling after a court in China decided that the search engine had not broken rules by linking to music downloads.
The case was launched in a Beijing court by Universal Music, Sony BMG Music Entertainment Hong Kong, and Warner Music Hong Kong in early 2008.
They accused Baidu of providing "deep links" to hundreds of thousands of infringing tracks on third-party sites.

Police chief found dead on eve of Davos meeting

The Swiss police commander overseeing security for the World Economic Forum in Davos has been found dead.
Swiss police said in a statement that Markus Reinhardt, commander of the Graubuenden cantonal police, was found dead in his hotel room Tuesday morning.
Police said that "All indications point to a suicide."
The announcement came as political and business leaders began arriving in the Swiss mountain resort for the start of the annual blue-chip meeting on Wednesday.

Int'l Space Station to Serve until 2020: Russia Official

Partner nations of the International Space Station have agreed to extend the life of the space station until 2020.
Chief of Russia's Rocket and Space Corporation Energia, Vitaly Lopota, said the formation of the ISS will be continued until 2015, and partners have already agreed to prolong its life until 2020.
The space station on the near Earth orbit was formally initiated in 1998 with a designed life until 2015.
A total of 187 people from across the world have so far visited the site.

IMF, World Bank announce 1.6 bln USD in debt relief to Afghanistan

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have agreed to support an international debt relief program of 1.6 billion dollars for Afghanistan after the country completed a number of important reforms.
The boards of directors of both institutions agreed that the country has taken the necessary steps to to qualify for the debt relief program.
The steps include actions to begin implementing a national development strategy, maintain a stable macroeconomic environment, and enhance debt management.

Texting Banned for Truckers and Bus Drivers in U.S.

The United States has banned texting for commercial bus and truck drivers as part of an effort to combat traffic deaths stemming from distracted motorists.
Violators may be subject to civil or criminal penalties of as much as some 3-thousand U.S. dollars.
The move came four months after President Barack Obama banned the nation's almost 3 million federal employees from texting while driving on the job.
In 2008, more than 5,800 people died in accidents where at least one form of driver distraction was cited in the crash report.