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Chen Shui-bian detained

Former Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian was in police custody Wednesday after being questioned in a money-laundering case. However, he claimed he was being "sacrificed" to the mainland at a time of warming cross-Straits relations, a rumor the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council said was false. He added current leader Ma Ying-jeou wanted him in jail to appease the mainland, which the Taiwan Affairs Office said was "a sheer fabrication".

Taxi drivers end strike in Sanya

Taxi drivers in Sanya, Hainan province went back to work Thursday, ending their three-day strike. About 200 drivers had been protesting since Monday in front of the city's government building. Municipal officials promised to take measures to reduce their monthly rental fees and crack down on illegal operators. The unrest followed similar action by 9,000 drivers in Chongqing municipality and hundreds more in Yongdeng county, Gansu province.

90th anniversary of the end of WWI

On Tuesday Europe marked the 90th anniversary of the end of World War I, with a handful of surviving veterans, all over 100-years-old, at the vanguard of commemorations for "The War to End All Wars." November 11, the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month is when the World War I armistice was signed and has become the moment when the world remembers the dead from all conflicts since then. Tributes were led by the Queen in Britain, where three surviving veterans attended, and other countries around the world held similar ceremonies.

NASA loses contact with Mars Lander

The Phoenix Mars Lander, which made history by finding definitive proof of water on the Red Planet, has lost contact with Earth, NASA said on Monday. A sudden dust storm cut off the solar-powered robot, effectively ending its mission which has lasted more than five months, rather than the expected three. During this time it recorded snowfall, scraped up bits of ice and found that Martian dust chemically resembled seawater on Earth, and it sent back more than 25,000 photographs.

4 trillion yuan stimulus package

On Sunday, China announced a 4 trillion yuan or $856 billion investment package to boost the slowing economy. The government plans to invest in major infrastructure, social welfare and environmental projects, and reconstruct areas hit by natural disasters. Some projects include: a gas pipeline from the Ningxia Hui autonomous region to Hong Kong; two nuclear power projects in Guangdong and Zhejiang provinces; and water conservancy in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, and Guizhou and Jiangxi provinces. The value-added tax or VAT reforms will be extended and could cut business costs by up to 120 billion yuan. On Wednesday the government also raised export rebates effective December 1 on 3,700 export products.

Warm plans for quake victims

On Monday, a 6.3-magnitude quake hit Qinghai province, injuring two people in a sparely populated town. The quake happened about 9:22am and the epicenter was in Da Qaidam, in the Haixi Mountain and Tibet autonomous prefecture. About 1,600 earthquake victims will get thicker tents and heaters to brave the cold nights. The quake comes days before the six-month anniversary of the magnitude 8 earthquake that hit Sichuan, leaving more than 69,000 dead. On Wednesday the State Council approved five international organizations to provide $1.5 billion in emergency loans to the quake-hit areas. The funds will be used for infrastructure, healthcare, education, environmental and energy projects in Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi provinces.

The Obamas meet the Bushes

Earlier this week, US President-elect Barack Obama and his wife Michelle visited the White House. President George W. Bush took Obama to the Oval Office for a meeting that nearly lasted two hours. The two talked about the economic situation and foreign policy, as well as domestic issues. Meanwhile Mrs Bush gave Mrs Obama a full tour of the first family's living quarters, including the bedrooms used by children of past presidents. Obama is likely to use his executive powers to make quick changes, perhaps reversing Bush administration policies on stem cell research and oil exploration.

Shanghai Masters heads into semis

The season ending Shanghai Masters is heating up as the world's best players fight over the last semifinal berth. Andy Murray secured joined Serb Novak Djokovic in the semis on Wednesday by defeating France's Gilles Simon in quick fashion. They were joined by Russia's Nikolay Davydenko, after he beat 20-year-old Argentinean Martin Del Potro. That leaves Roger Federer and Simon to fight over the last semifinal berth. To keep his quest to defend his title alive, Federer will have to beat a confident Murray who has nothing to lose.

Gong Li becomes Singaporean

Over the weekend, Chinese actress Gong Li took up Singapore citizenship. The star of such films as "Raise the Red Lantern", "Memoirs of a Geisha" and "Miami Vice" was scheduled to pick up her Singaporean identity card in August but failed to do so. She has been married to Singaporean tobacco tycoon Ooi Hoe Seong since 1996.

The nurse in the photo

A 90-year-old former nurse says she is the woman being kissed by a sailor in one of 20th century's most iconic photos. It was taken by photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt, a Life Magazine photographer. Edith Shain, who was in New York's Times Square to celebrate Japan's surrender in World War II, was reunited with the Navy on Sunday and a few days later served as grand marshal of the city's Veterans' Day parade.