China lifts quarantine on passengers from Mexico flight

Chinese health authorities on Thursday lifted a seven-day quarantine on passengers from a Mexico City-Shanghai flight. AeroMexico flight 98 had a Mexican man onboard who was confirmed to be infected with influenza A/H1N1 on May 1. The Ministry of Health told local health authorities that passengers quarantined in the Chinese mainland who took the same flight with the Mexican would be out of quarantine if they display no flu-like symptoms.

Fishing vessels confront US ship

The US surveillance ship that got into a confrontation with Chinese fishing

vessels in the Yellow Sea violated international and Chinese laws, the Foreign Ministry said. The USNS Victorious was engaged in routine operations in international waters, said Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman. But Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu disagreed, saying the ship conducted activities in China's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the Yellow Sea without China's permission.

Straits economic zone gets nod

The development of an economic zone on the western side of the Taiwan Straits got the backing of the State Council Monday. The province of Fujian will act as the hub of the economic zone, which will face Taiwan across the Straits and connect with the Pearl River Delta and the Yangtze River Delta. The proposal is designed to attract businesses from Taiwan and promote cross-Straits exchanges.

Barcelona and Man. United in Champions League final

Barcelona snatched a place in the Champions League final on Wednesday when a last-gasp goal from Andres Iniesta earned them a 1-1 draw with Chelsea and victory on away goals. They will face Manchester United, who reached the Champions League final for a second straight year after Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice to lead his team to a 3-1 win at Arsenal.

A(H1N1) outbreak updates, Hu talks with Obama

The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed a total of 2,371 human infection cases of the A/H1N1 flu virus from 24 countries as of 18:00 GMT Thursday, including 44 deaths. Mexican authorities late Wednesday lowered the alert level on A/H1N1 flu in the capital from orange to yellow, which means that stadiums, bullrings, cinemas and nightclubs, whose activities had been suspended due to the outbreak, will return to normal operations from Wednesday. Meanwhile, President Hu Jintao called his US counterpart Barack Obama over the phone Wednesday night to express sympathy for H1N1 victims in the US. China is willing to strengthen coordination with the US to check the spread of the deadly disease, President Hu said.

Tibet most harmed by global warming

Tibet has felt some of the largest impact of global warming, China Meteorological Administration (CMA) chief Zheng Guoguang said at a climate change meeting in Lhasa this week. The mercury has climbed an average 0.32 degrees Celsius every decade since records began in 1961, said Zheng. Tibet's temperature rise had also topped the global average of 0.2 degrees Celsius per decade. The plateau region, with an average altitude above 4,000 meters, is a "magnifier" of global warming as it is more sensitive to temperature changes. In the worst case, Zheng warned such warming could cause permafrost to melt and threaten the plateau railway linking Tibet with neighboring Qinghai Province.

Nation marks May Fourth Movement

About 3,000 delegates from across the country attended the grand gathering to mark the 90th anniversary of the May Fourth Movement Monday. In a speech, Senior Chinese leader Li Changchun said the movement had bred the spirit of patriotism, progress, democracy and science. The mass student movement that began on May 4, 1919, spearheaded a national campaign to overthrow feudal society and promote scientific and democratic ideas.

Team China sweeps Table Tennis Finals

China secured all the titles on offer at the ITTF World Table Tennis Championships in Yokohama, Japan Tuesday. All the finals in Yokohama were dominated by China, indicating China's rule of the table sport. It is the 3rd straight individual championship where China walked away with all 5 titles.