Watching China

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on Tuesday called for an immediate halt of violence between Palestinian factions.

Trinidad Jimenez, visiting Spanish minister for Ibero-American affairs, pledged to promote Spanish-Argentine relations at a press conference on Tuesday.

Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki (2nd L) poses for the media with owner Mark Cuban (L), commissioner David Stern (2nd R) and head coach Avery Johnson after the news conference to present the NBA Most Valuable Player Trophy in Dallas, May 15, 2007.

Cuban leader Fidel Castro repeated Tuesday his rejection of the mass production of biofuels at the expense of food production, saying that biofuels' alleged benefits must be "debunked".

Chinese President Hu Jintao (R) meets with chairman of the Russian State Duma Boris Gryzlov in Beijing, capital of China, May 15, 2007.

Police in Papua New Guinea (PNG) are busy dealing with a mass jailbreak by "high risk" prisoners, the website of The National, one of the leading newspapers in PNG, reported Wednesday.

The African Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday opened its annual board meetings in Shanghai, which are widely seen as a move to deepen China-Africa cooperation.

The world's daily demand for oil will reach 85.4 million barrels this year, up 1.2 million from 2006, said the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' (OPEC) Secretariat Tuesday in its monthly report.

China's General Administration of Customs Tuesday released export figures for the nation's major industrial products in the first four months of the year.

Saudi Arabia's state-run Aramco oil company has found two new gas-rich oil fields in the country's Eastern Province, Oil Minister Ali al-Nuaimi said Tuesday.

The European Union last year recorded a trade deficit of nearly 70 billion euros with Russia owning to large energy bill, the EU's statistics bureau Eurostat said on Tuesday, three days ahead of a EU-Russia summit.

Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque said Cuban leader Fidel Castro has regained almost all of the weight he lost after last year's intestinal operation.

Nominations for the 2007 Tony awards were announced Tuesday, with Broadway hit musical Spring Wakening snatching 11 nominations.

China will conduct an inspection and supervision campaign to eliminate hidden work safety risks, a document released by the State Council said Tuesday.

"Hi-tech products from China such as computers, mobile phones and software are more and more popular in African countries, just like China-made clothes and shoes," Togo businessman Coubadja told Xinhua.

U.S. consumer prices rose by 0.4 percent in April as gasoline prices surged for a second consecutive month, the Labor Department reported Tuesday.

The national average price for regular unleaded gasoline rose 5 cents over the last week and hit a record 3.10 dollars per gallon this week, according to a survey released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Tuesday.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, reported an 8.1 percent rise in first-quarter profit on Tuesday due to the strong increase in international sales.

Negotiators from the European Parliament and the European Union member states reached on Tuesday a tentative deal on roaming fee caps for mobile phone operators.

Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan attended construction-launching ceremony of European aircraft maker Airbus' A320 assembly line in north China's port city Tianjin here Tuesday.