China

Xi stresses ties with Pakistan

China and Pakistan will steadily push forward their economic corridor project and deepen bilateral cooperation, President Xi Jinping told visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Xi called Sharif an old friend of the Chinese people and applauded the contribution of the prime minister to bilateral ties. China is Sharif's first official overseas visit after he took office, and he said Pakistan welcomes investment from China.

Russia

Official calls for cyberspace code

A high-ranking Chinese official has called on the world community to firmly oppose conflicts in cyberspace and hasten the creation of a code of conduct for information security. Meng Jianzhu, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks at a meeting of high-ranking security officials in Vladivostok, Russia.

Republic of Korea

New talks with DPRK mooted

The Republic of Korea on Thursday proposed talks with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on reopening a shuttered joint industrial zone following months of high military tension. The proposal came a day after the DPRK restored a cross-border hotline and announced it will let ROK businesspeople visit the Kaesong estate to check on their closed factories.

Bangladesh

Garment factory found unsafe

Only one in 10 garment factory buildings inspected by engineers from a top Bangladeshi university were structurally sound, the head engineer said on Thursday, underlining the scale of safety problems in the world's second-biggest producer of clothing. Building owners rushed to request engineers check their buildings after the collapse of a garment factory building in April that killed 1,129 people.

China Daily-AFP

(China Daily 07/05/2013 page11)