US and China strategic talks to resume

Chinese President Hu Jintao and US President Barack Obama met for the first time on the sidelines of the G20 summit in London on Wednesday.

Hu said he hoped to develop a good working relationship and personal friendship with Obama, while the US president accepted an invitation from Hu to visit China later this year.

China and the US have agreed to hold the first round of a “strategic and economic dialogue” in Washington DC this summer.

Protests at G20 summit

G20 protesters clashed with riot police in downtown London Wednesday, breaking into the heavily guarded Royal Bank of Scotland and smashing its windows.

Earlier they tried to storm the Bank of England and pelted police with eggs and fruit.

At least 4,000 protesters jammed into London’s financial district, demonstrating before the summit in which world leaders hope to resolve the global financial crisis that has cut jobs worldwide.

2nd World Buddhism Forum

The Second World Buddhist Forum ended in Taipei on Wednesday, ending five days of discussions which began last Saturday in Wuxi, Jiangsu province.

The 11th Panchen Lama opened the event with a speech in English. The theme of this year’s forum is “a harmonious world, a synergy of conditions”.

More than 1,700 participants from 50 countries and regions discussed various topics such as Buddhism and Education, Buddhism and Science, and Buddhism and International Exchange.

Sale of Olympic souvenirs ends

Tuesday was the last day souvenir hunters could get their hands on memorabilia from the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Official souvenir shops were swamped with customers who wanted to snap up what was left, including T-shirts, mugs, pins, bags, coins, and stuffed Fuwa, or the five official mascots of the Games.

2nd anti-pirate fleet deployed

Four ships were deployed earlier this week to the Gulf of Aden to relieve the current fleet that is protecting merchant vessels from Somali pirates.

The second fleet includes the “celebrity destroyer” Shenzhen and the frigate Huangshan, to replace two destroyers, the Wuhan and the Haikou.

China’s biggest supply ship, the Weishanhu will continue to serve in the second escort fleet, keeping the current number of sailors for the mission at more than 800.

The fleet will arrive in the Gulf of Aden in 10 days, after which the current one will return.

Since starting their mission in January, the warships have escorted more than 150 vessels and rescued three foreign merchant ships from pirate attacks.

Gates Foundation donates $33m to fight TB (China Daily Interview)

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has donated $33 million over the next five years to help the central government detect, diagnose and treat tuberculosis in 20 Chinese cities.

Billionaire Gates was in Beijing to sign the agreement with Health Minister Chen Zhu.

New techniques that will be piloted include drug combinations to reduce the number of pills used each day by 70 percent, and strategies to help patients take medicine regularly with text messages and kits with built-in alarms.

China Daily spoke with Dr Tadataka Hamada of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to talk about the goals of the joint cooperation:

3:40-4:01 He hopes the program can better help China.

Obama pushes GM, Chrysler to do more

US President Barack Obama voiced his dissatisfaction with the American auto industry by ousting GM CEO Rick Wagoner and forcing it and Chrysler to come up with better business plans.

He declared the two auto giants’ restructuring plans were too little too late, giving GM 60 days of operating money to work out an acceptable restructuring or face bankruptcy. Chrysler could get $6 billion if it merges with Fiat.

Obama said the companies could no longer try to survive on an unending flow of taxpayer dollars and that they must ultimately stand on their own.

So far GM has already received $13.4 billion, and Chrysler $4 billion; while Ford has received no government bailouts.

Chinese fashions on the catwalk

Creative clothing designs were on show at the China International Fashion Week in Beijing.

While the fashion industry has been hit by the global economic downturn, designers were inspired to choose more conservative colors like gray and black, as well as straight lines.

However, students from various fashion institutes shunned the gloom and presented collections with wild colors and designs.

A senior fashion editor at Sohu.com said the music and performance of the students’ shows deliver sexy, powerful young and independent messages.