New Minister
Han Changfu, former governor of northeast China's Jilin Province, was appointed minister of agriculture at a plenary session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the top legislature, on December 26
Auto Tycoon
Li Shufu, the chairman of Geely Automobile Holdings was selected as one of China's 10 Business Persons of 2009 by CCTV. Also, his company has agreed with Ford Motor Co. on most terms for the purchase of the U.S. automaker's Swedish business, Volvo Cars
Master Director
Chinese director John Woo Yu-Sen will receive the Golden Lion for lifetime achievement at the 67th Venice Film Festival on September 1-11, 2010. Woo is the first Chinese filmmaker to receive this prestigious award.

"That might have been true in America, which refused to sign up to Kyoto, but not in the case of China or Europe, who followed a lot of that protocol's policies."

Former British Prime Minister John Prescott, attacking U.S. President Barack Obama for suggesting at the UN climate change conference there had been a period of "two decades of talking and no action"

"European people are not benefiting from our losses."

Wei Yafei, an official with the China Leather Industry Association, speaking against the EU's approval of a 15-month extension of anti-dumping duties on Chinese leather shoes at the cost of Chinese shoemakers and European consumers and shoe retailers

"What I would say is that our system did not work in this instance."

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, admitting on December 28, 2009 that the system aimed at keeping air travel secure failed when a Nigerian man who, although he ultimately failed to blow up a transatlantic airliner, managed to smuggle explosives aboard

"This is a strategic project because it allows us to enter completely new, growing, promising markets of the Asian Pacific region."

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin speaking when launching Russia's Asia-oriented Siberian oil export route on December 28, 2009

"Whoever has done this, he cannot be a Muslim."

Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik on the suicide bomber who attacked a religious procession of Shiite Muslims in Karachi on December 28, 2009, killing at least 30 people

"The core objectives of the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization are to address balance of payment and short-term liquidity difficulties in the region and to supplement the existing international financial arrangements."

Top finance officials of a block of nations and regions in east and southeast Asia, announcing in a joint statement the launch of a $120-billion emergency fund in March 2010, the first such alliance in the region with the intention of shielding members from a financial crisis

 

 
NEW YEAR'S GREETINGS Jiangsu Province's Hanshan Temple rings its bell on New Year's Eve to welcome 2010 (WANG JIANZHONG)
Thrifty Holidays
China's top discipline authorities released a circular on December 29, 2009, urging Party members and government officials to stick to a clean and thrifty professional and personal life during the New Year holidays
Tightened Airport Security
China intensified airport security checks for flights to the United States following the thwarted Christmas day terror attack on a U.S. passenger flight
more>>
LUCKY TOY
A girl shops for a cloth tiger puppet to celebrate 2010, which is the year of the tiger in the Chinese calendar (CHEN XIAOGEN)
HAPPY
BIRDS
Swans wade in Pinglu County's Yellow River wetland in Shanxi Province on December 29, 2009. The wetland has been attracting more and more swans to spend their winter thanks to local protection efforts (ZHANG XIAOLI)
BUILDING SITE WEDDING
The construction company building a high-speed railway between Shanghai and Zhejiang Province's Hangzhou organizes a group wedding for its employees at its construction site (XU YU)
CAMEL CARNIVAL
More than 1,000 herdsmen in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region take part in a camel festival race. The festival kicked off on December 28, 2009 (ZHANG LING)
 
GREENHOUSE OF THE FUTURE A farmer in Shaxi, Jiangxi Province, takes care of vegetables in a thin-film solar-powered greenhouse. Differing from standard greenhouses, this one maintains its own warmth, generates electricity and provides lighting (ZHOU MI)
Volvo Acquisition Deal
Ford Motor Co. recently announced it was close to finalizing a deal to sell its Volvo brand to Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. Ltd., one of China's largest private automakers
Financial Integration
Top finance officials from East Asian countries and regions have officially signed the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization to address short-term regional needs for currency liquidity
more>>
Export Champion
In the final months of 2009, China was set to overtake Germany as the world's top exporter, a reflection of the competitive edge of Chinese goods
Consumer Efforts
The recent economic recovery and stock market gains might make savings somewhat less urgent, but will not simply eliminate the desire to save altogether
Online Ad Frenzy
The success of video websites attracted advertisers willing to dole out large sums of cash to have their products posted on sites frequented by a high volume of netizens
more>>
  • THE UNITED STATES
    U.S. aerospace giant Lockheed Martin announces on December 29, 2009, that it will sell 24 F-16 jet fighters, as shown in this file photo, to Egypt (XINHUA/AFP)
  • THAILAND
    Thai women offer prayers at a ceremony on Patong Beach in Phuket Island for the victims of the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. December 26, 2009, marked the fifth anniversary of the disaster that claimed more than 220,000 lives (XINHUA/AFP)
  • IRAN
    An opposition supporter gestures during clashes with security forces in Tehran on December 27, 2009. Five protestors were killed in the clashes as the opposition used a Shiite religious mourning event to stage anti-government protests (XINHUA/AFP)
  • ISRAEL
    Male and female Birman cats take part in an international cat show near Netanya in north Israel on December 26, 2009. The event featured more than 250 breeds of cats (XINHUA/AFP)
  • BRITAIN
    Shoppers crowd into Selfridges as the store opens its doors on the first day of its winter sale on Boxing Day in London on December 26, 2009 (XINHUA/AFP)
  • UKRAINE
    A communal worker clears a fallen tree in Kiev on December 29, 2009, after two days of heavy snowfall (XINHUA/AFP)
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