China Marks 10th Anniversary of WTO Accession

Chinahas held a forum in Beijing to mark the tenth anniversary of the country's entry into the World Trade Organization.
Chinese President Hu Jintao pledges that China will open more areas to the world and continue its efforts to promote global common development.
He says China will continue to play a constructive role in the global economic community and focus on expanding imports with an ultimate aim of achieving a balanced trade and total imports exceeding 8 trillion U.S. dollars over the next five years.
The President also calls for an early recognition of China's full-market economy status to lift restrictions on high-end product exports to the country.
U.N. climate change talks agree a pact

The Durban climate conference has agreed to establish a working group to launch a process to develop a protocol, another legal instrument or a legal framework under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The new accord will put all countries under the same legal regime enforcing commitments to control greenhouse gases. It will take effect by 2020 at the latest.
The conference also reached agreements on the second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol, a decision on the Green Climate Funds and an agreement on the Durban platform.
Joint patrol vessels escort cargo ships in Golden Triangle area

Police from China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand started joint patrols over the weekend to maintain security on the Mekong River, a major transport passage in the Golden Triangle area.
The joint patrol marked the restoration of international shipping services on the river that had been suspended since early October.
The patrol boats are equipped with heavy machine guns and 10-centimeter-thick protective walls, while the police officers are equipped with automatic rifles and bullet-proof life jackets.
The four countries decided to launch joint police patrols in late October, weeks after two cargo ships were attacked, resulting in the murder of 13 Chinese sailors.
China faces severe plasma shortage: health minister

China's health minister Chen Zhu says the country is faced with severe challenges in collecting enough blood plasma to produce medicines.
Chen called on the public to join blood donation after donating blood plasma at the Beijing Red Cross Blood Center over the weekend.
Donations of blood plasma in China fell dramatically in recent years, as a result of safety concerns from donors and the government's efforts to regulate blood collection after contamination triggered HIV infection scandals.
Chen has promised to encourage qualified drug makers to set up more collection stations in the next five years.
Medvedev calling for probe into election reports

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is calling for an investigation into the allegations of electoral fraud.
Medvedev writes on his Facebook page that he has ordered a probe into the reports from all of the polling stations in the parliamentary elections.
However, he has not mentioned who will carry out the investigations.
Medvedev's promise of investigations comes after massive protests in several Russian cities, demanding a rerun of the parliamentary elections.
Egyptian PM says economy in serious condition

Egyptian Prime Minister Kamal el-Ganzouri says the country's economy is in a serious condition, stressing that stability and security are vital for economic recovery.
The prime minister says frequent protests and social instability have dealt a heavy blow to tourism and foreign investment in Egypt. As Christmas and the New Year approach, this year's tourism revenue is expected at 9.5 billion dollars, about 25 percent less than that of last year.
Ganzouri's cabinet was sworn in on Wednesday. Restoring security and reviving the economy are considered priorities for the new cabinet.
Arab League to meet Saturday on Syrian situation

The Arab League will hold emergency meetings in Cairo on Saturday to discuss the Syrian situation.
Egypt's official MENA news agency says first, there will be a meeting of the AL ministerial committee in charge of handling the Syrian crisis, and then another of foreign ministers.
The meetings will discuss the Arab response to Syria's recent positive stance toward the AL's observer proposal, after the pan-Arab body decided to slap sanctions against Syria.
The AL says it insists on solving the Syrian crisis within the Arab framework.
Syrians in Jordan attempt to storm embassy in Amman

Hundreds of Syrians have tried to storm their country's embassy in the Jordanian capital Amman.
The attempted raid was in protest of some embassy staffers' violence against five Syrians, who entered the embassy wearing the flags of the anti-Syrian government forces.
The Jordanian security personnel were heavily deployed around the Syrian embassy, and they intervened to prevent the crowds from storming the embassy.
Several protests have taken place near the Syrian embassy in Jordan, since the unrest against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad broke out earlier this year.