http://www.sinodaily.com/index.html Fri, 24 MAY 2013 11:54:40 AEST Fri, 24 MAY 2013 11:54:40 AEST en-us Ecuador's first satellite, launched last month, has collided with debris from an old Russian rocket but it is unclear if it has been damaged, officials say. The Pegasus nanosatellite, designed and built in Ecuador, was launched into orbit April 25 by China. The Joint Space Operations Center in the United States, which monitors all artificial Earth-orbiting objects, said there had]]> Fri, 24 MAY 2013 11:54:40 AEST If estimates are right, we are probably less than three weeks away from the launch of Shenzhou 10, China's next astronaut mission. Preparations for this launch seem to be going well, judging by official statements published in China's state media. The Shenzhou spacecraft and its Long March 2F rocket are both at the launch site. Electrical checks on the spacecraft have been conducted. Thing]]> Fri, 24 MAY 2013 11:54:40 AEST The Philippines on Thursday warned that territorial rows in Asia are "causing considerable tension that could lead to conflict" as several countries face off with China over island claims. Philippine secretary of foreign affairs Albert del Rosario, speaking at a Tokyo business conference, said China's "nine-dash line claim encompassing almost the entire South China Sea" is "excessive." "]]> Fri, 24 MAY 2013 11:54:40 AEST The United States should consider curbs on Chinese investment or even offensive operations against hackers to address the growing toll from intellectual property theft, a report said Wednesday. The 11-month study led by high-ranking former US officials said that theft of software and other US-developed products was costing the American economy more than $300 billion each year - as much as t]]> Fri, 24 MAY 2013 11:54:40 AEST A special envoy from North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un told one of China's top officials Thursday that Pyongyang wants peace and is willing to pursue dialogue with key countries, state media reported. Envoy Choe Ryong-Hae met Liu Yunshan, a member of the Chinese Communist Party's highest ranking body the Politburo Standing Committee, state television reported on its evening newscast. China]]> Fri, 24 MAY 2013 11:54:40 AEST A top North Korean general and confidant of leader Kim Jong-Un met a senior Chinese official in Beijing Wednesday, with relations between the allies strained ahead of a China-US summit. Choe Ryong-Hae, director of the Korean People's Army politburo, is a "special envoy" of the North's young leader, Pyongyang's official news agency said. He met Wang Jiarui, head of the ruling Chinese Comm]]> Fri, 24 MAY 2013 11:54:40 AEST Chinese Premier Li Keqiang Wednesday linked growth in his country's restive west with that in sluggish Pakistan, saying the two sides wanted to create an "economic corridor" to boost development. Li, on his first overseas trip since taking over in a once-in-a-decade power transfer in Beijing, congratulated Pakistan on its recent general election and hailed the countries' long-standing friend]]> Fri, 24 MAY 2013 11:54:40 AEST Chinese state media on Wednesday welcomed news of the first summit between President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Barack Obama, saying the meeting will help "reduce suspicions" in the relationship. The talks, the first since Xi was installed as Chinese leader and Obama began his second term, will be held in California on June 7 and 8, with ties strained by allegations of cyber spying, t]]> Fri, 24 MAY 2013 11:54:40 AEST A top official and confidante of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un Wednesday met a senior Chinese official in Beijing, at a time of strained relations and ahead of a China-US summit. Choe Ryong-Hae, director of the Korean People's Army politburo, flew to Beijing with a handful of senior military and ruling party officials, the Korean Central News Agency said, highlighting his role "as a specia]]> Fri, 24 MAY 2013 11:54:40 AEST Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei released a foul-mouthed heavy rock song titled "Dumbass" on Wednesday, with a video parodying his months in police detention. The video accompanying the song, posted online, shows Ai under interrogation, marking a document with a red thumbprint, and wearing a black hood labelled "Criminal", before being scrutinised by guards in a prison shower. Ai said ]]> Fri, 24 MAY 2013 11:54:40 AEST The H7N9 strain of bird flu can spread among ferrets and could do the same among humans under certain conditions, according to lab animal studies on the virus published Thursday. So far there have been no known cases of human-to-human spread of the new virus, which has infected 131 people and killed 36 since it first emerged in China in March. If the virus were found to be able to spread]]> Fri, 24 MAY 2013 11:54:40 AEST The death toll from a blast at an explosives plant in eastern China earlier this week rose to 33 Thursday as 20 missing people were declared dead, state media reported. Officials had said Tuesday that the explosion, which occurred the day before in the Shandong province city of Shangqiu, had killed 13 people and left 20 missing. Xinhua news agency reported Thursday, citing local rescue o]]> Fri, 24 MAY 2013 11:54:40 AEST have made a discovery in southern subtropical China which could revolutionise thinking about how ancient humans lived in the region. They have uncovered evidence for the first time that people living in Xincun 5,000 years ago may have practised agriculture -before the arrival of domesticated rice in the region. Current archaeological thinking is that it was the advent of rice cultivation a]]> Fri, 24 MAY 2013 11:54:40 AEST Chinese vice premier Wang Yang on Wednesday urged Zimbabwe to ensure peace and political stability ahead of elections this year, to safeguard economic growth. "A peaceful and stable political environment is the prerequisite for economic development," Wang told journalists after meeting Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai in Harare during a business visit to Zimbabwe. Wang's comments came as]]> Fri, 24 MAY 2013 11:54:40 AEST Pope Francis called on Chinese Catholics on Wednesday to affirm their loyalty to him and spread the word of God, and prayed that they be allowed to live in accordance with their faith. "I invite the Catholics of the world to come together in prayer with their brothers and sisters in China for the grace to humbly and joyfully announce Christ... and be faithful to his Church and to Peter's suc]]> Fri, 24 MAY 2013 11:54:40 AEST