News » China » China Telecom launches service in Britain

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• China Telecom launches service in Britain
• Automaker Youngman gives up purchase of Saab
• China strengthens control of Huangyan Island
• Margaret Chan appointed as WHO head for 2nd term
• Vice FM visits France to discuss ties
• China trains developing countries on food security
• Beijing summit to approve SCO mid-term development strategy plan
• He Guoqiang meets international cooperation forum delegates
• President Hu stresses armed forces' loyalty to Party
• China to buy over 2,500 aircraft
• Team sent to investigate missing children's case
• Iran nuclear talks in Baghdad begin
• Forest fire rages in Inner Mongolia
• Team sent to investigate missing children's case
• China's mobile phone users hit 1.03 bln
• Beijing to spend 118m yuan to improve water quality
• Chinese grads prefer to work in smaller cities: survey
• Uruguay's foreign minister to visit China
• Food company's oil products recalled
• Salary expectations cause tension

China Telecom launches service in Britain Posted: 23 May 2012 09:30 AM PDT Updated: 2012-05-23 23:58 ( Xinhua) LONDON - China Telecom (Europe) Ltd has launched a new mobile communications service to Chinese living, studying and traveling in Britain. The launch of the CTExcelbiz, the first of such mobile communications service provided by Chinese telecom operator overseas, will help satisfy the need of communications between the two countries. At a launching ceremony held in London on Tuesday, Ou Yan, managing director of China Telecom (Europe) Ltd, said that China Telecom will continue expanding service products overseas and gradually extend its business to European continent. CTExcelbiz users can enjoy a wide coverage of mobile network in Britain through the company's cooperation with Britain's largest mobile operator Everything Everywhere. The mobile services include "the provision of a local Chinese number for friends and family to call, a chat application for customers to share content with each other, and an information service hotline in Chinese targeted at travelers to Britain, to name just a few," said Ou.

Automaker Youngman gives up purchase of Saab Posted: 23 May 2012 09:30 AM PDT Updated: 2012-05-23 23:55 ( Xinhua) STOCKHOLM - Chinese automobile company Youngman had quit the negotiation on purchasing the Swedish car maker Saab with its bankruptcy administrators, reported the Swedish newspaper Daily Industry (DI) on Wednesday. According to a source of DI, Saab's bankruptcy administrators were not sure if the bid would be ratified by the Chinese government, and their lack of confidence lead to the end of Youngman's negotiation. Meanwhile, the negotiation with another Chinese company, the Consortium of Electronic Cars, which aimed to product over 100,000 hybrid cars within a year, had become the focus of the bankruptcy administrators, reported DI. The Chinese consortium reportedly consisted of two companies, a battery company and a car company which was speculated to be the Baic which had earlier bought the whole platform of Saab 9-3 and now used in the production of electronic cars. "It is not only about electronic cars, but also the production of more hybrid cars which is related to the long-term development of electronic cars," said the source of DI. The consortium, lead by former director of Volvo company Karl Erling Trogen, would bid lower than Youngman because it would probably not be interested in the component company Saab Automobile Parts, said the source. According to DI, the car company Volvo was also negotiating on cooperation with the Chinese consortium, expecting to get support on the costs of the company's future development.

China strengthens control of Huangyan Island Posted: 23 May 2012 09:30 AM PDT Updated: 2012-05-23 23:48 ( Xinhua) BEIJING - China has strengthened controls in the Huangyan Island waters in response to the provocative actions of the Philippines, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said on Wednesday. Hong said that there are about 20 Chinese fishing boats operating in the Huangyan Island waters, roughly the same number as in previous years. "The operating manners of the fishing boats is consistent with China's relevant laws as well as China's fishing moratorium orders," he said, rejecting some Philippine media reports which said China had sent nearly 100 vessels to the waters. China has been implementing a summer fishing moratorium, lasting from May 16 to August 1, in some parts of the South China Sea, as a routine annual measure to rehabilitate marine resources.

Margaret Chan appointed as WHO head for 2nd term Posted: 23 May 2012 09:30 AM PDT Updated: 2012-05-23 23:44 ( Xinhua) GENEVA - The World Health Assembly on Wednesday afternoon appointed Margaret Chan as the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) for a second term from July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2017. The 65th session of the WHO's top decision-making World Health Assembly, composed of delegates from all 194 members, voted to agree with the nomination of Chan made by the WHO Executive Board on January 18. Chan, 65, from Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China, was first elected as WHO Director-General on November 9, 2006 and her current term runs through June 2012. Since she took office in January 2007, Chan has been working on WHO reforms, and improving the organization's leadership and management in world public health. She has also effectively handled public health emergencies including the outbreak of Influenza A (H1N1), and has made efforts in fulfilling the United Nations Millenium Development Goals in health sector. Her performance has been recognized by the WHO members. Chan said universal health coverage was the single most powerful concept that public health has to offer and it was "the anchor for the work of WHO as we move forward" in a keynote speech to the assembly on Monday. The former Hong Kong health chief joined WHO in 2003 as Director of the Department for Protection of the Human Environment. In June 2005, she was appointed Director of Communicable Diseases Surveillance and Response as well as Representative of the Director-General for Pandemic Influenza. In September 2005, she was named Assistant Director-General for Communicable Diseases.

Vice FM visits France to discuss ties Posted: 23 May 2012 09:30 AM PDT Updated: 2012-05-23 23:30 By Li Xiang ( chinadaily.com.cn) PARIS – Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Song Tao arrived in France on Wednesday for a two-day visit to discuss bilateral relations with the French side, according to a statement issued by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Song will meet with Pierre Sellal, Secretary General of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Thursday and then will hold discussions with Paul Jean-Ortiz, foreign affairs advisor for French President Francois Hollande, at the Elysee Palace, the statement said. It did not reveal the details of the subjects to be discussed between the two sides. But the statement expressed the French commitment to the further development of bilateral ties and said France hoped to have a broad and substantial dialogue with China within the framework of strategic partnership between our two countries.

China trains developing countries on food security Posted: 23 May 2012 06:30 AM PDT Scholars and officials from developing countries are benefiting from ongoing training on food security in central China's Henan Province.

Beijing summit to approve SCO mid-term development strategy plan Posted: 23 May 2012 06:29 AM PDT The upcoming Beijing summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will approve the mid-term development strategy plan of the organization, Vice Foreign Minister Cheng Guoping told a press conference on Wednesday.

He Guoqiang meets international cooperation forum delegates Posted: 23 May 2012 06:27 AM PDT He Guoqiang, a senior Communist Party of China (CPC) official, on Wednesday met with delegates of a forum discussing international relations and vowed to enhance people-to-people exchanges with foreign countries.

President Hu stresses armed forces' loyalty to Party Posted: 23 May 2012 05:15 AM PDT Chinese President Hu Jintao Wednesday urged the armed forces to constantly reinforce their loyalty and obedience to the Party.

China to buy over 2,500 aircraft Posted: 23 May 2012 05:49 AM PDT Chinese clients will purchase around 2,500 aircraft in the 2011-2015 period, the head of the Civil Aviation Administration of China has predicted.

Team sent to investigate missing children's case Posted: 23 May 2012 06:15 AM PDT The Ministry of Public Security has sent an inspection team to Yunnan province to supervise and reinforce the investigation of a case concerning at least seven missing teenagers, the ministry said Wednesday.

Iran nuclear talks in Baghdad begin Posted: 23 May 2012 06:15 AM PDT Key talks to resolve the nuclear dispute between Iran and the world six major powers in addition to the European Union have started in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Wednesday.

Forest fire rages in Inner Mongolia Posted: 23 May 2012 04:26 AM PDT About 2,000 firefighters have been sent to put out a forest fire that broke out on Tuesday afternoon in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Team sent to investigate missing children's case Posted: 23 May 2012 03:30 AM PDT The Ministry of Public Security has sent an inspection team to Yunnan province to supervise and reinforce the investigation of a case concerning at least seven missing teenagers, the ministry said Wednesday.

China's mobile phone users hit 1.03 bln Posted: 23 May 2012 03:15 AM PDT China's mobile phone users hit a record high of 1.03 billion at the end of April, data released Wednesday by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) showed.

Beijing to spend 118m yuan to improve water quality Posted: 23 May 2012 03:14 AM PDT China's capital will spend 118 million yuan ($18.66 million) by the end of the year to improve the quality of drinking water drawn from wells, the city's water resource management authorities said Wednesday.

Chinese grads prefer to work in smaller cities: survey Posted: 23 May 2012 02:38 AM PDT About 55 percent of Chinese college students choose to work in second-tier cities after graduation, while 14.4 percent have shown a preference for larger cities like Beijing and Shanghai, according to the results of a survey.

Uruguay's foreign minister to visit China Posted: 23 May 2012 02:22 AM PDT Uruguay's Foreign Minister Luis Almagro will pay a working visit to China from May 27 to 30 at the invitation of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Wednesday.

Food company's oil products recalled Posted: 23 May 2012 02:20 AM PDT Updated: 2012-05-23 16:47 By He Dan ( chinadaily.com.cn) Food safety watchdogs in Southwest China's Yunnan province asked a local oil company to stop manufacturing edible oil products they suspect contain industrial fatty oils and to recall all products sold in the province. Initial investigations revealed that the Yunnan Fengrui Oil and Fat Co Ltd was suspected of producing three types of cooking oil with animal fat that is only supposed to be used for industrial purposes, it was said at a news conference jointly held by three government departments including the Yunnan Provincial Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision. Liu Yunfeng, the head of the division of food production supervision from the bureau, told media at the conference that relevant food safety authorities had investigated thousands of food markets and restaurants and had ordered the oil company to recall more than 130 tons of inferior oil by late Monday. The company has set up offices across the province to handle the recall. It will compensate customers and clients for the cost of the recall, People's Daily reported on Wednesday. Industrial animal fat is banned from use in food products because it does not meet hygiene standards for cooking oil and contain high levels of chemicals.

Salary expectations cause tension Posted: 23 May 2012 02:20 AM PDT Updated: 2012-05-23 16:45 By Shi Jing ( chinadaily.com.cn) Salary expectations have led to a tense relationship between employers and employees, according to the Hudson 2012 Salary and Recruitment Insight report released on Wednesday. "Employers are kind of in a dilemma. On one hand, they have to seek excellent employers who can help to promote the company's development. On the other, they should narrow down the gap between job hunters' ever-growing expected salary and the companies' growth rate. Under pressure, they have to adopt the policy of getting more done with less money," said Mark Carriban, managing director of Hudson Greater China. As China's economy is growing at a faster pace than other economies in the world, employees are seeking the opportunity to raise their salaries. "About 73 percent of surveyed employees said they are thinking of changing jobs in 2012 and 56 percent of them said they would really do something within six months," said Cherol Cheuk, general manager of Hudson Shanghai, describing the numbers as "astonishing". "Only 1 percent of interviewees said they would not give any thought to switching jobs. Therefore, about two thirds of the interviewed employers said they are afraid of losing some of their highly efficient employees," said Cheuk. "About 80 percent of the interviewees said they should see their salaries raised this year and 37 percent of them thought they are not paid in accordance to their contribution to the companies," she added. About 84 percent of the human resources managers interviewed for this report said the expected salary of the companies' first-choice candidates exceeded their budgets, which means that they have to pay 48 percent more than the budgets to get the ideal candidates. "More medium or senior level professionals said they needed a salary increase. But on the other hand, companies are under great pressure to control their budgets. To solve the conflict between growing salaries and slowed profit growth, human resources managers should attach more importance to value instead of price," said Carriban.