China

PNG youths learn lion dance in China

They are Ben Veira, David Chee, Emmanuel Naime, Benjamin Gemelaia, George Tau and Michael Solian.

The group travelled with team leader Robin Seeto to South-east China in November where they spent a month there learning the techniques and style of lion and dragon dancing.

The trip was sponsored by the China-PNG Friendship Association aimed to get young Papua New Guineans to learn about the Chinese culture.

Canadian start-up sells bottled air to China

A Canadian company selling air bottled in a ski resort says it's now seeing huge demand from Chinese customers.

Vitality Air said that the first batch of 500 canisters filled with fresh air from the Rocky Mountain town of Banff went on sale in China last month and sold out within two weeks.

"Now we're taking lots of pre orders for our upcoming shipment. We're getting close to the 1,000 mark," said Harrison Wang, director of China operations.

The air sells for $14 to $20, depending on the size of the canister.

Beijing issues first red alert as air pollution hits

Beijing's Municipal Bureau of Environmental Protection warned that severe pollution would cloak the Chinese capital for several days, starting Tuesday morning.

According to the US Embassy in Beijing, the air quality index stood at 250, classed as "very unhealthy" and 10 times higher than World Health Organization recommended levels.

Beijing vows justice as ISIS kills Chinese hostage

ISIS said it had killed the two men, identified as Chinese national Fan Jinghui and Norwegian citizen Ole Johan Grimsgaard-Ofstad in its English-language online magazine.

President Xi Jinping "strongly condemned" ISIS for the killing of Fan, the first known Chinese national to be killed by the group, and the country's foreign ministry said the Chinese government would "definitely hold the perpetrators accountable."

Tags: 

China policy change not seen as formula for food maker's growth

Shares for milk-powder maker Danone SA (DANO.PA) hit a five-month high and Mead Johnson Nutrition Co (MJN.N) reached a two-month high after China's ruling Communist Party said it will allow all couples to have two children after decades of a strict one-child policy.

One in three young Chinese men will die from smoking, study says

The research, published in The Lancet medical journal, says two-thirds of men in China now start to smoke before 20.

Around half of those men will die from the habit, it concludes.

The scientists conducted two nationwide studies, 15 years apart, covering hundreds of thousands of people.

US put territory climate measures at high priority

The Office of Insular Affairs is accepting applications for 2016 technical assistance which will be processed on a first-come, first-serve basis until funds are exhausted.

Assistant Secretary Esther Kia'aina says the island communities continue to face extreme climate events, including typhoons and hurricanes, storm surges, high winds and king tides.

Ms Kia'aina says the areas are also feeling the effects of slow, progressive climate-induced stresses, such as sea level rise, ocean acidification, coral bleaching and saline intrusion into water systems.

Prince William's anti-illegal wildlife trade campaign backed by Obama

But when Prince William did, he urged them both to add their political muscle and influence to the ongoing fight against illegal wildlife trade.

And both world leaders must have felt William's passion for the cause as President Barack Obama and President Xi Jinping have issued a joint statement on their countries' aims to combat wildlife trafficking.

New Caledonia govt requests congress session on nickel question

This comes amid a stalemate in mediation talks that followed protests last month by truck drivers over the government's policy to not approve exports of low grade ore to China after a decline in exports to Australia.

The drivers were aligned with small miners and the territory's veteran miner SLN who opposed the stance on the issue by the government's leading party, Caledonia Together.

France TV in New Caledonia reports that six of the eleven members of the collegial government have voted in favor of a special session of Congress on the subject of exports to China.

Thai police chief links Bangkok blast to Uighur trafficking

     

Somyot Poompanmoung's comments marked the first time authorities have publicly linked the Aug. 17 bombing to the smuggling of Uighurs, after weeks of hinting at it and saying only that they believe the attack was carried out by human traffickers angered by a crackdown on their network.