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Politics & Society

Russia returns border islands to China

Russia officially returned to China parts of contested islands along its eastern border, the South China Morning Post reported. The deal, signed Monday in Beijing by Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, ends a decades-old dispute over the demarcation of the 4,300 km-long eastern border between Russia and China. Tensions […]

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Politics & Society

Expert: Kunming bus explosions not terrorism

Separate explosions on two public buses that killed two and injured 14 in the southwestern city of Kunming on Monday were likely not terrorism, the South China Morning Post reported. Professor Li Wei, director of anti-terrorism studies at Beijing’s China Modern International Relations Institute, said that the explosions were likely acts by locals venting their […]

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Politics & Society

Beijing starts car restrictions for Olympics

Beijing has begun limiting the number of cars on its roads in an effort to ease air pollution ahead of the Olympics in August, the Financial Times reported. Cars with even- and odd-numbered license plates will be allowed on Beijing’s streets on alternate days up to the games. The city has installed 10,000 traffic cameras […]

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Politics & Society

Beijing says it's "sincere" about Tibetan talks

China defended its sincerity in talks with representatives of the Dalai Lama, AFP reported. "The central government is sincere about holding contact with the Dalai side," said foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao. Earlier in the week, an envoy of the Dalai Lama told the European parliament that there was "a lack of political will from […]

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Politics & Society

Riot police quell protest over school collapse

Riot police detained more than a dozen parents on Tuesday morning as they tried to disperse a crowd of hundreds who lost children in school collapses during the May 12 earthquake, the Wall Street Journal reported. Parents had gathered outside a local government office in Mianzhu City, Sichuan province, to hear the results of an […]