1 killed, 4 injured in shootout in India's IT capital
December 28, 2005At least one person was killed and four others were injured Wednesday evening when unidentified men opened fire inside the campus of one of India's premier science institutes in the southern city of Bangalore, the country's IT capital, according to various media reports reaching here. The gunmen came in a car and fired indiscriminately outside the auditorium of Indian Institute of Science, where an international conference was being held. The assailants left behind an AK-47 rifle and several grenades, private television channels reported.
China to supply more nuclear power plants to Pakistan
December 28, 2005Sun Qin, chairman of the China Atomic Energy Authority, on Wednesday assured Pakistan that China will continue cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy and participate in Pakistan's ambitious plan to set up 8,800-megawatt nuclear energy by 2030 to meet growing energy needs. Speaking at the concrete pouring ceremony for the Chinese-aided 300-megawatt Chashma Nuclear Power Plant-2 (C-2) project, about 175 kilometers southwest of Islamabad in southern Punjab, Qin said that China has cooperated with Pakistan in the nuclear power plant construction and will participate in the proposed Pakistani plan to set up more power plants.
Shanghai consular staffer killed self, Japan protests to China
December 28, 2005Japan on Wednesday acknowledged that a staff member at the Japanese Consulate General in Shanghai committed suicide in May last year, saying it has lodged protests with China over the death. ''It is true that a staff member at the Consulate General in Shanghai committed suicide on May 6, 2004,'' Yoshinori Katori, press secretary for the Japanese Foreign Ministry, said in a hastily arranged news conference.
Tensions high in W. China city after bloody summer riot
December 28, 2005Authorities are keeping a tight watch over residents in the western Chinese city of Guyuan following a riot over land use in summer that left 60 people injured, according to local sources. Mayor Ma Fu and the local public security bureau are monitoring some 16,000 farmers who battled 2,000 soldiers in the city, located in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, on Aug. 1 and detaining people as they see fit, said a farmer surnamed Ma.
Koizumi not to visit Yasukuni during New Year's holidays
December 28, 2005Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi indicated Wednesday he will not visit the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine during the New Year's holidays, although he has no plans to budge from his stance on the contentious visits. Speaking to reporters on the last working day of 2005, Koizumi also reiterated his hope that the person to succeed him as prime minister next September will take over his structural reform agenda.
Gov't to give financial help for snow-hit municipalities
December 28, 2005The government and the ruling parties decided Wednesday at their meeting to help municipalities suffering from heavy snow, such as by providing financial support, participants said. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told the meeting that the government will prepare for possible disasters from snow and cold weather, even during the New Year's holiday period from Thursday to Tuesday, according to the participants.