Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has pledged to make every effort to improve people's livelihood and uphold social equality and justice.

Addressing a reception marking the 62nd anniversary of the founding of new China in Beijing, Wen Jiabao said the government will continue to give top priority to improving people's livelihood in all its endeavors and address pressing issues directly affecting people's interests.

The premier vowed to address unfair income distribution and the income gap to ensure prosperity for all. He also pledged to protect people's democratic rights, uphold judicial justice, resolutely fight corruption and properly address societal problems.

 

Premier meets foreign experts awarded for excellence by Chinese government 

Premier Wen Jiabao had a meeting in Beijing with 50 foreigners from 21 nations who received the annual government "Friendship Award" for their excellent work performances in China.

The premier thanked these award-winning foreign experts in the presence of their families and praised them for their outstanding contributions to China's reform, opening-up and modernization drive. 

The premier urged government departments in charge of foreign experts' affairs to create sound conditions for excellent foreign talents to display their wisdom and abilities in China.

 

Nesat batters S China, causes severe damage

Tropical Storm Nesat continued to wreak havoc in south China and battered Guangxi Province after making landfall on Hainan Province earlier this week.

Nesat was the strongest typhoon to hit Hainan province since 2005. It forced the evacuations of more than 450,000 people and toppled over 1,300 houses.

Nesat dwindled to a tropical storm and moved in to Guangxi Province, where 20,000 people were evacuated and more than 500 houses collapsed.

The storm also caused rivers in Hainan coastal Zhejiang province to reach flood alert levels.

 

Chinese gov't spokesperson calls for boycott on online falsehoods 

A government spokesperson has called for a boycott on online falsehoods and Internet-based rumors, which he referred to as "malignant tumors" that are detrimental to social stability.

The spokesperson from the State Internet Information Office under the State Council, or China's Cabinet, called for China's 500 million Internet users to "abide by the law, show self-discipline and refrain from spreading rumors." 

The spokesperson urged Internet enterprises and websites to "strengthen the management of information publication" and invited the public to give tip-offs on online rumors.

 

Yemen says al Qaeda cleric Awlaki killed

Yemen's Defense Ministry said Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S.-born cleric linked to al Qaeda's Yemen-based wing, has been killed.

A Yemeni security official said Awlaki, who is of Yemeni descent, was hit in an air raid and said those killed with him were suspected al Qaeda members.

Awlaki had been implicated in a botched attempt by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to bomb a U.S.-bound plane in 2009. 

U.S. President Barack Obama says the killing of Awlaki is a major blow to al-Qaeda's most active operational affiliate, al- Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula

 

China halts raw oyster imports from U.S. after illness reports 

China says it has halted the import of raw oysters from the U.S. State of Washington after reports of an illness outbreak.

The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) has also recalled raw oysters already imported from the state by Chinese companies. 

The administration advised consumers to cook seafood thoroughly before eating. 

In response to a listeria outbreak involving tainted cantaloupes in the U.S., the administration says China has not imported U.S. cantaloupes.

It says China has demanded all airlines operating flights between China and the U.S. stop serving raw or cold foods, like cantaloupes, on planes flying from the U.S. to China.

 

China bans production, sale of clenbuterol to improve food safety

China has banned the production, sale and use of clenbuterol tablets, a medicine used to treat bronchial asthma that has also been illegally used by farmers to make their pigs leaner.

Food safety and public security authorities have stepped up their efforts to crack down on the illegal use of clenbuterol this year, following a string of cases in which farmers were found to be illegally using the drug as a fat-burning additive in pig feed. 

Existing clenbuterol tablets will be destroyed under the supervision of local food and drug authorities.

 

Shanghai police crack down on fake iPhones

Authorities say police in Shanghai are fighting to keep counterfeit iPhones off the streets just days before the upcoming release of the iPhone 5.

Five suspects were apprehended for using recycled accessories to manufacture fake iPhones earlier this week. The suspects sorted through e-waste transported from south China's Guangdong Province, scavenged genuine components from discarded iPhones and combined them with the fake components before selling them. 

Over 200 fake iPhones and 5,000 accessories at a value of over $780,000 U.S. dollars were confiscated from a rented apartment in downtown Shanghai during a July busts.