China's unmanned Shenzhou-8 spacecraft has hooked up with the Tiangong-1 experimental space laboratory, nearly two days after being launched.

Shenzhou-8 was the active craft in the docking, firing its thrusters to push its front end towards the docking port of Tiangong-1.

It took about 10 minutes from first contact to confirmation of a seal.

Shenzhou 8 and Tiangong-1 will fly together for 12 days, and then separate.

Another docking is going to be performed afterward.

 

 

Chinese president calls for global efforts to tackle economic woes

Chinese President Hu Jintao is putting out a call for the international community to work in the spirit of "all-in-the-same-boat" to cope with current economic woes.

He has made the comments following a meeting with IMF chief Christine Lagarde ahead of the G20 Summit in Cannes.

Hu Jintao notes while some developed countries are struggling with sovereign debt problems, emerging economies are trying to deal with inflation and "drastically" fluctuating cross-border capital flows.

The Cannes meeting is being dubbed as Europe's chance to explain to the world that it has taken the tough decisions to bring its debt crisis under control.

 

 

No concrete plan of EFSF investment yet: Chinese Vice FinMin

Chinese vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao is trying to tamp down speculation about any possible Chinese involvement in the European bailout fund.

Zhu has told reporters in Cannes that it's too early to talk about any possible investment in the European Financial Stability Facility.

At the same time, Zhu Guangyao also admits that the Greek referendum on its bailout deal has come "unexpectedly."

Speculation has been swirling ahead of the start of the latest session of the G20 about any role China might be able to play in the potential recovery of the eurozone.

 

 

Sarkozy, Merkel promise help, urge early Greece referendum

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are offering up further help to Greece.

At the same time, they're both urging the referendum announced by Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou to be held as soon as possible, in order to ease market uncertainties.

Papandreou has announced that the referendum is likely to be held on December 4th.

Sarkozy says he "fully trusts" that the Greek people will make the right decision.

A negative vote on the bailout referendum would likely force European leaders to kick Greece out of the eurozone to try to save the euro from collapsing.

 

 

Syria accepts new Arab League peace plan

The details of the Syrian government's acceptance of the peace plan put forward by the Arab League to end the violence in the country, have now emerged.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh al-Thani.

"The Syrian government has agreed to the following: an end to all acts of violence, from whichever source, for the protection of Syrian citizens. Secondly, releasing the prisoners of the current events, thirdly, evacuating all cities and residential neighborhoods of armed forces."

The agreement also sets a timeframe for talks with the opposition and will allow journalists and human rights groups to move freely in the country to monitor the situation.

 

 

UN chief makes surprise visit to Tripoli

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has made a surprise visit to the Libyan capital of Tripoli.

He is calling on Libya's interim leaders to secure the chemical weapons arsenals and nuclear materials in the country.

Both the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the International Atomic Energy Agency are both planning to send a mission to Libya.

Meanwhile, Abdel Jalil, outgoing head of the ruling National Transitional Council, is making another push to try to get the international community to release Libya's frozen funds.

Billions of dollars of Libyan assets have been frozen since the outset of the civil war.

 

 

3 killed, 30 injured in Iraq bombings

Three people are dead, and at least 30 others hurt, after 3 motorcycle bombings in Iraq's southern port city of Basra late Wednesday.

The blasts have gone off near a number of popular cafes and restaurants in the city.

The extent of the injuries remains unclear.

A series of bombings have been hitting Iraqi cities in recent weeks in the lead up to the withdrawal of US troops at the end of this year.

 

 

China to launch ethics training for civil servants

A new ethics training program is being launched for Chinese civil servants.

The training is being designed to try to improve their integrity and loyalty.

The training campaign comes amid a recent wave of allegations of improper behavior by a number of this country's civil servants.

The authorities say they hope the ethics training will help prevent corruption and appease people's distrust of this country's civil servants.

 

 

Peking Opera Festival opens in central China

A Peking Opera Festival has kicked off in Hubei.

The festival, designed to try to revive interest in the classical Chinese artform, will feature 33 operas.

The festival will cover a wide range of Peking opera styles, including new versions of ancient operas, modern performances and traditional operas.

Peking opera became recognized as a form of intangible cultural heritage last year by UNESCO.