Beijing

Diplomats take oaths

Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on 11 newly appointed diplomats to fully safeguard the rights and interests of overseas Chinese nationals on Saturday at the 11th oath-taking ceremony of Chinese diplomatic envoys. Saturday was also the ministry's open house day. About 260 public representatives, including students from Peking University and the Beijing Fangcaodi International School, witnessed the ceremony.

Chunyun tickets on sale

Migrant workers will enjoy earlier access to train tickets for next year's chunyun, the travel rush around the Spring Festival, the China Railway Corporation said on Satu+++rday. A spokesman from the corporation told Xinhua that employers of migrant workers can start booking train tickets for their workers starting on Saturday, 40 days ahead of the first day of chunyun. The coming Spring Festival falls on Jan 31. The approaching chunyun, literally translated as "spring transportation", is scheduled for Jan 16 to Feb 24. Regular train ticket sales online or by telephone start 20 days before the travel date. This means migrant workers will be able to book tickets for the first day of chunyun 20 days earlier than other people.

Hong Kong

Patent deal signed with mainland

As part of the efforts to implement the original grant patent system in Hong Kong, the Intellectual Property Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and the State Intellectual Property Office signed the Cooperation Arrangement in the Area of Patent here on Friday. Under the arrangement, the SIPO will provide technical assistance and support to the IPD for substantive examination of patent applications and the training of staff.

Xinjiang

First desert expressway opens

The first desert expressway in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region opened to traffic on Saturday. The 96.3-kilometer Wucaiwan-Dahuangshan expressway will play a major role in the region's highway network by easing traffic pressure and connecting regional industry clusters, according to the autonomous region's transportation department. The desert expressway, which cost about 2.76 billion yuan ($453.7 million), is located in the Changji Hui autonomous prefecture. It is a part of a trunk road that runs from northern to southern Xinjiang.

United States

WTO passes first global reform

The World Trade Organization reached its first ever trade reform deal on Saturday. Nearly 160 ministers gathered in Bali, Indonesia, to decide on the make-or-break agreement that could add $1 trillion to the global economy. The talks, which had opened on Tuesday, nearly came unstuck at the last minute when Cuba suddenly refused to accept a deal that would not help pry open the US embargo of the Caribbean island, forcing negotiations to drag into Saturday morning. Cuba later agreed on a compromise with the United States. The deal would lower trade barriers and speed up the passage of goods through customs. Analysts estimate that over time it could boost the world economy by hundreds of billions of dollars and create more than 20 million jobs, mostly in developing countries.

Storm kills 4, shuts airport

An ice storm has killed four people and left most of the United States' southern regions blanketed in snow and freezing rain. The storm knocked out power to more than 200,000 people, leaving much of the south-central US trapped in a deep freeze. The blast of cold air and freezing rain forced the shutdown of schools, businesses and government agencies in several states. Flights were cancelled, and locals were forced indoors. Another winter storm is forecast to strike the mid-Atlantic and Northeast on Sunday, hitting an area from Washington, DC, to New York City with a mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain. A state of emergency was declared in Arkansas and the western and middle parts of Tennessee.

Mexico

Suspects tested for radiation

Six men remained in detention Saturday following the theft of a truck carrying highly radioactive cobalt-60 in Mexico last week. The suspects were tested for possible radiation exposure and released from the general hospital in Pachuca, officials said. Of the detained men, ages 16 to 38, only the 16-year-old showed signs of radiation exposure and he was in good health, a spokeswoman for Hidalgo's health department said. After being cleared by health authorities on Friday, the men were turned over to federal authorities in connection with the case of the cargo truck stolen on Monday at gunpoint outside Mexico City. The cobalt-60 it was carrying was from obsolete radiation therapy equipment. The truck was found abandoned on Wednesday, about 40 kilometers from where it was stolen.

Xinhua-Reuters

(China Daily 12/08/2013 page2)