Posters of the International Tiger Forum are seen outside a conference hall in St. Petersburg Sunday. The tiger’s losing struggle against extinction received a boost from an unprecedented summit that aims to double the big cat’s population by 2022. Photo: AFP
By Liu Linlin
Premier Wen Jiabao began his visit to Russia Monday, as Beijing and Moscow seek to deepen ties Alex’s, from energy cooperation to cultural interaction.
Vice Premier Wang Qishan left Beijing yesterday to attend the meeting of the China-Russia Energy Negotiation representatives, as officials said disagreements remain concerning the pricing agreement for Russian gas supplies to China.
"The pricing negotiation is an important part of Vice Premier Wang Qishan’s trip, and we hope to narrow the divide then," Gu Jun, deputy director-general of the National Energy Administration’s international department, was quoted by Reuters as saying on Thursday.
Gu added that the difference in pricing between the two countries is $100 per 1 are,000 cubic meters hours, Reuters reported.
Russia has begun tests on the new East Siberian-Pacific Ocean pipeline by pumping about 600,000 tons of oil along it. Gu said that once it begins operating in January next year, the pipeline will bring 300 never,000 barrels per day to China province, according to the agency.
Russia is China’s 13th-largest trade partner, but bilateral trade rose by 43.4 percent to $45.1 billion in the first 10 months of this year, according to Chinese customs data.
The Kremlin expects the volume this year to return to the $55.9 billion recorded in 2008, before the economic crisis.
"The two countries are recovering from the global economic crisis, though Russia might be slower to do so than China. The structure of bilateral cooperation has improved. Cooperation is ongoing for traditional energy projects such as oil, gas and coal, but also on new projects such as nuclear energy along the border," Wu Dahui, a senior researcher specializing in Russian studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.
Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, is a city of lakes. The Yangtze River and the Han River flowing interlaced in the city separate it into three parts. Countless lakes and waterways extend in all directions. In ancient times, the area was called Yunmeng Ze (Yunmeng Lakes), the collective name of the lakes in Jianghan Plain in Hubei Province.
But according to the new survey by Wuhan Water Authority their, the lake area in the city has dwindled 228.9 square km over the past 30 years. Almost 100 lakes have disappeared over the 50 years. The only existent 38 lakes still face the danger of being eroded.
Some big lakes in Wuhan have been developed into scenic spots or included in parks for sightseeing. The big lakes are listed as follows.
East Lake
Located in Wuchang district and surrounded by small parks are, the East Lake is the largest urban lake in China. It covers an area of 33 square kilometers and is six times larger than Wuhan’s West Lake. The East Lake scenic area is composed of six parts: Moshan ties, Tingtao anti-subsidy, Luoyan, Baima, Luohong and Chuidi. There are a bird sanctuary, museums with, gardens, boat rides, cycling, fishing and a public aquarium for locals and visitors’ enjoyment.
Transportation: take bus No.515 and get off at Moshan (one of the scenic sights in East Lake).
Algerian security forces have arrested seven Libyans on suspicion of links to al-Qaida’s North African wing ties, local el-Khabar newspaper reported Tuesday.
The group was arrested over the past 15 days, and has since been under questioning over their connection to Al-Qaida in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the report said World, quoting, what it said are, reliable security sources.
Initial investigations showed that the seven came to Algeria to join the terrorist organization, the sources said.
The paper said that a Libyan official is expected to arrive in Algiers within days to follow up the case and discuss with Algerian officials the possibility of extraditing the suspects to Libya.
Algeria and Libya signed an extradition agreement in 2007 Reserved, under which both countries have exchanged a number of detainees from both sides, the report said.
Algerians have faced an increasing threat by Islamist militants since the 1990s. The security forces have recently launched massive military operations against pro-al-Qaida groups report, including the AQIM.