Hourly News updated 08:00 2011/10/20

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Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang is set to visit both North Korea and South Korea next week.

Li is scheduled to stay in the North for three days before traveling to the South.

Foreign Ministry³ spokesperson Jiang Yu.

"During his visit, Vice premier Li Keqiang will hold talks with leaders of both countries and exchange ideas on bilateral⁴ ties as well as international and regional issues of common concern. We believe the visit will further boost the development of China's relations with the two countries."

The Vice-Premier's trip comes amid heightened multi-lateral diplomacy⁵ in recent weeks connected to North Korea's nuclear program.

 

 

U.S. to have talks with Pyongyang over nuclear program

The US State Department now says it's going to hold nuclear talks with North Korea.

The State Department says next week's planned discussions are a continuation of the exploratory meeting that has been taking place in recent months.

The US side says it wants to see if there has been enough movement toward implementing⁶ an agreement set out in 2005.

If there is, there could be broader talks.

In recent months, North Korea has signaled that it is "unconditionally⁷" ready to return to negotiations⁸ for the potential denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

 

 

The 2nd China-US Governors Forum⁹ Kicks off in Beijing

Eight Chinese provincial¹⁰ governors, their six American counterparts and hundreds of representatives have gathered in Beijing to attend the second China-US Governors Forum.

As a platform to promote peer-to-peer discussions between US governors and their Chinese counterparts, the forum will explore opportunities in promoting practical cooperation between the two sides, especially with regards to local economic development and job creation

China-US Governors Forum is a reciprocal event, the first of which was held in Utah in the United States last July.

 

 

Nuclear cooperation across the straits

Mainland and Taiwan negotiators have now finished their initial talks on cross-Strait cooperation in nuclear power safety.

The discussions in Tianjin yesterday have paved the way for the official signing of the cooperation agreement later today.

Chiang Pin-kung is the top negotiator from the Taiwan side.

"Confrontation¹¹ has made way for peace, previously¹² closed doors have now been opened, I believe cooperation across the straits will be fruitful and I think this round of talks will continue on the road we have cemented in the past, that is economy comes ahead of politics, easy issues come ahead of hard problems. We are fully¹³ committed to taking our time to consolidate¹⁴ this process and make this round of talks a complete success."

The signing of an agreement on nuclear power cooperation is expected to lead to the establishment of a nuclear safety reporting system between the two sides.

 

 

 

Clinton arrives in Afghanistan for talks

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has arrived in Afghanistan for an unannounced visit.

Clinton is due to meet with Afghan president Hamid Karzai later on this Thursday in Kabul.

It's believed Clinton is there to try to find some way to revive reconciliation¹⁵ efforts with the Taliban.

The Afghan government's reconciliation efforts suffered a major setback¹⁶ last month with the assassination¹⁷ of top Afghan peace negotiator Burhanuddin Rabbani.

Clinton is also expected to talk with Karzai about a long-term strategic framework with Afghanistan, which could be signed sometime before year's end.

 

 

Yemeni president demands international guarantees

Embattled Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh now says that he wants Europe and the United States involved in any transfer of power in his country.

In comments aired on Yemeni television, Saleh says he is ready to sign off on a Gulf¹⁸ Cooperation Council-brokered deal for him to relinquish¹⁹ his power.

However, he now says he wants GCC, European and US guarantees that the deal will be implemented²⁰ by the opposition²¹.

The deal would see him give up his Presidency²² in exchange for immunity²³ from prosecution²⁴.

 

 

China to establish nationwide social credit system

The central government here in China is now pushing to establish a social credit system across this country.

The plan is to create a national record of people's official actions when it comes to things like business deals, applications and academic work.

This way, people across the country would be able to check up on people they're working with to make sure they're reputable.

The central authorities are also planning on setting up a type of social credit rating agency to try to root out cheats.

 

 

Beijing covers more with public rental²⁵ housing program

The Beijing municipal government has brought in new rules to allow more people to have access to low-rent housing.

Starting in December, low and middle-income earners, new employees and people without a Beijing registration²⁶ who have worked in the capital for a number of years are going to be eligible²⁷ to apply for public rental housing.

Successful applicants²⁸ will be able to live in the low-rent apartments for five years.

Under the new rules, the rents will only be slightly lower than their neighbors.

However, successful applicants will get subsidies²⁹ according to their income level and the size of their apartments.

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